Tag: weight loss

Note: This was first published as an article,  Pay Yourself First: The Key to Wealth and Weight Loss on Technorati.

How would you like to increase your net worth dramatically this
year?

And….how would you like to trim down and get in your best shape
ever this year?

Interested? I thought so. Most of us would like to do both.

One of the oldest, most hallowed recommendations for investing and
increasing your net worth – even to the point that you can become
financially secure and independent – is to “pay yourself first”.

This one principle is so important, it’s biblical in nature.

The idea is to invest in yourself first, before you pay the first
bill. Take money right off the top and put it into some sort of
savings or investment account. If you can set this up to be
automatic, even better.

Then, the power of compound interest will work its magic for you.
And, over time, your initially modest monthly savings will grow
and grow into a substantial amount.

The same principle can also help you if you wish to enhance
your health and fitness.

In one of the newsletters I receive, a contributing physician
discussed a study that was done by Ohio State University’s Center
for Human Resources.

They found that significant decreases in weight are associated
with significant increases in wealth. For example, people who
shed 50 or more pounds saw an increase in wealth of $10,000. (Not
sure whether this was an increase in income or net worth.)

The researchers make the point that workplace discrimination
against obese or overweight people is the cause. And I’m sure
that’s part of it.

But I don’t think that’s the entire reason. There are plenty of
pleasingly plump, overweight and obese people around these days.
In fact, 60% of the population in this country is overweight or
obese. So working with an overweight person is pretty common.

Here’s another possible explanation:

I would venture to guess that the people they surveyed in the
study felt entirely different about themselves after they lost
all that weight.

Not only did they feel better about themselves, they probably
had more energy AND more confidence.

These are the kind of benefits you can expect when you put the
“Fire Up Your Metabolism” Program to work.

It’s not only about losing weight, leaning out and looking
better. The more important benefits are the intangible ones:
the way you feel about yourself, the increased energy you have,
the feeling of wellbeing you have when you do something good
for yourself.

At any rate, this study got me thinking about the subject of
compensation. Not monetary compensation, but giving yourself
some thing or some experience as a reward.

You could call it “managed compensation”. Here’s how it works:

There is a natural cycle of work and struggle followed by rest
and reward. You see it throughout nature. For example, the
gardener tills, plants, fertilizes, waters and weeds for many
weeks or months. The reward is the beautiful garden of
flowers, or the delicious fresh vegetables.

You can see it throughout history, going back to biblical
times. The Hebrews wandered for 40 years in the desert before
they were allowed into the “promised land”. God worked for six
days, then rested on the seventh. And so forth.

You probably see it in your daily life as well.

You crank and crank on an important project for work. When it’s
finished, you not only have the satisfaction of a job well done,
but you or your company may be rewarded as well. (Hopefully you,
but most companies don’t work that way.)

So, how can you apply this to getting active, exercising,
eating better, or taking any other type of action that can help
improve your health?

Well, as you plan your day or week, build in little rewards
for yourself – to be enjoyed IF you complete the activity or
task you assigned to yourself.

After you work out, allow yourself a nice meal to replenish
your muscles and energy levels. And /or take a nice hot shower
and relax for a few minutes.

If you’ve eaten really healthy all day, allow yourself a nice
dinner. Maybe even  a glass of wine or some dessert if you’ve
been really good.

I am an avid reader of all types of books and magazines. My
better half will attest to this. In fact, I’ve been accused of
being a “book hoarder”. (I like to think of my books as
worthwhile investments.)

Anyways, when I have completed a project that took a lot of
effort and time, I like to reward myself with a trip to the
bookstore. Browsing through the shelves can be very relaxing.
I enjoy purchasing a new book I’ve been wanting to read, as
well as the serendipity of discovering an interesting book I
was unaware of.

As a twist on all this, you might make the activity itself
your reward.

For example, most people look at exercising as something they
“have to do”. So how about flipping this? Make your workout
your reward.

After a hard day at work, frame your workout as your chance to
get away from all the crap and do something just for you. See
yourself moving those muscles and breaking a cleansing,
de-stressing sweat. Think about how good you will feel when
you are done.

It’s worth a try. Let me know what you think.

You Can Do It!

Karen Van Ness
www.BestBreathingExercises.com

P.S. If you’ve been telling yourself you should get started
on an exercise program…if you’re ready to lose weight….if
you’d like more energy and control over your body —  then the
“Fire Up Your Metabolism” Program may be just the ticket. To
discover how the combination of deep breathing and dynamic
movements can help you reach your weight loss goals, click here.

Copyright, Karen Van Ness, 2011

We’re still in the every beginning of the New Year. So today, I’d
like to share with you a thought of renewal.

Did you know that, every 6 to 7 months, every cell in your body is
replaced?

Pretty amazing, huh? Just think, by this time next year, you will
have an entirely new body at the cellular level — perhaps twice
over, at that!

This clues us in to a great way to think about this year. Instead
of thinking only of what you want to accomplish, or what you have
to get done…think also in terms of renewal.

How can you begin to take the actions to renew yourself; to become
the person you want to be; and to make your life the way you
envision it to be?

How can you get that old energy and enthusiasm back; or get it to
begin with, if you never had it?

Use this same idea to help gauge your progress during the year.
At the six month point, the end of June, assess how you are doing.
Are your progressing on schedule toward your goals? If not, you’ve
still got time for course correction, or to re-evaluate and perhaps
re-set those goals.

According to surveys, the number one goal for most people is to
lose weight and get in shape.

This means the two major areas people are focusing on are exercise
and diet.

We’ll look at both areas in some depth in the coming weeks. I’d
just like to offer a note of caution.

Most of us start on a new project, like starting an exercise
program or a new diet, with lots of enthusiasm and motivation.
That’s to be admired and appreciated.

Unfortunately, we typically make such sudden and drastic changes
to our routine, that we actually cause excessive stress to our
bodies. We get sore, we get tired, we get sick of eating a more
programmed or rigid diet all the time, and so forth.

Everyone has a different threshold. But usually within 3 to 4
weeks, our enthusiasm begins to wane. We begin to find excuses
for not being able to work out. And we “cheat” so frequently on
the crazy diet we decided to try that we…well, we stop following
the diet.

Now, I’m not trying to dampen your enthusiasm. Not one bit.

I’m just advocating a more realistic way of starting. One that
accepts the fact that the most profound changes in our lives,
especially in our health, require consistent effort over time.

In other words, I recommend you look at changes to your lifestyle
that you can live with for the long term.

This means NOT saying you are going to exercise for three hours
a day, when you know there is no way in he** you can keep that
up. This also means NOT going on some crazy diet that guarantees
you will lose 5 pounds a week, but severely restricts the foods
you can have.

Make the most of your enthusiasm with small to moderate changes
that you can make today, AND that you will be able to live with
6 months from now. You’ll be surprised and delighted at the
progress you make.

By the way, if one of your goals is to lose weight and achieve
the awesome physique you deserve, but you feel like you’re in
rut, or unsure whether you can “finally” take off the weight…I
can give you a tool and a system to break out of that rut and
actually achieve your ideal weight — without struggle or
deprivation. It’s the “Fire Up Your Metabolism” Program, and you
can get more information at the Best Breathing Exercises site.

You Can Do It!

Karen
www.BestBreathingExercises.com

P.S. One of my favorite quotes is, “What would you do if you
knew you could not fail?” Set lofty goals for yourself. Then
follow through with action. Here’s to a great 2011!

Copyright, Karen Van Ness, 2011

If you’re like 80% of adults, you probably made a resolution to
lose weight and get in better shape in 2011.

If you want to lose weight, or have been told by your doctor (or a
significant other) that you ought to lose weight….I’m here to
help you.

But first, full disclosure.

I’ve battled my weight, off and on, for many years now, going back
to college days.

Yes, even though I’m a fitness trainer, producer of information
products that help thousands of people improve their health and
fitness, a black belt in two martial arts, and a former collegiate
athlete – I too have had a few periods in my life when I have been
overweight.

When I was overweight, I resolved to diet and exercise in order to
lose the pounds and firm up. I typically would join a gym and
embark on a conventional program of doing cardio, lifting weights,
stretching, and doing lots of abdominal exercises.

I even tried yoga and pilates (before pilates was popular!). I also
put myself on a diet and was very careful about what I ate.

I experienced success for a time. I would lose weight, usually up
to 10 or 15 pounds. I would be feeling good about myself. Then, I
would inevitably hit one of those momentum-stealing,
motivation-sapping plateaus, and the weight loss would stop.

It was hard to stay motivated at these times, because the pounds
just didn’t come off as quickly as I expected. I felt like I was
working so hard and depriving myself. I should have been seeing
better results.

Each week, I stepped on the scale. And each week, I was disappointed
at my lack of progress. Even worse, I sometimes found that I had
gained weight! Maybe it was just “water weight”, but who cares? I
was so frustrated and heartbroken that I would cry whenever I
looked at myself in the mirror.

I knew there was a beautiful body – MY beautiful body – in there
somewhere. But how could I get to it?

If you’ve tried and failed to lose and keep off a significant
amount of weight, I’m sure you can understand my frustration and
despair.

This is the point at which most people say, “Aw, what’s the use!”
and give up on their quest for a great body.

I wasn’t done yet, though. I decided to investigate and try one more
thing – something I thought could accelerate my results and melt
away the pounds.

Here’s what I discovered:

Through my training in martial arts, energy disciplines and
breathing methods, as well as research I have done into old-time
methods of physical training and health enhancement, I came to a
realization:

All the exercising and dieting I had been doing was good for me,
and I was getting some results. BUT I was missing a key ingredient:
deep breathing.

Here’s what you need to know if you’re trying to lose weight:

One of the primary actions of deep breathing is to provide the body
with ample quantities of oxygen. Oxygen provides the spark which
heats up your metabolism, which in turn increases your body’s
need for energy, or calories.

When you engage in deep breathing on a regular basis, you pull more
oxygen into your system. This causes your body to more quickly burn
the calories you take in from food and drink. It then goes into a
deficit, and turns to fat stores as an additional source of energy.

Priming this mechanism is the secret to dramatic and lasting weight
loss. And the key is oxygen: the more oxygen you take in, the
faster the results.

So I leveraged this information I already had, but had taken for
granted. I put it to use. And my results were fantastic!

Not only did I lose the weight, including those last 5 or 10
stubborn pounds that you can never seem to get off…I also
toned my waistline and core to the point I could actually see my
abs!

Later, I shared the exercises and recommendations in this program
with a few of my private training clients. They also achieved
wonderful results using this method.

Maybe you have a lot of weight to lose. Perhaps you would like to
radically improve the results you’re getting from your current
fitness or weight loss program. Or maybe you want to lose that last
5 to 10 pounds so you can see your abs.

Whatever your situation, you can put this program to work
immediately to help reach your goal.

I call this the “Fire Up Your Metabolism” Program, because that
is exactly what it does.

I encourage you to check it out and put it to work for yourself.
You can read more about it at the Best Breathing Exercises  
website.

You Can Do It!

Karen
www.BestBreathingExercises.com

P.S. Another full disclosure: I’ve let myself slip – yes, me,
the so-called health nut – and I have some weight to lose. One of
my priority goals for 2011 is to get back into fighting trim. I
will be following this program to enhance my results. Why don’t
you join me? Click here  to learn more. 

Copyright, Karen Van Ness, 2011