More die in the United States of too much food than of too little.
~John Kenneth Galbraith

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there has been a “dramatic increase” in obesity in the United States in the past 20 years. As of 2006, 34% of American adults age 20 or older (over 72 million people) are obese.

Being overweight can contribute to or aggravate a number of chronic diseases and conditions including Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, some cancers and many other conditions. It’s no wonder that in the United States obesity is the second-leading cause of preventable death after smoking.

The CDC says 66% of American adults are overweight. In other words, only one-third of adults are at a healthy weight.

Which side are you on? Are you part of the overweight 66%? Which side do you want to be on? Are you eating too much?

Action plan: Make an effort to eat less. One way to do that is to stop eating your meals before you get too full. That feeling of “too full” means you overate which is definitely what you want to avoid.

Start with proper meal portions. At home, think restaurant-sized portions then divide them in half. For instance, the recommended meat serving of 3 or 4 ounces is about the size of a deck of cards.

At restaurants, immediately divide your meal in half and ask for a doggy bag. Restaurant food is often fattier than you might guess–that’s why it usually tastes so good! So if you force yourself to eat the whole restaurant meal you end up paying for it twice—once at the restaurant and later on the scale. Split it into two or more meals and stretch your food budget.

The greatest wealth is health.
~Virgil

It doesn’t matter how much money you have or how nice your material things are if you aren’t healthy enough to enjoy them. And if you aren’t materially wealthy right now you are still very fortunate if you have good health.

Many people consider it noble to work themselves to exhaustion and sickness because they think in the end they’ll “buy” themselves time to improve their health. But that rarely happens. People who neglect their health often find themselves so sick they can’t enjoy the wealth they’ve been building.

Never seek material wealth at the expense of your health!

Action plan: Make a habit of being thankful for your good health. Consider how wealthy you really are if you already have good health. If your health can be improved by losing weight and getting in shape, make a commitment to do so. It’s the best way to make yourself truly wealthy!