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If I was to declare that your health and wealth are related, you may laugh at me. It may sound silly but there is a strong nexus between your health and your wealth when it comes to the underpinning principles that govern your life.
I can imagine the discomfort some feel at being overweight when others joke about it. I can also guess at the pain endured constantly from your own mental chatter when you are under a mountain of debt.
Being overweight, however, may be an outer expression of a body that’s in turmoil with its own self-pity at the financial woes that scare you. That may be the reality today but the good news is that you can transform your life with some simple changes.
I have some thoughts to share with you that can help to turnaround your life for the best yet to come.
1. Get into the black.
The basic tenet of weight loss is to eat less and exercise more. All you need is to develop a plan to avoid cluttering your body with excess calories. By making prudent choices with the food you eat and by burning excess calories, you begin your invigorating journey towards fitness.
By the same token, the basic tenet of prudent debt management is to spend less and use more of what you already possess. When you consciously make a self-commitment to stamp out impulse buying and learn to consume what you already have, you begin your own turnaround for financial wellness.
2. Follow the three-step plan.
If you’re overweight or if you’re under a pile of debt, thoughts to regain control of your life may frighten you. The truth is that if you understand how simple it is to get back into the cockpit of your life jet, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
The three steps to control debt are:
Stop adding more debt.
Some useful tips
- Pay for everything with cash – This act itself will create an awareness to spend less for the simple reason that when we pay with our cash, we tend to think more consciously before allowing another dollar to leave our pocket.
- Make a shopping list - When we plan before shopping to make conscious choices about what we need rather than what we want, we can control our impulse spending to buy yet another item on sale.
Use everything you have.
- Develop a list of all your possessions - It may take some time but it’s a worthwhile effort. This exercise will bring a new revelation that you already have enough.
- Ask why you want to buy twice - Your ego is a spoiled child. Ask yourself several times whether you really needed to buy that nice looking shirt? What did you do with the ones you bought a few months ago?
Start trimming your debt.
Some useful tips
- Pay bills on time - When we control our spending from getting out of control, we can pay bills on time. This habit is essential for our financial well-being.
- Pay high interest rate credit cards first - Paying several credit card bills is a major act. The art of managing debt lies in paying back the most for the highest interest rate credit cards. Keep doing this till you pay off all your credit cards in full.
Photo courtesy of Andrew Writes
Now, if you have begun to wonder how these three steps above relate to your excess weight, then read on!
The three steps to control weight are:
Stop adding more fat
Some useful tips
- Fasting - Fasting is both a primary means of detoxifying body, shedding extra weight and a wonderful aid to our inner peace. Fasting is the first step towards a mind control to avoid food intake that can exacerbate our unbalanced diet. Please check with a healthcare professional before starting any fast.
- Balanced diet – Eat steamed vegetables, beans, rice and whole grain. Avoid meat, poultry and white rice.
Burn extra calories
Some useful tips
- Use every extra calorie you have in your body – Exercising is the best way to burn extra calories. Make a commitment to exercise for 15-30 minutes daily.
- Outdoor activities - Running, walking or bike riding also help to burn calories.
Start trimming your fat
Some useful tips
- Drink water – Water drinking flushes the kidneys and liver, enabling them to remove toxic, unwanted substances. This also helps reduce weight. Drinking water also assists to reduce the feelings of hunger. You may be mistaking hunger pangs for thirst signals.
Once you set a limit in your life to spend only enough of the essentials and to eat only when you are hungry, you can stop adding both fat and more debt to your life.
Once you start taking care of the things you possess and use them to the fullest — from your used car to the plate of food –, you’ll enjoy life with what you have rather than feel self-pity for what you don’t have. Similarly, when you start exercising or running, playing tennis or helping your neighbor, you’ll have fun and start using every extra calorie in your body rather than adding more by munching that super sized Big Mac.
Additional hints to help you shape up your weight and debt
Have a budget.
When our life is in chaos, it’s an outer expression of the chaos that exists in our mind. We’ve simply given up the courage to find and live for our life long purpose. We’ve declared a defeat in our mind. If you take time to reflect, most of your troubles begin with a lack of budgeting. If we don’t budget, impulsive spending takes over our mind. Similarly, if we don’t budget our food intake, impulsive eating habits kick start our cravings for the toxic food that we need least for our well-being.
Learn to be frugal.
I’m a frugal guy, so I’ve a natural inclination for this approach - but frugality can also be your best friend when it comes to trimming fat and debt from your life. Being a cheapskate is not a bad habit. It teaches you the most basic and profound laws of life - Live within your means.
How to stay both physically and financially fit?
In our culture of super-size everything from Big Macs to big cars, we are conditioned to yearn for more. Once you realize that life only needs enough to make you feel happy from within, you will be happy to eat only when you are hungry rather than to stuff your body with loads of calories that produce more fat. When you learn to live happily with enough, you’ll stop catering to your own impulsive feelings to purchase another pair of shoes that only collect more dust in the long run. By learning to set limits for both your eating and spending habits, you’ll begin to control your life sooner than you thought possible.
Once you value your own money, you’ll have a different perspective about your spending habits. By the same token, your frugal habits put a damper on your impulsive desire to eat more. As opposed to the general belief, frugality is not about sleeping on mattress with a big hole or starving yourself – it’s simply a habit that makes you think twice and causes you to be aware of those dreaded impulsive cravings that scare you to even consider losing the extra weight and debt from your life.
Once you master these steps, you’re on the pathway leading towards a leaner body and lighter debt. Are you ready to be the biggest loser?
I’m sure that you have tried ways to shed some weight and painful debt. Let’s have a conversation to lighten up to stay fit.
To Your Success,
This is an excellent article on two topics I wouldn’t think were related.
I find that my overweight comes from emotional distress, especially grief. For instance, when I’m grieving a loss, I tend to choose comfort foods over healthy foods. I know how to lose weight, but when I’m in distress, I don’t want to.
My financial “overweight” comes from something else. I’m not sure what, but times when I feel the need to overspend don’t coincide with the times when I feel the need to overeat.
Dot’s last blog post..Beginner Blogger Blues
“Ask why you want to buy twice” - great tip. One of the best things I have done for myself was to learn to differentiate between “need” and “want”. It’s not as intuitive as one would think!
Vered - MomGrind’s last blog post..Hate Mail: Apparently, I’m a Bad Mom
> When our life is in chaos, it’s an outer expression of the chaos that exists in our mind.
Too true … act from the inside out.
> Have a budget
Yes - across all your buckets. At the end of the day, you are your best investment (mind, body, emotions, career, financial, relationships, fun). You have limited time, resources and energy to spread across your buckets.
The sum is more than the parts and they are all related. It’s tough to be your best when your buckets are out of balance. Covey might say, take care of your “whole” person.
J.D. Meier’s last blog post..SIGN - The 4 Signs of a Strength
“If I was to declare that your health and wealth are related, you may laugh at me.”
Not at all. In fact, I might need some help in understanding the difference between health and wealth! As you’ve noted, there are many similarities that let us see how closely related they are.
Hunter Nuttall’s last blog post..Top Secret Tips For Winning Game Shows
Heya Shilpan!
I’ve just twittered saying the following:- “Friends who havent’ seen me in 9mths said i looked totally different. Defined jaws, deeper voice, & sharp-lookin eyes that expresses focus.”
And right when I received a link to your article about how wealth and weight are co-related, I do realize something myself too. Which is that most points in your list which I had put into practice myself, contributes to my newer look. Haha.
That is a good thing to point out.
Great post!
Daniel
Daniel Richard’s last blog post..Galileo Upsetting All Of Pisa With His Ideas
Less is more, less is more, less is more. The less I own, the more money I have to do the things I enjoy, the less I have to work, and the fewer things I have to maintain.
Life is short and you cannot take stuff with you. So stay out of debt and be free.
SurvivalTopics.com’s last blog post..Edible Pine Bark
Nice tips Shilpan! I like the three step plan!
Lance’s last blog post..The Impact We Have On Others
loving this!!
thank you.
jessica’s last blog post..9/11 Memory
Hi Shilpan - these are great tips and I’ve just realised something reading this. We really need to be more frugal right now - because of everything that’s happened, it’s almost two years since Stuart & I have paid each other.
I found I had much less money in the bank than I did, but now I realise why. When Stuart goes to buy something he uses my debit card instead of taking cash from the bank. And as you’ve said, by doing this we are less aware of what we’re spending. Now we will just draw cash as you advised. Thanks Shilpan.
Cath Lawson’s last blog post..Grilled Frog On Toast Anyone?
Dot’s comment reveals a difference. The mechanism of overspending and the mechanism of overeating are much the same but they may be driven by different core beliefs. As Dot mentions, many eat to cover emotional distress seeking comfort in food. Magazines are full of advice about diets, and also about seeing the emotional junk that leads to it.
(but keep in mind weight gain can be simply aging and a sedentary lifestyle - it may not have an emotional cause - but Shilpan’s advice still holds)
Finances are an arena much less explored. And it shows, with all the personal debt people carry. Financial drivers are fear based - fear of not enough essentially. People surround themselves with stuff to try to quash fear. But it just makes it worse when we can’t pay the bills.
I can recommend Soul of Money if you want to get a better understanding of this. A brief summary:
http://in2deep.wordpress.com/2007/09/21/sufficiency/
Not paying off your charge cards is an appalling waste of money, but people do it because fear trumps sense. Until we can see that.
At one time, the interest rates now commonly charged were called Usery and would put money lenders in jail. Who can justify rates 6 times cost? Why do people even consider using such cards? It’s not a sale if it has no purpose in your life and can’t be paid for in cash.
Davidya’s last blog post..Stepping towards Self
Great article Shilpan. I love the reminders and the points, especially that we are already so much more abundant than we truly think. Even everyone strapped down by the bad economy in America and ridiculous fuel prices are still better off than 95% of the rest of the world’s population.
Dr. Nicole Sundene’s last blog post..Zen Please? 20 Things to do on Your Day Off
It is a good idea to eat only what is needed. Clearly eating excessively causes us to pile on the weight. I try to maintain a balance. There may be dinner outings whereby one is tempted to eat more. So I’d make it up by eating less on other meals.
As you’ve pointed out, it is the same with spending. There may be some items whereby I’m prepared to spend more on. Yet others, a cheap one will do. It’s all about finding the balance.
Evelyn Lim’s last blog post..Blessings For Healing
Very interesting … I’m trying to cut down on both, so this is timely for me. “Develop a list of all your possessions” — this I definitely have to do! Often I’m surprised to find things I’d totally forgotten about years down the road.
Irene | Light Beckons’s last blog post..Epiphanies From Freaking Out
Shilpan, I love your suggestion to make a list of everything you own. That will not only teach you to be thankful for what you have, but it will curb your desire to get more of anything you really don’t need. I think it would be a great idea to make this list and carry it with us wherever we go.
Jennifer’s last blog post..Change Your Life One Thought at a Time - Part 5
Good post Shilpan,
How well you have shown a connection between two apparently unrelated situations!
Ayesha
Ayesha Parveen’s last blog post..A Never-ending Experience
Good stuff, as usual, Shipan. My favorite:
Live within your means
If more did this we would not be in a lot of the messes we are in right now.
peace,
mike
livelife365
livelife365’s last blog post..How To Survive an Election Year Financial Meltdown
While I agree that our relationship with food and our relationship with money often parallel each other, I think this article simplifies what is a very complex and for many a deep emotional process. I have treated individuals with eating disorders including binge eating disorder where many are obese by medical standards and I can tell you for many it is about being genetically predisposed to higher weights and the resulting trauma that comes from living in a world where living in a larger body is not accepted. To say to just take in less calories is just too simplistic. We need to look at out internal emotional and physical hunger, our genetics and our coping strategies to understand our relationship with food and if need be heal from it. For some this means living in a smaller body for other it means staying large.
With money, it is similar. We need to understand our internal money thougths and beliefs and understand our spending in context of our society. Intellectually knowing what to do with debt is often very different than taking the steps to reduce debt, if the internal work is not done.
In short, it is a complex process tied to self worth, regulating emotions, and living in a society with black and white beliefs about wealth and health coming only in a size 2.
Shilpan you’ve surprised me. I though by the title you’d be talking about lightening up emotionally and you’re really talking about it literally. You picked two damn heavy topics to do that!
Although your tips are basic and often repeated, they are effective and even necessary. As a guy who is currently dropping pounds I can tell you that excess weight on a very real level cost more. The “weight surcharge” is everywhere from insurance premiums to the coast of larger clothes.
Tom Volkar / Delightful Work’s last blog post..Finding Your Business Sweet Spot
Not surprised here either. Have long thought the two issues were very similar. It is interesting to me how many people speak of “comfort foods” and “retail therapy” in relation to overeating and overspending. What about the peace that comes when one has achieved both physical and fiscal fitness? There is enormous comfort in that.
I’m living proof of this Shilpan…When you get to this point, you just have to do it one step at a time and make sure to employ all the resources that’s available to you.
chris’s last blog post..Fall Cleaning
Thanks for sharing this clear connection between fiscal and physical health.
Never too little, never too much, only that which is necessary …
Shann’s last blog post..Personal Development Challenge
To control and manage your life you need to have self confidence. One of the ways to improve your self confidence is indeed to control your financial and your feelings about your weight.
Shilpan, very nicely said and explained.
Thanks for sharing.
Great article. It is great how you share valuable tips for both physical fitness and financial fitness. I have the privilege of helping people improve both of these in my business.
My favorite of your tips is to pay everything with cash. This can make a big difference for people.
Success Professor’s last blog post..Sunday Browsing: Potential, Projections, Sunk Costs and Your Success
Thanks, I really love the simplicity of this. I need simplicity. Everything else requires too much work.
I have been in debt - big debt - and it sucks. So take my advice - cut up your credit cards. Now.
Seamus Anthony’s last blog post..10 Reasons Why Being a Lazy Dude is Actually a Good Thing
Excellent Comparison and great post. Another step towards simplyfying your life, just what we need in today’s time and age.
deepu’s last blog post..Living For Today
You remind your readers how everything is connected in subtle ways that are often missed. Growth, evolution and self-development are linked to the soul and this reminds us who we are.
Great writeup!
Loved “Start trimming your fat” a LOT!
It is applicable to any area - not only in the context you have used here. It is acctually my mantra - “Trim Fat”, meaning trim anything that is not meaningful to me.
Again - great write up. Thanks for sharing.
Alik Levin | PracticeThis.com’s last blog post..The Power Of Saying ?No?
@Dot - You’ve hit nail in the head with your thoughts on how stress relates to over eating.
@Vered - My dad always told me in my early years to understand clearly the difference between a true need and an impulse. It has helped me a great deal.
@JD - All of our resources are finite and that requires us to have budget for these resources.
@Hunter - I agree with you. We have to nurture both health and wealth to live life to its fullest.
Those are some really nice tips, kinda don’t have problem with health but wealth maybe kinda need some help =). Sure, learned some important things from this post of yours and learned that health can really be related to wealth.
Hello, if interested to exchange links with me please do email me or just leave a comment at my blog..thanks!!
Health and Fitness’s last blog post..Four Tips for Faster Walking Technique
Great advice, to simplify our lives we can get rid of much excess baggage in all forms.
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Hey this is an excellent blog an excellent comparison, between the two, hey dear if u have a fan list then ad me into it.
Fasting is such a great way to get back in touch with your body. It is often overlooked in my culture, but it has countless benefits.
Jamie Simmerman’s last blog post..Picking the Brain of Naomi Dunford
Thanks for this post. I’d add that, in my experience, people who have trouble controlling their spending and people who have difficulty moderating their eating are both trying to fill in a hole they feel within themselves. Because of this, debt reduction and weight loss plans are often only temporary solutions — they focus on the symptoms of that hole or wound rather than the wound itself. Looking directly at the wound is scary but it seems to be the path to healing.