How much would you pay to lose 10 pounds (about 4.5 kilograms)?
This question has come to my mind, as I am trying get in better shape. I’m noticing that what was once easy – getting back in shape and losing weight quickly while keeping it off – is a bit harder as I knock on the doorstep of 40 years old.
We all know that there aren’t any shortcuts to getting in shape. You need to eat well, and you need to exercise. It doesn’t require extreme behavior, such as eating zero restaurant meals for 12 months, or exercising 2 hours a day, 7 days a week for months on end. It does, however, require a certain level of persistent effort and discipline over a given period of time to make a lasting impact. Losing 10 pounds
That persistent effort and discipline I just mentioned would probably mean behavioral changes, if someone is trying to get in shape. After all, it’s likely that some less than optimal behaviors contributed to getting out of shape in the first place, right?
Those behavior changes aren’t always simple to undertake. There can be inertia and resistance to change. We may like our existing behaviors, even though we know we could make better choices.
That’s where my question comes in. Taking all of this into consideration: How much would you pay to lose 10 pounds?
I’m not talking about losing it over time. Rather, I’m talking about purely hypothetical scenario where you could – presto! – instantly get into get into better shape.Lose the 10 pounds, and get all the associated positive effects that the exercise would have provided to you: more energy, improved cardiovascular endurance, improved muscle strength, etc.
This type of deal doesn’t exist. But if it did, how much would you pay right now to make that happen? Keep in mind: once you pay, you get the benefits instantly.
Once you have answered that question, please consider this follow-up question: If you found out that you were going to instantly gain 10 pounds – the reverse of the previous example – how much would you pay to avoid that? In this case, keep in mind that if you didn’t pay, you would instantly and unavoidably gain weight and get out of shape.
Do your answers to the two questions differ?
It’s interesting to think about this in the context of how important our health is to us, and how we would trade money for better health. To me, it’s a way of demonstrating how ultimately, no matter how much money we accumulate, it loses some value if we don’t have the other important things in life – such as our health.