Weight Loss Basics -- An Investment in Health

(Second in a Series)

Importances

It is a true statement that we always find time to do the things that are important to us, whether that be listening to music, eating, reading, running, watching television, playing with our kids, or dieting.

On the face of it, how can dieting, which is not doing something (as in not eating) take time? Trust me, it does.

Personal Commitment

And here's the unavoidable truth: success in any venture—and especially in a long-term plan of substantial weight loss—requires a considerable personal commitment and investment; not only of time, but of money as well.

Change

Some say that insanity can be defined as doing the same thing over and over yet expecting a different result each time. To change conditions, and to start losing—rather than hording—weight, means you have to change something. Not only mental factors such as outlook, intention, and hope—although these are all important, too—but you have to change what you actually do, actions you actually take.

Investment

Looking back at the First Law of Thermodynamics (which we covered in part One of this Series) you know that in order to lose weight you will have to burn more calories than you consume, and that means you need to exercise more, or consume less, or do a mixture of both.

Exercise takes time. You will have to set aside a time for it (and stick to that schedule). Calorie counting takes time (yes, you will have to count them, no way around it). Your old running/walking shoes are either falling apart, or you don't have a pair; that means buying new ones. Pick up a sweat suit while you're at it.

And who knows how accurate your scale is anyway. The one you have may be fibbing now and then.

This all adds up to investment.

Importances Revisited

You probably know, intellectually, that obesity is not healthy; and that the heavier you are, the worse your health will suffer. You can see why this is, and theoretically speaking, you completely agree. You're smart, you can follow the logic here.

Still, there's a disconnect. For nearly a third of the U.S. population these facts to not really have to do with them. They are not important enough to be of true concern.

Regret

A very rich man, on his deathbed, was asked if he had any regrets. Yes, he did have regrets. And these had nothing to do with wealth, or possessions, or consumption, or some failed corporate takeover bid. They had to do with not spending time with family, with not maintaining friendships, with not helping someone in need. His importances—in stark relief now against life and death—suddenly shifting to what really matters.

Health Matters

Let's say that again: health matters. Certainly a lot more than fast food and television. And to succeed in losing weight, health has to become important. Not lip-service important, but truly—touching your heart and soul—important. Without that connect the weight-loss journey is well-nigh impossible to undertake.

Investment Revisited

Even if you have to forego other, more immediate pleasures; even if you have to sell your television to pay for your new running shoes; even if you have to go to bed an hour earlier just to fit the exercise in: these are investments in a healthy life, and few, if any, investments could be more important to you, or to the ones who love you.

The multiTRIM Diet

All diet plans—except for the outright fraudulent ones, and be warned: they abound—have as their goal for you to burn more calories than you consume.

Possibly the most sensible plan we have seen in recent years is the multiTRIM diet which supplies all needed nutrients to maintain health and ease hunger in a fifteen calories meal-replacement drink.

A multiTRIM Journal

A friend recently set out to shed 143 pounds over 18 months with the help of the multiTRIM diet. A blog-record of her journey can be found here.