The slower you start, the steadier and more sustainable your progress..
Growing up, my two greatest fears were “healthy foods” and“exercise”.And for the most part, I managed to avoid both.
But then I decided to try out Tennis. I had watched it many times on TV and the Tennis court didn’t appear to be any bigger than a few feet in both directions. And all I had to do was whack this tiny little ball in whichever direction I pleased. So, how hard could it be right?
For starters, the Tennis Court wasn’t as “tiny” as I had anticipated it to be. Secondly, I had a very evil Coach, one who wanted me to run half a mile around the track just to get the legs ready.
Wait a second! I signed up for the ball whacking business, not running. But I had no way out.
Needless to say, I was exhausted after the first 10 steps. Now, I know they say that Cats have nine lives. But, I am sure that I probably died a dozen times over during that short run itself. And, as you can guess, I gave up after a few brief months.
The same thing happened when I decided to team up with some of my friends and joined a gym. Again many years later I joined some of my Brother’s friends for a one-mile run. That too was a one time deal.
But following my divorce a few centuries ago, I decided to do whatever it takes to get my life back or to put it more accurately, to get a REAL LIFE for the first time. I finally became tired of being fat, sluggish, sick and everything else under the Sun. Besides, if I were to start over, I had to look good enough to be able to walk into a building and NOT have all the Women screaming in terror and running for the nearest fire exits.
So, I started trying out one fad diet after another, and even tried several of those “almost overnight” 6 pack abs machines, you know the ones that you see on infomercials. But none of it even plucked one marshmallow off my belly.
I did eventually come across a couple of good books that helped steer me in the right direction. But I was still miles away from where I wanted to be. Now, there was nothing wrong with the diets that I was following by the way. In fact, if I boosted my willpower a little further and cut back on my portions, I would’ve eventually hit my 6 pack or flat abs goal. But willpower, as we both know, is rarely effective unless the stakes are high. And I particularly didn’t enjoy the sensation of “feeling hungry”.
Then almost by divine intervention, I discovered 3 little things that forever changed my life:
1. When the first prototypes of Humans were created a long long time ago, we were already given EVERYTHING we needed to live a perfectly healthy, trim and happy life. Sure, there were a few missing amenities, social values,social media sites and there was also the slight inconvenience of having the occasional relative eaten alive by some passerby Predator. But what I love about the “original blueprint” is that it lacked many of the “relationship” and “health” complications that we created had for ourselves, just to make life a little more “entertaining”.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not exactly typing this message from a Cave while nibbling on a Bat leg. In fact, aside from us veering off our Creator’s health and relationship insurance plans, we seem to have done pretty well in most other areas.
2. The human body is designed to grow slowly and gradually (the principle of Kaizen) – I am guessing that’s why we don’t see too many two-foot tall College Students around.
3. The principle of Kaizen is ONLY effective when infused with a secondary Kaizen (or more than two in certain cases) – So, weight loss would be a byproduct of both healthy eating and exercise. Otherwise, it would be a like trying to clap with one hand or trying to sing without lyrics.
So, here’s a practical scenario of how you can tap into the power of Kaizen Fusion:
Let’s say you’re looking to lose 2000 lbs sometime this decade, without it feels like you’re attempting to skydive in your pajamas.
The first thing we would do is look at our Creator’s original blueprint (which we can do by time warping ourselves a hundred thousand years into the past).
So, a hundred thousand years ago, we didn’t have any fast food joints, vending machines, supermarkets or even a microwave to heat up the occasional dinosaur egg. But, what we did have are natural resources that Mother Nature provided us with.
So, that would mean that our prehistoric menu consisted mainly of Water, Leafy Greens, Vegetables, Fruits, Nuts, Seeds and possibly a few eggs that had gotten left behind due to unwanted pregnancies etc. And I suppose there’s also no harm in taking a nibble out of the occasional Wombat, that dropped dead on the sidewalk out of boredom. And, if we consume those foods in roughly the same proportions they had been given to us, then many of our health and weight issues would start melting away like Ice Creams on a Hot Summer’s day (oops did I say Ice Cream? That’s almost like a swear word among healthy folks).
Now, the proportions part of the puzzle is solved just by looking around and taking a few facts into consideration. Since the Earth (and our Bodies) consist of roughly 71% water, we would up our water intake to match, leaving us with 29% of our storage space for “food”. So, we would fill that remaining storage space with mainly leafy greens and veggies (as they’re the most abundant after Water), a few fruits, a handful of nuts and some seeds. And don’t forget to make your plate as colorful as possible. The greater the color palette, the more nutrient rich your meals are likely to be.
Aside from everything mentioned here, I toss in a few eggs, natural spices, and healthy oils into the mix as well. On top of that, I have a couple of Coffees in the morning, made with skim milk and honey. Aside from the Coffee, everything I have (for 6 days a week) would be in the form of Egg Salads and Smoothies.
And on the 7th day, I try to catch up on all the unhealthy and fattening foods without compromising on my water intake. Whenever my water consumption drop and the flow isn’t as “clear” as it normally is, I start experiencing sore throats, coughs, sneezing fits, constipation, and acne, along with a strange craving for human brains.
So, why aren’t kittens, puppies, and hamsters included in the menu?
Well, since our Creator didn’t feel like fitting us with vampire fangs and wolverine claws, we were parachuted down to Earth as omnivores, just like our friendly neighborhood Giraffes, except we dress better and have the Internet.
Now, whilst this may be the cleanest, safest and the most nutritious weight loss plan around (because it was given to us by our Creator), transitioning over to this new way of life overnight, would be like packing up your camping gear and taking the next rocket to the Moon. In other words, it won’t be a walk in the park.
So, we make the transition easier (and almost effortless) by using the Kaizen Approach as follows:
1. Change one of your meals or food items from your daily meal plan, with a 1 or 2 THICK and creamy smoothies made with greens, veggies, fruits,nuts,and skim milk. And let that adjustment sink in for a month.
Also, feel free to toss in some extra nuts (ideally almonds) to knock the lights out of those stubborn hunger pangs.
2. Then on the second month, you switch the second meal with 1 or 2 more smoothies. You determine how much you need based on how hungry you feel. Also, on the second month, you would start drinking half a glass of water at the top of every hour. No weight loss plan would be anywhere near as effective without sufficient water.
3. And on the third month, you switch the remaining meal with 1 or 2 egg salads, but keep 1-2 junk foods around, just so that you feel like you’re still in control. Also feel free to sprinkle in some healthy oils in with the egg salads, to make them more filling.
4. Lastly, when you start to see how energetic and alive you feel as a result of the transition and transformation, toss out any remaining junk foods for good (for 6 days a week at least). And, at the same time increase your hourly water intake to one full glass.
Next, we have the Kaizen Fusion element, which is about infusing healthy eating with good exercise. So, here’s how that works:
1. Around the same time you switch one of your meals with a couple of healthy smoothies, start a 10 minute SLOW walk around the block. And, that’s pretty much what you’ll be doing, for the entire month.
2. Then, when you enter into the second month, start increasing that walk in 5-minute increments each week, until you can safely and easily manage a half an hour walk.
3. Then on the third month, we start monitoring our walking speeds using a portable speedometer. So, if the speedometer indicates that your current walking speed is 2 miles per hour, then you speed up a little bit and get your speed up to 2.5 mph. Then, over the coming weeks, you would continue increasing your walking speed gradually until you have built up to a solid power walking speed of around 4 to 5 miles per hour.
4. Lastly on the fifth month, when your legs are beginning to feel awesome, you graduate to something a little more fun and intense like P90X3.
So, when you improve your eating plan and your workout simultaneously, your body starts running on 100% Kaizen Fusion energy (the good stuff).
And in the same way, you can use the Kaizen Fusion approach to change ANY aspect of your life and experience with very few or no“transition pains”.
