Keep Both Your Oars in the Water !

I bet you are asking yourself, “What the heck is he talking about?”  Well, I’m glad you asked that question.  Let me tell you a little story.  Once upon a time there was a young man who was crossing Ireland and came upon a lake in his path.  It was a large lake which would require a significant amount of time to walk all the way around.  Luckily, there was a man with a row boat which he hired out as a ferry boat to carry passengers across the lake in a fraction of the time it would take to walk around.  So, the young man agreed to hire the boatman, got into the boat and the two of them began their short trip across the water.  As they rowed, the two got talking about how a person lives their faith in this world.  The boat man listened to the young man’s thoughts for some time and then leaned on his oars and said this to the man.  “Son, it’s been my experience in this life that folks of true faith who want to accomplish significant things are those who have both faith and works in their lives.  Here, let me show you what I mean.”  Then the oarsman put the left oar in the water and pulled hard on the one oar for several strokes.  The boat didn’t move through the water at all but, instead, spun in tight circles in a counter clockwise direction!  “You see”, the oarsman said, “when I pull on this left oar all I do is go in circles and don’t really see much progress.  No matter how hard I work at pulling this one oar I don't accomplish any forward motion.  I just keep going in circles.  Let’s call this oar ‘faith’ .”  Then he raised that oar out of the water and dipped the right oar deep into the lake, pulling hard and strong for several powerful strokes.  In almost identical fashion the boat spun in a tight circles as before but in the opposite direction.  “Now, you see, the boat is still moving but only in a circle, not getting any closer to shore.  Let’s say we name this oar ‘works’.  Son, here’s what I’m trying to tell you.  In your life, if you just live with your faith hiding quietly inside without letting it affect what you do, you just spin in place with little impact or progress toward any kind of goal.  It’s only when these two things, faith AND works, act together that you see any real accomplishment in your life.  And you move your boat, I mean, your life in a positive direction and move toward whatever goals you have in mind.  And with that, the oarsman dipped both oars into the water and, pulling strongly, soon had the young man at the opposite shore.”  So, you may be asking, “What the heck does this story have to do with losing weight?”  I’m glad you asked that question too.  Read on.

It’s been my experience over the years that many people approach weight loss like the young man.  They try “dieting” by eating less food or more healthy food but they often find limited success.  Then there are those who some call “gym rats” or “exercise fanatics” who work out in one fashion or another, trying to sweat off those extra pounds.  They too, often find limited success in what they are trying to accomplish.  The most successful weight loss I have had over the years and seen in others were the ones where diet AND exercise were both a part of what was happening.  It’s been my experience over time and talking with many other folks who have also been in their own “Battle of the Bulge” that focusing too much on one or the other seems to limit success.  Don’t get me wrong, either severely limiting calorie intake or exercising to some kind of extreme level will bring about weight loss but it’s often short-lived and demands a pretty severe regimen.  However, by including both a reduction in the volume of food (which should include moving toward healthier choices) WITH an increase in the amount of exercise, or calorie burning, a person experiences results in a quicker and longer lasting weight loss. 

It’s sort of a ‘1 – 2’ punch.  If you burn more food energy (calories) in a day than you consume, then your body draws on the food energy it has stored within itself in the form of fat.  If, at the same time, you are also reducing the amount of food you consume (eat less) then your body is quicker to tap into those stored reserves.  The short version of all this is very simple:  EAT LESS, EXERCISE MORE.  Yup, it’s really that simple.  If you do either one you should, over time, see progress but if you do both at the same time you should see a lot more success a lot more quickly and that feels great.  It’s something I am still learning to apply in my life and I’m trying to make lifestyle changes so I won’t have to repeat this whole weight loss thing all over again (and again, and again, and again…).  Time will tell how successful I will be but for now, it’s working as long as I stay on the plan…that is to “Keep Both Oars in the Water”.  You get it, right?  The key to success for you and I in this whole “journey” is to combine eating smarter with exercising more.  So here’s to our efforts and winning our own battle.  Remember, “Keep Both Your Oars in the Water”.  God bless!