Last evening we did our annual pilgrimage to the racetrack in Charlestowne, WV. I am by no means an expert in horse race betting but I know how to read the odds on the big board and see who are the “favorites” and who are the “longshots”. The odds are based lots on past performance of the horses in their previous races. I was explaining to Nataliya that the “longshots” will pay off lots more money if they win than the “favorites”. As it is not much fun to win a small amount of money, we wound up betting on the horses that had the most fun names as well as the “longshots”. Clearly, betting based on names and the horses that are 50:1 does not make for a very winning night…we lost (but we only bet a very small amount of $$$ so we had gas money for the ride home).
Okay, so now that I put you to sleep with telling you about our evening, let’s bring this analogy to the weight control arena: Are you a “favorite” or a “longshot” in your weight control endeavors? We cannot gauge this simply based on past performance, as pretty much everyone attempting to lose weight and keep that weight off have had multiple “losses”, but also multiple “gains” (i.e. losing weight followed by gaining all the weight back and more).
The ”favorites” to “win” in the weight control “track” are those people that:
- Take the approach of life-style changing as opposed to “dieting”
- Take the time to plan their meals, snacks and exercise
- Do not get sucked in to buying fad meal replacements, supplements etc and NOT put in the prerequisite work needed to shed the weight.
The “longshots” to lose weight and keep that weight off? Those that do not adhere to the above bullet points.
Be a “favorite” and not the “longshot”…by doing so, you will enter the “Winners Circle” of much better health and happiness.
And for those that like to bet…LUCK is part of the equation as well…and for those of you that know Marlon Brando for any roles other than Don Corleone in The Godfather, enjoy him singing about luck in Guys and Dolls: