Weight Loss: The Key to Discipline

Recently, two co-workers of mine were discussing their weight loss efforts and part of that conversation stuck with me. One of them said, "It sure is a lot harder to lose weight than it is to gain it." The other one answered, "Yeah, thats because gaining weight is fun." I laughed with them, because there is some truth to that statement.

Yes, it can be fun to eat with abandonment and not think about whether what you are eating is healthy or not; it is only the consequences that are painful. Examples of shorter term consequences are pain in your stomach, indigestion, and sluggishness. The longer term consequences are high blood pressure, heart disease, and shortness of breath. Seeing your appearance change for the worse is painful too. Focusing on these consequences is key to developing self-discipline.

Discipline is necessary to achieve your weight loss goals and any goal that you want to achieve in life. After all, you dont have to employ discipline to do those things that you enjoy. For example, I wouldnt have to discipline myself to eat chocolate bars because I enjoy them, however I do have to discipline myself to limit them in my life. How do I do it? Discipline requires two skills: Desire and diversion.

Desire means that you have to want the goal that your discipline will help you achieve more than anything. For example, I wanted to lose weight and get healthy more than I wanted the chocolate bars. Each time I desired the chocolate bar, I had to remind myself of the alternate goal and make it real and vivid. I had to see myself with that goal already achieved and experience the pleasure of it. I had to make that pleasure more intense than the pleasure I imagined I would receive from eating the chocolate bar.

The second skill is diversion, which is simply engaging in an activity that diverted my attention away from the undesirable activity. In the chocolate bar example, I had to either give myself something that I would enjoy eating that was healthier for me or perform an alternate activity that would help me better meet my needs. For example, if I was angry, eating a chocolate bar would not help me, but taking a long walk to cool off likely would.

My co-worker was right: For many of us, losing weight is harder than gaining it. But we need to remind ourselves that, although it is harder to lose weight, it is not impossible. It is also worth the effort. Then we use our key of discipline to help us achieve what we want. It is the only way to get the body that we deserve.

A Registered Nurse for many years, Kimberly Floyd battled obesity for much of her adult life. She achieved her ideal weight and has written a new book entitled 'Moneywise Weight Loss' which teaches others how to lose weight and save money--at the same time.

Kim has written articles for the Georgia Nurses Association publication and Nursing Spectrum Online. Now a technical writer, she has written training programs for corporate clients, including IBM, U.S. Bank, and Cingular.

Kim also teaches an online course called 'Goodbye to Shy'. This course is distributed to over 1100 colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, and Australia through Thomson Learning. An accomplished speaker and trainer, she delivers presentations on health-related topics to enthusiastic audiences.

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Love and Chemistry: Do You Feel The Passion?

Do you want to fall in love and feel intense chemistry for someone? Do you want passion in your relationship, with sparks flying when you look in each other's eyes? most of us look for someone we can feel this way about.

However, many people find that when the romance wears off, they dont even like the person they chose and the chemistry has evaporated.

It is important to feel that chemical connection with someone, but beyond chemistry, there are multiple ways that couples experience attraction. For some people, the heady aura of romantic love comes after they have connected spiritually and intellectually. Below are some of the other qualities that attract people to one another:

Intellect

Two people having equal intelligence is a good indicator that there may be a strong foundation for a relationship, if other factors are in place (spiritual, chemistry, values.) This is why internet dating sites have become legitimate avenues for singles to meet. People get to know each other by exchanging thoughts first. When both people are willing to be challenged intellectually, and learn and grow from their communication, it is likely they will never grow tired of each others company.

Security

Some people need safety of some kind, whether emotional or material. The greatest problem in being drawn to someone for security is that the temperature of the relationship can rise and fall depending on the economic climate (which may depend on the economic fluctuations in the country). And often, when someone seeks an emotional cushion, the person they have found is actually the one who needs the most support, and has little to give in return. True security comes when both people know who they are; what they want; and are both capable of taking full responsibility for themselves.

Shared Interests

We all look for someone who likes to do some of the things we like to do. It doesnt have to be everything, but if each party has enough in common that they can enjoy together, their bond will deepen. They may like hiking, camping, travel, dancing, or cheering for the same football team.

values

A relationship cannot last if both people dont share the same values. If one person feels they must deny any of their core values for the relationship to survive, resentment will erode whatever foundation the relationship was built on.

Attitude

many people bond around a shared perspective on the world. The most resilient bonds are those that are able to view life together with humor. Any problems that come their way are approached with wit, grace, and the ability to see the ridiculous, without wailing about lifes injustices.

Spirituality

Finding a common spiritual ground is a strong bond between people. They will approach life in a similar manner and make decisions each understands, such as how to celebrate the holidays, raise the children, and interact and treat each other consistent with their beliefs.

Creativity

Creative people are able to flex, adapt, and make the changes necessary to move forward. If they have a job or career that becomes obsolete, they go back to school or start a business in a field that is current. If both people in a relationship know how to access their creativity, they will work well together, solving lifes problems in a fluid manner.

The challenge for couples is to get beyond the chemistry before the relationship becomes committed and they discover they dont know each other.

Chemistry is a good thing when it is taken into consideration with the above qualities. But without most of the above, those sparks can turn into cold charcoal.

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