Change is in the Air!

Whether you're in the Northern or Southern Hemispheres, change is in the air! If you're north of the equator, Happy Autumn! If you're south, Happy Spring! (I know. I'm a week late. Chalk it off to the change of seasons!)

The changes of season can be a time of change for us, as well. While change can be challenging, or even difficult, it can also be good for us.

Let's consider the change of the seasons. As the earth orbits the sun, it wobbles on its axis. It's a gentle wobble, fortunately for all of us, but it still makes the sun seem to move north and south of the equator. Seasonal changes can seem sudden, like the cooler fall days that just popped into my neighborhood, practically overnight. Most often, however, change is more subtle.

Say you go on a diet and lose twenty pounds. Maybe it came off quickly. Maybe it took a while. Either way, you hit your goal weight and you think, "Aha! I'm there! I can relax now!" "One cookie won't hurt." "Yes, thank you, I'd love seconds."

Sure, you won't put on twenty pounds overnight (unless you have a serious medical condition beyond the scope of this blog). However slow it may be, however, once you stop your diet, the scales may start to creep upward again. A subtle change. Soon you may be back where you were before, or even worse than when you started.

That's the problem with diets. As I stated in my last post, the entire dieting mindset is based on its being temporary. Something with an end-date.

What you need is a life-style change. A program that will give you tips on how to change what you're doing now, so that you can live your life at a healthy weight.

The Bodē plan from VEMMA is just such a plan. Not only is it simple & easy, but you get smartphone support with its award-winning app that will message you when it's time to eat, give you recipes, exercises, and the best vitamin and mineral combo in the business. With the great nutrition you'll be getting, not only will your weight improve, but you'll get more energy for living!

What about it, then? Are you ready for some positive change in your life? Check out the Bodē products today!

Staying Positive

Sometimes our biggest challenge in getting or staying in shape is just keeping a positive attitude. It's easy to keep going when things are going your way. When it gets hard, however, staying positive becomes more difficult. It's also when you need it the most!

What keeps you focused on your goals? Your health & well-being? Fitting into a smaller size? Being able to "be there" for your family & loved ones?

It's so easy to lose track when everything else is clamoring for your attention. And, once you stop paying attention, those sneaky pounds can come right back! It's happened to me. It can happen to you.

I know it's hard to stay focused and positive with so many terrible things happening around the world. Hearing someone say "keep a positive attitude" when you are distraught over a loved one in a war zone, or in the midst of a terrible wildfire, or challenged by tornadoes or hurricanes, can be like a slap in the face. You may feel insulted or angry.

I don't mean to do that to you, truly. If you're facing monumental challenges, feel free to ignore me. Give those challenges to God and come back to my blog when things are better. I'm praying for you.

If you're just in a slump, however, I'm here to cheer you on. Just because we get into a slump doesn't mean we have to stay there. Just because we lose our dietary focus and put on a few pounds doesn't mean they have to stay with us forever. We CAN lose them again. We just have to make that decision, for our health!

I'm deciding to do better again. How about you?

Setting Goals

Achieving what you want is much easier if you know what you want. Sure, you may know that you'd like to lose ten pounds, but unless you set a time constraint, you may not have the motivation to carry out your plan. And you need a plan!

Okay. Say you have ten pounds to lose. (It may be more or less.) You need a realistic time goal in which to lose them. Don't decide you need to lose ten pounds overnight. The only way you can do that is with liposuction, and that doesn't work in the long term. If you want to lose ten pounds and keep them off, you need to decide what to do about it.

You've heard this before, I'm sure, that two pounds a week is a reasonable amount of weight to lose and keep off. Any faster than that is not healthful, and the weight will probably come back, with interest. At two pounds a week, ten pounds will take you five weeks to lose.

"Five weeks!" I can hear you screaming. "I want these pounds gone now!"

Well, of course you do. But you want them to stay gone, don't you? There's no point to lose ten pounds only to gain them back.

Furthermore, when you lose weight in an unhealthful manner, most often you aren't losing fat. You're losing muscle. Muscle is what helps burn fat and keeps your metabolism revved. When you lose that, what you gain back won't be muscle. You'll gain fat. And fat takes up more space than muscle does, so you'll lose definition as well.

So, set a reasonable time goal. And don't just diet. Change small things. Get really good nutrition, such as supplementing with Vemma products. Start exercising. The more muscle you build, the better your metabolism will be. Aerobics will increase your stamina. Strength-training will add healthy, lean muscle. Flexibility training will keep you limber and ease joint strain.

Lastly, remember, if you need to lose weight, you probably didn't gain it overnight. Don't expect to lose it overnight, either. Losing weight should just be part of your goal. Your main goal should be getting healthy!