The Greater Your Cause, The Greater Your Health

Growing up, I didn't think much about my weight or my health because I wasn't heavy. After high school, I started to struggle with my weight, gaining and losing the same 20 to 30 pounds for about 15 years. In my mid-30s, I started eating more and moving less. The pounds piled on and the sedentary lifestyle started to take a toll on my health as well. Obesity is a risk factor for certain cancers and I was diagnosed with one of them, endometrial cancer, in 1997. My weight made ordinary activities like walking and climbing stairs increasingly difficult. I required a total knee replacement in 2007. 

By 2010, my weight was double the normal weight for a woman my height. In February 2010, blood tests showed not only high cholesterol, which I had had for decades, but a new health issue, elevated blood sugar. The elevated blood sugar meant I was headed for Type 2 diabetes. My husband, Mike, and I took a trip to New York City that same month and I could not walk more than two blocks without stopping to rest. Six weeks later, I had a heart attack. Lying in the hospital, knowing that both my parents died shortly after their heart attacks, finally gave me the motivation I needed to change my lifestyle.

In April 2010, with the support of my husband and family, I began exercising and modifying my diet. I feel like a different person, a much younger and active individual. I have lost more than 135 pounds. My cholesterol profile is very low and my blood sugar is normal. I can keep up with my grand kids and feel like I've been given a second chance.

-story from Kay Alexander, via Huffington Post

Why was Kay able to be so successful in her quest to lose weight and get healthy? The answer is that she finally had a cause that was important enough to her so that she could stick with a new lifestyle. The key to staying motivated enough to stick with a fitness and weight loss protocol is finding your cause. The Greater Your Cause, The Greater Your Health will be! 

I have dreams to hunt in the toughest terrain all over the world. I don't ever want to say I am too tired or unable to be active with my future kids or grand kids, and I plan on ice fishing with friends at 100 years old.  I want to be an example of health to everyone I come in contact with and I cannot accomplish any of this without actually maintaining high levels of health. My cause is so important to me, making it easy to choose healthy food and easy to wake up at 4 a.m. to train. The key to success is finding your cause, finding what is most important to you. 

My suggestion: write down every way that living a healthy lifestyle will help you achieve what is your highest cause, what is most important in your life. This one exercise may give you the motivation you need for the rest of your life. Do not be like Kay and wait for a near death experience to be your cause. For most, it is not near death, it is death. Find your cause, write it down, review it often, share it with others. All of this will help you succeed. I promise to lead by example and teach you the healthiest lifestyle. When your cause is great enough, it will be easy to follow. 

-Dr Czys