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Now You Know: The Intersection of Weight-loss and Personal Finance

Writer's picture: Vikram MangatVikram Mangat


There is a lot in common between the world of personal finance and the world of weight-loss. Now before you re-read that last sentence, you read it correctly. Both worlds have more in common than you think. In order to become successful in both spheres one must ration a limited number of resources. In the world of personal finance those resources are usually money among other assets. Individuals must budget these financial assets wisely to ensure they are gaining maximum utility. In simpler terms people have a limited amount of money. Whether that limit is ten thousand or ten billion, there is always a limit. People have the responsibility of spending that limit in a nature that brings them the most value.

The world of nutrition is not much different. Everybody has a limited number of calories and carbohydrates they should be eating. People should start thinking of these macro nutrients as currencies of energy. Thinking like this will remind people to consider the nutritional opportunity cost of an item before consuming it.



Opportunity cost can be defined by Investopedia.com as the benefits an individual, investor or business misses out on when choosing one alternative over another. Both nutrition and personal finance involves considering opportunity cost.



A practical strategy to manage opportunity cost is journaling. In personal finance this means writing down every penny that you spend. In the beginning it can be cumbersome and even down right embarrassing to write down something as trivial as Arizona Ice Tea along with its 99 cent price tag (YOU ALL DON’T DRINK THIS BECAUSE IT HAS TOO MUCH SUGAR). But its just as important to write down small purchases as large purchases. It will make you much more mindful of what you are spending on. After a while it will even make you second guess previously intuitive spending decisions because you won’t want to go through the process of writing transactions down.



This exact phenomenon is responsible for 80% of the weight-loss that occurs at the Mindful Living Institute. When people write down their food decisions they become more mindful of how they are spending their macro nutrients. They look at their macro nutrients as currencies and only want to use them on foods that bring the most health, energy, and vitality to the body. Furthermore food journaling brings a lot more value to the MLI coaching sessions. It allows coaches to pinpoint the adjustments patients need to make in their diets. People that food journal lose weight in a much more predictable fashion than individuals that do not. So whether you are trying to save money or eat less carbs, WRITE DOWN YOUR SPENDING DECISIONS!

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