The Happiness Diet

November 12, 2003
BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian

I have lost 30 pounds and I now realize how I am doing it. I'm on the Happiness Diet. Yes, that's right, I'm losing weight by being happy. I know you want to know more about it so I thought I would tell you how it has worked for me.

Like all habits, you have to decide losing weight is what you want. Once you do that it actually becomes easier because you start to realize that you will succeed. I have been on other diets in my life, but the real difference is that I am doing this one by using the power of happiness. The real trick to this diet is that you do not make yourself unhappy no matter what happens. I may not lose weight as fast as I would like to, but I am happy while I lose weight slowly. Besides, the important thing is not being on a diet, it is going in the direction you want to be going it.

That direction not only includes happiness, but the fact that it is more important to change the way I eat and the way I think about food. Being Happy has made me realize that it is not about losing weight. Who wants to lose something? It is about gaining health. So I am gaining health on the Happiness Diet.

Did I give up foods that I liked to eat? No, now I like to eat foods that are healthier for me and I enjoy them more. When I eat a meal now, I enjoy it a great deal more than when I ate foods that I thought I wanted to eat. I used to eat ice cream and now that I am not eating desert, I don't miss it at all. In fact I now have room to eat more than I did before, because I am eating better than I did before.

Another important thing about the Happiness Diet is it includes more than food. I now do a great deal of walking almost every day. Walking is past of my diet. A good diet includes exercise that you like to do. I love to walk on a path through the woods. I have found I can do much more walking in the woods over tough terrain that I ever imagined I could. That is because I really enjoy the great outdoors. The other day was a beautiful one and I took a six-mile, two-hour walk in the woods. I enjoyed the leaves, with their many beautiful colors, lying on the ground and falling off the trees while I hiked. My eyes caught sight of some beautiful mushrooms growing on a dead fallen tree. I heard some birds singing as I enjoyed the sun shining on the trail. I listened to the sound the water made while running down the river. I had a wonderful time and all the while I was on my diet.

The Happiness Diet is fun. If you're not having fun you have to change something. You have got to be creative here. Start doing more exercise not only because it is good for you but also because you enjoy it. You will not know if you like it unless you start doing something. If you begin some form of exercise keep it up for awhile and you just may get to love it. Start off slow; do not overdo the exercise you choose. If you do too much too soon, you will not keep it up. A little is much better than none. You must do it for at least 21 days to make it a habit.

Of course what you eat is very important on The Happiness Diet. You have to figure out what food strategy you will use. I will leave that up to you. I can tell you that I am on a modified Atkins Diet and South Beach Diet. I eat meat, chicken and fish, vegetables, salads and fruit. When you eat salad you have to watch the dressing. There are so many calories in most dressings that you can do better with a no calorie, or low calorie dressing.

I am going to tell you the real secret of The Happiness Diet. The secret is not to care about the results. That's right don't worry about the results, just control you. I get on the scale every single day. It is important to get the feedback from the scale. You have to know how you're doing, but not get unhappy with the results. Sometimes I do not lose a single pound for a long time. I stay happy and I do not get caught up with the results. That really takes the pressure off me. I know I am doing everything I can in my power to lose the weight. The most important thing about The Happiness Diet is staying happy. If you make the focus of the diet Being Happy than you will say on the diet. By staying happy you can calmly and intelligently change what you have to change to get the results you want.

Let's get real! You didn't gain all your extra weight overnight, did you? So why do you think you are going to lose it fast? If you lose if fast, you will gain it right back again. It is much more important to learn to eat the right foods, and exercise on a daily basis. The Happiness Diet is a direction to travel in. Arriving is not the point of the journey. Enjoying the direction you are traveling in is the most important thing of all.

Your next meal could be a Happy Meal, and I am not talking about fast food. I am talking about your attitude. Every meal I eat is a happy meal. Every meal I ever ate in my life used to be a happy meal. Now it is a happy and healthy meal. When you are happy with a healthy meal than you can stop being addicted to eating. Eating can be an addiction because you eat to satisfy your emotions. When you feel emotionally empty, you can never have enough food to fill that empty feeling. Feeling happy is what your mind and body is really expressing a desire for.

When are you going to satisfy your hunger and go on The Happiness Diet? Right now is always a great time to do it. Be happy and be healthy start your Happiness Diet today. You have a lot to gain! What have you got to lose?

The Happiness Club is having its next meeting on Thursday, November 13, from 7:00 - 8:45 p.m. at Fairfield Public Library, Memorial Room, 1080 Old Post Road, Fairfield. The topic is the book: THE POWER of NOW, By Eckhart Tolle. Aspects of the book will be explored and discussed by Lionel Ketchian. The public is invited to attend. There is no charge for the meeting or the happiness power you will get.

Lionel Ketchian is the founder of the Happiness Club, a Happiness Coach, and can be reached at PrintLRK@aol.com. The website is www.HappinessClub.com.