's MOTD Wed Feb 27, 2008

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THE WHOLE PICTURE

Wednesday, 27 February 2008

When you're trying to get healthy, you have to look at the whole picture. I mean, just because you lose weight, it doesn't mean you're automatically healthy. Yes, you are healthier and of course, it's important to watch your portions and do your workouts everyday. But it isn't the whole picture. Let me explain.You see, there are many addictions a person can have and, truth is, all addictions can cause you medical problems as well as emotional ones. I talked to a lady yesterday. She had E-mailed me to tell me that she'd lost 100 pounds. And after receiving her E-mail, I just had to call and congratulate her.When we talked, she told me how she had never liked vegetables in the past. But today, she loves to make these great salads that contain up to 12 different veggies in them! She told me, too that she hadn't had a cola in over 11 months. She also told me she owned several of my exercise DVDs and that she did one of them everyday.She could even recite, word for word, some of the things I'd say that inspired her to keep going. The good news just kept on coming as she told me how she'd gone from a size 22 to a size 8. While I was speaking to her though, I noticed she had a telltale raspiness in her voice which lead me to ask her...Do you smoke?There was a longer than usual pause on her end of the line before she answered, Yes, ...I do smoke. And how much do you smoke, I asked?She told me that not only does she smoke two packs of cigarettes a day but that her husband is also a two-pack-day smoker. Whoa! That means, between the two of them, they're smoking 80 cigarettes a day! Now, if I did the math, (and I did), we're talking 2400 cigarettes a month that she and her husband are smoking! A bad habit, sure. Not to mention how much all of that smoking takes from their budget! Depending on where you live, four packs of cigarettes a day, over a 365-day period equals, in cash, somewhere around $6,000 a year! That's a lot of money, isn't it?I had to tell her that losing weight, as great a thing as it was for her health, was simply not enough. She had to give up her other major addiction now, too. I thought about someone smoking that many cigarettes a day. Oh, the "crushes" we deal with in our lives! Maybe you don't smoke. But maybe you drink too much. Maybe you kick back and slurp down a couple of beers or too much wine each night. Or maybe you go out on the weekends and party with your friends. And, if you do it often, that's not too healthy either, is it? There are all other kinds of addictions out there that, over time, can suck the life out of you. I'm telling you that you must get help for these addictions. I want you to remember that all addictions begin to unravel when you have enough self-worth under your belt to use to beat them. When you're feeling good about yourself, the last thing you'll want to do is hurt yourself. And, let's face it, bad addictions can hurt you.Now look, I don't think you can break all of your bad addictions at one time. Besides, I think you'd go a little loony if you tried! You have to do it in steps. Now, this is going to be a little hard for you. But on a piece of paper today, I want you to make a list of all of your own addictions. Than I want you to face them, work to break them and get ready to move on to a happier, healthier life!Love,