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Weight Loss Discipline
By: David Snape
Why is it so hard to lose weight and keep it off? We haveall heard that weight loss is just a matter of taking inless calories than we expend. That certainly sounds verylogical, but is it really that simple? For example, I had an intention of only eating fruits andvegetables for a day or two, to counteract the recent 'junk'food I had been enjoying. This was a solid plan thatpractically guaranteed a decrease in caloric intake.However, a solid plan doesn't always mean an easy execution. I figured I would be relatively safe making a trip to thehealth food store. So my guard against high fat foods wasdown. When I got to the store, my sensibilities wereassailed by a well meaning clerk hawking some freshly madecorn beef and cabbage. I could hardly resist thetemptation. And that wasn't the end of it. Once my armourwas breached, the temptation of tasty, 'health oriented'cookie samples fought for my attention. Once again, I capitulated. My normally strong will powerseemed to crumble. And once weakened, it seemed reasonableto just continue. It's like that first drink for therecovering alcoholic. I am by no means overweight, but once in a while my dietgets out of hand and the fat around my midsection gets alittle more sizable than I am comfortable with. Usually,times like these are a great opportunity to get a littledetoxification in, so I like to focus on fruits andvegetables for a day or two. This has the dual effect of decreasing my caloric intake. Iwas also sticking with the simple plan mentioned above. Sowhere did things go wrong? Did I not have enough discipline?Did I lack willpower, or was it something else? In retrospect, the problem appears to be a lack ofpreparation. I failed to use the power of why. Let meexplain. When the chips were down, I didn't seem to haveenough reason to maintain discipline. Maybe you have had asimilar experience? I rationalized with, "oh, a littlewon't hurt me". The truth is, once you start down thatroad, it can be hard to turn back. What would the right preparation be in that case? What isthis power of why that I am talking about? A great way tofortify will power with any strategy is to actually writeout the reasons why sticking to your plan or achieving yourgoal is important. It is kind of like stockpilingammunition. The weaponry, in this case, appears in the formof a list. With a long list of reasons supporting the plan or the goal,I would have had a lot more reserves to draw on when myfront line defenses were being stressed. When the wellmeaning clerk was pouncing, I should have had a ready listof whys to fall back on. As the clerk was just being niceand sounding really sensible, plus it was a free sampleafter all, my mind should have responded with my ready madelist of why I should not vary from my plan. That didn't happen because I never made such a list.Whatever you are trying to accomplish in life, there arebound to be obstacles and obstructions that just leap intoyour path to stop or block you. These are the times thatyou need your list. The list is your power. No list, nopower. When anyone sits down to plan something or set a goal, theyneed a list to support them during weak times. The longerthe list, the better. Even if one has to carry the listalong in one's pocket, it is worth it. A list of about 50reasons, while hard to create, can pay off in a major way. Imagine the clerk's surprise, had I pulled out my handy listand read it off for him. My armour would not have beenpierced and the clerk would have had to move on to moreready prey or risk having the spear of temptation blunted!No list, no power. So, how long is your list? This article is for information purposes only. It is notmeant to advise on diet or weight loss or on any healthmatters. If you have or think you have a health issue,including weight or diet issues, consult your primary carephysician for proper diagnoses and treatment. copyright 2005 by David Snape Dave Snape is a health, fitness and wellness enthusiast. Hiswebsite is http://tobeinformed.com Dave also practices Falun Dafa. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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How to Benefit from the Mind-Body Connection
(excerpt)
You are about to gain insight into the
mind-body connection. The number of
people who truly understand these principles on our
planet are relatively few.
There is an undeniable connection between our minds and
bodies, you can learn
to use this fact to your benefit.
Dr. Bernie Siegel, author of "Love, Medicine and
Miracles" was once a
distraught cancer surgeon until he
began to understand the greater principles
of the mind-
body connection. He felt dragged down by the artificial
barriers
that existed between patient and doctor, and the
helplessness he often felt as
a result of his inability
to effectively serve those patients. Eventually, those
barriers
were disintegrated by Dr. Siegel's recognition
and growing understanding of the
mind-body connection and
how it could serve his patients and himself.
Dr. Siegel, or Bernie as he began to have his patients
refer to him, had some
startling realizations as a cancer surgeon. He found that
there were actually
quite a few people in the world that successfully beat
the statistics on cancer
survival. He began to recognize that a patient's ability
to defeat something as
serious as cancer had to do with the patient's mind and
attitude about their
disease.
If you would like to see the rest of
this article, please go here:
http://www.tobeinformed.com/repository/mind-body.html
copyright 2004 - David Snape
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