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Sunday, December 28, 2008

To Gain Good Health, Stay The Course In The Face Of Failure

By Ferda Shinsky

Imagine a healthier you, fast, and without investing very much time in your day. It's possible with just a few small changes to your life. All you have to do is truly decide to reshape your body, and this article will give you some information as to how to do it. The first step is to start gaining good habits.

Most of us eat at will when our minds are bored and our bodies are inactive. The end result: An unhealthy amount of weight...an unhappy person...and an uncontrollable hunger. When we vegetate our bodies have nothing better to do than store the fat from the foods that we intake, therefore leading to obesity. Our bodies are screaming at us for a change through health related problems such as diabetes, heart conditions, cholesterol problems, breathing problems, etc. Now is the time to CHANGE!

Your brain is amazing, it can be either your biggest ally or certainly your most formidable opponent in the cause of gaining a healthier you. Your current health is a condition that you need to overcome if you want to continue on your path to becoming a healthier person. Replace your current bad habits with newer, healthier things to do. Work on your self esteem, because it controls your will. Self esteem will help drive you toward your goal. You have to reward yourself for good behavior with small rewards that keep you on your path, because it's nobody's job but yours to get yourself in shape.

First, reduce your consumption of high calorie foods. You have to replace them low-calorie, nutrient dense foods. High fiber is key. You can also learn to make healthy substitutions for the unhealthy indulgences you make daily. For instance, if you were thinking of having a cheeseburger and fries, you might decide to forego the fries and make a beeline for a garden salad with low-calorie ranch dressing instead. If you are a sucker for chicken nuggets with creamy pasta sauce, you can try some low-fat chicken breast with vegetables and a high-fiber bun or bread, or you might want to replace that creamy pasta with a low-fat marinara sauce. Instead of oily take out pizza, try some oven baked fish with rice and a small salad instead. Your body will thank you.

Another great change is to exercise when you are bored instead of eating. Go outside; plan some physical activity instead of sitting in front of the computer. If you're a total hermit, get a stationary bike and pedal while you watch your soap operas. You can take a walk with a friend, go swimming, explore your local mall, or pace around the house; any kind of moving is better than sitting.

Change #3: This change will help the most of all. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING YOU EAT!!!! In doing this you can actually see everything you put into your mouth therefore keeping yourself accountable for either weight gain or loss. Itas important to remember that you are in charge of YOU and no one else. In order to change bad life habits into good life habits, retraining is a must.

Another good item to document is your activities. Keep a log of your activities that you work at daily or weekly. You can go online and access different websites that will tell you the approximate amount of calories that you burn during an activity. One such website is http://www.nutristrategy.com/activitylist4.htm. You can also find other websites to your liking as well.

Never fear failure; expect it. You will probably fail multiple times before you reach your goal; that's just the way it is. Those failures are the loss of small battles in an overall war for your longevity and health. You must stay the course on your path to health in order to win the war. We all have bad days. If your boyfriend yells at you, and you get angry and plop down in front of the TV and eat too much chocolate or slurp down a whole gallon of ice cream, it is absolutely not a reason to beat yourself up about it and quit. Slipping up is just a signal that you aren't there yet. Throw out the rest of the gallon of chocolate chip cookie dough and pick yourself up and right get back on track, instead of making excuses and falling back into the pattern that got you sick in the first place.

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