The Best Holiday Gift SAVES Money

Yesterday I wrote that the best holiday gift you can give your family and friends is you...(click here if you want to read that post...or if you are on the blog, you can scroll down and see it.)

Sometimes people are concerned that they will have to spend money in order to have weight loss success. There is this mistaken idea that being healthy costs more. Au contraire, achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight you will actually be saving money!

Obesity costs big bucks. Some of the biggest expenses are medical. People who are overweight tend to need to see the doctor more frequently, require more medications and more surgeries. Health and life insurance costs are higher--that is, if you can get them.

If you are employed, statistics show that obese people earn significantly less than their co-workers who maintain a healthy weight...employers know that obesity hits them in the insurance pocketbook, as well as sick days, etc...so by becoming a weight loss success story you just might land yourself a raise!

Okay, that may not be in your control, but how about this? If you go to a fast food restaurant to feed your habit, pick up your "drug of choice" at the grocery story or vending machines, or grab an extra vanilla latte, you are dropping lots of cash. If you spend an extra $4 a day feeding that habit that comes to more than $1400 in a single year. Think you don't spend that much...hmmm, test it out for yourself. Add up the trips to the vending machines, Starbucks, Micky D, and the cookies/cakes/cream at the grocery store...you may be amazed at how much you are spending...a little bit at a time!

Then there is clothing. We don't have to go into how hard it can be to find the clothes...when you are large it is harder to find discount clothes...often your clothes just cost more. That's not unreasonable, after all, they take more material, right? What about the wear and tear you put on them? I had lots of pants that were worn out between the thighs or split at the seams...between the chafing and the stress on all the seams, my pants just didn't hold up. And the pilling on tops and sweaters because my arms rubbed against my torso. Definitely need to replace clothes more frequently if you want to look your best.

And shoes!!! I wore out lots of shoes...and one place you don't want to skimp is your shoes. Do that and you can have all sorts of foot, knee, hip and back issues. Just the weight of my body pounding on the pavement caused my shoe leather (well, not really leather, but you get the drift) to wear out prematurely.

And talking about wearing out...I wore out seats in cars faster because of my weight...and I had to have sturdy chairs so I didn't risk breaking them and falling on the floor.

I also had to buy larger towels so they would dry me off sufficiently. I was just about needing seat belt extensions too...and there were a couple of flights I was extremely uncomfortable...fortunately I had a skinny flying companion...but if you have to buy an extra seat on the plane because you don't fit into one...there's an expense.

Take a little time and add up all the "extras" that you buy because of your size...if you cut them out, how much money would you save? Over the course of your lifetime you will save a lot of money by achieving and maintaining a healthier weight.

Start today. Remember, you don't have to make all the changes at once. Start small. Be consistent...and you will be get the healthy, energetic, slender body you deserve...and save some bucks at the same time!

Be sure to check back tomorrow when we talk about the third gift you give your family when you decide to become a weight loss success story!