Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Weight Loss and Personal Responsibility

Before I get into the main topic of this post I would like to clear up one misconception: This isn't easy for me! It isn't just a "breeze" for me to maintain constant exercising and to practice healthy eating practices. There isn't a day that goes by where the following thought doesn't run through my mind, "Why are you exercising? Wouldn't it be much easier to just stop by [insert fast food restaurant] pick up something to eat and go home and sit on the couch for the rest of the night?". The fact that I DO exercise and try to eat healthy is what separates me from a lot of other people.

Yes, I know that there are some people that have thyroid problems or other medical issues that cause them to be overweight but this is the minority of overweight people. The majority of people that are overweight are overweight due to lifestyle choices. They CHOOSE to not exercise and they CHOOSE to eat unhealthy foods.

Like I said before, I know that it isn't easy. It isn't easy to make time in a busy schedule to fit in exercise. It isn't easy to make the time to cook meals at home. I agree with that BUT I believe that it is easier than you think it is. It all comes down to commitment and personal responsibility. If you really want to lose weight and become healthy then you can. You just have to take responsibility for your own actions and change your life. It isn't as simple as going on a "diet", until you change your mindset from a temporary thing to behavioral thing then you may never reach the weight loss goal you want to achieve.

I could show you countless examples of overweight people who changed their lifestyles and lost the weight and kept it off. All with diet and exercise.....there is NO magic pill for weight loss/healthy living. And on that subject, I wouldn't recommend taking any weight loss pill because the side effects just aren't worth it when it is much easier to put down the cheeseburgers and go outside for a walk.

I feel as if I am beginning to ramble.....my point is this: look inside yourself and determine the things you want in life. Do you want to improve your chances of living a long and healthy life? Do you want to be able to play with your kids (or future kids) or pets for more than 10 minutes without getting tired? Do you want to avoid the numerous diseases that are related to obesity? If so then get on it!

If you're interested, I have lots of tasty (in my opinion) healthy recipes that take less than 15 minutes to prepare. I also have several ways to squeeze some exercise into your day. So if you'd like me to share then leave a comment or send me an email. I will write some future blogs on these topics as well so be on the lookout!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi there. I would be more than happy to get some "sneak in a workout" tips!

Those recipes would not hurt either!

My email: devon_whitmore@yahoo.com

Thx!

Anonymous said...

Nice BLOG! I don't think I've shared this with you though, but as it turns out, I happen to be one of those people you mentioned suffering from an under-active thyroid. Who would have thunk it? So my suggestion to people out there is during your physical have the blood work done to test your thyroid. It was just a random test that revealed my thyroid irregularities. Hopefully I can get my medicine at the right dosage to get my reading out of the YELLOW zone...

Tam said...

Devon: No problem I will send you some stuff tomorrow!

Nicole: Now you know why you couldn't lose those last 10 pounds you were trying to lose! You did alot on your own through diet and exercise, so continuing that with the right medicine will get you over the hump.

Anonymous said...

If the recipes are vegetarian, I'd love to have them!

Kay said...

Great post.....You are SO on the target....Even though I am a small person it would be so easy to go home and sit around and eat bon-bons. Then I wouldnt be so small, but like you I make time to get in some sort of exercise and cook healthy meals. It's easy, fun and when I feel like I want to eat some ice cream I feel like I can. Keep up the great blog.

runrgrl2007 said...

Does that mean I can go to McDonald's if I exercis? Just kidding, we talk about this all the time! Great post.... especially since if I don't exercise and practice somewhat healthy eating, I pack on the pounds overnight! Love ya and thanks for sharing.