Consistency: The Key To Success In The Pursuite Of A Better Life

Monday, Wednesday and Friday my alarms awakens me a little after 4 a.m., Tuesday and Thursday just after 5 a.m., Saturdays about 6 a.m. and Sundays it doesn’t sound at all, but I am usually awake by 7.  Each and every morning I bound out of bed, head to the kitchen and pour myself a cup of coffee.  I check my gym bag to make sure that I have all necessary items to shower and dress after my workout.  I call up Facebook on my smart-phone and make a simple posting: GOOD MORNING, COFFEE, JOG THEN GYM.  The simple posting is intended for all my Facebook friends, but also specifically for those who have purchased my book, are clients of Better Life Seminars and have contacted me relating that I have inspired or motivated them to lose weight.  I post on Facebook to demonstrate one of the keys to conquering obesity — consistency.  One of my Facebook friends picked up on that by commenting; “You are so fantastically predictable, thank you for your daily consistency.”

When it comes to almost anything in life, to make gains in a positive manner, consistency is key.  Inversely, if you are consistently inconsistent, your progress will be slowed or reversed.  To improve your fitness level, you must consistently follow your exercise program.  To lose body fat, you must consistently eat a reduced carbohydrate diet.  The key is to be consistent, because consistency is what will brings you your desired results.  Again, if you are consistently inconsistent, you will have results, however they may not be the results you desire.

If you exercise one day one week; two days the next, six the following, then don’t work out for two weeks and pick up with another work out…you get the picture…. you will not improve your fitness level or your physique.

If you eat properly for five days in a row, then on the sixth day have pancakes for breakfast, pasta and bread for lunch, breaded chicken and french fries for dinner interspersed with snacks of bagels, doughnuts and ice cream; okay I may no longer be morbidly obese and I don’t eat like that any more, but my mouth is starting to water a little bit …. Okay the cravings passed, the point is, eating good a few days and eating garbage for anotherday or two  or three isn’t going to improve your health and help you shed excess body fat.

To shed excess body fat and remodel your physique, you must do some type of exercise each and every day, you must eat properly each and every day and you must stay focused and keep your mental energy positive each and every day.  Consistent effort will produce consistent results.  Consistency is the key to conquering obesity and enjoying a more healthful, active and fit life.  As I have said often; I don’t take care of myself to live longer —- I take care of myself to live better, and via consistenteffort, I have achieved that goal.

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The Obesity-Complexity Myth

There has been much talk and debate about national health care. I am not going to discuss politics or the pros and cons of universal health care, that is in the control of the politicians.

I heard on the news that obesity (I believe they stated specifically childhood obesity) was a complex problem that did not have simple solutions.

Okay, let’s examine this ludicrous statement. Generally speaking, unless a person has an underlying medical or hormonal condition, there is no reason for one to be overweight or obese. I’m sorry to burst many people’s excuse-seeking bubbles but that is a fact.

We control our bodies.

We control what goes in.

We control the amount of exercise we put out.

The problem is not complex: it is too much sugar, too much high fructose corn syrup, too much processed fast foods, not enough lean proteins, not enough fresh raw vegetables and not enough getting from behind the computer and moving.

The solution itself is also simple: cut the sugar, cut out the high fructose corn syrup, get rid of the highly processed refined garbage Americans are shoveling down their gullets and replace them with lean proteins, raw fresh vegetables, healthy fats, low glycemic fruits and get up and get moving.

Today we have more obese people in the United States than those who are simply overweight.

This is a real problem

This problem will lead to real diseases.

The morbidly obese are going to stress the U.S. health care system to a degree that not all the private or public health insurance money will be able to handle.

A local school district was given a grant from the State Education Department to fight childhood obesity. I don’t know why they needed $5,000. I will tell them how to do it for half that. Has anyone ever seen school menus today? While healthy options are available, there is still plenty of sugar laden and processed junk on the menu. Side note: if your school still has soda machines, get ’em out.

Physical education must be a five-day-a-week class and a regimented exercise program is a necessity. We need to teach children fitness as a lifestyle from their earliest and most formative years. I will even come in and design it.

My good friend, the Yonk, at his highly influential blog The Lu Lac Political Letter, mentioned how a company had an incentive program for its employees. The employees were paid for taking steps to be responsible for their own wellness. Sounds like a good plan, but what passes for dietary guidelines and exercise plans really do very little for the morbidly obese. Again, I can design the program and then I will make sure people stick to it. If you want to pay people to take care of themselves okay, but give them the guidance and the accountability to stick to it.

I remember when HMOs and PPOs first started in the mid 1980s. One of the great parts about my plan was that my gym membership was paid in full by the health insurance company. I used that membership. However, I knew many who joined but then were out of the gym within a month. The result was that the good intentions of helping their insured get fit, ended up just costing the insurance company more money than it saved and they changed the benefit to a discount and then eventually did away with it.

In the United States, we are focused on our healthcare crisis. We are trying to figure out how to pay for care. I am sure that there will be something in one form or another by the end of the year; however, we really need to stop focusing solely on the “care” part of health care and start putting an emphasis on “health.” Unless we act today, for some, tomorrow may be very bleak.

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How I Took Control Of The Only Aspect Of Life That I Could!

Do you walk into a restaurant and look for a table because you can’t fit in a booth?

Do you always take an elevator because even one flight of stairs leaves you exhausted; gasping for air?

Is the simple act of tying your shoes a contortionistic maneuver?

At one point in my life, the answer to the above questions would have been an embarrassing — yes!

I had finally tired of compromising my life so on a fateful day in March 2008, I hopped upon my dust-covered scale. The spring moaned and groaned as the needle revolved past the end of its limit. I held my breath and peered down over the beach ball ballooning from my abdomen — I couldn’t quite see the rather large and over-sized dial. With a gale forced inhalation, I sucked in my gut and strained to see the dreaded digits:

3 … 4 … 0

Three hundred and forty ponderous, pachydermian pounds.

I released my breath and heaved a heavy sigh. At least I could console myself with the ten pounds that clothing adds — never-mind, I was only wearing, well I wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing.

Stunned, I paced the floor. I knew I had gained weight, but there was no way I was over 300 pounds, let alone close to 350. Surely, the scale must be out of calibration. I place a 40 pound weight upon the platform expecting the number to reach 80. No such luck — the indicator stopped spot on at 40.

It was official — I was morbidly obese.  Yet, even with the numbers right in front of me; I still didn’t buy it.  In my deluded mind, I was simply a massive guy.  Sure I had some body fat, but I was still strong so and you won’t believe this; I thought I was powerfully built.

I went to my office and had my office manager take photographs from the front and the side. I was expecting to just see a what my mind’s eye saw staring back at me — what I saw was a pin-sized head atop a rotund, pear shaped body.  I closed the door to my office and I began to sob uncontrollably.  My eyes were fixated on the photos, and all I could ask myself was… How?  My office manager entered my office and told me I had to pull myself together, we had a waiting room full of patients.  I just shrugged her off.  Finally, after almost an hour I got it together.  I stood up from my desk and said to myself, ENOUGH!

I went home that night and I dug into my closet.  I found some clothing that had long been unworn and placed those  older clothes side by side with my then wardrobe. It was eye opening.  I wondered again how this could have happened. Then I remembered, plenty of burgers, fries, pizza and pasta, washed down with beer or whiskey, sometimes both, then  followed each night by two servings of ice cream — blasted Ben and Jerry for those single serving containers.

The next day I headed down to my old gym and reactivated my long dormant membership. The owner cheerfully greeted me. I told him I had to get back in shape and with an optimistic and confident tone he told me, “You can do it.”

He was correct. In one year I had recaptured my physique; but more importantly, I have recaptured my wellness. I am very aware of the potential damage I may have done to myself. However, I am blessed with being cared for by a cadre of skilled physicians and they have reassured me, at least for now, there are no apparent signs of damage.

Obesity is a direct cause of some serious diseases, serious, PREVENTABLE, diseases.

Obesity is not just a concern among adults. It is a growing, dare I use the word, epidemic concern with our youth. Type II diabetes, commonly referred to as adult onset diabetes, is showing up in children as young as ten or twelve. We have a grave public health concern; one that does not need to exist.  With the exception of underlying medical conditions, obesity is a direct result of some form of a loss of self control.  Obesity robs one of their ability to live life to the fullest.  My obesity effected every aspect of my life, from my business to personal interactions.  The layers of lard insulated me from the outside world and it kept me in a state of existing, instead of a state of living.

I was asked recently that if now that I lost the weight, I thought I was going to live longer. For a moment I pondered the question then answered, “I honestly don’t know, however I do know one thing, I am living better.”