The Life Ledger

Fitness is a way of life.

What do I mean by “Fitness is a way of life?”

As I have recently become more interested in personal finance and investing, I have come to understand that point of awareness / mindfulness is applicable to all parts of my life, not just with eating. That split second where I used to pick up a DVD because I craved watching the movie, where now I objectively evaluate whether or not I need to own another thing - that is the power of choice, the point of awareness. That split second where before I would have yelled and fumed at a driver who cut me off, where now I choose to laugh it off or ignore it - that is the power of choice, the point of awareness.

I learned many things from may parents, including one of the most poignant self-reflection questions I know: What do you bring to the table?  This question prevents me from being a victim to my own bad habits - I was depressed because I looked bad and felt unhealthy, so I would eat to cure the depression, which made me gain more weight.  I was a victim to my own eating habits.  By using that question as a starting point, I began to objectively evaluate the habits I chose to follow, the food I chose to eat, the times I chose to eat at, all the little choices I made that added up to a large weight-gain.  By recognizing I made choices, and taking a hard look at what those choices were, I empowered myself to begin changing those unhealthy choices to healthy ones - I moved to Silk instead of creamer and milk, we began eating in much more often than eating out, I entered a weight-loss program that used stimulus-narrowing to help re-wire my body and mind, I learned what proper portion sizes ought to be, I learned how to tell the difference between satisfied and full.

Now, I see the tools I learned to re-wire my eating habits are applicable to all aspects of life, be it the workplace, family and friend relationships, spending decisions - I am beginning to develop a new framework of evaluating my role in any situation I am in, any habit I have or any decision I make.  It starts like this:

1. What do I bring to the table?  In any situation, with any habit, I make choices - my coworker that pulls a prank on me doesn’t make me angry, I choose to feel angry in response.  Your language affects your body and mind - turn “have to”, “made me”, “can’t help but” and similar language into choices - “I can’t stop smoking” becomes “I choose to continue smoking.”  This isn’t a magic wand that suddenly makes it easier to quit, but taking ownership and responsibility of your choices is the first step to empowerment.

2. Ten second rule.  Learn to take a few seconds to evaluate decisions and choices - do I really need to spend money on that camera?  Do I really need to eat that Twinkie?  How do those choices impact other choices and goals - can I afford to continue my savings and debt-reduction goals if I spend money on that DVD?  Is it worth the $15 for a movie versus being $15 closer to paying off the credit card?

By practicing and nurturing mindfulness, I turn habits and reactions into choices - I am slowly reclaiming my life from needs, cravings and desires one decision at a time. I may decide to eat that slice of pie, to buy that movie, or to discipline my dog for bad behavior, but this time I have chosen to do so. I have exercised power.

Thank you for visiting The Life Ledger. If you enjoyed this article, check out the related posts below and subscribe to our feed.

Yesterday, I started a series on my Fitness Resolutions, a list of goals dedicated to living the fitness lifestyle. Before I start detailing the individual items on the list, I realized a better place to start would be the over-arching ideal behind the list, what I call the point of awareness.

Before joining Optifast, I ate a lot. Five months later, I have learned I didn’t gain weight because of the amount I ate, or what I ate - I gained weight because of how I ate. I ate for comfort, I ate because I was bored, I ate to escape depression, I ate to celebrate, I ate to accompany watching TV or a movie or hanging out with friends - I ate for any and all reasons except because I was hungry. Frankly, I ate so much and so often I never was hungry. I became so accustomed to emotional eating, I subconsciously confused emotional states for hunger - when I craved comfort food, I was “hungry.” When I was bored, I was “hungry.” When I watched TV, I was “hungry.” When I was tired, needed a boost of energy, stressed or overwhelmed, I was “hungry.” Eventually, I was “hungry” so often that I stopped choosing to eat - I merely ate in reaction to whatever emotion or craving drove my “hunger.” When I stopped choosing when to eat, I gave up choice and power over my eating - I became addicted.

Being on Optifast, which focuses on stimulus narrowing, gave me the opportunity to look at my eating habits more objectively and reclaim my power through choice. I now can choose what I eat, when I eat, how much I eat. I can choose breathing and relaxation techniques instead of eating to combat stress, cravings or feeling overwhelmed. I can choose to focus on the company of friends instead of the food I eat. I can choose to read a book or throw a ball for my labrador instead of eating for boredom. I can choose to exercise or walk outside instead of eating to escape depression. That moment, that split second in time where before I subconsciously became “hungry” and I now objectively evaluate what I actually want versus what I need - that is the point of awareness, and the key to reclaiming the power of choice.

So, here’s another item to add to the Fitness Resolutions:

• Practice exercising the Point of Awareness

I hit a major milestone this morning - I broke the 200lb barrier. At 199lbs, I am now 14lbs away from the ultimate weight goal I set in September 2006 when I began the Optifast program. As is appropriate with the beginning of a new year, I am reflecting on my journey to fitness so far and preparing a list of resolutions for the coming year. However, I don’t intend on making the run-of-the-mill laundry list of intangible shoulds and ought-tos, like “eat less chocolate”, “exercise more” and “save money.” Instead of a New Year’s Resolutions list, I will make a list of attainable, concrete goals - my Fitness Resolutions list.

What do I want to accomplish? I feel the most important lesson I learned going through the Optifast program was redefining fitness - it’s more than physical health. Fitness, as I see it now, is a lifestyle, a guiding principle - it affects mental health, spiritual health, financial health. In practical terms, all the different aspects of fitness affect one another - when I eat healthy foods, healthy portions and exercise, I spend less money on food and feel less compelled to spend money on frivilous stuff. When I pay all my bills and have money in the bank, I feel more relaxed, less overwhelmed and weighed-down, and thus less compelled to eat comfort foods. For me, fitness describes all aspects of health. Thus, the goals on my Fitness Resolutions list will address multiple aspects of health. To begin, the list will include:

• Treat my body like a bank.
• Eat only when hungry.
• Eat no more than satisfaction.
  
• Design a budget focused on debt reduction.
• Increase my daily level of exercise.
• Use relaxation techniques to disarm negative reactions to situations, such as anger, stress or feeling overwhelmed.
• Learn more about the Getting Things Done philosophy, and begin implementing GTD to multiple aspects of fitness.
  
• Reasess my goals monthly.

Over the next few days, I’ll talk more about each resolution and set concrete goals.

What’s on your resolutions list?