Month: March 2016

Enjoy the Ride

It is the focus of many to look forward to reaching the destination of a vacation, or the day of an event such as a wedding, birthday or special holiday, leaving all the days preceding it just a blur. The same holds true in life, where the focus may be on attaining a certain level of monetary wealth or material possessions. Others spend many years looking to the day when their son or daughter is married and will start a life of their own. Working and preparing for those goals, looking forward to that destination or special event is what makes life fun and enjoyable. But that is not where all the joy and happiness exists. As a matter of fact, reaching the end is usually anticlimactic and often depressing.

Because you are the creator of your life and its events, every moment that you are conscious of what is around you, should be bringing you joy and happiness. What is important to help you achieve that continuing level of happiness, is not to make any one thing greater than anything else.  I will use an event in my life as an example. Recently, I had a birthday, a day which I truly enjoy celebrating. So in my mind, I made that day something special. Is it really a special day to anyone else, probably not. So in and of itself it is the same as any other day. But because I have dominion over my life, I have chosen to make that particular day special. But I didn’t stop there. I made the whole week prior to my birthday special, knowing full well that one day is not any more important than any other.

The point is, why limit yourself to just a few moments in time to truly enjoy. When looking forward to your next big event or holiday, give it a try. Are you looking forward to that time when your child goes to college, then spend as much time as you can with him or her now. If your next big event is a month away, why diminish the preceding days with anxiety, fears, or frustration preparing for that day. The days preceding also have something special to offer, you just need to look for it. Most times it’s pretty clear. Enjoy life!

 

High Protein is not for everyone

I was recently discussing nutritional options with a female client of mine who wanted to lose weight by reducing body fat. After discussing a few different meal plans, we settled on a traditional high protein, moderate carb, low fat diet, in a caloric range that would enable fat burning. After two weeks of documenting her meals, there was no significant weight loss. Although she felt great and looked as if she had lost weight, the scale did not indicate such. As we continued to discuss her dietary options, she said, “ About a year ago I was eating whatever I wanted and I lost a few pounds”. That evening,  I thought more about what she had said earlier, then it dawned on me. She most likely consumed more carbs and less protein. Most people enjoy eating carbs, not proteins. The next morning, I wrote up a dietary plan but now from a different food group.  I kept the same amount of daily calories coming in, but about 70% were now from carbohydrates, primarily vegetables. As this is being published, it has now been ten days since the meal plan change. The scale has shown a 2.4 pound drop. We will continue this meal plan until her twelve pound weight loss is achieved.