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[1, 2]
Common Sense Weight Loss
Chapter 2
2. Take a good look at yourself in the mirror. What is it that
you see? A fat person? What is it that you would prefer to see?
A thin individual? Let's refine our wish list a little, shall we?
How about adding a smart person… a capable person… an
active individual… a fun loving person… a healthy person…
an individual determined to be happy? I am certain that you will
discover that several of these qualities and indeed many more are
already reflected back at you. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses.
Why not concentrate on the positive? So great, it seems you have
a pretty good base to work from right? Let's therefore utilize our
strong points in support of overcoming our weaker ones.
3. Get rid of any timetable you may have associated with your planned
weight loss… the high school reunion, your sister's wedding,
bathing suit weather - whatever. Putting this type of pressure on
yourself will generally prove counterproductive as it leads to the
implementation of drastic, unhealthy measures which while sometimes
effective in the short term, often worsen the situation in the long.
If we are indeed fairly intelligent as we discovered in our last
point, then by using our brains we might deduce that, barring some
medical condition, our current weight stems from not one, but a
multitude of decisions we have made over the years. From what we
eat and how much, to at what times we eat, to when we are active
vs. the times we are sedentary… these all factor into the current
state of affairs. It would stand to reason therefore that it will
take several decisions and no small degree of time to counteract
what it is we have done to ourselves if our plan is to have any
measure of permanency. Our society has trained us that obesity is
a problem to be resolved and as a result we tend to seek out the
route to the quickest fix. Obesity however, is not the problem at
all, but merely a symptom. Following this logic, we would cut off
a person's nose when he persisted in sneezing instead of treating
the root, systemic cause of this behavior, the cold. Indeed, many
people do exactly that when they sign up for liposuction, stomach
stapling and the like, only to discover they pack it all back on
in short order.
4. Replace things in your life which may promote weight gain with
those which you enjoy equally yet have the opposite effect. A healthy
lifestyle shouldn't be about depriving yourself of all the things
you enjoy… after all what kind of a life is that anyway?! This
is another prime reason why so many people fail in their efforts
to become thinner. For instance, substitute a bag of potato chips
with a bowl of fruit salad or sitting in front of the television
with riding your bicycle. This is not to say that you can't still
on occasion enjoy these things, but you must work to achieve a balance
in favor of the latter options. The trick is to refine the list
of things you enjoy to include more choices which are healthy and
promote weight loss. This is accomplished over time by way of experimentation
and is all part of the fun you can have while creating changes in
support of a more healthful lifestyle. Think you might enjoy fencing?…
give it a whirl! How about ballroom dancing or badminton? Feel like
experimenting with vegetarian cuisine? Maybe you'll find you love
barbequed fish instead of hamburgers. Love the outdoors? - your
activity choices are nearly limitless! The more you find you exercise
the healthy option, the more you will discover you're enjoying it.
After a time you won't want to sit inside on a beautiful day watching
the television - you'd rather be kayaking!
5. Choose whole, natural foods instead of processed ones. This
article isn't intended to give you a list of things to eat vs. those
to avoid. We have all been inundated with information from every
angle on this very subject. With few exceptions, this material is
garbage. While these programs will certainly help you lose weight
short term, as we have discussed, they are designed to be a quick
fix which generally has no lasting effect other than increased weight,
frustration, depression and repetition of the cycle. Their philosophies
hinge on catch phrases including the likes of "fat makes you
fat" which are so simplistic as to border on the ludicrous.
The truth of the matter is that the pace of human evolution from
a cultural perspective has far exceeded our biological development.
Our bodies, for eons have been used to and indeed designed for ingesting
the raw elements the planet provides for us in abundance. The fruits,
vegetables, animal products and water we have been consuming as
fuel for millennia have given way to the processed, packaged, chemically
altered, sweetened, salted and synthetic variety available today.
Our bodies are simply not designed to ingest the mass quantities
of heretofore foreign matter which has invaded our contemporary
diet to such a degree. Would you put maple syrup in the gas tank
of your car and expect it to run properly?! Of course not. Is it
any surprise then that at no other time in human history has the
condition of obesity been so prevalent?
6. Be proud of yourself! You are embarking on a journey which will
leave you more fulfilled in your life, happier with the options
available to you, more energy at the end of the day and a wealth
of new interests with which to occupy your time. No more will you
be content to merely exist… you will be far too busy enjoying
life.
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