The Problem With Weight Loss

Me - before and after.

The problem with weight loss is: What will you do once you reach your goal? Many people decide that they will celebrate with all of the foods they have deprived themselves of. Most have no idea as they have never thought about it, somehow thinking that things will magically change once the pounds are gone.

The common thing is for people to go back to the same eating habits and before long they have regained all the weight they lost and usually more.

That is the problem with most diets. The way you eat on them is not something you can or want to continue to do.

Losing weight is hard. I know. It was over 7 years ago that I began a weight loss journey. In 9 months I lost 70 pounds. I have not gained it back. Statistically I am in a very small percentage of people.

We want a fast and easy way to lose weight that doesn’t require us to change anything long-term. The result is the long-term works against us.

In the last 7 years I have been saddened over and over to see so many friends try one fad diet after another. I think the lack of success finally convinces them that it is impossible and they might as well get used to being overweight and unhealthy.

Do you know that if you reduce your daily calorie intake by just 500 calories you can lose a pound a week? Of course that requires knowing how many calories you should have each day. You also have to track the calories of what goes into your mouth. It’s actually a lot easier that you might think.

A bunch of small steps will lead to great progress. Slow and steady wins this race.

The path I followed and the one I live by is not easy but it’s not all that hard either. It sure beats being winded by just walking up the stairs from the basement. A life change is what we need. Yes, change is hard but after a while it becomes normal and that normal can be so liberating.

I invite you to read about my journey. Your path may be a little different but I think you will find it to be a commonsense and doable way of life. Nothing for sale and no fads. Follow this link to get started: My Weight Loss Journey - 70 pounds gone. 

The problem with losing weight is that most people find it again. Don't let that be you,

Here’s to a better you!

Philip

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

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New Year's Resolutions - 2018

Here are my  resolutions for the coming year:

Watch more TV.
Watch at least 4 hours of YouTube videos a day.
Eat 75 more calories a day and gain at least 50 pounds this year.
Spend all of the money I earn.
Start drinking alcohol.
Get less sleep.

I hope you get my humor. The opposite of these resolutions are actually the most common New Year’s Resolutions and sadly for many they will fall by the wayside as they have many times before.

The power of inertia is what makes change hard, We are rolling in one direction and we need to go a different way. This is where resolve is needed. If we really resolve to do something then we are willing to do the hard things that will be necessary and we have to be willing to do them for a long time.

One thing that helps in making change is when you want to do something versus having to do something. The want to becomes a powerful motivator.

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions but I strongly believe in breaking things down so that I can achieve change in small sustainable ways. Over time the little things become big and the change lasts. I try to focus on the good things that are being accomplished in my life rather than being bogged down with all of the areas that still need work. If I keep moving in the right direction then their time will come.

I hope that the coming year will be be one of change, growth and transformation for you.

If you would like a big jump-start on getting things moving in the right direction, check out this podcast: The Power of a Made-Up Mind.

Oh, and by the way, if you would like to help others in a unique way, check out Generosity Through Abundance.

Why you should refuse to give up cash

Many people I know rarely carry cash. It's easy for the most part these days as it's rare to find a place that doesn't take plastic or a digital currency. I recently read about a coffee shop that was refusing to take cash at all.  But what if there is a downside?

Have you heard of negative interest? If cash was done away with completely, banks could not only charge interest on money you borrow but also on money you save.

Here is an excerpt from a World Magazine article:

Cash and freedom

In 2015, the Bank of England’s chief economist, Andy Haldane, gave a controversial speech in which he suggested switching from cash to an entirely digital currency. Haldane sees this as a way for central banks like his to impose negative interest rates, a radical fiscal policy that is not easily feasible when cash exists. The Cato Institute’s Daniel Mitchell, like other free-market economists, has decried the “war on cash” as an effort from central governments to have greater control over people.

When central bankers set the interest rate below zero, investors generally pay for money in a deposit, rather than earning money on a deposit. The idea is to push people to spend money instead of holding it in a bank account. Cash allows people a way to escape a negative rate, which is why negative rates are rare. Central banks in Sweden and Denmark recently resorted to negative interest rates, but they are among the few.

“In a system without cash, we can basically set negative interest rates without any problems at all,” said the Swedish central bank Riksbank in a 2015 report. But the report acknowledged that it didn’t know how to get rid of cash.

For now, talk of negative interest rates is mostly theoretical. As Haldane admitted, economists like him face a “significant behavioral constraint,” meaning regular people don’t want to get rid of cash. The places that have experimented with it, like Sweden, are seeing some concerning results. The danger for consumers in Sweden is that, as they begin to experience the effect of negative interest rates, they might take on more debt. So a bank might pay a mortgage holder interest on a mortgage. When rates rise, consumers might find that debt difficult to repay. Sweden now has one of the highest ratios of debt to disposable income in the world. —E.B.

Here is the complete article:
Is cash an endangered species?