When Oprah Winfrey used to suffer emotional sum, she took to the refrigerator as a medicine cabinet. She would simply open the door and take whatever food that would give her comfort. If the first raid didn’t work, she’d do a second, a third or until she became uncomfortable with being comfortable.

With an unfavorable metabolism, she put on weight as fast as she could shed them. Sounds familiar, right? Well, this is because Oprah’s weight woes is the same as those ordinary people whose names don’t quite measure up with her name’s equivalent in dollar value.

She seesawed in weight, causing her to balloon to 70 pounds above her desired weight. She had closets filled with clothes of varying sizes to use whatever size she was in.

Before knowing it, having ballooned to an incredible weight, she resorted to the latest crash diet programs to shed excess pounds off. Sure, she tried everything–whatever’s new, from calorie-regulated diets to fasting-and-diet supplement programs that diet gurus could come up.

If Oprah was a food junkie, this effectively made her a diet junkie as well. Problem is, once she’s over them, the excess pounds returned. They never took into consideration why she’s prone to food bingeing in the first place: She used food as an emotional crutch.

This yo-yo thing went on and off until she took in Bob Greene, a professional exercise physiologist, as a personal trainer. He made her realize that she was using eating and dieting afflictions for the inability to cope with her life, past and present.

Oprah’s life has been quite unhappy. She was abused by her father, and much later, she snorted cocaine for comfort.

Greene expounded on the principle of “connection.” He explained to her that excess weight is a symptom of a larger problem, that of one’s dissatisfaction with the self. As such, it causes unhappiness, loneliness and fears. Upon understanding the problem and successfully coping with it, the change in perception is what is referred to as the “connection.”

The immediate and long-term effects are: increased self-confidence, inner strength and discipline, making one happy, thereby solving the weight problem. Since the original problem has been dealt with, its symptoms–food as an emotional crutch–have effectively been dealt with.

The 10 steps, in effect, make up a fat-reducing program. It relies on time-tested basics like proper nutrition, daily exercise and the plain knowledge of what works.

The 10 steps follow. Steps 1 to 9 directly or indirectly affect metabolism and aim to promote healthy eating and exercise habits. Step 10 is motivational.

1. Exercise aerobically, 5 to 7 days a week. Exercises such as walking, jogging, stair-stepping, aerobic dance allow the heart to jump, facilitating fat-burning and stamina. Do this preferably in the morning.

2. Exercise in the zone level. Your target is to get the body weight suitable for your height.

3. Exercise 20 to 60 minutes for each exercise session. Work out twice a day, one aerobic and the other stretching and weight training.

4. Eat a low-fat, balanced diet each day. Minimize fat intake but maintain the right combination of the four food groups.

5. Eat three meals and two snacks each day. Don’t skip on meals, of course, in the correct quantities. To prevent any desire to binge on food, eat one snack in between. More than this, you’re overeating.

6. Limit or eliminate alcohol. While it looks as innocent as water, alcohol is calorie-packed, with the ability to stimulate eating.

7. Stop eating two or three hours before bedtime. By not eating before sleeping, you’ll prevent the calorie load-up that will just be stored as fat because the body doesn’t need them.

8. Drink 6 to 8 glasses of water each day. Water is a great body-waste eliminator. Since the water absorbed by the body through the exercises will be expelled by it, it won’t increase body weight. Good thing about it water is calorie zero.

9. Have at least two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetable.

10. Renew your commitment to healthy living each day. This daily renewal will allow you to stay on course. As an affirmation of belief in what you’re doing, it will let you maintain the resolve that only healthy living is the real secret of staying fit.

To be effective, the ten steps must be performed daily. Consistency is the secret of the program’s effectivity.

Now ready for Oprah’s kind of charisma. It could make you millions and more importantly, a happy person at peace with yourself because you’re in control.

3 Responses to “10 Steps to a Better Body and Better Life”