Body Mass Index Is Not The Only Focus of Your Weight Loss Plan. Think About The Stress in Your Mind

The first of January will bring a new group of folks out to the local gym and the fitness equipment store. Many of us have been a part of this crowd once or twice in our lifetimes. We dedicate ourselves to health and fitness as our new year's resolution.

Whatever the motive, we have decided to drop a few pounds, start a running plan, and develop a much healthier lifestyle for a variety of reasons. We will go all out until we hit our goals, or at least until we start to miss our old ways of sleeping in and helping ourselves to another round of mother's favorite treat.

Many mistakes will be made by fitness beginners for a variety of reasons. The biggest failures that the author has noticed are inadequate goal setting and unrealistic dreams.

There are many authors and experts who write about proper goal setting techniques, so I will let them do their work. But what we will attempt to uncover is how to envision the correct future and how best to attempt a lifestyle change that will be conducive to success in the fitness and happiness world.

First, it is most important to discover the source of the problem. Many people, including yours truly, have a tendency to open the refrigerator door excessively throughout the course of a day. This might not be a problem if the cooler were stocked with some good snacks like carrots and apples. That's where many of us get in trouble. We are unwilling to give up the goodies we enjoy.

I have found that by expanding my culinary horizons to include fruits and vegetables, that I actually enjoy these foods. It took a little time to become more knowledgeable about these treats, but it was, and continues to be, a fun source of exploration in the grocery store.

Getting rid of all the great snack foods was tough at first, but gets easier over time. Have you ever looked at the label on a can of soda? I know a handful of people that have one open all day long. Not good. But I'm not here to criticize others.

Next, it is necessary to take the steps to fix whatever is triggering your unhealthy behavior. It's not too hard to do, in my opinion. With the help of some inspirational books and some meditation, you will begin to realize that you can accomplish any goals you set. By waking up every morning, after a quality night's sleep, and doing some light stretching, you won't believe how positive you can start your day.

I recommend not turning on the morning news. Simply find a quiet spot in your home, do some toe-touches and some leg stretches. Sit in a comfortable position, and plan out your day. Just sit there for a few minutes and pay attention to your breathing patterns. Don't let anything else interfere with this process for about 4-5 minutes.

With some practice at this, you will notice that your inner dialogue will begin to quiet, and you will be able to concentrate on the task at hand. This is a great exercise to do anytime of the day. By taking just a few minutes to yourself, your stress levels will start to drop and you will accomplish all that you wanted to in your day, and possibly much more.

Robb Ksiazek is a successful author and publisher for http://www.body-mass-index-4u.com. He has researched and written hundreds of articles and can simplify your online search by recommending merchants for the best value and selections in diets, exercise equipment, and personal physical and mental fitness.

In The News:

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President-elect Barack Obama speaks about the economy at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.,  Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)AP - President-elect Barack Obama warned of dire and lasting consequences if Congress doesn't pump unprecedented dollars into the economy, making an urgent pitch for his mammoth spending proposal in his first speech since his election.



Palestinians ride a motorcycle past the rubble of  a building that was hit in Israeli airstrikes in the Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. Lebanese militants fired at least three rockets into northern Israel early Thursday, ripping through a crowded nursing home and threatening to open a new front for the Jewish state as it pushed forward with a bloody offensive in the Gaza Strip that has killed nearly 700 people. (AP Photo/Eyad Baba)AP - A Palestinian health official says the bodies of 35 people have been found in the rubble of a Gaza Strip battle zone.



Pedestrians walk past Generations Menswear on 8th Ave. in New York Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. Retailers are reporting dismal sales for December, confirming fears that the holiday season was the weakest in four decades.  (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)AP - Retailers reported dismal sales figures for December on Thursday as even Wal-Mart Stores Inc., one of the bright spots in the industry, finally buckled under the pressures of the deteriorating economy.



Protesters yell during a demonstration against the shooting death of Oscar Grant at the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. Grant was shot and killed by a police officer after an altercation on a BART train station platform in Oakland on New Year's Day.  (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)AP - Mayor Ron Dellums urged residents to remain calm after protests turned violent in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by a transit police officer.



A sign instructs job seekers at the California Employment Development Department in Sunnyvale, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009. The country lost nearly 2 million jobs through November and more bad news is expected this week when the government releases data on weekly jobless claims and December unemployment. No matter how bad those numbers are, and economists expect at least another 500,000 jobs were lost last month, the pain is stretching into 2009.  (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)AP - The number of people continuing to seek unemployment benefits has risen sharply, according to government data released Thursday, indicating that laid-off workers are having a harder time finding new jobs as the recession enters its second year.



Illinois Rep. Roger L. Eddy, R-Hutsonville, right, studies supplied documents requested during testimony at a Illinois House Impeachment Committee hearing at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. By naming Roland Burris to the Senate, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has tied Washington in knots and diverted attention from his own problems. But he didn't make those problems go away. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)AP - The Illinois House committee investigating Gov. Rod Blagojevich released a draft report Thursday saying the panel believes the Democratic governor has abused his power and recommending the full chamber vote on impeachment.



President-elect Barack Obama, flanked by President George W. Bush, and former President George H.W. Bush, speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2008, during a meeting, with former presidents Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)AP - The House and Senate are coming together in a centuries-old tradition to count the electoral votes from the November election and formally declare that Barack Obama will be the 44th president of the United States.



Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer delivers the keynote address Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)AP - Microsoft Corp.'s next version of the Windows operating system is almost ready for prime time. That's one message Chief Executive Steve Ballmer delivered on the eve of the official opening of the International Consumer Electronics Show.



Maureen O'Conner places a vase of flowers and a sign by the entrance to the Jumbolair Aviation Estates where actor John Travolta and his family  live Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009 near Ocala, Fla., while Roberta Arnes, right, pays her respects to the Travolta family for the lose of their son.  The Travolta family is back in their home in the complex after returning from the Bahamas, where their 16-year-old son, Jett, died at the family vacation home in Grand Bahama. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin)AP - John Travolta and family were expected to host a private memorial service Thursday for their son, 16-year-old Jett Travolta, at their gated-community home in central Florida.



AP - John Smoltz has reached a preliminary agreement on a contract with the Boston Red Sox, a stunning end to his long career with the Atlanta Braves.

President-elect Barack Obama arrives with Nancy Killefer, his appointee as White House Chief Performance Officer, during a news conference at his transition office in Washington, January 7, 2009. (Jason Reed/Reuters)Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama sought to rally support on Thursday for a massive fiscal stimulus package by warning that the United States could remain mired in recession for years without bold action.



Smoke rises during Israeli's offensive in Gaza, January 8, 2009. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)Reuters - Palestinians faced even grimmer conditions in the Gaza Strip on Thursday after a U.N. aid agency halted work, saying its staff were at risk from Israeli forces fighting Hamas militants, after two drivers were killed.



A recruiter holds an application form at a job fair organized by the New Hampshire Employment Security agency in Salem, New Hampshire December 17, 2008. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)Reuters - Unemployment benefit rolls swelled to a 26-year high in the last week of December, data showed on Thursday, while retailers, including market leader Wal-Mart, reported poor sales as the year-long economic slump deepened.



Reuters - The incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama will name Cass Sunstein, a Harvard Law School professor who pioneered efforts to design regulation around the ways people behave, as regulatory czar, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Senator Charles Schumer on Capitol Hill in a file photo. (Jason Reed/Reuters)Reuters - Citigroup Inc is leading other lenders in advanced talks with key U.S. senators on legislation that would allow judges to set new repayment terms for millions of mortgage holders who wind up in bankruptcy court, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people involved in the talks.



People walk past the Bank of England in central London, January 8, 2009. (Rob Bodman/Reuters)Reuters - Bleak economic data in Europe and disappointing December retail sales figures in the United States unsettled financial markets on Thursday, strengthening the case for more government stimulus and encouraging rate cuts.



A man looks at a large screen displaying India's benchmark share index on the facade of the Bombay Stock Exchange building in Mumbai, January 7, 2009. (Punit Paranjpe/Reuters)Reuters - India's Satyam Computer faces a crisis of "unimaginable proportions," its interim chief executive said a day after the chairman revealed profits had been falsely inflated for years.



Oleh Dubyna, the head of Ukrainian state energy firm Naftogaz, arrives at the European parliament Foreign Affairs Committee in Brussels January 8, 2009. (Francois Lenoir/Reuters)Reuters - Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly said on Thursday it would restore supplies to Europe through Ukraine, cut off after a dispute between Moscow and Kiev, as soon as international monitors are in place.



Palestinian youth inspect a destroyed kindergarten following an Israeli air strike overnight in Gaza City. Rockets fired into northern Israel from Lebanon have sparked a new military alert as Israeli jets carried out mass strikes on smuggling tunnels in Gaza.(AFP/Mahmud Hams)AFP - Rockets fired into northern Israel from Lebanon on Thursday sparked a new military alert as Israeli jets carried out mass strikes on smuggling tunnels in Gaza.



A woman looks at a pressure gauge on a gas pipe in the Ukrainian city of Boyarka. Key players in the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute held emergency talks in Brussels on Thursday amid signs of an easing in the tension which is putting many European countries into a winter energy crisis.(AFP/File/Sergei Supinsky)AFP - Key players in the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute held emergency talks in Brussels on Thursday amid signs of an easing in the tension which is putting many European countries into a winter energy crisis.




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