Obesity is the new smoking, if you know what I mean.

You want to be sobered up about your health? According to the American Medical Association, if you are overweight (and I am) your death risk rises with the amount of extra weight you carry.

As weight increases, so does the risk of death, but the risk is not statistically significant until one becomes obese, McTigue said. Compared with normal-weight women, she continued, "the risk of dying was increased 12 percent in all women in obesity category 1, while risk was increased 86 percent over seven years in women in obesity category 3."

article here

Me? Yeah, I'm in category 3. I have an increased risk of 86% over seven years of dying. That's no small number. 86%! Friends, those just aren't good odds.

I'm grateful that I've been working out 5x a week consistently for the last 5+ weeks. I was surprised and excited that while I haven't dropped pounds yet - I have lost inches. That's progress. But, after reading that article, the stakes are raised and I've have no room to be nonchalant or cavalier about my health weight loss goals.