The big idea is, never gain it abnormally in the first place!

Otherwise, whether you fail or succeed much of your vigor, vitality and wealth is sure to be lost in the process. More so as the weight loss even if you succeed is hardly ever permanent.

Most regain it within a few months.

That is of course until and unless one drastically changes one's prevailing life-style.

Which is in fact this article is all about. Though its basic premise is not to gain weight abnormally in the first place.

Ever heard of a wise saying: "First man loses his health to gain wealth and then he loses his wealth to gain health?"

We need not necessarily do so.

Here let me recall a famous story by Russian writer Tolstoy: "How much land does a man need?"

A farmer has a few Bighas of land, but is not satisfied and wishes for more saying that if he had more "he will not be afraid of even the Devil himself."

Devil incidently overhears this and starts to work on him to teach him a lesson for challenging him. He manoeuvres things in such a way that the farmer slowly gets to buy more and more land. But unknown to the farmer, the more lands he possesses the more he is getting greedy to own still more.

Finally when farmer's greed has reached the top the Devil plots a trap for the final revenge. He manoeuvres things in such a way that the farmer is given an offer by certain land owners that they will give him all the land he can circle by running from morning till sunset for the same small pre-fixed amount of money.

The farmer starts running but does not want to stop seeing more and more beautiful land opening up before his eyes. In the process he comes far from the starting point. But as per condition he had to return to that point to close the circle. With the result that on returning he had to run on break-neck speed. But then just as he reaches the starting point he is so breathless that he falls down and dies.

As the story ends he is finally buried in a 6 feet long grave conveying the moral of the story that all the farmer in fact needed was six feet land.

We acquire abnormal weight only by running after money, land like the former. We may not die instantly but we make preparations for eventually early death by acquiring more and more weight finally leading to many complications and heart attacks.

Though we need not go to the other extreme and accept that we need only 6 feet of land we must understand and accept that the real happiness is not given by more and more possessions and wealth. At the most we should be having enough for comfortable living and that is all.

The main mistake is when we run after possessions not only for our comfortable or even luxurious living but as an ego trip. We get into competition with others and want to outdo all.

In this connection we must always remember the wise saying, "To win others is great but to win yourself is the greatest."

Or that "Only he is rich who is satisfied with what he already possesses."

So nothing like if you can acquire a life-style which will not make you run after money and wealth forgetful of yourself and acquire abnormal weight in the process.

And still more nothing like if you are lucky enough to even start your life with such a life style.

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