OnePhatMan

This is the sort of thing you miss if you’re not a hiker, out in the woods.

If you’re not on the notify list and want to be, please read this. There’s been some confusion about the new list, so I wrote up a little explanation.

Also if you’re not on the notify list, you didn’t get notified that I’ve started a new section of the site, to be populated with articles by me about dietary and health issues. Currently, there are three articles.

In this life, there are two real things we can control. We can control our minds, and we can control our bodies.

Are yours in control? Why or why not?

What makes a person so totally lose control of his mind and body that he eats his way up to weighing almost 400 pounds? I wish I knew the answer to that, because I’d write a book and make a million bucks. It’s an intriguing question, one that begs answering, but not by me.

I’m not here to answer questions, I’m here to talk about solving problems.

Who cares why it happened, anyway? The fact is this: it happened. Rather than cry about it, or bemoan the fact that you’re fat, let’s figure out how to fix it. In my first statement, I said there were two things we can control, our minds and our bodies. If you can learn to control your mind, controlling your body is a piece of proverbial cake.

After all, our thoughts (what’s in our minds) control the words we use. Those words influence our beliefs, which in turn dictate our actions. And, as I’m prone to pontificate upon, our actions—that which we do with our bodies—lead us to our results. Know what the cool part is? Our results then influence our thoughts, and the whole thing repeats in a big circle.

You have the ability to change any piece in that circle, but what most overweight people tend to do is this: they get freaked out about being fat and immediately try to change their actions by getting on a fad diet, taking a pill, or some other such thing. This works for some, but for most they’re trying to take charge too late in the cycle (by changing just their actions) to do much good.

What if you started at the beginning, by changing your thoughts first, then letting the rest follow naturally? Might this work? Remember the words of a very intelligent phat man, who shall remain nameless because he’s far too humble to ever mention this himself: change your mind, and your body will change itself.

You can make a mental transformation instantly, and then just sit back and enjoy the physical ride. Everything starts with your thoughts. Consider the following thoughts of person A:

• I am in control.
• I can do anything I want to.
• Transforming into a fit and healthy person the most enjoyable thing I’ve ever done, because that’s how I choose to view it.
• I love myself far more than I love food.

Now, contrast those thoughts with these thoughts from person B:

• I’m out of control.
• I can’t help myself, I just eat and eat and eat.
• Trying to diet is the hardest struggle I’ve ever been through.
• I’m going to try to cut my calories, but I don’t think I can keep it up because I just love food too much.

Which person would you say has a better chance of transforming themselves from a fat person to a fit person? What you think—what’s in your head—is at the crux of any truly successful change, and those thoughts are entirely under your control.

What do you choose to think?

Of course, you also miss things like this if you don’t hike, so it all evens out.