by J.C. Vogen

Created on: November 28, 2008

The task of motivating oneself to adopt a healthier lifestyle can be quite daunting, but in the end very rewarding. I have first hand experience of confronting a society which viewed me as a lazy overweight adolescent. Until the age of 15, I had become accustomed to being the "fat kid". My first job I had in high school was at a local Dairy Queen. You may believe that by working at a place which specializes in selling ice cream, my weight would only increase. To the contrary, I was confronted daily with obese customers who actually motivated me to lose weight. I decided that I did not want my weight to affect my interactions with the world for the rest of my life. I had tried many times prior to go on various popular diets, none of which I could maintain. This time would prove to be different, but how did I find a successful solution to my weight problems?

The answer to this question may seem simple, but I believe it is the key to truly being able to lose weight, and maintain a healthy lifestyle. My strategy for successful weight loss can be summed up in three words: 'mind over matter'. By realizing the mind controls the cravings one has for food, I decided to simply focus on alleviating these cravings which my mind was sending to my body. This process of alleviating the root cause of excessive consumption of food is not easy, but has great potential of paving the path to a healthier lifestyle. I believe I was unable to lose weight prior to this revelation due to the fact that I was trying to fix a mental condition with a physical remedy such as following diets and exercising. How then does one go about addressing the issue of alleviating cravings?

The first step to alleviating cravings, is realizing cravings are born in the mind. Knowing your overeating is a physical manifestation of a mental process allows you to address the mental process directly, and thus successfully adopt a healthy lifestyle. It may be appealing to believe you can simply fix issues of being overweight with a miracle diet, but if this were the case, America would not have the obesity epidemic which it currently is facing. Being overweight is not a condition one wishes upon themselves, regardless of the perspective some may have about those who are overweight. It is obvious that most people wish to obtain a healthy weight, but yet so many cannot achieve this desired goal. The secret to losing weight is simple, but is hidden by all the books and products which companies specializing in weight

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