Healthy living

My wife is a light eater… as soon as it gets light she starts eating!

A balanced diet does not mean you have a chocolate bar in each hand!

“People who rush through life get to the end of it quicker!”

John Mason, writer

“Three good meals a day is bad living… To lengthen thy life lessen thy meals.”

Benjamin Franklin (American statesman, scientist and author)

The greatest asset we all have, the finest tool we possess, the most powerful instrument in the whole world, incorporating an on-board computer with capabilities far beyond our comprehension, indeed, the most precious thing in existence, is life, your life, YOU! Now let me ask you this; doesn’t it make sense to look after you physically, as well as mentally and spiritually? Doesn’t it make sense to maintain you in good working order? Doesn’t it make sense to persist and continue to do so?

Imagine for a moment, a taxi driver not maintaining his vehicle (his most precious asset), but instead he runs it into the ground! For a time, when the taxi is new and reliable, the cab driver makes a good living and he’s comfortable. He has the best intentions in the world and he plans to service his vehicle regularly. He agrees with the phrase, ‘prevention is better than cure’ and knows that it makes a lot of sense to look after the asset he depends upon most to earn his living. But, all the same, there seems to be no urgency to do anything about it at this precise moment, so it doesn’t matter putting it off, for a little while at least. Besides which, the taxi is still young and running perfectly well so Cabby doesn’t anticipate there will be any problems! However, that’s not to say that he doesn’t still plan to service his vehicle. In fact, he intends to do so very soon. But for now his philosophy is more along the lines of, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” Anyway, there seems very little point in spending good money unnecessarily. The taxi driver decides that he will begin servicing his vehicle straight after the Christmas and New Year holidays, when business slackens off a bit. Now that he has actually made a plan (a genuine plan I might add), he starts to feel better and so he allows himself to fall back into the comfort zone. Meanwhile, business is good and although the taxi (which is constant use), is now in need of a few very minor repairs and a couple of adjustments here and there, it’s nothing that can’t wait for a week or two. This continues but the driver still genuinely intends to put his vehicle in for a thorough service as soon as he can find the time. It’s just that at the moment it seems such a pity to take the taxi off the road while there is such rich pickings to be had. In any event, it’s good business sense to make hay while the sun shines!

Alas, the months pass by and the taxi driver is either too busy and can’t afford the time or else he’s too quiet, takings are down and he can’t afford the money or the time off work. Then there was that extra expense at home, then the extra cash needed for holidays, then the computer for his eldest son and then the problems with the new competition in the area, threatening to poach his account customers. Still, the taxi was a young vehicle, no longer new perhaps, but there was still plenty of life left in the old girl yet! And she definitely was going to get a major overhaul and refurbishment just as soon as… BANG!

Time ran out for the poor old taxi driver. The taxi had a serious breakdown, which meant it being off the road for several weeks, possibly even months. The mechanics didn’t hold out much hope and said that, although the bodywork looked okay, really the taxicab needed a new engine because the old one had simply been run into the ground. Poor Mr. Taxi Driver, he ended up losing everything that he’d spent his whole life working for!

Now, let me ask you again, doesn’t it make sense to look after yourself? Doesn’t it make sense to maintain yourself in good working order? Doesn’t it make sense to persist and continue to do so? If you’re not already committed to looking after yourself, let me encourage you to start right away, today, if possible. All too often I hear people say that they can’t afford the time but those people, in particular, are the ones who can’t afford not to find the time! Take care and look after yourself.

R. Ian Seymour

R. Ian Seymour, excerpt adapted from Maximize Your Potential

“We have all chosen to be the weight that we are because we have never eaten anything unintentionally or by accident!”

Zig Ziglar

“The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like and do what you’d rather not!”

Mark Twain

“Nothing whets an appetite like the decision to go on a diet.” – Tom Morris, author

An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Cheers: “To your good health, old friend: May you live for a thousand years and may I be there to count them.”

Robert Smith Surtees (1803-1864), English journalist and novelist

Get fit or fat, the choice is yours.

British people are a funny lot. We order a deep pan pizza, garlic bread, deep fried onion rings, large fries, a tub of double chocolate-chip ice-cream… and a DIET COKE! What’s all that about?

Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.

Anon

“If a man doesn’t take care of No.1, he will soon have 0 to take care of.”

Charles Dickens (1812-1870), English novelist

Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we diet!

How’s your prayer life? – If you can’t sleep at night do you count sheep or do you talk to the Shepherd?

The only exercise some people take is jumping to wrong conclusions.

David McNally writes: “Have you ever seen a boat in dry dock? It is the place where the boat is lifted from the water for the purpose of repairing and cleaning the hull. Overtime, various forms of debris accumulate on the hull, which has the effect of slowing the boat down because of increased resistance in the water. A well-maintained and clean hull minimizes this resistance and enables the boat to maximise its capabilities.” – As for the boat, same for us: we need to take time out to replenish, recuperate and maintain a healthy balance.

Source: David McNally, Even Eagles Need A Push, p.53

If you listen for the whispers you won’t have to hear the screams. – Cherokee Indian saying.

Prevention is better than cure

I’m on a strict sea food diet. I just see food and I eat it!

I’m in shape… round is a shape.

One of the mysteries of life is how a two-pound box of chocolates can make you gain five pounds in weight!

“If I knew I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself.”

Mickey Mantle

“I’m not fat, I’m a nutritional overachiever.”

Anon.

I spent a fortune on a trampoline,
A stationary bike and a rowing machine.
Complete with gadgets to read my pulse,
And gadgets to prove my progress results,
And others to show the miles I’ve charted;
But they left off the gadget to get me started! (Anon.)

“May the wind at your back never be your own.”

Jack Lemmon (1925-2001), actor

“Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee.”

Benjamin Franklin

“SLIP, SLAP, SLOP! – Slip on a shirt. Slap on some cream. Slop on a hat.”

(Advertising campaign by the Australian government warning against over-exposure to the sun)

Graveyards are full of people who died before their time because they literally ran themselves into the ground, six feet under, that is!

Life passes by with the blink of an eye: Learn to be still and stare awhile.

It’s better to put it in the waste than on my waist. It’s better to put it in the bin than on my chin!

“Pause and feel the feet in your shoes.” – Vietnamese proverb

“Some people take more care of their pets than they do themselves. Their animals can run like the wind and yet they can barely make it up a flight of stairs.” – Anon

Cars last for a few years, maybe 10 or more if you look after them, but your body will last up to 10 times that long if you will just take care of it. Men should spend less time caring for their car body, especially at the weekends, and more time caring for their personal body!

“A sickbed teaches more than a sermon.”

Thomas Watson (1874-1956), founder of IBM Corporation