However, I have a little bit of simple, useful information that can help us all. After that long day of work, after the boss asking for that report two days early, after you hear about Larry's dad dying, just take a breath and smile. Life is short, but life is good. Our negative mindsets will only amplify how bad anything is. Flip the switch and try to find something in the day to smile about. Anything. Enjoy the fact that the pothole from hell is finally being patched.
The fact is that the unmentionable measurement of our waistline isn't completely caused by what we do physically. The strongest part of the human body is the mind. It is the one thing we can control, but what we fail to realize is that it can also control us.
I do not have a doctorate, a certificate of completion, or even a certificate of authenticity to back up what I say or who I am. I have not spent one single day - scratch that - one single hour in a college classroom. I am a negative person. I live afraid that someone I don't know will talk to me, or that the cute girl in the coffee shop may take notice of me for longer than the standard glance. I am not a perfect person. However, what I have is a positive result from accepting the flaws of life and the flaws of myself for what they are: just things.
We do not need to deprive ourselves of anything in life; neither do we need to force ourselves to do anything we do not wish to do. In the end, the sun will rise tomorrow.
In order for our bodies to lose their excess baggage (you may call it weight or fat), we need to have our minds do the same because our minds control our bodies.
It is never too late to start over. So change the way you think. When you walk the perimeter of the supermarket to hit the produce, meat, dairy, and bakery, don't think to yourself of how you would deprive your taste buds by not going to get some chocolate chip cookies and soda by wandering through the middle of the store. Think about how much happier your body will be by simply skipping it all, and going through the check stand with your basic pyramid of foods.
Believe it or not, the negative man who writes this little jargon of words lost 60 pounds by doing this, and taking notice of how pleasant this world is. That's not to say that I don't mess up every now and then with thoughts of frustration and how I wish things were different. Sometimes, I still have those times where I'll let myself sink into the couch, and turn off my mind while I eat an entire pack of Oreos and drink my own weight in diet soda. However, the disgusting feeling I have afterwards, and the battle going on in my intestines reminds me that my negative thoughts are what is truly disgusting me and causing myself to let the battle of Thermopylae re-enact itself in my gut.
Through changing my thought process, I have picked up on tons of things, and become a much more observant person. I have started to love life rather than fear the sun breaking the horizon. I let go of my excuses (and my stretchy pants), and I let myself absorb and use helpful information given to me.
After I lost my 60 lbs, I still felt the same. I still feel like the fat kid in gym class even though people referred to me as "being in shape." I've even heard "thin" escape some of their mouths. I realized I would always have a problem with myself, until I changed the way I looked at myself.
I have put numerous people on weight loss and/or muscle building regimens in the past three years. Every person has had positive results but one, and that person is the only one who hasn't changed his outlook on life. He lost 20lbs, then started seeing a girl and went into debt taking her to nice places. Soon, he started getting angry all the time, ate a ton of ice cream, which he topped off with strawberry syrup, became argumentative, and drove his girl away. By the way, I'm not breaking any confidentiality here; the guy I'm talking about is my roommate and friend of 3 years.
I'm not saying I'm perfect. In fact, I'm not even close. All I'm saying is that in order for us to experience positive effects in our lives, we must first create positive experiences. From there, it is all downhill.
I know by now you are wondering why you have even let yourself read this far. When is this guy going to get to a diet plan and a workout schedule?
Have no fear; that is coming. I just wanted to get this out of the way first. Before I ever give anybody advice on diets, I first inform them that the first step wont be easy, but it is mandatory: Change your life in order to change you. Smile. That is the biggest part.
Now, this feels like a good ending point, so I'll stop here, and pick this up again tomorrow in an installment about the ins and outs of calories, water consumption, cardio, weight lifting and all that fun stuff. For right now, though, just take the first step and go laugh at that friggin pothole. Not only does being positive feel good, but laughing uses many more calories than frowning.
