Perhaps it is because people who watch the evening national news shows are generally older, the ads are nearly all aimed at various medical conditions. After a quick disclaimer along the lines of “when diet and exercise don’t work,” they tout yet another extremely expensive new drug to control blood sugar or cholesterol. The assumption seems always to be that “diet and exercise” won’t work because the people in the ads gain all their health after they take the drugs.
Having lived 71 years in the United States and watched the general population gain in girth and shrink in stamina, I have been exposed to countless diets and exercise plans. A women’s magazine doesn’t come out without a “quick weight loss” article or a “how to fit exercise into your insane schedule” tip sheet. Billboards advertise “weight loss surgery,” now available on a payment plan to fit your budget. The freeway touts various gym memberships for $10 a month.
I decided to take my readers on a tour of all the approaches to diet and exercise that have surrounded my life. But I begin with two photos highlighting my early total disregard for ads, billboards and magazines. In one I hold the produce from our garden. In the other I demonstrate my incredible hanging skill!
Saved By Words 
I get enough exercise from long daily walks with Ollie. But I confess my diet could be much improved. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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I will be interested as these posts unfold about what people think is an ideal diet.
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I can be sure I don’t have that ‘ideal diet’. 🙂
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You had such a lovely childhood, Elizabeth.
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I focus on the good times in these posts and find there were many.
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Diet and exercise work quite well. I was pre diabetic two years ago. I cut sugar and upped my walks and now I’m not pre-diabetic.
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That is excellent. Too bad that the ads imply you can’t succeed with these free methods.
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Walking is better than insulin shots and pills with a thousand side effects. But I’ll take those if I ever really need them.
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Yes. I don’t mean to suggest that the medicine has no use. It’s just that it seems to be the first line of action here for many.
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I understood your intention and I agree with you. If I can walk off high blood pressure and diabetes I should do that for as long as I can walk.
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Absolutely.
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