It seems that after twenty years of diet, exercise, miracle potions and a host of gimmicks, the American public has concluded that losing weight, for them, is a lost cause, according to an article in USA Today. Here’s why: They take it off and put it back on. They are unhappy losing the weight, depriving themselves of their favorite foods, and then feel guilty regaining the weight. Today there’s a major trend among millions of Americans who are saying, “To heck with it! I’m going to eat what I want and just suffer the consequences, but I’m not going to be miserable about it.”
That’s an unfortunate approach to take. I understand why they feel that way because for many years I was on that roller coaster. A quarter of a century ago I decided to lose weight on a gradual basis and in a ten-month period of eating sensibly and exercising regularly, I lost 37 pounds. I averaged losing one and nine-tenths ounces per day. I’ll bet you just said to yourself (if you have a weight problem), “I could do that.”
Most attempts at weight loss are undermined by unrealistic promises made about a “revolutionary” new approach or product that “will take all the weight off permanently and you won’t even feel hungry.”
The answer: A change of lifestyle, a combination of eating sensibly and exercising regularly. Benefi ts are enormous. On November 24, 1999, at age 73, I stayed on the treadmill at the Aerobics Center over two minutes longer than I was able to stay on when I was terribly out of shape. I have a resting heart rate of 47, my cholesterol level was described by Dr. Larry Gibbons, the examining physician, as “perfect” at 156, and my blood pressure is 110/60. Those are the readings normally of a much younger man. And my enthusiasm for life grows every day.
Zig Ziglar is the Chairman of the Board of Ziglar Training Systems. Subscribe to his free newsletter at www.ziglartraining.com. He can be contacted at 800.527.0306, or by email at info@ziglartraining.com. This article was reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
