Y R U FAT?

Dieting is interesting. It seems that all of the crazy diets that are available have a few things in common. Do you know what they are? Have you been exposed to enough of these diets to figure this great mystery of life out for yourself? OK, I'll tell you what it is, but I think your reaction will be, “Well duh!”.

At the risk of sounding like Captain Obvious, the common things that all diets mention is to drink plenty of water and exercise at least 20 minutes a day three times a week. See? Another "duh" moment from yours truly.

Before you go on any bizarre diet I want you to do something for me first. And that's drink plenty of water and exercise 20 minutes a day at least three times a week. I'm willing to bet by just adding these two things to your daily routine you will start to lose weight all by yourself.

There's no need to radically change your eating habits, or buy hundreds of dollars of products, just do these two simple things.

Now I'm not suggesting you can eat meals at fast food restaurants 4 times a day and drink some water, go for a walk and you'll be healthy. This is assuming you're not over-the-top yet and consuming a whole pie for desert at every meal. Just maintain your current normal eating habits and throw in the water and exercise.

In fact, if you want to start with baby steps begin by not drinking anything other then water. No soda, no alcohol, no nothing other then water. Many of you I know hate that thought, but once you drink water for about a week or more you'll find that it's much better then soda ever was, and has the added benefit of keeping you healthy rather then tearing down your health.

Important safety tip: Too much of anything can be bad. For example, too much water and you'll drown! But seriously, it is possible to actually drink too much water, so please be healthy, not stupid.

Most people I have found do not drink enough water each day. Many of us walk around on the verge of dehydration. This is bad for the body and all of its various processes.

As you read this the one thing going through your mind over and over is most likely, “I know all of this!”. And isn't that a sad thing? We know what will keep us healthy, yet we refuse to do them. Instead, we order soda, and king size fries along with our grease burgers. We get fatter and fatter, and complain more and more.

I'm one to talk. Like a lot of people I could be thinner. Not anorexic thin, but I could stand to lose a large number of pounds. I am going to take my own advice and drink more water and start to go for walks for 20 minutes a day. In fact, I am also going to cut down on my daily Pepsi intake, and go for the healthier items on fast food menus. Cutting out fast food altogether might be a better plan, but one of my issues is that I enjoy going out to eat, and getting away from work, on my lunch hour.

I would love to hear from anyone else who is either undergoing a struggle with their weight, or has persevered and won the battle of the bulge. If you have gone from fat to healthy let us know how you accomplished this wonderous feat.

Perhaps you may want to undergo a life change as I try to do the same. If you're interested, let me know and I'll post my progress and you can post yours.

Is this a New Years resolution? Nah, this is a personal affirmation. I am not doing this for you, for my friends, or because some national study says I should. I'm being selfish, as usual, and doing this solely for me! One of the nice things about this selfish action, however, is that hopefully the father of my children will be around a little longer and be able to enjoy a long life.

Besides, technology has come such a long way just in my lifetime, that I really want to be around to see what will happen in the next 42 years of my life.

Who's with me?