How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!
Setting and achieving worthwhile goals is the key to lasting happiness. Some goals seem so large that they must be comparable to eating an elephant - just too big to even know how to begin. Weight loss can be that challenging for many. There is good news, though. Losing just a little can have profound health benefits.
I want to make a suggestion that I have seen work countless times: If you are overweight or obese, set a goal to lose only 10% of your body weight. That's all - just 10%. Meeting this goal will give you most of the health benefits and much of the energy you will need to improve your life substantially.It is often said that weight loss is simple, just not easy. Many experts tout the "calories in - calories out" formula as if it were Holy Scripture. I first heard this as the prescription for weight loss when I was a teenager. Now, here I am well over 50 years of age and I still hear it almost daily. In those intervening decades we have experienced an explosion of obesity. So, merely repeating the same formula over and over is clearly not working!What does work?
Purpose!Purpose works because it ignites passion. Purpose defines the reason for effort - for example, the reason we want to lose weight - while passion translates that sense of purpose into motion. Granted, some people want weight loss for reasons that do not require much passion. Cosmetic weight loss may be one example and disease prevention may be another. Purpose requires a plan. In a previous Weekly Wellness Report I detailed how we set "SMART" goals:
Specific
Measureable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely
Take that sense of purpose fueled by your passion and structure a plan that will help you accomplish your mission.
Purpose, passion, plan and mission are successful strategies when it comes to weight loss. We have seen this time and again. Now, this is not as simple as "calories in - calories out." But it is easy. And it works with the way we function as human beings: with purpose!
Even a little helpsTo reach your SMART goals you will likely need better health and more energy. Did you know that even modest amounts of weight loss can provide you with substantial improvements in vitality?
If your BMI calculation is over 25, consider making it a SMART goal to lose 10% of your body weight. Losing just 10% of your body weight as fat can help improve your blood pressure, blood sugar, digestion and metabolism. You will have more energy, better self-esteem and a more optimistic view of life in general.
Remember, the elephant you are trying to eat, so to speak, is not weight loss itself. Trimming down gives you more energy to do the things that matter to you the most. Weight loss is a means to an end: a means to living a life of purpose. So, as a milestone on your goal toward a life of purpose, set a 10% reduction in weight as a SMART goal. Use a body composition scale to make sure that you are losing only fat, not lean tissue like muscles, bones and brain. You will need those as assets in your journey. Our Leanology® body-composition program was thoroughly reviewed in an Arizona State University study. Researchers found that with Leanology, 100% of the weight loss came from fat - none from vital, energy-producing organs.
Maintain balanceSo, do you know how to eat an elephant? The answer is still "one bite at a time," only now we see that there must be a valid reason for eating the elephant in the first place! Don't try to eat the elephant all at once and don't try to do it alone. Purpose, passion, plan and mission are the stuff of life. Yet, life is about balance. As humans, we Love, we Play, we Work and we Worship.
Our manner of life should reflect these priorities.
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