Take 1 Cup of Spinach and Call Me in the Morning

More than 2 out of 3 doctor visits result in generating a prescription for one or more drugs. Think about that. A recent study completed by Tufts University suggests that you might be better off with a prescription for a better diet. The projected benefits of "food prescriptions" were, to say the least, startling.

Over the lifetime of the study participants, the food prescription plan (with some percentage of the cost covered by Medicare and insurance) was estimated to reduce cardiovascular deaths by 620,000 vs the standard drug therapies. Along with a $100 BILLION reduction in health care costs.

Study co-author Yujin Lee says that healthy food prescriptions could be "as or more cost effective for reducing hypertension and cholesterol as many other common interventions such as preventive drug programs."

Instead of worrying about who is going to pick up the bill for our sick-care after our diet and lifestyle make us ill, maybe there should be some discussion of not getting ill in the first place. Just a thought Bernie.

Diet Wrapup - The End or the Beginning?

So my month of committing to calorie counting is over and the results are in. Once again it worked, and I ended February at 194 pounds, down 10 pounds over the four weeks. My blood pressure has dropped a bit and I am even sleeping better.

I was certainly not perfect about it. There were some days where I ate too much. But I knew I had done it, and I knew how much I had busted my goals by and was easily able to make it up over the rest of the week. The pounds did not come off evenly over the month either. The first week I lost 5 pounds. The second week only one. But at the end of the month there I was at 194.

I do not feel hungry or like I have had to deprive myself of eating things. I was not on any special "diet" at all. I just ate what I normally eat. The difference was making conscious choices about when and how much I ate, eating standard portion sizes and keeping up with the (truly moderate) exercise. I am feeling pretty happy with the results.

For now I am adjusting my goal from losing weight to maintaining where I am and not putting any more on. I would estimate that the entire process of tracking calories has been taking about 15 minutes a day so it is no burden to keep doing it.

My 50th High School reunion is in October and I am thinking it would be great to show up there weighing the same as I did when I graduated. That would cost me only another 9 pounds over the next 7 months, and right now that seems almost too easy to me. And 185 pounds would be right on the dot for a healthy weight for my height.

So why is dieting so hard for so many people? Trust me, if I can do it, anyone can. If you have been struggling, drop me a message. Maybe I can help.