I love to read books on motivation and how to live a better life.  I just finished reading The Greatness Guide by Robin Sharma.  This book is fabulous!  Each chapter is an idea or tip on how to bring your life to “world class”.  Some of his tips remind me of Tony Robbins (another brilliant motivator whose work I highly recommend!)

There are many great notions in this book, but one sticks out in my mind.  He says, “We can curse the darkness or we can light a candle.”  This eloquent phrase so perfectly explains our imperfect strategy of focusing on the problem instead of looking a solution.  When you are overwhelmed by a problem it is easy to get lost in it, or play victim to it.  You may ask why me?  Why is this so hard?  You may tell yourself its not fair!  Sometimes it seems easier to ignore the issue. You end up alone in the dark with the problem spreading and beginning to affect other areas of you life- after all its easier to function with the lights on!

 

Next time you are faced with a problem or an issue- give yourself a brief moment to think about the problem then immediately move on to looking for a solution- find a candle!  Focus on the solution and you will become more productive and feel less overwhelmed by the ‘darkness’.  If you are stuck in a negative place with your weight- don’t focus on food!  Instead focus on how to be healthy!  Find an exercise plan and implement it.  If unhealthy eating is a problem find some healthy meal ideas- then work on another area of your life!  If you feel you do not have enough money in the bank, you may be telling yourself that you are ‘poor’ and have to live as cheaply as possible.  Perhaps you constantly remind yourself (or your friends) that you cannot afford to participate in activities or buy certain items.  Instead focus on finding a candle (or many candles) to brighten your life.  How can you bring more cash flow into your life?  What career change could you make?  What part time job or individual gigs could you do that would increase your income?  Where can you save money? After all- the less you spend the more you have in the bank!  What free or less expensive activities can you join that will be fulfilling to you? 

 

A final thought- when you are lost in the dark and looking for a candle, even matches bring light.  A small, possibly temporary solution can bring relief.  At the very least it gives you time to find a better solution, and perhaps it will spill enough light to find the answer.  Keep in mind that sometimes we are looking for external solutions, but the answer may lie within.  Think to yourself, “can I be the candle?”  Would a mindset change help?  What skills or resources do you already have, or can you apply in a new way, that will brighten the darkness and solve your problem?

Who do you want to be? How do you want to live? While there are a few very contented souls out there, most of us see these questions and begin to dream! We think of who we want to be in 5 years, 10 years... what we want to have accomplished, the lives we want to have built, even the personal goals we hope to have achieved!

How do we get from here to there? Next year if you want to be 30 pounds lighter, or in 5 years if you want to be on your way up the career ladder having obtained that managerial level (or even having started your own company by then!)... What steps do we take?

I am a big proponent of setting goals, and even more importantly you have to live each day as if you HAVE ALREADY ACCOMPLISHED YOUR GOAL! Perhaps its the old 'fake it til you make it method', but in many instances it can prove very successfully with time. For example, if you want to lose 30 (or 50, or 100).. you have to day by day change your life into that of someone who weighs 30 pounds less. Picture in your mind what an overweight person does each day, what they eat, when they eat, how they move or don't move. Then imagine how a fit and healthy person lives each day- what do they eat and how often, how do they move and exercise? Where do you fit in to this spectrum?

One of my personal 'problatunities' (that's the opportunity we turn all of our problems into if you didn't get that ;).. is I see in extremes. I want to work out really hard and not eat for a week to lose weight, not eat healthy and exercise moderately 3-4 days a week. But then your body hurts so bad you don't want to work out again for 3 months.. and when you break the fast you binge and regain any weight you lost. Tending your garden each day is key. Eating a little healthier each day, or taking just one more step on that treadmill.. every day... and you will go far.

It works for pretty much any goal. Think of where you are today and where you want to be in the future, and decide what small actions you need to take each day to get you from here to there! And never forget -practice makes perfect! Practice being today who you want to be tomorrow.. and when day you will realize you aren't acting or 'practicing' any more.. you just ARE!

I'm a big coffee fan! This is a relatively new development (in the last couple of years anyway)! I can't speak to the health benefits or lack their of (I'm not a doctor!), but I have found in my personal experience it keeps me kickin', I focus better, and (I don't know if I'm supposed to say this online or not..) it keeps ya regular if you know what I mean! ;)

I've found drinking coffee instead of diet soda (or gosh forbid real sugar drinks! :p) has been a good change for me. I'm not always a fan of caffeine so I bounce back and forth between regular and decaf.. whatever works!

Cheers!

When you feel the urge to binge or keep snacking when you're not really hungry, take a deep breath and let it out! When you feel that urge coming on immediately distract yourself! For late at night it helps if you have something to keep your hands busy too which is why I have found blogging to be such a great tool. My mind and hands are occupied and soon the thought of junk food subsists as I get caught up in the article I am typing or the new idea I'm researching!

Admittedly it does not happen over night. If every night for 10 years you have had dessert or cookies in the evening, this pattern may be initially hard to break. And its important to remember that it is just that- a habit! A bad habit! Next time you want to eat and you know you're not actually hungry, put down the junk and pick up your computer! Create a blog (or work on the one you've already started)! The key is not to expect results overnight and, if you ask me, not to focus too much on food! Focus on your blog (or knitting, drawing, tennis game, hiking, musical instrument, new hobby,... etc!) - anything but the food! Distract yourself from food and start living life!

SMILE! Such a simple concept... it can brighten your whole day and the days of those around you! To bring more positivity into your life, make a concerted effort to smile more! Smile at your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, the passengers in the cars next to you on the highway, even while you chat on the phone (people will hear your smile as you speak!)

I remember reading about a psychology experiment in which researchers gathered depressed patients and a control group. In this groundbreaking discovery, one group received no medication but was instructed to stare into a mirror SMILING WIDELY(!) for I believe 20 minutes a day. This groups depression was alleviated just as much or more so than the group that was administered the antidepressant medication! (I cannot remember the team or university that did the study- if anyone has the link I would be happy to post it here!)

If you are battling clinical depression you should still seek professional counseling, but smiling at yourself in a mirror can help, and for everyone (depressed, happy, or somewhere in between) smiling as much as you can throughout your day can improve your mood and brighten the day of those around you!

In addition, people are attracted to happy people. When you are smiling, you are sending out positive energy into the world. Think for a moment of the type of person you are most attracted to, conjure up an image in your head of a person, real or an imagined, that would be an ideal friend or mate... what do they look like? What is their personality like? How do they move, interact with others, go about their day? How do they treat you? These answers will be a bit different for all of us, but there are some commonalities: chances are they are energetic, passionate, kind, SMILING! They make us feel wanted, loved, appreciated, special! We want to be around people who bring out our own positive energy, who make us smile and laugh as easily as they do!

As you go through your day... Remember to Grin and Share It! :D

What kind of hobbies do you have? One of my friends asked me to go on a hike the other day, and while it was a little cold I decided to go. It was gorgeous! It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and a lot of people were out for a stroll with their family and friends, some even brought their dogs!

As I looked around on this gorgeous Sunday, it occurred to me that most of the people out there were in pretty decent shape. Ah ha, I thought1! So this is what fit people do! In the past, often my weekends have been a bit 'lazy', spending time around the house, on the computer or watching TV, maybe running an errand or two (read: sitting in the car for 90% of the time and maybe walking around a store for 5 or 10 minutes), or perhaps going to a movie with my equally out of shape friends. I would tell myself I was "relaxing".

While it is good to relax sometimes, if you live a generally sedentary life (such as working a job that is seated most of the time and you don't make it to the gym very often), it would be a much better use of your free time to get out and move! And believe it or not it makes you feel better to get some fresh air and a little exercise! Best of all it can actually be quite fun to get out and enjoy nature- go for a walk, a hike, rent a kayak and float down the river! Most importantly do it with friends so you have people to share the fun with and take snaps so you have lasting memories to make you smile!

I am a huge fan of blogging and the blogosphere! If you are new to the world of blogs (derived from 'web-logs') see below for the top 5 reasons you should start your own blog too!

1. Its fun!

   If you enjoy writing about your opinions, hobbies, likes or dislikes, and product area you are interested in, you life, advice.... basically anything you can think of that you think someone out there may want to read! Pick a general topic or theme for your blog that you are interested in so you will enjoy writing about it(or posting pictures, media, art etc)!




2. You learn a lot!

   While doing research for post topics you may find out some things you never new or improve your knowledge on a given subject area! Its also an excuse to stay up to date with all of the new products, studies, and news related to your blogs topic (so if its your hobby or something you like this part is pretty exciting too!)




3. You can make some money if play your cards right ;)

Making money with a blog can be as simple as creating a blog (check out Blogger or Typepad for some free options), setting up an Adsense account, creating an ad code (the directions are on the site and very simple), and pasting the text on your page! From that point all you have to do is get people to you site so they will see and click on the ads. The more money you want to make the more people you need to get to your site (which is another post for another day- but start by telling people you know in the real world!) And of course there are many affiliate ad programs out there to choose from, all with varying payment plans.



4. Joining the blogosphere opens a whole new world of online friends and contacts!

Once you start a blog you can join the exciting blog marketing sites like Blogcatalog or Mybloglog. Both of these communities allow you to publicize your own blog while learning about other blogs and bloggers as well (because if you don't know already, one way to drive traffic to you site is friending others and posting comments on other blogs- but be a nice poster with a relevant comment not a spammer of course!)



5. Blogging is a great distraction!

   I find blogging to be more worthwhile than other less valuable uses of time (i.e. eating junk food or watching too much TV!). If you've ever had a weight problem you may know what its like to focus on food too much, and having a blog gives you something to do during all of your free time -just don't write about food! ;)

So you might be asking yourself, 'Who is this chick and why do I care what she has to say?' I can answer the first one for you, and its up to you if you care and want to keep reading (I think you will!)

For starters, as many of you may be able to relate to, I have always struggled with my weight. From the time I was in 5th grade and started eating very large afternoon snacks home alone after school (my first binges?), I have battled my body (and the mind games that go with it). I cannot claim to have tried every diet out there- but I've sure tried quite a few! Everything from the basics of just trying to 'eat healthy,' to low carb or no fat plans, extreme calorie restriction diets, to fiber pills and weight loss remedies, even as far as not eating anything and only drinking diet coke and water for 10 days (oh fasting- surprisingly not as bad as you'd think!). The short of it is I spent much of my time thinking about food, whether I was in a 'fat mindset' and I was eating poorly or bingeing, or I was in a 'thin mindset' and I was focused constantly on every healthy morsel that went into my mouth and planning every second of each day around the next time I would eat.

I have come to realize something essential: the more I obsess about food, the more I eat. When I distract myself with other things (especially things that I can get really absorbed in) I focus less on food, and thus eat less. While this seems like a simple principle I will show you how it has worked for me to lose as well as maintain weight (which can be just as hard as the losing part!) Through all of my crazy diets I've leaned a lot, in addition to my distraction principle I've got some fun tips and tricks to share as well!

I have maintained more than a 40 pound weight loss for the last 3+ years. My highest weight ever was just over 200 lbs. I've lost 30+ lbs 3 times in my life, and fluctuating up(or down when crash dieting) 10 to 20 lbs was just my norm. A few summers ago I got down to 148lbs, maintained for no more than a week, and was again up in the 150s. I''ve been stable in the low 160's the last few months, not really focusing on a particular diet, generally just eating meals at meal time, though still having some crazy cookie binges. But a few weeks ago I noticed my pants getting a bit looser. I actually had to think about what had happened! ME- crazy eating all of the time, focused on food nonstop.. can eat more than most guys if I want to (not that I ever would in public ;)... has some how managed to lose some weight without trying?!?!

And it came to me- I had found a new obsession recently: BLOGGING! I love to write and I have just recently been introduced to this new social medium. It is amazing! After years and years of being told to write down every calorie I eat, no more than 20 grams of fat, or some other extreme where you spend all day thinking about food, planning how and when to eat, preparing your foods because somehow it always takes longer when you are dieting... I'll I've done is not focus on it basically at all, and somehow managed to get my once skin tight jeans to feel loose again! I don't have an exact pounds lost because I was not on a diet and I, as a dedicated binger, would never weigh myself while not dieting! ;)

SOOO... I decided to create another blog! This one, as the title applty descibes, is dedicated to helping others get healthier by not obsessing about food, as well as how to gain a bit of cash flow from online opportunities such as blogging!

Cheers!

Hello All!

And welcome to Gain Health - Gain Wealth! A resource for all of your weight-loss and health concerns, I will be listing tips and tricks that work for me as well as links to articles and information that can help you on your health and weight-loss journey!

Take a look around- I hope you enjoy what you find here! My comments are always open so please share your advice too!