Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson reports that the United States could realize a $58 billion annual saving in diabetes treatment alone if every American took a daily 30-minute walk.

Dr. Herbert Benson, MD, president of the Mind/Body Medical Institute in Boston and author of the best-selling book Timeless Healing (click on the cover on the right for sample pages and more info), estimates that 25% to 50% of doctor visits could be eliminated if people took better care of themselves.

So, why don't we? I feel that most of us don't realize the important C and P that lead to physical fitness and a healthy life style. C stands for Consistency. P stands for Patience. Without the combination of these two approaches, exercise and eating plans, no matter how well conceived, will quickly fall by the wayside and we will be back to our former unhealthy habits.

It is more important to be Consistent than to overdo. I know that in previous articles I have stressed the importance of challenging ourselves to push as hard as we can and work parts of the body that we don't always feel like working. Yes! This is important, but if we overdo and push too hard, we may not feel like continuing.

It is better to take a pleasant, but brisk, 30-minute walk daily than to go to the gym and "kill" ourselves once a week, or, even worse, once or twice a month. This can prove to be ineffective and potentially dangerous.

And, yet, I find students who do this constantly. I will see them everyday for a week, then maybe once the next week, and then the next month for a day or two, and then not for a year. And they wonder why they are making no progress, can't keep up, and when they try to keep pace with the others who are regular participants, they often suffer injuries.

If you follow a recent Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health you will be encouraged to follow a regular, preferably daily, regiment including 30 to 45 minutes of moderate activity - brisk walking, bicycling, or even simply working around the house or yard - to lower the risks of developing coronary heart disease, hypertension, colon cancer and diabetes.

You will also find that being consistently active, you will start to feel consistently better and have more fun doing it. Another benefit of consistency is that no matter what activity you pursue, it will become easier and more enjoyable as time passes.

It is also important to be patient with your results. In our "hurry up" society, we want everything to happen yesterday. This is another reason people don't stay with an exercise program to gain fitness or a sensible eating plan to gain leanness. Everyone is in a rush. That's why so many gadgets that will supposedly firm you up in a couple of weeks, or diets that will melt away those pounds in days rake in huge amounts of money. We want to be fit and we want to be thin and we want it now!

I can't begin to tell you how many of the participants in my classes stop working out or stop dieting (and I hate that word) because they don't have the patience to take their time to achieve fitness goals slowly and/or change their eating habits by patiently learning how and eating properly.

I love to brag about a delightful woman named Mary who has been attending my classes for at least nine years. Even though she worked and works out daily, she was eating more than her body needed, thus gaining unnecessary weight which resulted in high blood pressure. She asked me if I had any suggestions.

Because she is a group person and also sensible, Mary was a perfect candidate for Weight Watchers. She has followed their fine eating plan, continued her working out, and has patiently achieved her weight goal. She not only looks and feels wonderful, she has corrected her blood pressure level and provides motivation for all of the rest of us in the classes.

It didn't happen overnight, but because Mary was and is patient and consistent, she looks and feels like a "new" person.

So, embrace the C and P of Fitness, and you will look and feel like a "new" person too!

As always, check with your own healthcare professional before undertaking any diet or exercise program.