Do you have a new job? Have you started your own business? Are you in process of earning a degree? Do you have desire to lose weight? If one of these scenarios are a recent event in your life, you are probably still excited about opportunity. That also probably means you are motivated, as well. Excitement and motivation, often, work hand in hand.

But, how do you stay motivated after several weeks or months have gone by? How do you maintain same level of excitement that you had when you began your new adventure?

There are many things you can do to stay motivated. It is important to set aside a few minutes or more, each day, in an effort to keep your motivation level at its highest. There will be days that you may feel less motivated then usual. Let's face it; we all have a bad day now and then. So, by doing all that you can to maintain a positive attitude, your "down days" will probably be few and far between.

Here in America, we have built a thriving industry trying to control our weight and treat consequences of over-indulgence. The cost of weight loss and obesity related health care treatments is staggering...Americans alone spend around $114 billion every year! And even with all this interest in losing weight, we continue to pack on pounds like never before...

- A whopping 64 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese...up about eight percent from earlier estimates.

- Among children and teens ages 6-19, 15 percent or almost nine million are overweight...triple rate in 1980!

- Nearly one-third of all adults are now classified as obese.

For Americans, modern life may be getting TOO easy. Our cushy lifestyle means we expend less energy and consequently need fewer calories to sustain our normal body weight.

Think about it for a moment...

Entertainment no longer requires energy expenditure. In fact, it's usually quite opposite. We now entertain ourselves in comfort of our own home while watching TV and munching on our favorite snack. Whether it's television, computers, remote controls, or automobiles, we are moving less and burning fewer calories. Common activities that were once a part of our normal routine have disappeared...activities like climbing stairs, pushing a lawn mower or walking to get somewhere.

And please do not misunderstand me...I appreciate comfortable living just as much as next person. But, here is problem...

With all of our modern day conveniences and "cushy" style of living we have not adjusted our caloric intake to compensate for our decreased caloric expenditure. We consume more calorie rich and nutrient deficient foods than ever before. Consider a few of following examples comparing what we eat "today" vs 1970's (U.S. Department of Agriculture survey):

- We are currently eating more grain products, but almost all of them are refined grains (white bread, etc.). Grain consumption has jumped 45 percent since 1970's, from 138 pounds of grains per person per year to 200 pounds! Only 2 percent of wheat flour is consumed as whole wheat.