The number of people regularly trying to lose weight is enormous.  And for most of us, our attempts often end up leaving us disappointed.  Considering that with each new cycle of diet-weight gain-diet-weight gain it makes it harder for us to shed those pesky pounds, having an actual plan that achieves deeper levels of health is really necessary.  So try using the R.I.G.H.T. way to lose weight.  (I'm literally making this up as I go but people love acronyms).

R- Relax:  Stress causes aberrations in your sugar and hormone levels.  The results? Fat deposited around your hips, butt, and gut.  Rest and relaxation are critical for any type of continued success when it comes to losing weight because without them, your body will continue to fight itself.  Of course, worst of all is getting stressed about not losing weight!  Talk about counterproductive.

I- Intentions: You say you want to lose weight.  But it's more likely that you want to have more energy, be able to play with your kids, or just feel sexy...it's okay to admit it!  From my experiences, weight loss as a goal lacks any real motivating power.  It just doesn't have any juice.  Find what means something to you and set that as the intention.  Far more likely to get you going and keep you on track towards your goals.

G - Get Moving: Yes you should eat well.  But you have got to get your butt moving if you want to rid the extra poundage and keep it off.  Walks, yoga, weights, karate, zumba....it doesn't matter what it is.  Just do it! (what can I say...Nike nailed it)

H - Heap on Praise: So much of dieting is based on misery.  No sweets, denied pleasures, strict plans with little wiggle room for things we enjoy.  Flip the script and start patting yourself on the back for the little things you do that are moving you forward.  Even a momentary thought of "I feel better" after a drink of water helps.  Too much pain = No gain.  WTF!?!  Did I really just say that? YES!

T - Taste: When my parents were trying to improve their health we replaced real cookies with SnackWells.  They were TERRIBLE!  Cardboard covered in tempting fake chocolate.  It was misery.  Today, we focus on how our food tastes.  We savor and enjoy it.  Know what we've found?  Bad food tastes bad.  Seriously.  McDonald's and Subway are gross.  When we started paying attention to the real taste of food we found that what we made at home was not only healthier but often tastes way better.  So slow down and enjoy your food.  You just might find that vegetables are enjoyable and the cheap stuff that comes from fast food joints tastes....cheap.

You know exercise is important.  You hear about it all the time.  But the traditional idea of jogging or lifting weights is just boring.  Even though you've tried, maybe it just wasn't enough of something (fun, effective, etc.) to make it stick.  

Yet you know you've got to do something...so what should you do?

Experiment.  Which means that you should try a little bit of everything.  I've written on how in our house we regularly spend time lifting weights, running, doing yoga, kicking metaphorical butt with Muay Thai, and lately (at least for Dr. A) joining some Barre classes.  

My point is simple.  One exercise isn't going to cut it.  And doing one form of workout alone is often so monotonous and draining that loses effectiveness and your attention.  So you quit.  No matter of willpower is good enough to overcome that.  And I'd rather you not be bored to death anyways.  

Then what's the solution?  What exercise is right for you?  Any of them and all of them.  Try them and see what you like and DO that.  Then, try something else.  There's no one way that is THE answer here.  They all work your body differently, which provides a huge benefit by itself keeping your muscles and mind active.  A pro quarterback doesn't just throw passes all day.  He runs, lifts, and does other exercise amidst his regular practice.  It's the combo that gives most benefit.

A good week for me exercising (one where I feel both excited, engaged, and energetic) includes 3 days of lifting, a day of yoga, and at least one day of Muay Thai.  Each one works me in different ways.  And I love it.  If you're struggling to find a routine, workout, or form of exercise that works for you, maybe the answer isn't finding the "right" exercise.  Most likely it's finding the "right" mixture of different forms of exercise.  

If there's one major problem I recognize when I talk to people in practice, teaching, or at conferences, it's that so many of us don't recognize how brilliant the human body is.  At the first sign of breakdown or upset we remark how our body is letting us down.  It doesn't work the way it used to and must be destined for failure.  Not only do I find this somewhat disheartening, I also think it's wrong.

Consider some of these facts about your body:

1. It is made of approximately 50 trillion cells (that's 12 zeros, I liked it up) all working together to make you healthy, happy, and wise.
2. Without you even being aware of it, your muscles, kidneys, intestines, lungs, heart, and countless other tissues provide moment to moment balance that keeps you awake, energetic, attentive, and upright.
3. Every bite of food you take is broken down and recognized by your gut where it is absorbed and turned into skin, eyes, teeth, nails, hair, muscles, and more.
4. A single deep breath relaxes every cell from the ends of your hair to the tips of your toes.
5. The alveoli in your lungs would be the size of a full tennis court if we flattened and spread them out. Your eyes have more molecules and atoms then there are known stars in all the universes and galaxies combined.

See, your body is pretty darn remarkable.  And when I see "pretty" I mean completely and totally!  Which is why viewing it as some bumbling machine is inaccurate and harmful.

If we learn to instead recognize its genius and listen to its messages we access a new world of information and insight into living happy and healthy.  This can take some work since many of us have learned to avoid these messages.  They are often subtle and nuanced.  They also come FROM the body and aren't always contained in our heads.  It may be your stomach quietly urging to avoid the donut, your muscles and joints asking for a 20 minute walk, or your mind telling you to stop working and play with your kids.  

The fact is....your body knows best what you need.  Tune into it and you suddenly have all the information at your disposal to create wellness and vitality.  Sure it takes some time and listening and probably even some mis-steps.  But even mistakes are information.  In fact mistakes are often how we learn best.  So what's your body telling you?