One of the most common trends that seem to be driving a number of health issues and fat loss fails today is the fact that many people are creating a debt crisis with regard to their body. In life we need a healthy bank balance in order to pay for our living costs and do the things we enjoy like going on holiday or eating in a nice restaurant. Similarly, our body has a limited reserve of funds available for essential physiological processes and tasks – we’re referring to vitamins, minerals, hormones and all the vital nutrients that keep us alive and kicking. It has some spare resources stored away just in case we need to occasionally go above and beyond.
It’s easy to get carried away with spending these days as debt is so freely available to us. Equally, it’s easy to take a little more than we need from our body as it’s often so generous and giving. Regularly reviewing your health and fat loss goals in a similar way that you review your finances really makes a lot of sense, they have a lot in common. Maybe even consider getting a FITTER bank manager involved to stop you paying the price in the long term.
Comparison No.1: Carrying A Debt Burden
With both our finances and our body, many of us disregard that there is a limit and for years believe there is an endless supply in terms of what our body or the bank have to offer. This is exacerbated by the fact that today when we fall into trouble with our finances there is the option of temporary overdrafts, loans or credit cards to bail us out and bridge the gaps. We naturally take advantage of this rather than address how the debt occurred in the first place and how we can implement measures to reverse the situation and prevent it from reoccurring in the future.
A similar situation is occurring with our health and body composition. We begin to experience fatigue, weight gain, bloating or insomnia, however, rather than tackle the situation we push the boundaries further. We can deny flagging energy levels with more caffeine, forget about the extra pounds by drinking an extra glass of wine, knock ourselves out with sleeping pills or hide in a baggy jumper or a bigger pair of trousers.
Just as we can ignore the mounting financial debt for a period of time, we can plead ignorant to this decline in our health and simply reassure ourselves that we’ll pay for it later, and trust me you will pay for it later.
Comparison No.2: Regular Warning Statements
Many people often start to experience minor health symptoms including energy crashes, mood swings, brain fog, disrupted sleep or memory issues at first. These may seem insignificant initially and not enough to visit the GP about. However, in financial terms this is similar to receiving a bank statement telling you funds are starting to run low and if you don’t act fast bigger issues and deeper debt is on the horizon.
Comparison No.3: Excessive Expenses
Many of us are creating an unsustainable debt crisis in our body by repeating habits and behaviours that deplete (or debit) our body of essential resources and in doing so stall any progress towards a health goal of say improving skin health, healing an injury or losing weight. A few examples include:
- Eating too many refined carbohydrates
- Drinking excessive alcohol > 2 servings a day or binge drinking
- Drinking excessive caffeine > 2 cups a day
- Taking recreational drugs
- Taking painkillers and other medications to treat symptoms
- Working long hours
- Excessive intense exercise > 4-5 times a week
- Sleeping < 8 hours
- Excessive stress and never switching off our brain
- Not getting outside and subsequently suffering from a sunshine deficiency
Similar to when you review your bank balance you’ll see that some of the above expenses are unavoidable at times, however, it should be startlingly obvious that there are many that you could cut back on, allowing you to invest more in the things that create a more stable and healthy looking balance in your life.
Comparison No.4: Not Enough Cut Backs and Credits
When the statement comes through flagging up impending debt we have options. Interestingly, the generations before us really didn’t, credit wasn’t so freely available to them and a strong culture of saving, cutting back on expenses and delaying gratification existed.
Today, we can simply phone the bank or jump online and within seconds we’ve extended our overdraft or grabbed an interest free credit card. Whilst this buys you time it’s not a solution and does little to really help the situation. The same occurs with health and fat loss goals, we can use stimulants, sign up to a quick-fix diet or do a detox because this is easier than learning how to meditate and relax naturally rather than using alcohol or invest some time in the kitchen so we can learn how just not eat junk food all the time.
What do credits look like? Quite nice really. Think of them as an unexpected tax rebate, something you don’t expect but turn out to be hugely rewarding. Here are some top credits that will eaily accelerate you towards any health and fat loss goal:
- Sleep (check out our blog on this)
- Eating nutrient dense foods: organ meats, oily fish, eggs, bone broth, green vegetables and spices.
- Meditation (download Headspace)
- Relaxation
- Laughing
- Stretching
- Deep breathing
- Walking and daily movement
The Difference: Bankruptcy
Possibly the most important point I want to make here is that many of us are not stopping to consider the implications of this excessive debt we’re accumulating. At some point their will simply be too much debt and you won’t be able to pay it all back. Luckily, in financial terms you get a second chance, you can be declared bankrupt, have the slate wiped clean and make a fresh start. However, you only get one wonderful body and many of us are driving it to the brink of bankruptcy. The sad thing is I can’t promise there’ll be a fresh start so take some action now.
You can join Matt, myself and hundreds of people in Fitter 365 where we’re all working on credits, cut backs and just the leaving the essential debits in place.
