Fat To Fit, Bit... By... Bit

What would ever possess someone to write a book on Diet,  Exercise, and being Fit, when there are hundreds, no, maybe into the thousands, of different diet, exercise, and fitness books and programs, available in the book stores, on the internet, and almost as many similar infomercial programs, that have literally invaded early Saturday and Sunday morning TV?

Well, as a physician, a chiropractor, having been in private practice for the past 28 years, I have made several startling, or, not so startling revelations that pushed me to this point.

These small, what may seem as obvious epiphanies, to many, explain why our nation keeps getting fatter and fatter, year by year, as more books on this diet or that exercise program, continue to be published.  

 NON- COMPLIANCE OR NON- IMPLEMENTATION OF PATIENTS:  Now don’t get me wrong, most of my patients over the years have done much of what it took to get them out of pain.  However, that’s about it!  Some, asked about exercises, or weight loss. However, few followed through with an intensive program, designed to strengthen core areas of their bodies, or to reduce that 20 or 30 lbs. of extra weight, that was a factor in their lower back condition, or injury. 

As a prime example of this, I recall being the eager enthusiastic new doctor in the late 70’s, just starting practice, and giving one woman, several sheets of exercises, meticulously circling the ones she should be doing, and when I questioned her after a few weeks of treatment, as to ‘how the exercise program was coming’ she looked at me with a strange questioning expression, and said “What exercises?” 

I responded by asking if she recalled the pink and blue forms I gave her on the first day of treatment, to which she unashamedly said,:

“Oh, I think I put those on the bottom of my bird cage at home!”  

You see, after a few days of treatment, the woman was essentially out of pain, and therefore no longer motivated to ‘ implement ‘ behavior changes in her lifestyle, even though not doing the exercises might mean that eventually the pain from her spinal condition, might return, at any time.  Is this attitude, by this woman, the exception, rather than the rule, you might ask? 

What other examples of ‘management by crisis, ‘do we have to show how we, individually react to crisis or as a nation, on a larger scale, react to a threat. 

Well, let’s look at a recent example. 

The levees surrounding New Orleans were only built to sustain a category 3 storm, and it was known that eventually a more severe storm would hit the area. 

But, was anything done to shore up the levee system to sustain and repel, a more intense storm?  Well, actually, local and state and even federal authorities, over the years, since the 1950’s have attempted to intensify the levee system, but the requests fell on deaf ears. They were never seriously considered.  Seems there were too many ‘other’ more important areas, requiring tax payer money, like most of the pet ‘pork’ spending projects of individual law makers in Washington. But is this the only major crisis to have slipped through the cracks and show aberrant behavior in our governmental system?  That is to say, is this the exception and not the rule?

Let’s look at the recent terrorist attacks on US soil.  In fact, we were actually attacked by terrorists on American soil, first, in 1993, with the ‘first’ Trade Center bombing,’ and because the death toll was not large enough, and the damage not severe enough, it was brushed aside, as being an isolated incident.  Not until September 11, 2001, did the terrorists get our attention and did we begin to implement behavioral changes.  Now I am not, by either of these events,

( hurricane Katrina, and the Trade Center attacks) blaming either administrations in power at the time, because unfortunately the reaction to these large events, is the same as an individuals reaction to their health.  On a large scale, we knew these events would occur, eventually. All our experts in each area warned of the impending disasters that would occur, and as a nation we did nothing until the crisis forced our hand, and then we reacted! 

Well, we know that if you are terribly overweight, you don’t exercise, regularly, and you don’t curb or stop bad