Why is a healthy weight so important anyway?

Part of my responsibility as a Health Coach is to educate people not only how to achieve optimal health, but to let them know why it is so important.
So, why is reaching a healthy weight so important anyway? Taken straight from "Habits of Health"...for starters it can:

*Help you live longer
*Improve the quality of your life
*Slow down the aging process
*Improve your mental outlook and increase your happiness
*Improve your work performance
*Improve your sleep
*Lower your blood pressure, cholesterol, (especially bad cholesterol),and triglycerides
*Lower your risk for heart attack or stroke
*Lower your blood sugar
*Eliminate insulin resistance
*Reverse and possibly eliminate metabolic syndrome
*Dramatically lower your risk of developing diabetes or, if you have diabetes, arrest and even reverse is progression
*Lower your risk for liver and gall bladder disease
*Lower your risk for varicose veins, deep vein thrombosis, and blood clots
*Help you breathe better
*Eliminate sleep apnea
*Lessen or eliminate asthma, bronchitis, and other lung problems
*Lower your risk of getting arthritis or, if you have arthritis, relieve your pain
*Increase your chances of getting pregnant
*Improve the health of you and your baby during pregnancy
*Markedly lower your risk for many types of cancer

Just a drop of 10% in body weight lowers your risk of disease by over 50%!!! and that risk continues to drop as you reduce your BMI (body mass index) below 25.
So.... are you concerned about any of the above? I know I am! I want to do everything I can to prevent those things and enjoy the rest of my life.... how about you?

Didn't get any scheduled exercise in today. I'm really wishing I would have, I actually miss not going for my bike ride! Amazing how much harder it is to exercise when my exercise partner is out of town. Kudos to all of you that have the willpower and determination to exercise all on your own! You are such an example to the rest of us!!! So, tomorrow I will follow your lead and I WILL get out there and exercise.

Food journal:

Apple Cinnamon oatmeal- meal replacement (MR)

Smore crunch bar - MR

cherry pomegranate antioxidant shade - MR

peanut butter crunch bar - MR

Parmesan cheese puffs - MR

Chef salad - lean and green meal

cranberry mango- MR mixed with fresca (one of my top favorites!)

72 oz. water

citrus magarita antioxidant flavor infuser added to water

omega 3 supplement

essential 1 - digestive enzyme and probiotic

Energy level: 8 - felt great, a little hungry in the afternoon, but had gone too long before my next meal. Felt fine after my bar.

***Shout out to....fellow health coach, Kristy Medina from Salt Lake, on losing 125 pounds!! Woo Hoo. Way to go girl!

*** Did you know... According to a study in the Journal of Personal and Social Psychology, that people who go for a brisk 10 minute walk, feel more awake and experience a surge in energy that lasts up to two hours after they walk? Give it a try!