RazzWorks

Every year we are subject to a ton of weight loss material, articles, programs, and products each promising the secrets to weight loss for a price. While some are a new fad, and others the creation of the ‘perfect’ pill, in the end, the poor souls that fall victim to the empty promises end up in worse health than if they had done nothing at all.

The weakness of most people who fall for these programs is that they don’t consider that permanent weight loss is more complicated. For most people, a simple solution does not exist. The truth is that real weight loss and conquering weight-related problems are the results of becoming healthy both physically and mentally. To truly be healthy is more of a journey, not a diet. It is more of a combination of stretching, moderate exercise, and mindfulness, with a healthy eating pattern that is needed for your health. Basically, the short-cut methods of most diets just don’t cut it. They may promise immediate results, however, they are nearly impossible to keep up in the long run. The worst is the fact that the majority of the time when the diet stops, your weight comes back, and often it’s worse than what it was before you started the so-called perfect diet.

The practice of caring for your health requires personal discipline, patience, and understanding of yourself. Wanting to reduce weight is no different. If you’re determined to do something about your weight then start out small and make it a lifestyle change. Do it because you know that whatever small change you decide for your health takes you in the right direction, even though it could take a long time and there are no immediate rewards. Make tiny changes that you know you can live with and continue with for years. Gradually over time keep making tiny simple changes knowing you can carry them out and live with them. Just simply be very mindful of the little choices you make for the better.

Seriously consider doing some stretches every day. Some people who do stretches before and/or after some type of exercise refer to it as a warm-up or cool-down. I just call them stretching or stretches. So through the rest of this article, I will just refer to them the way I do in my own life. Whether it works or not depends mainly on the type or intensity of your stretching routine. It in itself can be a form of exercise or workout. The act of doing stretches combined with mindfulness (being in the moment, fully aware of where you are, and what is going on) encourages your mind and body to have better focus on whatever you choose to do next.

Mindfulness enhances your ability for awareness. During mindfulness or being in the moment which, by the way, can lead to being in the zone or as I would call it, being super focused, you practice being completely present, in the here and now. In daily life, we are better able to take action from a clear and relaxed mental position, and not from a busy chattering, distracting mindset.

Learning to keep your attention in the present time is crucial to connecting with your ability to practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is the practice of noticing thoughts and behaviour patterns without judging them. It can also include being aware of your physical surrounding as well. With practice, it also leads to learning to recognize possible negative thought patterns.

This in turn allows you the opportunity to work on replacing them with more positive healthy patterns. At the beginning of the practice to be mindful of your own thoughts, a simpler baby step would simply be speaking to yourself. Tell yourself, ‘enough of that’, pay attention to what’s going on right now and here. This way you have at least distracted yourself and reminded yourself at the same time that paying attention to the here and now is what’s important at this very moment.

Stretching and/or some moderate exercise, done mindfully, enhances the mind/body connection. This is because practicing mindfulness regularly builds on your awareness of when you most commonly become hungry, you start enjoying your food more, and you become more aware of what foods you’re choosing when, and why. You become more aware of the type of stretching you like or are able to do and for how long or at what intensity. Then, because you keep practicing mindfulness, you start figuring out the type and style of exercise or workout that you personally enjoy.

Over time you learn to make better choices and decisions that are better for your health in the long run. With the practice of mindfulness about what you eat, stretching, and exercise in combination with only making small easy adjustments it turns into a lifestyle change over the course of weeks, months, or years, where it’s just the way you do things. It makes you feel good and you’re enjoying yourself at the same time.

Over time as you build up a comfortable routine of doing stretches, some moderate exercise, and eating better. All of it combined starts providing you with the bonus benefit of motivation to keep going. I’m not talking about doing a full-out workout or anything. I’m talking about very light stretching, and something as simple as going for a walk every evening or morning. Because you made sure to practice mindfulness at the same time overall your energy starts increasing, you’re not as stiff as when you first started, and you’re making small adjustments to your eating habits. Your body is already on its way to burning more fat, building better muscle tone, and your blood circulation and metabolism are all improving.

You may or may not have noticed that I have not been giving you any direct suggestions on what stretches to do, what exercise you should do, or what to eat or not eat. I am doing this on purpose. Diets tell you what to do and how to do it. You may have tried some and perhaps they failed you. I personally do not believe in diets. It’s your life and your body. Therefore I believe you have the right to decide whatever it is you want to do or not do.

What I do believe in though, and practice with my own life, is making very small, easy adjustments that I can maintain on this journey of looking after my well-being. Also, many things I have been doing for years, so of course, it might take a while to stop doing them. So what I do is reduce something by a little bit. A month or 4 months later (however long it takes for it to become a normal routine habit) I might reduce it a little more. Or introduce something but keep it simple and easy, later when it’s part of my everyday thing, add or increase a little more. Simple enough plan and it is working for me so I know it can work for anyone.

I will at least give you an example from my life so you can better relate to what I’m saying. By the way, I am not suggesting you need or should do this. It’s just an example of how the idea itself works. I think this took me about 6 months to a year from beginning to end. I’m not really sure how long it took. I use to drink about 8-12 cups of coffee a day. Each cup had two heaping spoons of sugar and milk. I started off reducing my sugar by making the second spoon slightly less, then less, and less. Long story short, I now have maybe two or 3 cups of coffee in the morning; black, no sugar at all, and no milk. The great thing is, I don’t mind the taste at all and I don’t drink it all day anymore. Yeah, I know the example I provided is not miraculous or anything. That example is just to show how change can be done slowly as more of a simple lifestyle change.

Just stretching alone combined with mindfulness decreases stress, which is a known cause of becoming overweight. Stress tends to make you want to eat more and then turns those extra calories into fat, usually belly fat. A bit of exercise and/or stretching on a regular basis improves your body, because it builds muscle, increasing metabolism. Muscle requires alot of energy and so, therefore, requires alot more calories just to be maintained. Exercising, when paired with good nutrition and healthier eating patterns, results in a more fit body overall.

Healthier eating habits with a good balance of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals are essential for your health and ability to lose body fat and feel fit. So take your time and work at it slowly, finding the right combination that works best for you.

Most research proves that diets are not the way to go. Eventually, most people end up fatter and even more annoyed and stressed out. So if you’re tired of the diets, try making just a few simple changes that you can stick with instead. It’s far better for your health this way.

Change your way of thinking from a weight loss diet to more of a personal lifestyle change for your health, in other words, make simple changes that may take longer but are way better in the long run.

So there it is, nothing too difficult to understand. It simply boils down to this – Practice doing stretches, while focusing on the here and now while you do it, add some simple exercise you enjoy, doing it almost every day, combined with small changes over time in your eating, making it a lifestyle change for the long run, is the better way to go for your health. Trust your choices and don’t worry about results. Relax and trust that the practice of making better, healthier choices for your body, mind, and well-being will lead you to a healthier and happier place with your weight over time knowing it’s not just some stupid diet or fad that someone else is trying to make you do. After all, it is your method, your way, and your life. Tell me in the comments what tiny little thing you know you can do, and are going to do, to begin your journey of forging a newer, better, and healthier lifestyle.