Everyone knows that as a nation we are somewhere between overweight and obese. This is not good.
I tell my audiences, “we are so overweight as a country, if we were invaded by enemies, we couldn’t even run away.”
The reason I’m writing is not to tell you what I plan on doing; rather it is to tell you what I have done, what I’m doing about it, and how I will continue this process.
For the past five years I’ve weighed somewhere between 205 and 209 pounds. That’s not good for a kid who weighed 160 in college. Granted that was some time ago, but it’s no excuse to be 50 pounds over college weight.
Much like you, I lamented it instead of doing anything about it. I wrote about, and bragged that I was on my way to losing weight. I never did. I bragged that I was sick and tired of being overweight, and I was going to go on a major weight loss program. I never did.
Loyal readers sent me messages of encouragement, diet plans, MLM pill plans, chocolate plans, coffee plans, and assorted health options. I never did any of them.
But silently and secretly, I began losing weight. Now that I’m down below 190 (almost a 20 pound loss), I can come out of the closet (or should I say come off of the scale), and begin to talk about it.
Besides the weight loss, I firmly believe that sales and health go hand-in-hand. I believe that my physical well-being will improve my sales well-being, while enhancing my mental well-being.
I also found that losing weight is not just about watching what you eat. It’s a combination of thinking healthy, eating healthy, and exercise.
Here is what I have found to be true to lose the first 20 pounds:
Thinking: You have to have a DAILY mindset, and a mental awareness of what you’re doing at all times. Especially about what you eat. Two keywords are: eat less. Two more keywords are: eat healthy. And the final keywords are: weigh yourself. Thinking leads to shrinking.
Eating: No secret formula or diet or pills here. Here’s what I did: I’ve switched to club soda or water. No other drink. When I drink club soda, I add a squeeze of fresh lemon and lime. I eat as much raw fruits and vegetables as I can. I limit bread and all other empty carbohydrates. That’s it. I sacrifice very little. And if I occasionally feel like having some kind of pastry or candy, I eat it, or should I say, I eat half of it. I learned that moderation is the key to weight loss. If I order something at a restaurant, I eat half, and push the rest away.
Exercising: Enter CYBEX. More than an exercise machine, it’s a healthy alternative to being a couch potato. I have a Cybex machine in my home. Exercising for 20 to 30 minutes three or four times a week has made me feel fit and firm. No, I don’t have a lot of muscle, but I do have a good feeling every time I finish (even though there are many days when I’m reluctant to start). For me, exercise is a bigger discipline than diet, but now that I’m actually losing weight, the desire to keep up the habit is nearing the stage of compelling.
I should also add losing weight at my age (68) is a hell of a lot harder than it is if you’re in your 20’s, 30’s, or 40’s.
Okay so I’m down almost 20 pounds. I’m a little more than halfway home. I intend to drop down to somewhere between 170 and 175 pounds. I believe that’s my healthiest weight, and also my best selling weight. And as a public speaker I believe it will increase my credibility significantly.
This will be my first in a series of articles about the importance of mental success and physical success. Every person who has ever written about anything having to do with human success and all personal development books at their core, stress the need to combine mental health and physical health. I will be no exception.
With 20 less pounds on me, everything is a bit easier. Even the mundane things like putting on your socks and tying your shoes are noticeably easier.
But the best part about having a few less pounds is how I feel about myself when I look in the mirror in the morning. Okay, I’m not the prettiest specimen in the world, but I love my new look. I also love weighing myself.
Some mornings I can’t believe how far I’ve come, but my incentive is to keep going until I reach my desired outcome.
Yes I have a support system, and yes I have an exercise machine of my own, but the key to my success has been my own self-discipline and my own desire to keep my healthy process moving forward.
And please be aware, I’m not bragging about what I’ve done. Rather I’m sharing information about how to get and stay healthy, and hopefully inspire you to do the same. Odds are you have 10 or 20 extra pounds on you that you wish you didn’t have. And you can’t will it away.
Come on dude, wake up and smell the pop-tarts – just don’t eat them.
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of 12 bestselling books including The Sales Bible, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Gold Book of Yes! Attitude, and 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling. His real-world ideas and content are also available as online courses at www.GitomerVT.com. For information about training and seminars visit www.Gitomer.com or www.GitomerCertifiedAdvisors.com, or email Jeffrey personally at salesman@gitomer.com.
