The diet program I’ve been working on has been upgraded and printed out for critique by my friends innumerable times. They make suggestions, I make notes on their suggestions and then go home and work and work, trying to make their ideas blend into the existing handout. I haven’t scheduled a lecture yet, but many preparations for it have been made. My goal is to make what I say so obvious that it will not sound like I am asking for anything that people can’t do, do easily, and keep doing as a routine habit.
In addition to showing the handouts to my old artist pals and various business friends, I read diet books seeking ideas that can be incorporated into my lecture. With that background of ongoing input of new information, I have been upgrading on a daily basis my thoughts on how to cope with the problem that is afflicting well over a billion people today.
Obesity is a problem that will continue to harm people and shorten their lives for as long as the profit motive stimulates the sales of various kinds of foods and other pleasure-giving stimulants. As that process will continue as long as there are people to buy and people to sell them stuff, there will be victims of excess. However, people are also interested in long-term health and are willing to spend money and effort to achieve that health. There is reported to be a multibillion-dollar industry devoted to delivering diet and exercise plans to help these people. It appears that the providers of these plans are motivated to help their clients be healthy. Unfortunately, the statistics show that the overweight population has gone from a few percent to perhaps over fifty percent of all people.
Last night in a local tea shop, with twenty college age kids there, almost all of them were huge. HUGE! That is very sad, and although I didn’t talk to any of them I suspect that they don’t want to be huge. I don’t blame them because in addition to being fed poor quality sugar-laden food they are being fed incorrect information about how to cope with their problem. I know my style of intermittent fasting is easy and it works because my wife and I have both dropped from BMIs of 28 or so to BMIs of 23 or so in fifteen months. We have a few simple little games and routine habits.
I have been spending so much time and effort on this diet plan lecture and handout because I want to help these kids and everyone else. I don’t want there to be the slightest hint of guilt being projected at them so I have rewritten Tips for Easy Living many times with the intent that it will be easily accepted and easily followed.
I may not be able to do as my minister suggests because the bar for behavior is too high for me, but as I said to him last Sunday, I can shovel snow, carry rocks and chop wood. Also, the kindest thing I can do is …
I can spend the time and effort need to write a diet plan that people can understand and use successfully.