Friday, May 19, 2006

You don't have to suffer to lose weight

The Traveler's Diet

...

Greenberg's final answers are not the best sales pitch in the world:

Q:Will this diet ever end?
A: If I told you I love this diet, I'd be lying. I don't love this diet, and I'm not a gym rat. But it's a discipline. I can't let it drop.

Q:Do you ever miss the days of flopping on a hotel bed with a Snickers from the minibar?
A: I miss every single day.

I can't imagine you could ever succeed following a lifestyle you don't enjoy.

I enjoyed overeating. And I enjoyed sitting on the couch watching TV. Or sitting in front of the computer working through the night. I used to enjoy smoking too before I quit in 2001.

But I also enjoy never being hungry. I love having the energy to work all day and then go home and play soccer with my kids for an hour and still work in front of the computer until midnight. I love biking and swimming and hiking. I can't wait to live somewhere that will let me add kayaking and mountain climbing and swimming in the ocean to that list.

Life is too short to be miserable. You don't have to trade happiness in your diet to be happy with the way you look and feel. Eat the foods you love, but in moderation. Don't do exercise that bores you to tears. Find fun activities that also happen to burn calories and improve your fitness.

Life isn't a zero sum game. You can have your cake and eat it too. The sooner you find a way to spread the joy you receive from overeating to other parts of you life, the sooner you'll find your new happy, healthy, lifestyle.

5/19/2006 3:42:22 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #   

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