It's snowing and cold in West Michigan this morning, and there is more snow and colder temperatures on the way. All of this makes me particularly happy that we are leaving for Florida tomorrow, where we will spend almost a week warming up and soaking in some Vitamin D. We are flying free thanks to a flight voucher we have and we found a great deal for a hotel and rental car package, so we are doing Florida "on the cheap" :-).
We are also bringing a lot of Medifast pretzels, cheese puffs and crunch bars with us because, vacation or not, we will continue to eat 5-6 small meals a day and make wise choices. I am taking a vacation from winter weather, but not from healthy eating. This is a big change for me from my pre-Take Shape for Life/Medifast days!
In the past, vacations always - always - meant a food free-for-all. I pretty much ate with abandon when I was on vacation and the scale always reflected that fact when I returned home. Because I had an "all or nothing" mindset, if I wasn't going to be "good" when it came to my eating, I was bound and determined to cram in as much "bad food" as I could, while I could. While eating the "bad food", I would be thinking things like, "I know I shouldn't really be eating this, I know I'm eating too much, I know I'm gaining weight, but it tastes SO good and I'll be "good" again when I get home." There was always a tinge of guilt associated with my eating, and sometimes it was way more than just a tinge. Often I felt awful about knowing that I was pretty much out of control.
While we are looking forward to a wonderful time away, this will not be a vacation from healthy eating. I don't like the way I feel when I'm not eating healthy - I just feel better all the way around when I know I'm doing the right things for my body. We're looking forward to doing a lot of walking and I'm packing my workout clothes so I can use the hotel's fitness center. Between staying active and making wise choices with my meals, I know I won't come home with extra pounds.
I know the temptations will certainly be there to throw caution to the wind, because the healthy habits I'm incorporating into my life are still fledglings and my old habits are simmering just below the surface. I will do in Florida what I do in Michigan - plan each day what and when I'm going to eat, incorporate activity into my day, then have a good time. This side of goal, having a good time involves SO much more than just food, and it's so much better!
While I'm away, I won't be blogging. Have a wonderful and on-plan week and choose wisely :-)
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
What's a Penny - and a Choice - Worth?
Happy Monday! It's hard to believe that we're starting the last week of January already!
I write a lot about making wise choices, so here's an interesting choice to contemplate: I'll write you a check today for a million dollars or I'll give you a penny today and it every day for thirty-one days. Two choices - a million dollars today or the sum of a penny doubled for one month.
Would it surprise you to know that if you chose to receive a penny a day for 31 days, you would end up with $10,737,418? (This example is from page 17 of "Dr. A's Habits of Health".)
If we didn't pull out a calculator and figure out the difference, I think most of us would be inclined to take the million dollar check and run. Waiting for something, even if it will be a lot better in the long run, isn't something we like to do. Instant gratification is almost hard-wired into us. I remember as a kid hearing my dad say "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," and I took that saying to heart.
The problem with that saying (and my dad is a wise person who didn't really live by that saying) is that we end up settling for the immediate gratification, and that often means we settle for less than the best.
Dr. Andersen uses this example in his book to illustrate the art of compounding. One penny on day one doesn't seem like a big deal after all - how many of us will even stoop down to pick up a penny on the sidewalk? But one penny doubled day after day eventually becomes something that's valuable indeed.
Those new, healthy habits that we're working to incorporate into our lives take time. One day of eating right or exercising doesn't really make any difference one way or the other, like a lone penny lying on the sidewalk. But when those healthy choices are repeated day after day, the compounded effect is profound - and it's life changing. The challenge is to not expect instant results, because when it comes to making permanent changes, the results don't show up overnight. But they will show up, I promise you, as you make one wise choice at a time. Choose wisely :-)
I write a lot about making wise choices, so here's an interesting choice to contemplate: I'll write you a check today for a million dollars or I'll give you a penny today and it every day for thirty-one days. Two choices - a million dollars today or the sum of a penny doubled for one month.
Would it surprise you to know that if you chose to receive a penny a day for 31 days, you would end up with $10,737,418? (This example is from page 17 of "Dr. A's Habits of Health".)
If we didn't pull out a calculator and figure out the difference, I think most of us would be inclined to take the million dollar check and run. Waiting for something, even if it will be a lot better in the long run, isn't something we like to do. Instant gratification is almost hard-wired into us. I remember as a kid hearing my dad say "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," and I took that saying to heart.
The problem with that saying (and my dad is a wise person who didn't really live by that saying) is that we end up settling for the immediate gratification, and that often means we settle for less than the best.
Dr. Andersen uses this example in his book to illustrate the art of compounding. One penny on day one doesn't seem like a big deal after all - how many of us will even stoop down to pick up a penny on the sidewalk? But one penny doubled day after day eventually becomes something that's valuable indeed.
Those new, healthy habits that we're working to incorporate into our lives take time. One day of eating right or exercising doesn't really make any difference one way or the other, like a lone penny lying on the sidewalk. But when those healthy choices are repeated day after day, the compounded effect is profound - and it's life changing. The challenge is to not expect instant results, because when it comes to making permanent changes, the results don't show up overnight. But they will show up, I promise you, as you make one wise choice at a time. Choose wisely :-)
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Such a Boring Word
Happy Sunday morning! I hope this is going to be a great - and on-plan - day for you!
As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I'm re-reading "Dr. A's Habits of Health", authored by Take Shape for Life's medical director and co-founder, Dr. Wayne Scott Andersen. It struck me this morning that the book is NOT entitled "Dr. A's Secret to Health". The book has had strong sales, but I wonder if the sales would be even higher if Dr. Andersen had used the word "secret" instead of "habits."
People are looking for "the" secret to health - the magic formula that will help them lose weight painlessly, without any effort on their part. Perhaps not everyone is looking for that, but I know I sure was. I remember talking to a pharmaceutical rep a few years ago who told me about a weight loss drug that was in the final stages of testing, a drug that, in his words, would revolutionize the diet industry. His enthusiasm and his reports of what they were seeing excited me, so I did an internet search for information, printed it out and kept it in a file. I waited anxiously for the drug to be released, hoping that this would finally be THE answer I was looking for. To my great disappointment, the drug ended up not being approved by the FDA because it turned out there were some adverse side effects in enough individuals for the drug to not be deemed safe.
When I realized that a new drug wasn't on the horizon that would solve my obesity, I seriously considered weight loss surgery. I didn't take into account that I would have to permanently change my eating habits - I just thought (honestly, I did) that if I had surgery that forced me to eat smaller amounts, it would somehow be easy to finally lose weight. I've met enough people who've had weight loss surgery (gastric by-pass or lap band) who've managed to gain a significant amount of weight back to now know that weight loss surgery isn't the magic solution, either.
"Habits" is such a boring word to most of us. We acknowledge that we have a lot of habits, and we may even joke about some of our bad habits. What we know for sure is that bad habits are hard to break and new, good habits are almost impossible to create. Acknowledging that, we can often feel stuck in our habits, feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of changing them and choosing to wait for the secret drug or opting for surgery to do for us what we don't think we can do ourselves.
Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1 is the closest I ever got to a magical solution, because it's the only program that not only enabled me to lose weight quickly and consistently, but also without feeling hungry or fatigued. Better than that, this program began to teach me how to incorporate healthy new habits into my life to not only get me to my goal, but help me stay there. Breakfast every day, exercise, small meals throughout the day, having a daily meal plan are all things that began while I was losing weight and, one day at a time, these things have become some of the healthy habits that are now a part of my life. "Dr. A's Habits of Health" covers a lot of other information that goes way beyond weight loss, and I am working to incorporate other healthy habits into my life that will together keep me moving in the right direction.
Developing new, healthy habits requires two very simple and basic things. First of all, we have to change our orientation. We have to create a picture for ourselves of what we want, and it has to be compelling enough for us to be willing to change the way we've been doing things. Second, we have to keep practicing until what feels awkward and even uncomfortable becomes habit. For those who were used to eating once or twice a day, settling into a routine of eating six small meals a day takes some getting used to. If we haven't moved more than necessary in years, incorporating regular exercise will take some time and perseverance. We will only continue to do these things if we keep focused on what we're creating, and the more we focus on that the more likely it is that we will continue to do the things that will eventually become healthy new habits.
So the bad news is that there IS no secret to losing weight - there IS no drug or surgery on the horizon that will automatically make us thin and healthy. The good news is that you already have what you need in your hands, so you don't have to wait for anything. Your journey towards a healthier you and the establishment of new, healthy habits continues with your choice to stay on plan today. Choose wisely :-)
As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I'm re-reading "Dr. A's Habits of Health", authored by Take Shape for Life's medical director and co-founder, Dr. Wayne Scott Andersen. It struck me this morning that the book is NOT entitled "Dr. A's Secret to Health". The book has had strong sales, but I wonder if the sales would be even higher if Dr. Andersen had used the word "secret" instead of "habits."
People are looking for "the" secret to health - the magic formula that will help them lose weight painlessly, without any effort on their part. Perhaps not everyone is looking for that, but I know I sure was. I remember talking to a pharmaceutical rep a few years ago who told me about a weight loss drug that was in the final stages of testing, a drug that, in his words, would revolutionize the diet industry. His enthusiasm and his reports of what they were seeing excited me, so I did an internet search for information, printed it out and kept it in a file. I waited anxiously for the drug to be released, hoping that this would finally be THE answer I was looking for. To my great disappointment, the drug ended up not being approved by the FDA because it turned out there were some adverse side effects in enough individuals for the drug to not be deemed safe.
When I realized that a new drug wasn't on the horizon that would solve my obesity, I seriously considered weight loss surgery. I didn't take into account that I would have to permanently change my eating habits - I just thought (honestly, I did) that if I had surgery that forced me to eat smaller amounts, it would somehow be easy to finally lose weight. I've met enough people who've had weight loss surgery (gastric by-pass or lap band) who've managed to gain a significant amount of weight back to now know that weight loss surgery isn't the magic solution, either.
"Habits" is such a boring word to most of us. We acknowledge that we have a lot of habits, and we may even joke about some of our bad habits. What we know for sure is that bad habits are hard to break and new, good habits are almost impossible to create. Acknowledging that, we can often feel stuck in our habits, feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of changing them and choosing to wait for the secret drug or opting for surgery to do for us what we don't think we can do ourselves.
Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1 is the closest I ever got to a magical solution, because it's the only program that not only enabled me to lose weight quickly and consistently, but also without feeling hungry or fatigued. Better than that, this program began to teach me how to incorporate healthy new habits into my life to not only get me to my goal, but help me stay there. Breakfast every day, exercise, small meals throughout the day, having a daily meal plan are all things that began while I was losing weight and, one day at a time, these things have become some of the healthy habits that are now a part of my life. "Dr. A's Habits of Health" covers a lot of other information that goes way beyond weight loss, and I am working to incorporate other healthy habits into my life that will together keep me moving in the right direction.
Developing new, healthy habits requires two very simple and basic things. First of all, we have to change our orientation. We have to create a picture for ourselves of what we want, and it has to be compelling enough for us to be willing to change the way we've been doing things. Second, we have to keep practicing until what feels awkward and even uncomfortable becomes habit. For those who were used to eating once or twice a day, settling into a routine of eating six small meals a day takes some getting used to. If we haven't moved more than necessary in years, incorporating regular exercise will take some time and perseverance. We will only continue to do these things if we keep focused on what we're creating, and the more we focus on that the more likely it is that we will continue to do the things that will eventually become healthy new habits.
So the bad news is that there IS no secret to losing weight - there IS no drug or surgery on the horizon that will automatically make us thin and healthy. The good news is that you already have what you need in your hands, so you don't have to wait for anything. Your journey towards a healthier you and the establishment of new, healthy habits continues with your choice to stay on plan today. Choose wisely :-)
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Short-Term Investment, Long-Term Payoff
My husband is definitely the quieter half of our duo, but when he talks, he often says things that are worth listening to and worth thinking about :-). A couple of days ago he commented that our health is like a program running in the back of a computer - you don't really notice it or pay much attention to it until something goes wrong, at which time it become very important. When a computer program stops running correctly, the computer stops functioning in the way it was designed to do and fixing it suddenly becomes a priority.
Some of us were prompted to start on Medifast because a health issue suddenly became a priority. We knew we needed to lose weight, but our health wasn't a major concern until the day some lab work came back with troubling results, or something else raise health issues to the forefront. For me, blood work that revealed the onset of diabetes and high cholesterol and triglycerides began a journey that ultimately led me to this program and put me on an going path towards optimal health. I knew for years that I was at risk for diabetes because of my strong family history, and my obesity only increased those odds, but I never took it seriously until my lab work slapped me in the face.
The wonderful news is that health issues can begin to turn around pretty fast once we're on this program. Cholesterol levels often drop, and drop fast, and blood glucose levels begin to normalize within days (my own blood glucose readings returned to normal within one week of starting on plan). Gastric reflux begins to resolve, sleep apnea often improves or even goes away - the list goes on and on.
I'm always happy to see people starting this plan because they're just tired of being overweight, individuals who are motivated to lose weight because they want to get into a smaller size. I love seeing this because that means that these individuals have been able to avoid the health issues associated with excess weight, at least so far. By taking charge of their health now, those health complications will never happen.
Regardless of what prompted you to start on Medifast, staying on plan will bring you straight to your goal and help you to live a longer, healthier life. That's a pretty good payoff for a short-term investment, don't you think? This will happen one day and one choice at a time, so choose wisely :-)
Some of us were prompted to start on Medifast because a health issue suddenly became a priority. We knew we needed to lose weight, but our health wasn't a major concern until the day some lab work came back with troubling results, or something else raise health issues to the forefront. For me, blood work that revealed the onset of diabetes and high cholesterol and triglycerides began a journey that ultimately led me to this program and put me on an going path towards optimal health. I knew for years that I was at risk for diabetes because of my strong family history, and my obesity only increased those odds, but I never took it seriously until my lab work slapped me in the face.
The wonderful news is that health issues can begin to turn around pretty fast once we're on this program. Cholesterol levels often drop, and drop fast, and blood glucose levels begin to normalize within days (my own blood glucose readings returned to normal within one week of starting on plan). Gastric reflux begins to resolve, sleep apnea often improves or even goes away - the list goes on and on.
I'm always happy to see people starting this plan because they're just tired of being overweight, individuals who are motivated to lose weight because they want to get into a smaller size. I love seeing this because that means that these individuals have been able to avoid the health issues associated with excess weight, at least so far. By taking charge of their health now, those health complications will never happen.
Regardless of what prompted you to start on Medifast, staying on plan will bring you straight to your goal and help you to live a longer, healthier life. That's a pretty good payoff for a short-term investment, don't you think? This will happen one day and one choice at a time, so choose wisely :-)
Friday, January 22, 2010
Twenty Months!!
Today marks 20 months since I reached my goal. I am so happy to report that I am still in my goal range and still in my size 6 jeans! For me, as fabulous as it was to reach my goal (and trust me, it was FABULOUS!!), heading to the two-year mark of maintaining is even MORE fabulous! Statistics were definitely not on my side, as >85% of people who lose weight gain it all back, and often gain additional weight. That statistic scared me. I had spent over two decades failing miserably at every dieting attempt, so there wasn't a lot of reason to think that I could successfully keep the weight off.
So what was different this time? First of all, I carefully followed the Take Shape for Life/Medifast Transition plan to gradually recalibrate my metabolism as I slowly reintroduced other foods back into my diet. Instead of going out and celebrating my weight loss with a hot fudge sundae, I took a deep breath, gave a prayer of thanksgiving, and kept focused on the next step I needed to take. In maintenance, which I have NOT done perfectly (and won't ever do this 100% perfectly 100% of the time), I still incorporate 5-6 small meals a day, and 2-3 of these meals are usually Medifast meals. I try to plan ahead, and if I know I'm going to be having a heavier dinner, I'll eat an extra Medifast meal or two to "save my calories" for the evening. What I don't do is skip meals or not eat during the day in preparation for that meal.
I also carefully monitor my weight, both on the scale and in my clothes. If the scale blips up beyond my goal range or my jeans start feeling snug, I bring the gain to an immediate stop by cutting back on my calories, picking up an extra Medifast meal or two for a few days until the scale is back down and my jeans feel good again.
I also shifted my focus from solving a problem - obesity and began to focus on truly creating a healthy, vibrant life. That is an ongoing journey and it keeps me focused forward. I'm currently re-reading "Dr. A's Habits of Health" which was written by Take Shape for Life's medical director and co-founder, Dr. Wayne Scott Andersen (fabulous book, by the way, and I highly recommend it!). Early in the book he challenges us to ask a couple of key questions, including: 1) Is my health improving every day? and 2) Are my daily habits creating greater health and vibrancy, or are they draining my battery and putting me on an accelerating path toward disease? These are great questions for us to ask ourselves on a regular basis, and if we're honest and don't like the answer we give, we can change direction.
Part of making sure that my daily habits are moving me towards optimal health means that regular exercise, the bane of my existence, is now a part of my life. Some days I really enjoy it and other days I don't, but it really doesn't matter if I like it or not, because it's essential if I want to live a longer, healthier life.
Almost two years into maintenance, it has come down to making choices every day that support what I really want. Again, I don't make stellar choices every single day, but I stay focused on what I want and when I find myself starting to wander off the path, I make the correction needed to keep me moving forward.
Those choices aren't always easy, but knowing what's really important to me makes it easier. The choices you need to make today may not be easy, so focus on what you really want, then choose wisely :-)
So what was different this time? First of all, I carefully followed the Take Shape for Life/Medifast Transition plan to gradually recalibrate my metabolism as I slowly reintroduced other foods back into my diet. Instead of going out and celebrating my weight loss with a hot fudge sundae, I took a deep breath, gave a prayer of thanksgiving, and kept focused on the next step I needed to take. In maintenance, which I have NOT done perfectly (and won't ever do this 100% perfectly 100% of the time), I still incorporate 5-6 small meals a day, and 2-3 of these meals are usually Medifast meals. I try to plan ahead, and if I know I'm going to be having a heavier dinner, I'll eat an extra Medifast meal or two to "save my calories" for the evening. What I don't do is skip meals or not eat during the day in preparation for that meal.
I also carefully monitor my weight, both on the scale and in my clothes. If the scale blips up beyond my goal range or my jeans start feeling snug, I bring the gain to an immediate stop by cutting back on my calories, picking up an extra Medifast meal or two for a few days until the scale is back down and my jeans feel good again.
I also shifted my focus from solving a problem - obesity and began to focus on truly creating a healthy, vibrant life. That is an ongoing journey and it keeps me focused forward. I'm currently re-reading "Dr. A's Habits of Health" which was written by Take Shape for Life's medical director and co-founder, Dr. Wayne Scott Andersen (fabulous book, by the way, and I highly recommend it!). Early in the book he challenges us to ask a couple of key questions, including: 1) Is my health improving every day? and 2) Are my daily habits creating greater health and vibrancy, or are they draining my battery and putting me on an accelerating path toward disease? These are great questions for us to ask ourselves on a regular basis, and if we're honest and don't like the answer we give, we can change direction.
Part of making sure that my daily habits are moving me towards optimal health means that regular exercise, the bane of my existence, is now a part of my life. Some days I really enjoy it and other days I don't, but it really doesn't matter if I like it or not, because it's essential if I want to live a longer, healthier life.
Almost two years into maintenance, it has come down to making choices every day that support what I really want. Again, I don't make stellar choices every single day, but I stay focused on what I want and when I find myself starting to wander off the path, I make the correction needed to keep me moving forward.
Those choices aren't always easy, but knowing what's really important to me makes it easier. The choices you need to make today may not be easy, so focus on what you really want, then choose wisely :-)
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Losing Weight, Getting Healthy
My mom had foot surgery yesterday afternoon. She's had a lot of pain in her foot for a long time (she actually has pain in both feet, but the one foot was worse than the other) and we're hoping and praying that yesterday's surgery will relieve her pain and give her more mobility. What's wonderful is that my mom was able to have surgery at all.
My mom is 80-1/2 and has been diabetic for over 23 years. Two years ago she was on an obvious decline as years of diabetes was taking its toll. She had pretty much given up on her long struggle with her weight and had resigned herself that the rest of her life would be spent watching her health continue to deteriorate. She has flat feet, and with her extra weight, the structure of her feet broke down leaving her with misshapen toes, bunions, and painful calluses. Caring for her feet has been a delicate balancing act for her podiatrist as he's worked to alleviate her pain while avoiding surgery due to her diabetes.
So what changed? How was my 80 year old diabetic mom able to have surgery on her feet? Simple - she went on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, lost 40 pounds and brought her diabetes well under control (so well that she almost never needs insulin anymore, after taking 4-7 units of insulin after every meal). Because her health has improved, the risk of doing an elective surgery was reduced to the point the doctor felt comfortable proceeding.
For each of us, losing weight and getting healthy means something just a little different. Depending on our age and other factors, losing weight and getting healthy may mean we can ski, mountain climb or run a marathon, for others it may mean that we can enjoy taking walks and enjoying time with our family. Yesterday, losing weight and getting healthier meant my mom could have a much-needed surgery that will hopefully enable her to walk without pain again.
What will losing weight and getting healthy mean for you? Do you have a picture in your mind of life at goal? Whatever your vision, you'll get there one day and one choice at a time, so choose wisely :-)
My mom is 80-1/2 and has been diabetic for over 23 years. Two years ago she was on an obvious decline as years of diabetes was taking its toll. She had pretty much given up on her long struggle with her weight and had resigned herself that the rest of her life would be spent watching her health continue to deteriorate. She has flat feet, and with her extra weight, the structure of her feet broke down leaving her with misshapen toes, bunions, and painful calluses. Caring for her feet has been a delicate balancing act for her podiatrist as he's worked to alleviate her pain while avoiding surgery due to her diabetes.
So what changed? How was my 80 year old diabetic mom able to have surgery on her feet? Simple - she went on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, lost 40 pounds and brought her diabetes well under control (so well that she almost never needs insulin anymore, after taking 4-7 units of insulin after every meal). Because her health has improved, the risk of doing an elective surgery was reduced to the point the doctor felt comfortable proceeding.
For each of us, losing weight and getting healthy means something just a little different. Depending on our age and other factors, losing weight and getting healthy may mean we can ski, mountain climb or run a marathon, for others it may mean that we can enjoy taking walks and enjoying time with our family. Yesterday, losing weight and getting healthier meant my mom could have a much-needed surgery that will hopefully enable her to walk without pain again.
What will losing weight and getting healthy mean for you? Do you have a picture in your mind of life at goal? Whatever your vision, you'll get there one day and one choice at a time, so choose wisely :-)
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
No Such Thing as "Comfort Food"
Are you a recovering stress eater? When I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, I was a long-established stress eater. My eating went way beyond stress eating, however. I was also a bored eater, a celebration eater, a "stuff my anger" eater and even a tired eater (I would eat when I was tired to try and stay awake, joking that I couldn't chew and fall asleep at the same time). In short, I ate a lot of food for a variety of reasons that had nothing to do with hunger. In fact, there was a point in my life when I couldn't remember the last time I was hungry. That was obviously NOT a good thing!
When I made the decision to go on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, I couldn't justify spending the money unless I was actually following the program as written. When I made the commitment to stay on plan for four weeks (I ordered a 4-week variety pack), I didn't realize that my commitment to stay on plan would essentially eliminate my ability to do emotional eating. The first time a situation came up that would have normally had me rushing to the refrigerator, it was sobering to realize that I couldn't do that and still stay on plan (and I certainly wasn't interested in eating a Medifast meal to relieve the stress!). For a moment, I felt stuck, as I hadn't looked for other ways to deal with stress in a very long time.
Emotional eating is the undoing of many (or most) attempts at losing weight. Good intentions quickly evaporate when those old, familiar emotional triggers rear their ugly heads. Anticipating those triggers and strategizing ahead of time how we're going to deal with them can make the difference between success and failure.
We each have our own set of emotional eating triggers and we each need to figure out a different - and healthier - way to deal with those triggers. One thing I know for sure is that emotional eating doesn't work. The comfort we seek evaporates the second we swallow our last bite of our "comfort food," and that elusive comfort is immediately replaced by frustration, disgust, and self-recrimination as we say things to ourselves like, "How can I be so stupid . . . I'm so weak . . . etc." - all that negative self-talk comes rushing back. Before starting on this program, that negative self-talk would sometimes result in another round of emotional eating . . . talk about a toxic cycle!
For me, making the decision to not turn to food to meet my emotional needs forced me to really "walk the talk" in terms of my faith. I "knew" that God was able to provide comfort, strength and peace, but turning to Him for those things was an afterthought at best - it sadly was not my first response. When I hit the stuff of life and couldn't reach for comfort food, it forced me to turn to the Lord in an entirely new way, and I daily asked Him for the strength I needed, and He provided what I needed. The more I turned to Him, the less I was tempted to turn to food. I learned that food was truly incapable of comforting me and once I really, truly realized that, that cycle of emotional eating was broken forever. I can't tell you how freeing that is!
I tell people that when I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, I just hoped I'd lose a little bit of weight. I certainly didn't dream that I'd actually reach my goal! I also didn't realize that there would be so much emotional and spiritual growth. It's been, and continues to be, an amazing and life-changing journey.
As you face your own "stuff of life" today, I hope you'll realize that off-plan eating won't help. Once you realize that, you'll make a huge step forward in moving towards your goal, as well as beginning the process of establishing new, healthier habits. The choice is yours, so choose wisely :-)
When I made the decision to go on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, I couldn't justify spending the money unless I was actually following the program as written. When I made the commitment to stay on plan for four weeks (I ordered a 4-week variety pack), I didn't realize that my commitment to stay on plan would essentially eliminate my ability to do emotional eating. The first time a situation came up that would have normally had me rushing to the refrigerator, it was sobering to realize that I couldn't do that and still stay on plan (and I certainly wasn't interested in eating a Medifast meal to relieve the stress!). For a moment, I felt stuck, as I hadn't looked for other ways to deal with stress in a very long time.
Emotional eating is the undoing of many (or most) attempts at losing weight. Good intentions quickly evaporate when those old, familiar emotional triggers rear their ugly heads. Anticipating those triggers and strategizing ahead of time how we're going to deal with them can make the difference between success and failure.
We each have our own set of emotional eating triggers and we each need to figure out a different - and healthier - way to deal with those triggers. One thing I know for sure is that emotional eating doesn't work. The comfort we seek evaporates the second we swallow our last bite of our "comfort food," and that elusive comfort is immediately replaced by frustration, disgust, and self-recrimination as we say things to ourselves like, "How can I be so stupid . . . I'm so weak . . . etc." - all that negative self-talk comes rushing back. Before starting on this program, that negative self-talk would sometimes result in another round of emotional eating . . . talk about a toxic cycle!
For me, making the decision to not turn to food to meet my emotional needs forced me to really "walk the talk" in terms of my faith. I "knew" that God was able to provide comfort, strength and peace, but turning to Him for those things was an afterthought at best - it sadly was not my first response. When I hit the stuff of life and couldn't reach for comfort food, it forced me to turn to the Lord in an entirely new way, and I daily asked Him for the strength I needed, and He provided what I needed. The more I turned to Him, the less I was tempted to turn to food. I learned that food was truly incapable of comforting me and once I really, truly realized that, that cycle of emotional eating was broken forever. I can't tell you how freeing that is!
I tell people that when I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, I just hoped I'd lose a little bit of weight. I certainly didn't dream that I'd actually reach my goal! I also didn't realize that there would be so much emotional and spiritual growth. It's been, and continues to be, an amazing and life-changing journey.
As you face your own "stuff of life" today, I hope you'll realize that off-plan eating won't help. Once you realize that, you'll make a huge step forward in moving towards your goal, as well as beginning the process of establishing new, healthier habits. The choice is yours, so choose wisely :-)
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
What is Your "Why"?
In yesterday's blog, I wrote about realizing that boredom on this program wouldn't kill me, but obesity might. The change in my thought process two years ago helped keep me on plan and moving towards my goal. Had I not struggled for over two decades with my weight, and had I not been facing some health concerns, I don't know if I would have been ready to face the reality of the risk of my obesity to my health and longevity.
I have a friend who was recently diagnosed with gluten intolerance. She has struggled with a number of health issues over the years and even though she's in her early 50's, she hasn't felt well for a long time. I'm not sure why it took such a long time for her to be diagnosed, but with the diagnosis and the elimination of both gluten and sugar from her diet, she is a new person. All of the symptoms she's had for so long, including aching joints, is gone. She talked about how expensive it is to shop in a natural foods store for the specialty items she needs, and she brings her own treats with her when she gets together with a group of friends for coffee. She always had a real sweet tooth, but she won't even take a bite of anything now because she knows eating things with gluten and sugar will make her fill sick. I asked her if she's ever tempted to eat some of her old foods and she said, "Sure, but I'd have to be certifiably insane to ever eat them again, because I feel so much better now." Knowing how long she was sick prior to her diagnosis, she said she wished she would have been diagnosed years ago. I asked her if she would have been willing to make the permanent changes years ago, or if it was being sick for so long that enabled her to do that. She thought for a moment and then said that she probably wouldn't have followed the diet restrictions years ago because she wasn't as sick then, and acknowledged that the tipping point for her was getting so ill and then seeing the difference in her health once she eliminated the source of her illness.
To make permanent changes, most of us have to reach a point where either the risk of staying where we are is no longer tolerable or the vision of where we want to be is clear enough to keep us moving. We are creatures of habit and we tend to return again and again to our old habits. The catalyst for changing old habits and creating new ones has to come from within us.
What is your motivation for being on this program? Why do you want to change? What are you hoping to eliminate? Most importantly, what are you wanting to create in your life? Once your goals are clear and you know why you're doing this, it's much easier to make the hard choices every day.
Today my encouragement to you is to identify your "why" - write it down - then choose wisely :-)
I have a friend who was recently diagnosed with gluten intolerance. She has struggled with a number of health issues over the years and even though she's in her early 50's, she hasn't felt well for a long time. I'm not sure why it took such a long time for her to be diagnosed, but with the diagnosis and the elimination of both gluten and sugar from her diet, she is a new person. All of the symptoms she's had for so long, including aching joints, is gone. She talked about how expensive it is to shop in a natural foods store for the specialty items she needs, and she brings her own treats with her when she gets together with a group of friends for coffee. She always had a real sweet tooth, but she won't even take a bite of anything now because she knows eating things with gluten and sugar will make her fill sick. I asked her if she's ever tempted to eat some of her old foods and she said, "Sure, but I'd have to be certifiably insane to ever eat them again, because I feel so much better now." Knowing how long she was sick prior to her diagnosis, she said she wished she would have been diagnosed years ago. I asked her if she would have been willing to make the permanent changes years ago, or if it was being sick for so long that enabled her to do that. She thought for a moment and then said that she probably wouldn't have followed the diet restrictions years ago because she wasn't as sick then, and acknowledged that the tipping point for her was getting so ill and then seeing the difference in her health once she eliminated the source of her illness.
To make permanent changes, most of us have to reach a point where either the risk of staying where we are is no longer tolerable or the vision of where we want to be is clear enough to keep us moving. We are creatures of habit and we tend to return again and again to our old habits. The catalyst for changing old habits and creating new ones has to come from within us.
What is your motivation for being on this program? Why do you want to change? What are you hoping to eliminate? Most importantly, what are you wanting to create in your life? Once your goals are clear and you know why you're doing this, it's much easier to make the hard choices every day.
Today my encouragement to you is to identify your "why" - write it down - then choose wisely :-)
Monday, January 18, 2010
Raise Your Hand if This Isn't Fun Anymore
I've received several positive comments from individuals who enjoy reading some of the blogs I posted two years ago while I was on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1. Since it's good for me to remember and since it's helpful to at least a few of you, here's what I wrote two years ago, on January 17, 2008.
*****
I'm still 100% on plan and have been since starting Take Shape for Life/Medifast last June 24, but wow, am I getting a bit weary of the whole thing! I'm two pounds away from my BMI dropping below 30 (I will officially be "overweight" - woo hoo!!) and I'm looking pretty darn good for a grandmother of 4 closing in on my 56th birthday. However, I recognize this as VERY dangerous thinking for me. I don't want to settle for "good enough" or certainly for "good enough for someone MY age" - I want (and need) the satisfaction of seeing this through all the way to my goal. And since my doctor agreed with my goal of 130, I can't exactly rationalize quitting early. I know myself well enough to know that if I stop now, even though I've come a long way and am wearing sizes I haven't been able to wear in over 20 years, I will feel, in my heart of hearts, that I failed. I'm afraid that thinking could be the first step towards regaining all of the weight that I've lost so far, and I can't go there.
Because I'm one pound away from having lost 80 pounds, I had my husband take a couple pictures of me so I could get them ready for my (hopefully soon!) "80 Pounds Gone Progress Photos" post (I figure I won't look any different one pound from now). I put the progress photos together with a few "before" photos and Photoshopped all of them into a single photo. I did this as much for me as for anyone else, because I really need to SEE where I was and how far I've come. That helps to keep me motivated, even on days when I'm sick of being on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, sick of skipping over all of the really YUMMY food selections on the restaurant's menu and deciding between which kind of grilled meat I'm going to order THIS time. I'm tired of skipping the sauces, holding the butter, passing on the bread, and saying no to the desserts. BUT then I look at my "before" pictures and realize all over again how worth it all of this is, and I know that's exactly how I'll feel when I reach my final goal.
I also have to remind myself that in the past six months I have gone from being on the brink of diabetes to NORMAL (even my doctor said so!), from needing meds to keep my cholesterol down to having normal cholesterol WITHOUT meds, from having blood pressure that was on the rise to NORMAL, HEALTHY blood pressure, and from having so much pain in my knee that I could hardly walk to literally running up and down stairs. All of that is worth it - wow, is it EVER!
So my thinking today is something like this: Is this still fun for me? Not particularly, but so what? Am I getting a bit bored with the whole thing? Yes, but so what? Was it fun being 260 pounds???? Was it fun shopping for the very largest sizes my local woman's store carried? Was it fun worrying about being diabetic? Was it fun paying the copay every month for my cholesterol meds? Was it fun having pain with every step, taking stairs one at a time, and not being able to wear some fun high heels?
This is my reality check on a very cold January in Michigan. Yes, I'm bored and a bit tired of the whole thing, but boredom won't kill me and obesity might. And I'm worth reaching my goal, and my family is worth me reaching my goal. For once in my life, it's about doing what I KNOW I need to do, not what I feel like doing.
*****
I still have to choose every day whether or not I'm going to do what I need to do or what I want to do (still waiting for the "want" and "need" to consistently be one and the same!). You face the same choice every day, too. Let's choose wisely :-)
*****
I'm still 100% on plan and have been since starting Take Shape for Life/Medifast last June 24, but wow, am I getting a bit weary of the whole thing! I'm two pounds away from my BMI dropping below 30 (I will officially be "overweight" - woo hoo!!) and I'm looking pretty darn good for a grandmother of 4 closing in on my 56th birthday. However, I recognize this as VERY dangerous thinking for me. I don't want to settle for "good enough" or certainly for "good enough for someone MY age" - I want (and need) the satisfaction of seeing this through all the way to my goal. And since my doctor agreed with my goal of 130, I can't exactly rationalize quitting early. I know myself well enough to know that if I stop now, even though I've come a long way and am wearing sizes I haven't been able to wear in over 20 years, I will feel, in my heart of hearts, that I failed. I'm afraid that thinking could be the first step towards regaining all of the weight that I've lost so far, and I can't go there.
Because I'm one pound away from having lost 80 pounds, I had my husband take a couple pictures of me so I could get them ready for my (hopefully soon!) "80 Pounds Gone Progress Photos" post (I figure I won't look any different one pound from now). I put the progress photos together with a few "before" photos and Photoshopped all of them into a single photo. I did this as much for me as for anyone else, because I really need to SEE where I was and how far I've come. That helps to keep me motivated, even on days when I'm sick of being on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, sick of skipping over all of the really YUMMY food selections on the restaurant's menu and deciding between which kind of grilled meat I'm going to order THIS time. I'm tired of skipping the sauces, holding the butter, passing on the bread, and saying no to the desserts. BUT then I look at my "before" pictures and realize all over again how worth it all of this is, and I know that's exactly how I'll feel when I reach my final goal.
I also have to remind myself that in the past six months I have gone from being on the brink of diabetes to NORMAL (even my doctor said so!), from needing meds to keep my cholesterol down to having normal cholesterol WITHOUT meds, from having blood pressure that was on the rise to NORMAL, HEALTHY blood pressure, and from having so much pain in my knee that I could hardly walk to literally running up and down stairs. All of that is worth it - wow, is it EVER!
So my thinking today is something like this: Is this still fun for me? Not particularly, but so what? Am I getting a bit bored with the whole thing? Yes, but so what? Was it fun being 260 pounds???? Was it fun shopping for the very largest sizes my local woman's store carried? Was it fun worrying about being diabetic? Was it fun paying the copay every month for my cholesterol meds? Was it fun having pain with every step, taking stairs one at a time, and not being able to wear some fun high heels?
This is my reality check on a very cold January in Michigan. Yes, I'm bored and a bit tired of the whole thing, but boredom won't kill me and obesity might. And I'm worth reaching my goal, and my family is worth me reaching my goal. For once in my life, it's about doing what I KNOW I need to do, not what I feel like doing.
*****
I still have to choose every day whether or not I'm going to do what I need to do or what I want to do (still waiting for the "want" and "need" to consistently be one and the same!). You face the same choice every day, too. Let's choose wisely :-)
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Starting a New Tidal Wave
Happy Sunday! I'm off to church in a little while, but not before posting something that I hope will be encouraging to you today :-).
Most of us are aware of the growing obesity trend in the United States, but it's stunning to see how fast obesity has grown (no pun intended) and how bad things have gotten throughout the country. I went to the CDC's website last night and looked at a U.S. map that tracked obesity state by state from 1985 to 2008. If you're interested in seeing this for yourself, here's the link: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html#State. It's pretty sobering to see how bad things have gotten and how quickly it's happened! With the exception of Colorado, at least 20% of every state's population is obese, with obesity defined as a BMI >30 (2008 statistics list 15%-19% of Colorado's population with a BMI >30). Alarmingly, there are six states with 30% of their population in the obese category, and other states are certain to join these six states in the very near future. No surprise, the rate of diabetes has risen in almost direct correlation to the rise in obesity.
The good news is that we are bucking this trend, one person at a time. Every day that we choose to stay on plan, every day that we see the scale drop another pound, we are moving another step away from this epidemic. It's not easy swimming against the tidal wave of obesity sweeping this country, but as we swim against the tide, we are not only changing our own lives, but potentially changing the lives of others around us.
I've written before about the ripple effect our weight loss can have on our family members and friends. Because of my own weight loss of 126 pounds, I watched my husband lose weight (50 pounds!) and get healthy, my son lost 60 pounds, my son-in-law lost 65, my mom lost 40, my dad lost 35, one of my best friends lost 70 - and then HER son and his wife lost weight, then her daughter-in-law's mom lost weight; another friend of mine lost 40 which inspired her husband to lose 70, which encouraged a friend to lose 90 . . . and the stories go on and on!
Wouldn't it be amazing to be part of reversing this obesity epidemic? You can be, starting with your family and friends, who are watching you right now. I've written before about the need for us to be a bit selfish and focus on what we want, and while that's still very true, today I'm encouraging you to think about doing this for others, too. The choices you make today can be the start of a ripple that may spread to those around you, creating your own person tidal wave of health. With that in mind, choose wisely :-)
Most of us are aware of the growing obesity trend in the United States, but it's stunning to see how fast obesity has grown (no pun intended) and how bad things have gotten throughout the country. I went to the CDC's website last night and looked at a U.S. map that tracked obesity state by state from 1985 to 2008. If you're interested in seeing this for yourself, here's the link: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html#State. It's pretty sobering to see how bad things have gotten and how quickly it's happened! With the exception of Colorado, at least 20% of every state's population is obese, with obesity defined as a BMI >30 (2008 statistics list 15%-19% of Colorado's population with a BMI >30). Alarmingly, there are six states with 30% of their population in the obese category, and other states are certain to join these six states in the very near future. No surprise, the rate of diabetes has risen in almost direct correlation to the rise in obesity.
The good news is that we are bucking this trend, one person at a time. Every day that we choose to stay on plan, every day that we see the scale drop another pound, we are moving another step away from this epidemic. It's not easy swimming against the tidal wave of obesity sweeping this country, but as we swim against the tide, we are not only changing our own lives, but potentially changing the lives of others around us.
I've written before about the ripple effect our weight loss can have on our family members and friends. Because of my own weight loss of 126 pounds, I watched my husband lose weight (50 pounds!) and get healthy, my son lost 60 pounds, my son-in-law lost 65, my mom lost 40, my dad lost 35, one of my best friends lost 70 - and then HER son and his wife lost weight, then her daughter-in-law's mom lost weight; another friend of mine lost 40 which inspired her husband to lose 70, which encouraged a friend to lose 90 . . . and the stories go on and on!
Wouldn't it be amazing to be part of reversing this obesity epidemic? You can be, starting with your family and friends, who are watching you right now. I've written before about the need for us to be a bit selfish and focus on what we want, and while that's still very true, today I'm encouraging you to think about doing this for others, too. The choices you make today can be the start of a ripple that may spread to those around you, creating your own person tidal wave of health. With that in mind, choose wisely :-)
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Getting a New Perspective
This past Thursday, one of my friends came over to rearrange much of my house. She is a designer and offered to barter her services - I jumped at the chance (we're still not sure what I'll do for her in exchange). She specializes in redesign - using the things a person already has in a new, fresh way. I told her that I am not in a position to be purchasing a lot of new things, so she worked with what I already have. After looking around my rooms and doing some measuring, she began to shop my house, going from room to room to look for things that she could use. Three hours later, my living room had a new furniture arrangement, my sunroom had a new, fresh look and things had been moved around in both the master bedroom and our son's room. She added some things, moved things around, and deleted some things from the decor. The end result is that I fell in love with my house all over again.
So what does all of this have to do with staying on plan and losing weight, you may be asking? Simply this: we can get a fresh perspective with the stuff we already have if we just look at it in a new way, and looking at things in a new way can make us appreciate them all over again.
If you're new to Take Shape for Life/Medifast, you are adjusting to a new way of eating. Most likely you're eating more often than you used to and you're definitely eating differently than you did before (a good thing, since the way we ate before was what caused us to be here!). It may feel awkward right now, but there is a level of excitement and hope as you see the pounds beginning to drop. You are getting a fresh perspective on eating, rediscovering how good you feel, and you're hopefully starting to redefine your relationship with food.
If you've been on the program for a while, you've undoubtedly settled into a fairly predictable routine. You know the drill - 5 Medifast meals and a lean & green, lots of water - and this may or may not be fun anymore. It probably isn't that exciting anymore, even though the scale continues to drop (at least this was true for me several months into the program). What started out as exciting has become, well, not so exciting, and this can be a dangerous time if our perspective doesn't change. I've seen it over and over again - individuals who do well on plan for a long time, but then boredom sets in and they decide to "take a break" and enjoy some of their old favorite foods, promising themselves that they'll get back on plan "next week." Sometimes that works, but a lot of times that decision is the beginning of a long, upward march up the scale. Some of these individuals eventually get back on plan, but there are others who never do.
If the last paragraph described you, it's time for a fresh perspective :-). I encourage everyone to take "before" photos when they start the program, as well as take their measurements, then take new photos and measurements every month. I did that and it was amazing to see the progress captured in photos and on the tape measure. When I started feeling restless with this program, I would sometimes look at my photos and be reminded of how far I'd already come (it's amazing how quickly we can forget where we were!). I'd take my measurements and celebrate that another inch or two had come off my body, sometimes even if the scale hadn't moved.
The other thing I did was refocus on where I wanted to go. I tried to keep in my mind a picture of my at my goal weight; I tried to imagine how much fun it would be to be able to go shopping, what it would feel like to be comfortable with my body. Shifting my focus from where I was to where I wanted to go gave me a new perspective - I was on a journey towards something I really wanted, something that was worth the effort. When I did that, and when I took stock of the progress I'd already made, I found myself reinvigorated and ready to keep going with a new level of energy.
We've chosen to be on this program, and every day we not only get to choose whether or not we're going to stay on plan, we also get to choose the attitude we'll have. With that in mind, today I encourage you to choose wisely :-).
So what does all of this have to do with staying on plan and losing weight, you may be asking? Simply this: we can get a fresh perspective with the stuff we already have if we just look at it in a new way, and looking at things in a new way can make us appreciate them all over again.
If you're new to Take Shape for Life/Medifast, you are adjusting to a new way of eating. Most likely you're eating more often than you used to and you're definitely eating differently than you did before (a good thing, since the way we ate before was what caused us to be here!). It may feel awkward right now, but there is a level of excitement and hope as you see the pounds beginning to drop. You are getting a fresh perspective on eating, rediscovering how good you feel, and you're hopefully starting to redefine your relationship with food.
If you've been on the program for a while, you've undoubtedly settled into a fairly predictable routine. You know the drill - 5 Medifast meals and a lean & green, lots of water - and this may or may not be fun anymore. It probably isn't that exciting anymore, even though the scale continues to drop (at least this was true for me several months into the program). What started out as exciting has become, well, not so exciting, and this can be a dangerous time if our perspective doesn't change. I've seen it over and over again - individuals who do well on plan for a long time, but then boredom sets in and they decide to "take a break" and enjoy some of their old favorite foods, promising themselves that they'll get back on plan "next week." Sometimes that works, but a lot of times that decision is the beginning of a long, upward march up the scale. Some of these individuals eventually get back on plan, but there are others who never do.
If the last paragraph described you, it's time for a fresh perspective :-). I encourage everyone to take "before" photos when they start the program, as well as take their measurements, then take new photos and measurements every month. I did that and it was amazing to see the progress captured in photos and on the tape measure. When I started feeling restless with this program, I would sometimes look at my photos and be reminded of how far I'd already come (it's amazing how quickly we can forget where we were!). I'd take my measurements and celebrate that another inch or two had come off my body, sometimes even if the scale hadn't moved.
The other thing I did was refocus on where I wanted to go. I tried to keep in my mind a picture of my at my goal weight; I tried to imagine how much fun it would be to be able to go shopping, what it would feel like to be comfortable with my body. Shifting my focus from where I was to where I wanted to go gave me a new perspective - I was on a journey towards something I really wanted, something that was worth the effort. When I did that, and when I took stock of the progress I'd already made, I found myself reinvigorated and ready to keep going with a new level of energy.
We've chosen to be on this program, and every day we not only get to choose whether or not we're going to stay on plan, we also get to choose the attitude we'll have. With that in mind, today I encourage you to choose wisely :-).
Friday, January 15, 2010
Weekend Survival Tips
Happy Friday! The weekend is finally here - well, almost here :-). Are you ready for it?
For most of us, it's not too difficult staying on plan during the week because we're in a pretty predictable routine. When I was on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1, I had the same food routine every day: shake, oatmeal, soup, bar, lean & green, pudding. Sometimes I'd have a hot drink instead of pudding for my last meal, but that was my routine Monday through Friday. Every day I'd have a different flavor of shake, a different oatmeal, soup and bar, and that gave me the variety I needed (when I was on 5&1, we only had the maintenance bars and were limited to just one per day - there were no crunch bars, cheese puffs or pretzels).
Weekends were a different story. My schedule varied from Saturday to Saturday and often included getting together with family members or friends. Sundays always started (and still start!) with church, but the rest of the day's activities changed from week to week. I needed an entirely different strategy - and an entirely different mindset - to successfully navigate the weekends. I'm guessing that you do, too :-)
My weekend survival strategy included a change in my food routine and adopting a "take no prisoners" mindset. On Saturdays, I would often start my day with MF scrambled eggs, then have an oatmeal pancake. Lunch might be a Medifast pizza (send me an e-mail if you want the recipe), with a shake or bar mid-afternoon.
My Saturday lean & green was usually in the evening, and it was often at a restaurant with friends. I knew my friends would be enjoying things that weren't on plan for me, so I mentally prepared for it. I went on line whenever possible so I could review the menu in advance. I would know what I was going to order before I ever walked into the restaurant and I had already logged what I planned to eat on my food log so I knew how many calories and carbs I would be consuming. Deciding ahead of time made it a lot easier and ensured that I wasn't tempted by what I read on the menu, or by what others were ordering. Sure their food looked and smelled good, but I reminded myself (often!) that being on 5&1 wasn't forever, there would be a time when I would have the ability to order anything I wanted and I'd be able to enjoy those foods at my goal weight. Keeping my eyes focused on my goal was key. I knew the things my friends were eating wouldn't help me reach my goal and I decided that I wanted to reach my goal more than I wanted to eat that meal.
If I met a friend for a Saturday morning breakfast, I'd have an eggwhite or Eggbeater veggie omelet, which would be my lean for the day. On those Saturdays, I'd have a salad with my Medifast soup for dinner to get in the rest of my "green." If I was going to meet a friend for breakfast, then we didn't go out for dinner that night.
On Saturdays that were "on the run" days, I would make oatmeal muffins and/or cookies, soup bread or soup chips so I would have meals with me as needed (again, this was before the crunch bars, pretzels and cheese puffs were introduced). Planning my day and figuring out what I would eat and when I would eat it was critical and a key to staying on plan.
On Sunday, my lean & green would usually be at noon. I would often enjoy some "soup bread" or another Medifast recipe in the afternoon, or I'd have another Medifast pizza in the evening.
After a weekend of mixing things up a bit, I was ready to return to my Monday through Friday routine again. Mixing things up a bit on the weekend kept me from slipping into terminal boredom.
I hope some of these ideas will be helpful to you as you look forward to your own weekend. Have a great weekend, and don't forget to choose wisely :-)
For most of us, it's not too difficult staying on plan during the week because we're in a pretty predictable routine. When I was on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1, I had the same food routine every day: shake, oatmeal, soup, bar, lean & green, pudding. Sometimes I'd have a hot drink instead of pudding for my last meal, but that was my routine Monday through Friday. Every day I'd have a different flavor of shake, a different oatmeal, soup and bar, and that gave me the variety I needed (when I was on 5&1, we only had the maintenance bars and were limited to just one per day - there were no crunch bars, cheese puffs or pretzels).
Weekends were a different story. My schedule varied from Saturday to Saturday and often included getting together with family members or friends. Sundays always started (and still start!) with church, but the rest of the day's activities changed from week to week. I needed an entirely different strategy - and an entirely different mindset - to successfully navigate the weekends. I'm guessing that you do, too :-)
My weekend survival strategy included a change in my food routine and adopting a "take no prisoners" mindset. On Saturdays, I would often start my day with MF scrambled eggs, then have an oatmeal pancake. Lunch might be a Medifast pizza (send me an e-mail if you want the recipe), with a shake or bar mid-afternoon.
My Saturday lean & green was usually in the evening, and it was often at a restaurant with friends. I knew my friends would be enjoying things that weren't on plan for me, so I mentally prepared for it. I went on line whenever possible so I could review the menu in advance. I would know what I was going to order before I ever walked into the restaurant and I had already logged what I planned to eat on my food log so I knew how many calories and carbs I would be consuming. Deciding ahead of time made it a lot easier and ensured that I wasn't tempted by what I read on the menu, or by what others were ordering. Sure their food looked and smelled good, but I reminded myself (often!) that being on 5&1 wasn't forever, there would be a time when I would have the ability to order anything I wanted and I'd be able to enjoy those foods at my goal weight. Keeping my eyes focused on my goal was key. I knew the things my friends were eating wouldn't help me reach my goal and I decided that I wanted to reach my goal more than I wanted to eat that meal.
If I met a friend for a Saturday morning breakfast, I'd have an eggwhite or Eggbeater veggie omelet, which would be my lean for the day. On those Saturdays, I'd have a salad with my Medifast soup for dinner to get in the rest of my "green." If I was going to meet a friend for breakfast, then we didn't go out for dinner that night.
On Saturdays that were "on the run" days, I would make oatmeal muffins and/or cookies, soup bread or soup chips so I would have meals with me as needed (again, this was before the crunch bars, pretzels and cheese puffs were introduced). Planning my day and figuring out what I would eat and when I would eat it was critical and a key to staying on plan.
On Sunday, my lean & green would usually be at noon. I would often enjoy some "soup bread" or another Medifast recipe in the afternoon, or I'd have another Medifast pizza in the evening.
After a weekend of mixing things up a bit, I was ready to return to my Monday through Friday routine again. Mixing things up a bit on the weekend kept me from slipping into terminal boredom.
I hope some of these ideas will be helpful to you as you look forward to your own weekend. Have a great weekend, and don't forget to choose wisely :-)
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Our Privilege, Our Choice
I have been incredibly sad as I've watched news reports about the devastation in Haiti following Tuesday's earthquake. It's hard to even comprehend the loss of life and the level of difficulty the people of this tiny nation are dealing with. Sometimes I can get a bit whiny when things aren't going just the way I'd like them to, but watching what's going on in Haiti makes me ashamed that I ever complain about anything - and I mean anything.
When I was on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1, there were times when I had my own private pity party because I was on a restrictive plan and not able to eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. Thankfully, those parties (quite miserable, by the way) were pretty short-lived because I realized that it was always my choice to be on this plan - nobody was forcing me to do so. I also realized what a privilege it was to be able to do this program for almost a year. Even though it is cost neutral for most of us, I know the cost of this program is a real stretch for some and is sadly out of reach for others. When I would start feeling sorry for myself, all I had to do was take a breath AND take a step back to regain my perspective.
In the end, I realized that I had been given a gift that would ultimately give me an even greater gift - my health and my life back. I understood that it wouldn't come without sacrifice, but the sacrifice seemed insignificant when compared with all that I would gain.
We are wired to somehow think we can have our cake and eat it, too, and we often think that there ought to be a way to get the results we want on this program without actually having to follow the program as designed. I hear from people all the time who want to modify the program - have a piece of fruit or a glass of wine or something else off plan - and are then disappointed when they don't see the weight loss they were hoping for. I always encourage them to think in terms of temporarily giving up those things to get to a healthy weight, at which time these foods can once again be incorporated into a healthy eating plan.
Being on this plan is always our choice, and it really is a privilege. Some days are hard, to be sure, but the sacrifice is small and short-term. My encouragement to you today is to just do it - get to your goal as quickly as you can and then get on with the rest of your life. How quickly you get to your goal depends on the choices you make today, so choose wisely :-).
Have a great day and please join me in keeping the people of Haiti and the rescue workers in your thoughts and prayers.
When I was on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1, there were times when I had my own private pity party because I was on a restrictive plan and not able to eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. Thankfully, those parties (quite miserable, by the way) were pretty short-lived because I realized that it was always my choice to be on this plan - nobody was forcing me to do so. I also realized what a privilege it was to be able to do this program for almost a year. Even though it is cost neutral for most of us, I know the cost of this program is a real stretch for some and is sadly out of reach for others. When I would start feeling sorry for myself, all I had to do was take a breath AND take a step back to regain my perspective.
In the end, I realized that I had been given a gift that would ultimately give me an even greater gift - my health and my life back. I understood that it wouldn't come without sacrifice, but the sacrifice seemed insignificant when compared with all that I would gain.
We are wired to somehow think we can have our cake and eat it, too, and we often think that there ought to be a way to get the results we want on this program without actually having to follow the program as designed. I hear from people all the time who want to modify the program - have a piece of fruit or a glass of wine or something else off plan - and are then disappointed when they don't see the weight loss they were hoping for. I always encourage them to think in terms of temporarily giving up those things to get to a healthy weight, at which time these foods can once again be incorporated into a healthy eating plan.
Being on this plan is always our choice, and it really is a privilege. Some days are hard, to be sure, but the sacrifice is small and short-term. My encouragement to you today is to just do it - get to your goal as quickly as you can and then get on with the rest of your life. How quickly you get to your goal depends on the choices you make today, so choose wisely :-).
Have a great day and please join me in keeping the people of Haiti and the rescue workers in your thoughts and prayers.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Choices Matter - They Really Matter!
I received some sad news a couple of days ago. Someone I knew from my college years passed away last week - way too early. Steve (not his real name) was in his early 60's and died of a massive heart attack. He was also diabetic and had been on dialysis for some time due to kidney failure. Lastly, and probably no surprise, he had been very overweight for most of his life. When I knew him in college (he was finishing as I began), he was very heavy. Still, he played basketball and kept active and was a very upbeat guy, the kind of person everybody liked. Steve married his college sweetheart and they were married almost 40 years; they had several children and I believe he also had grandchildren. Steve was a wonderful person who was well loved by his family and many friends, and I am incredibly sad that he passed away at such an early age due to complications of obesity.
Obesity steals so much from us - our self esteem, our joy, our ability to fully live our lives - but it also has the potential to steal years from our lives. Even before he passed away, the quality of Steve's life had been severely compromised because of his obesity and diabetes, leaving him dependent upon dialysis several times a week. This is no way for someone to live at any age, let alone someone who is supposed to be in the prime of their life. Instead of being able to just enjoy time with his wife and his family, instead of being able to travel and do the things that people anticipate enjoying in retirement, Steve was struggling with significant health issues that were directly related to a lifetime of obesity.
Some people may think that I talk too much about Take Shape for Life/Medifast, that I'm a bit too passionate about this program, but how can I NOT be passionate about something that has the ability to not only change someone's life but actually save it? That is also why I come back here every day to encourage you to make the choice to stay on plan. I can't think of anything I could eat that would be worth possibly dying prematurely; I can't think of anything I could eat that's worth leaving my health in a compromised state, keeping me from fully living my life.
Each day we have the opportunity to make choices that will, together, impact our future health. It's easy to get lulled into thinking that what we do today really doesn't matter, but when we string together a series of choices and they become days and weeks, month and years, we've established habits. These habits will either move us towards optimal health or in the opposite direction. Your choice today count, so choose wisely :-)
Obesity steals so much from us - our self esteem, our joy, our ability to fully live our lives - but it also has the potential to steal years from our lives. Even before he passed away, the quality of Steve's life had been severely compromised because of his obesity and diabetes, leaving him dependent upon dialysis several times a week. This is no way for someone to live at any age, let alone someone who is supposed to be in the prime of their life. Instead of being able to just enjoy time with his wife and his family, instead of being able to travel and do the things that people anticipate enjoying in retirement, Steve was struggling with significant health issues that were directly related to a lifetime of obesity.
Some people may think that I talk too much about Take Shape for Life/Medifast, that I'm a bit too passionate about this program, but how can I NOT be passionate about something that has the ability to not only change someone's life but actually save it? That is also why I come back here every day to encourage you to make the choice to stay on plan. I can't think of anything I could eat that would be worth possibly dying prematurely; I can't think of anything I could eat that's worth leaving my health in a compromised state, keeping me from fully living my life.
Each day we have the opportunity to make choices that will, together, impact our future health. It's easy to get lulled into thinking that what we do today really doesn't matter, but when we string together a series of choices and they become days and weeks, month and years, we've established habits. These habits will either move us towards optimal health or in the opposite direction. Your choice today count, so choose wisely :-)
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Dream or Goal?
One of my goals every day is to include some inspirational and motivational reading into my schedule. For me, this includes not only spending some time every day reading my Bible, but also reading other writings that challenge and inspire me. I read a quote the other day that resonated with me, so I thought I'd share it with you. Here's the quote: "A dream becomes a goal when action is taken towards its achievement" ~ Bo Bennett.
I really like that quote because it outlines the difference between a dream and a goal, and that difference is ACTION. I like to dream and I've often dreamed about things that I'd like to see happen, but more often than not I've never taken any steps to make those dreams become a reality. Of course, some of the things I've dreamed about are strictly in the realm of fantasy - becoming invisible, being able to fly, etc., but other dreams could easily become goals if I decided I really wanted them badly enough. I have dreams of traveling to Europe, dreams of going on mission trips, dreams of writing a book - lots of dreams that could be realized if I decided that I wanted them enough to take steps to make them happen.
The fact that you are reading this today and possibly on Take Shape for Life/Medifast indicates that you have taken one or more concrete steps to turn your own dream of being at a healthy weight into reality. That's a good thing! I used to dream about being at a healthy weight even while I was busy stuffing myself with the very things that would keep me obese. As long as I did that, it was nothing more than a dream with as much chance of being realized as me flying. However, there was a day when the dream became a goal and I put into place some specific actions to move me towards that goal.
Making the move from a dream to a goal can happen in an instant, and it happens the moment we choose to make the the dream a goal. We have to be willing to take the action steps needed, and that's where it gets challenging :-). Turning a dream into a goal can be scary, because that goal may well take us places we've never been before, or at least haven't been in a long time. Turning a dream into a goal may force us to change in ways that may not be comfortable at first, stretching us in ways we don't want to be stretched. Nobody ever said that turning dreams into goals was easy, but I can promise you that the end result is worth it.
It was an amazing journey for me as I went from a 260 pound woman who propped myself up in bed with pillows every night to watch TV and eat, dreaming of someday, somehow being thin, to weighing in the upper 130's to low 140's, being at a healthy weight and a size 6 with tons of energy to spare. The reality is so much better and richer than anything I ever dreamed, and it's not just because the dream came true. What I didn't realize was how much I would change and grow in the process of moving towards that dream/goal.
You are in the process of transforming your dream of being at a healthy weight into a goal, and you move closer to making that a reality each day that you choose to stay on plan. Keep dreaming, but don't stop with dreaming. Keep taking the steps necessary to make your dream come true. It all comes down to the choices we make today, so choose wisely :-)
I really like that quote because it outlines the difference between a dream and a goal, and that difference is ACTION. I like to dream and I've often dreamed about things that I'd like to see happen, but more often than not I've never taken any steps to make those dreams become a reality. Of course, some of the things I've dreamed about are strictly in the realm of fantasy - becoming invisible, being able to fly, etc., but other dreams could easily become goals if I decided I really wanted them badly enough. I have dreams of traveling to Europe, dreams of going on mission trips, dreams of writing a book - lots of dreams that could be realized if I decided that I wanted them enough to take steps to make them happen.
The fact that you are reading this today and possibly on Take Shape for Life/Medifast indicates that you have taken one or more concrete steps to turn your own dream of being at a healthy weight into reality. That's a good thing! I used to dream about being at a healthy weight even while I was busy stuffing myself with the very things that would keep me obese. As long as I did that, it was nothing more than a dream with as much chance of being realized as me flying. However, there was a day when the dream became a goal and I put into place some specific actions to move me towards that goal.
Making the move from a dream to a goal can happen in an instant, and it happens the moment we choose to make the the dream a goal. We have to be willing to take the action steps needed, and that's where it gets challenging :-). Turning a dream into a goal can be scary, because that goal may well take us places we've never been before, or at least haven't been in a long time. Turning a dream into a goal may force us to change in ways that may not be comfortable at first, stretching us in ways we don't want to be stretched. Nobody ever said that turning dreams into goals was easy, but I can promise you that the end result is worth it.
It was an amazing journey for me as I went from a 260 pound woman who propped myself up in bed with pillows every night to watch TV and eat, dreaming of someday, somehow being thin, to weighing in the upper 130's to low 140's, being at a healthy weight and a size 6 with tons of energy to spare. The reality is so much better and richer than anything I ever dreamed, and it's not just because the dream came true. What I didn't realize was how much I would change and grow in the process of moving towards that dream/goal.
You are in the process of transforming your dream of being at a healthy weight into a goal, and you move closer to making that a reality each day that you choose to stay on plan. Keep dreaming, but don't stop with dreaming. Keep taking the steps necessary to make your dream come true. It all comes down to the choices we make today, so choose wisely :-)
Monday, January 11, 2010
It's January Alright
Happy Monday everyone! I hope you had a good weekend and are ready for a great week. We finally got the last of our Christmas things put away over the weekend, so now the holidays are officially over at my house. With everything put away, we are settled in for the winter. Regardless of what the weather is like in December, it's the holiday season so the weather pretty much gets ignored, and we're even happy to see snow because it means we'll have a white Christmas (which we did). Now that we're starting the second week of January, it just feels like winter and I'm no longer smiling when I see more snow coming down. The "great, we're going to have a white Christmas" feeling has been replaced by "this stuff could be on the ground for at least three more months." Same snow, but a different attitude.
That may be where you are with your feelings about Take Shape for Life/Medifast right now. The initial "wow, this is great and I'm losing weight" excitement may be fading, or it may even be gone. All you may be thinking right now is "I'm going to have to eat this for the next X number of months," or "I can't have any of my favorite foods ever again." The newness and novelty is gone and you've settled into a new routine. The initial big weight loss has now been replaced by smaller losses each week. If I just described you, welcome to Take Shape for Life/Medifast winter.
The challenge is how to keep moving forward and stay on plan when it's not fun anymore. How do you keep motivated on days when you aren't sure you can look at another Medifast meal, let alone eat it?
The answer boils down to one thing: staying focused on what you want. You are in the process of creating something amazing in your life. Take a moment to picture yourself at goal - really, take a moment to do this. What do you look like? How do you feel? Imagine having fun shopping; imagine possibly being off one or two prescription medications; imagine your joints not hurting and being able to run if you want. Get that mental picture firmly in your mind, then don't let go of it.
If you have a clear image of what you are creating, one lost pound at a time, then making the choices you need to stay on plan becomes much easier. Once I had a clear image in my mind of what my life would be like once I reached my goal (and the reality is SO much better than even what I envisioned), I literally viewed off-plan foods as obstacles that stood between where I was and where I wanted to be. It's not that I wasn't tempted - because I was often tempted - but I knew I wanted something far better than the brownie that was calling my name.
It is really a shift in orientation to move from focusing on our day-to-day actions to embracing the reality that we are creating something - a healthy, vibrant life.
My encouragement today is to take a few minutes to create a picture of what goal will look like for you. Once you have that clearly in mind, choose wisely :-)
That may be where you are with your feelings about Take Shape for Life/Medifast right now. The initial "wow, this is great and I'm losing weight" excitement may be fading, or it may even be gone. All you may be thinking right now is "I'm going to have to eat this for the next X number of months," or "I can't have any of my favorite foods ever again." The newness and novelty is gone and you've settled into a new routine. The initial big weight loss has now been replaced by smaller losses each week. If I just described you, welcome to Take Shape for Life/Medifast winter.
The challenge is how to keep moving forward and stay on plan when it's not fun anymore. How do you keep motivated on days when you aren't sure you can look at another Medifast meal, let alone eat it?
The answer boils down to one thing: staying focused on what you want. You are in the process of creating something amazing in your life. Take a moment to picture yourself at goal - really, take a moment to do this. What do you look like? How do you feel? Imagine having fun shopping; imagine possibly being off one or two prescription medications; imagine your joints not hurting and being able to run if you want. Get that mental picture firmly in your mind, then don't let go of it.
If you have a clear image of what you are creating, one lost pound at a time, then making the choices you need to stay on plan becomes much easier. Once I had a clear image in my mind of what my life would be like once I reached my goal (and the reality is SO much better than even what I envisioned), I literally viewed off-plan foods as obstacles that stood between where I was and where I wanted to be. It's not that I wasn't tempted - because I was often tempted - but I knew I wanted something far better than the brownie that was calling my name.
It is really a shift in orientation to move from focusing on our day-to-day actions to embracing the reality that we are creating something - a healthy, vibrant life.
My encouragement today is to take a few minutes to create a picture of what goal will look like for you. Once you have that clearly in mind, choose wisely :-)
Sunday, January 10, 2010
So Long Circular
Happy Sunday! In addition to being a pretty regular blogger for the past 2-1/2 years, I have also journaled for the past 14 years. I don't journal every day (that's my ultimate goal, but I fall far short of that), but I journal often enough to have a written record of a lot of the happenings in my life over these past years. Yesterday I spent some time re-reading some of my writing from 14 years ago and laughed when I came across something from September 9, 1996.
My son, who was 9 at the time, came to me and told me that he didn't want to hurt my feelings, but he wanted to let me know that he noticed I was kind of circular. When I asked him what he meant, he said, "Circular . . . you know, kind of stout." He then asked me if I had ever thought about going to Jenny Craig :-). As you can probably guess, my son was (and is) very sweet and very funny, but he was very serious when he talked to me. As I journaled about this conversation, I wrote, "How do you tell a 9-year old that his mother knows all the right things to do, but for reasons she doesn't herself quite understand, she chooses not to?"
Choices . . . that's really what it all boils down to. My journaling over the past 14 years chronicled one weight loss attempt after another, recording my excitement every time I lost weight and echoing my frustration every time my eating spun out of control once again. It was never a matter of me not knowing what I needed to do, but never being able to move past the "I know what I need to do" stage to actually doing it.
To be sure, some of the programs I tried weren't sustainable over time, and with over 100 pounds to lose, I needed something other than the quick weight loss plans I tried. I know that a key component to me finally getting to my goal weight was finding the right program - Take Shape for Life/Medifast . It was sustainable over time because it provided the variety and the nutrition I needed, I felt great, and I saw consistent results.
However, even with the right program in place, making the choices I needed to make ultimately resulted in me reaching goal. When I placed my first order (a 4-week variety pack), I made a commitment to myself to stay on plan for 4 weeks. I couldn't justify the expense at the time unless I was actually doing the program, so I took it one day (and sometimes one meal) at a time, asking God daily to give me the strength I needed to stay on plan. There were many times when I didn't feel like staying on plan, times when I was tired of the meals and missed not eating some of my favorite foods, but I had reached the point where I knew one thing for sure. It really didn't matter if I felt like staying on plan or not - it's what I HAD to do.
I am no longer circular, and I never will be again! Staying on plan when we don't feel like it isn't easy, but it's a choice that leaves no regrets. Choose wisely :-)
My son, who was 9 at the time, came to me and told me that he didn't want to hurt my feelings, but he wanted to let me know that he noticed I was kind of circular. When I asked him what he meant, he said, "Circular . . . you know, kind of stout." He then asked me if I had ever thought about going to Jenny Craig :-). As you can probably guess, my son was (and is) very sweet and very funny, but he was very serious when he talked to me. As I journaled about this conversation, I wrote, "How do you tell a 9-year old that his mother knows all the right things to do, but for reasons she doesn't herself quite understand, she chooses not to?"
Choices . . . that's really what it all boils down to. My journaling over the past 14 years chronicled one weight loss attempt after another, recording my excitement every time I lost weight and echoing my frustration every time my eating spun out of control once again. It was never a matter of me not knowing what I needed to do, but never being able to move past the "I know what I need to do" stage to actually doing it.
To be sure, some of the programs I tried weren't sustainable over time, and with over 100 pounds to lose, I needed something other than the quick weight loss plans I tried. I know that a key component to me finally getting to my goal weight was finding the right program - Take Shape for Life/Medifast . It was sustainable over time because it provided the variety and the nutrition I needed, I felt great, and I saw consistent results.
However, even with the right program in place, making the choices I needed to make ultimately resulted in me reaching goal. When I placed my first order (a 4-week variety pack), I made a commitment to myself to stay on plan for 4 weeks. I couldn't justify the expense at the time unless I was actually doing the program, so I took it one day (and sometimes one meal) at a time, asking God daily to give me the strength I needed to stay on plan. There were many times when I didn't feel like staying on plan, times when I was tired of the meals and missed not eating some of my favorite foods, but I had reached the point where I knew one thing for sure. It really didn't matter if I felt like staying on plan or not - it's what I HAD to do.
I am no longer circular, and I never will be again! Staying on plan when we don't feel like it isn't easy, but it's a choice that leaves no regrets. Choose wisely :-)
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Fat and Healthy?
Happy Saturday!
I read an interesting article on CNN.com the other day that raised the question, "Is the fat acceptance movement bad for our health?" The article wondered if this movement was undermining the health risks of obesity and allowing overweight people, most of whom are not healthy, to become complacent about their weight as many organizations and businesses champion a new definition of beauty that is not dictated by waist size.
I think this is a good question, and worth looking at from both sides. The health risks of obesity are known to all of us, I believe, and they include an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, and some types of cancer (to name a few). Many, perhaps even most of us, who have been on Take Shape for Life/Medifast for even a short time have seen improvement in our lab work, including lowered cholesterol, improved blood glucose, better triglycerides, etc. Many of us have been able to get off of or lower the dosage of medications for blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes; individuals have gotten off of the C-pap and bi-pap machines for sleep apnea, while others have been able to give us using a walker. For all of us who have reduced or gotten off of at least one medication because we went on this program, we can see a direct correlation between our weight and our health. That is one of the reasons people are so excited about Take Shape for Life/Medifast and why a growing number of physicians are referring their patients to the program.
That certainly doesn't mean that every overweight person is unhealthy, and most of us probably know someone who is overweight and proclaims that they are healthy and not on any medication. My husband met with a man yesterday who is well over 300 pounds (he doesn't know for sure how much he weighs because he is too heavy for his scale). This individual isn't on any medication and told my husband that he just got a clean bill of health from his doctor, and his only motivation for losing weight was to look better. Because he is in his early 30's, he acknowledged that his weight might eventually cause health issues, but he wasn't concerned about that at the time.
From the other side, being thin and being healthy aren't necessarily one in the same. There are people in a healthy weight range who have terrible eating habits - skipping meals, eating the wrong things, etc., but who are able to maintain their weight through exercise and/or the blessing of a killer metabolism.
I love this program because it works to help us not only get thin, but to also get healthy. It also teaches us the habits we need to STAY at a healthy weight, including incorporating regular exercise into our lives and continuing to eat 5-6 small meals a day (which may or may not include 2-3 Medifast meals).
Take Shape for Life/Medifast is a wellness program, not a diet, and that's what sets this program apart from every other programs out there. If we choose to follow the program, if we're willing to learn how to make permanent changes in our lives, this program will get us to a healthy weight and keep us there for the rest of our lives. It all comes down to the choices we make, and small sacrifices today will reap wonderful benefits tomorrow, and for the rest of our lives.
Those choices start with the choices we'll make today, so choose wisely :-)
I read an interesting article on CNN.com the other day that raised the question, "Is the fat acceptance movement bad for our health?" The article wondered if this movement was undermining the health risks of obesity and allowing overweight people, most of whom are not healthy, to become complacent about their weight as many organizations and businesses champion a new definition of beauty that is not dictated by waist size.
I think this is a good question, and worth looking at from both sides. The health risks of obesity are known to all of us, I believe, and they include an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, and some types of cancer (to name a few). Many, perhaps even most of us, who have been on Take Shape for Life/Medifast for even a short time have seen improvement in our lab work, including lowered cholesterol, improved blood glucose, better triglycerides, etc. Many of us have been able to get off of or lower the dosage of medications for blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes; individuals have gotten off of the C-pap and bi-pap machines for sleep apnea, while others have been able to give us using a walker. For all of us who have reduced or gotten off of at least one medication because we went on this program, we can see a direct correlation between our weight and our health. That is one of the reasons people are so excited about Take Shape for Life/Medifast and why a growing number of physicians are referring their patients to the program.
That certainly doesn't mean that every overweight person is unhealthy, and most of us probably know someone who is overweight and proclaims that they are healthy and not on any medication. My husband met with a man yesterday who is well over 300 pounds (he doesn't know for sure how much he weighs because he is too heavy for his scale). This individual isn't on any medication and told my husband that he just got a clean bill of health from his doctor, and his only motivation for losing weight was to look better. Because he is in his early 30's, he acknowledged that his weight might eventually cause health issues, but he wasn't concerned about that at the time.
From the other side, being thin and being healthy aren't necessarily one in the same. There are people in a healthy weight range who have terrible eating habits - skipping meals, eating the wrong things, etc., but who are able to maintain their weight through exercise and/or the blessing of a killer metabolism.
I love this program because it works to help us not only get thin, but to also get healthy. It also teaches us the habits we need to STAY at a healthy weight, including incorporating regular exercise into our lives and continuing to eat 5-6 small meals a day (which may or may not include 2-3 Medifast meals).
Take Shape for Life/Medifast is a wellness program, not a diet, and that's what sets this program apart from every other programs out there. If we choose to follow the program, if we're willing to learn how to make permanent changes in our lives, this program will get us to a healthy weight and keep us there for the rest of our lives. It all comes down to the choices we make, and small sacrifices today will reap wonderful benefits tomorrow, and for the rest of our lives.
Those choices start with the choices we'll make today, so choose wisely :-)
Friday, January 8, 2010
Two Years Later
As many of you know, I occasionally enjoy revisiting past blogs that I've written. It's always interesting for me to read about what was going on in my life at that time and to remember how I was feeling about the weight loss journey I was on.
The following blog was written two years ago today, January 8, 2008. I hope what I wrote then will be helpful to you today!
***
After 6-1/2 months on Take Shape for Life/Medifast and 76 pounds gone (so far), it is finally dawning on me that I feel like a normal person again.
DISCLAIMER: Let me hasten to say that in NO WAY means that I wasn't a "normal person" when I weighed 260 (starting weight) or even 268 (all-time high weight), and that absolutely does NOT mean that those still at those weights, or higher, aren't normal. Of course I was, and so is everyone else!!
What I DO mean is that I no longer feel defined by my obesity. Even though I still have around 50 pounds to lose, I'm wearing Misses sizes and look a lot like "other people." I don't feel like people are looking at me or make assessments about who I am based on my size. I can fit comfortably into all chairs, including a favorite small antique rocking chair I have. I don't have any concerns about the seatbelts on airplanes or squeezing between tables at a restaurant. I feel like I once again "fit in" with everybody else.
Until my early/mid 30's, "normal" WAS my life and I couldn't have imagined spending 20 years of my life feeling like an outsider, embarrassed by my size and wanting to stay in the background. For the past 20 years, I have been the person in the background in pictures, if I was in the picture at all. In the summer, I avoided sitting on other people's lawn chairs because the tag on most of them said "Weight Limit 225" and I was well above that and mortified at the thought that a chair would collapse under my weight. I took up "more than my fair share" of any sofa or loveseat I sat on, and I knew that my sitting there made it crowded for whoever sat next to me. For 20 years, I didn't go clothes shopping with anybody because I was embarrassed for anyone to know what size I wore. When friends would suggest a day of shopping, I'd tag along for the fun but would never, EVER look at clothes for myself. I'd look at the sizes they were trying on and compliment them appropriately on how they looked, while inside I was crying because I was so far from where they were.
Because of Take Shape for Life/Medifast, I have left all of that behind! Talk about a fabulous NSV (non-scale victory) - I finally "feel" normal again. For me, there is real freedom in realizing that, even though I'm still overweight, my weight no longer defines who I am. Perhaps a better way to state it is to say that I no longer ALLOW it to define who I am! I hope that the first thing people notice about me now is my smile, or maybe my eyes, not my size.
For me, feeling normal again makes every little white packet worth it; it makes every last bite I've turned down worth it!
***
All I had to do to start reading this blog to immediately go back to the wonder I felt at the transformation that was taking place. Two years later, I still thrill (literally) at being able to fit into spaces, shop in the Misses section, and even being able to share (and swap) clothes with my daughters and my girlfriends. I hope I never take any of this for granted, and I hope I never forget about the pain of morbid obesity.
I am so thankful for this program and for all that has happened in my life since the day I chose to open my first packet of Medifast food! The things I temporarily gave up were more than worth it, and I promise you that I have no regrets for staying on plan.
I stayed on plan by making the choice every day to do so, and I chose to not allow anything to get in the way of getting to my goal. You have the same choice today - choose wisely :-)
The following blog was written two years ago today, January 8, 2008. I hope what I wrote then will be helpful to you today!
***
After 6-1/2 months on Take Shape for Life/Medifast and 76 pounds gone (so far), it is finally dawning on me that I feel like a normal person again.
DISCLAIMER: Let me hasten to say that in NO WAY means that I wasn't a "normal person" when I weighed 260 (starting weight) or even 268 (all-time high weight), and that absolutely does NOT mean that those still at those weights, or higher, aren't normal. Of course I was, and so is everyone else!!
What I DO mean is that I no longer feel defined by my obesity. Even though I still have around 50 pounds to lose, I'm wearing Misses sizes and look a lot like "other people." I don't feel like people are looking at me or make assessments about who I am based on my size. I can fit comfortably into all chairs, including a favorite small antique rocking chair I have. I don't have any concerns about the seatbelts on airplanes or squeezing between tables at a restaurant. I feel like I once again "fit in" with everybody else.
Until my early/mid 30's, "normal" WAS my life and I couldn't have imagined spending 20 years of my life feeling like an outsider, embarrassed by my size and wanting to stay in the background. For the past 20 years, I have been the person in the background in pictures, if I was in the picture at all. In the summer, I avoided sitting on other people's lawn chairs because the tag on most of them said "Weight Limit 225" and I was well above that and mortified at the thought that a chair would collapse under my weight. I took up "more than my fair share" of any sofa or loveseat I sat on, and I knew that my sitting there made it crowded for whoever sat next to me. For 20 years, I didn't go clothes shopping with anybody because I was embarrassed for anyone to know what size I wore. When friends would suggest a day of shopping, I'd tag along for the fun but would never, EVER look at clothes for myself. I'd look at the sizes they were trying on and compliment them appropriately on how they looked, while inside I was crying because I was so far from where they were.
Because of Take Shape for Life/Medifast, I have left all of that behind! Talk about a fabulous NSV (non-scale victory) - I finally "feel" normal again. For me, there is real freedom in realizing that, even though I'm still overweight, my weight no longer defines who I am. Perhaps a better way to state it is to say that I no longer ALLOW it to define who I am! I hope that the first thing people notice about me now is my smile, or maybe my eyes, not my size.
For me, feeling normal again makes every little white packet worth it; it makes every last bite I've turned down worth it!
***
All I had to do to start reading this blog to immediately go back to the wonder I felt at the transformation that was taking place. Two years later, I still thrill (literally) at being able to fit into spaces, shop in the Misses section, and even being able to share (and swap) clothes with my daughters and my girlfriends. I hope I never take any of this for granted, and I hope I never forget about the pain of morbid obesity.
I am so thankful for this program and for all that has happened in my life since the day I chose to open my first packet of Medifast food! The things I temporarily gave up were more than worth it, and I promise you that I have no regrets for staying on plan.
I stayed on plan by making the choice every day to do so, and I chose to not allow anything to get in the way of getting to my goal. You have the same choice today - choose wisely :-)
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Who Knew?
Right now I'm having more fun than a human being deserves to have :-). After a busy holiday season that often left me short on time for exercise, I am back into a good routine again and it feels SO good! To mix things up a bit and keep me from getting bored, I just added a couple of workout programs that were developed for the Wii (Wii Fit Plus and EA Sports Active Personal Trainer). I'm not sure that my 22 year old son is altogether thrilled that I've taken over his Wii, but he's humoring me for the moment :-).
I belong to a health club and I really enjoy working out there. It's only 15 minutes from my house, so getting there usually isn't a problem and I try to get there three times a week. However, things come up and sometimes my best-laid plans to get to the health club don't pan out. I've come to the realization that I need to have a solid Plan B in place for those days, as well as have regular exercise incorporated into the other days.
What's amazing to me is how much I enjoy working out and being active now. After being a couch potato for over two decades, no one is more surprised at this metamorphosis than I am. While exercise is not a critical component of the weight loss 5&1 phase of this program, it certainly is important for us in maintenance as we continue moving towards creating optimal health in our lives. The big surprise for me is that instead of gritting my teeth and forcing myself to exercise, which pretty much sums up my half-hearted attempts over the years, I now enjoy it. In fact, when I get out of a regular exercise routine, I actually miss it. Who would have thunk it?
To be honest, there are still days when I don't feel like working out and there are days when I successfully talk myself out of it. I'm never sorry when I make the time to exercise, but I'm almost always sorry when I don't.
Choosing to make healthy choices every day isn't always fun, and it's not always what we feel like doing, but making the right choices sure feels good at the end of the day! Choose wisely :-)
I belong to a health club and I really enjoy working out there. It's only 15 minutes from my house, so getting there usually isn't a problem and I try to get there three times a week. However, things come up and sometimes my best-laid plans to get to the health club don't pan out. I've come to the realization that I need to have a solid Plan B in place for those days, as well as have regular exercise incorporated into the other days.
What's amazing to me is how much I enjoy working out and being active now. After being a couch potato for over two decades, no one is more surprised at this metamorphosis than I am. While exercise is not a critical component of the weight loss 5&1 phase of this program, it certainly is important for us in maintenance as we continue moving towards creating optimal health in our lives. The big surprise for me is that instead of gritting my teeth and forcing myself to exercise, which pretty much sums up my half-hearted attempts over the years, I now enjoy it. In fact, when I get out of a regular exercise routine, I actually miss it. Who would have thunk it?
To be honest, there are still days when I don't feel like working out and there are days when I successfully talk myself out of it. I'm never sorry when I make the time to exercise, but I'm almost always sorry when I don't.
Choosing to make healthy choices every day isn't always fun, and it's not always what we feel like doing, but making the right choices sure feels good at the end of the day! Choose wisely :-)
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
The Moment of Truth
I'm a pretty happy and well-balanced person, so it's not too often that you'll find me in tears. Last night was one of those rare times when I cried, and cried hard.
I watched the season premier of "The Biggest Loser" last night and the tears flowed as I watched each contestant weigh in in front of their family and friends, in their own hometown. There was so much pain, both on the faces of the contestants as they were confronted with the reality of their starting weight, and on the faces of their family members and friends.
When I was at my top weight of 268 (I started Take Shape for Life/Medifast at 260), one of my greatest fears was that somebody would find out how much I weighed. My husband didn't know my weight, and I even got to the point when I refused to get on the scale at my doctor's office. My shame about my weight was so deep that it was actually the thing that kept me from taking my life in the midst of a clinical depression 16 years ago - I didn't want my weight listed on my death certificate for my husband and family to see. Watching these contestants weigh in with their family and friends present was excruciating for me, because I could only imagine how humiliated they felt as their deep, dark secret was laid bare before the people they cared about the most. I felt their pain and shame last night.
What was also painful was seeing the tears streaming down the faces of their family members and friends. Watching their reaction, I realized in a new way that obesity doesn't impact us alone - it hurts the people we care about, too.
Once the weigh in was over, the contestants each faced the camera and talked about the fact that they were ready to do whatever it took to change their lives and lose weight. Some of them had been overweight their entire lives, but facing the reality of the scale made them ready to make whatever sacrifice required and do whatever was needed to lose weight.
We each have our "moment of truth," and I'm thankful that mine wasn't in full view of the people I care about. Mine came when I found myself researching weight loss surgery options on the internet - a surgery that was not covered by my insurance. I actually toyed with going to Mexico for surgery because it was less expensive there and taking out a second mortgage on our home to pay for it. As I was contemplating all of this, I realized that I had reached the point of no return for me - I knew I was finally really ready to make the changes I needed to make. I tell people that when God led me to Take Shape for Life/Medifast, I felt like I'd jumped on the last train leaving the station and I hung on for dear life. I was scared because I kept thinking that if this program didn't work, I was pretty much out of options.
Of course, it DID work, and worked beautifully! Once I was ready to change, I was also ready to make the choices I needed to make. It wasn't always easy making those choices, but I had reached the point of desperation where remaining where I was was no longer an option.
If you've reached the point where staying where you are is no longer an option, then making the choice to stay on plan is much easier. We ultimately have to do this for ourselves - because we're ready to change - and not for anyone else (although our decision to get healthy will benefit those around us). Are you ready to change? If so, you can become your own biggest loser. The choice is yours, so choose wisely :-).
I watched the season premier of "The Biggest Loser" last night and the tears flowed as I watched each contestant weigh in in front of their family and friends, in their own hometown. There was so much pain, both on the faces of the contestants as they were confronted with the reality of their starting weight, and on the faces of their family members and friends.
When I was at my top weight of 268 (I started Take Shape for Life/Medifast at 260), one of my greatest fears was that somebody would find out how much I weighed. My husband didn't know my weight, and I even got to the point when I refused to get on the scale at my doctor's office. My shame about my weight was so deep that it was actually the thing that kept me from taking my life in the midst of a clinical depression 16 years ago - I didn't want my weight listed on my death certificate for my husband and family to see. Watching these contestants weigh in with their family and friends present was excruciating for me, because I could only imagine how humiliated they felt as their deep, dark secret was laid bare before the people they cared about the most. I felt their pain and shame last night.
What was also painful was seeing the tears streaming down the faces of their family members and friends. Watching their reaction, I realized in a new way that obesity doesn't impact us alone - it hurts the people we care about, too.
Once the weigh in was over, the contestants each faced the camera and talked about the fact that they were ready to do whatever it took to change their lives and lose weight. Some of them had been overweight their entire lives, but facing the reality of the scale made them ready to make whatever sacrifice required and do whatever was needed to lose weight.
We each have our "moment of truth," and I'm thankful that mine wasn't in full view of the people I care about. Mine came when I found myself researching weight loss surgery options on the internet - a surgery that was not covered by my insurance. I actually toyed with going to Mexico for surgery because it was less expensive there and taking out a second mortgage on our home to pay for it. As I was contemplating all of this, I realized that I had reached the point of no return for me - I knew I was finally really ready to make the changes I needed to make. I tell people that when God led me to Take Shape for Life/Medifast, I felt like I'd jumped on the last train leaving the station and I hung on for dear life. I was scared because I kept thinking that if this program didn't work, I was pretty much out of options.
Of course, it DID work, and worked beautifully! Once I was ready to change, I was also ready to make the choices I needed to make. It wasn't always easy making those choices, but I had reached the point of desperation where remaining where I was was no longer an option.
If you've reached the point where staying where you are is no longer an option, then making the choice to stay on plan is much easier. We ultimately have to do this for ourselves - because we're ready to change - and not for anyone else (although our decision to get healthy will benefit those around us). Are you ready to change? If so, you can become your own biggest loser. The choice is yours, so choose wisely :-).
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
THE Secret to GUARANTEED Success!
I am SO excited this morning! I have a secret to share with you - THE key that will GUARANTEE your success on this program. It doesn't matter if you're just getting started (if so, welcome!) or if you're a veteran who's been on the program for several months (or longer). This is it - the key that is guaranteed 100% to get you to your goal.
I wish I could tell you that I came up with this myself, but that wouldn't be true. I was on a nation-wide conference call last night when one of the speakers shared the key. I grabbed a pen and wrote it down right away, because I knew I wanted to share it with you. Are you ready? Here's the key to your success:
1. Get started
2. Don't quit
Yep - it's that simple! Here's the good news: since you're reading this, I'm assuming that you've already started. If that's true, then you're half-way there! :-) Getting started is often the hardest part, especially if we've tried and failed before. Failure tends to breed failure, and if you've failed before (like I did about a zillion times), the very thought of trying again can be overwhelming. The fear of failing yet again can keep us from even trying, so the very fact that you've started is encouraging.
The second half of the "guaranteed success" equation is to keep going and not quit. You already know that this plan works. If you've been on plan for even a week, you've lost weight - possibly more weight than you've ever lost in a single week on any other plan. All you have to do is keep going :-).
This is such a great time of year to keep going and not quit! First of all, with everyone just coming off the holidays, a lot of people are focused on eating healthier and losing weight. There are less temptations now and you are more likely to encounter sympathetic, supportive people. For everyone who lives in one of the cold weather states, you have several months before shorts and swimsuit weather is here - great motivation! Getting started and not quitting means you'll be at your goal (or at least a lot closer) by the time warm weather arrives.
I do apologize if the key to success wasn't exactly what you were looking for - I fully understand! Before starting on this program, I was always on high alert, looking for THE thing that would finally unlock the chains of my own morbid obesity. Almost every January would find me perusing the diet section of my local bookstore, checking out the latest and greatest plan. Every year I hoped and prayed that the latest and greatest new plan would be THE key. When someone I knew lost weight, I'd always ask them how they did it. When they responded that they changed how they ate and started exercising, I was always disappointed because that answer was so simple - I wanted to hear about something new that would let me eat whatever I wanted, continue to be a couch potato, and still melt the pounds.
Of course, that "secret" never materialized, and I know now that it never will. There IS no magic potion, pharmaceutical wonder, or anything else that will bring the results we want without effort on our part. Sigh!
However, this plan works and it works fast. All of the hard work has been done for us - we don't have to figure anything out. No counting calories, carbs or fat grams, no worrying about whether or not we're getting the nutrition we need - it's all been taken care of. All we have to do once we start is just keep going and not quit. If we do that, the chances that we'll reach our goal is 100%.
Get started. Don't quit. The choice is ours, so choose wisely :-)
I wish I could tell you that I came up with this myself, but that wouldn't be true. I was on a nation-wide conference call last night when one of the speakers shared the key. I grabbed a pen and wrote it down right away, because I knew I wanted to share it with you. Are you ready? Here's the key to your success:
1. Get started
2. Don't quit
Yep - it's that simple! Here's the good news: since you're reading this, I'm assuming that you've already started. If that's true, then you're half-way there! :-) Getting started is often the hardest part, especially if we've tried and failed before. Failure tends to breed failure, and if you've failed before (like I did about a zillion times), the very thought of trying again can be overwhelming. The fear of failing yet again can keep us from even trying, so the very fact that you've started is encouraging.
The second half of the "guaranteed success" equation is to keep going and not quit. You already know that this plan works. If you've been on plan for even a week, you've lost weight - possibly more weight than you've ever lost in a single week on any other plan. All you have to do is keep going :-).
This is such a great time of year to keep going and not quit! First of all, with everyone just coming off the holidays, a lot of people are focused on eating healthier and losing weight. There are less temptations now and you are more likely to encounter sympathetic, supportive people. For everyone who lives in one of the cold weather states, you have several months before shorts and swimsuit weather is here - great motivation! Getting started and not quitting means you'll be at your goal (or at least a lot closer) by the time warm weather arrives.
I do apologize if the key to success wasn't exactly what you were looking for - I fully understand! Before starting on this program, I was always on high alert, looking for THE thing that would finally unlock the chains of my own morbid obesity. Almost every January would find me perusing the diet section of my local bookstore, checking out the latest and greatest plan. Every year I hoped and prayed that the latest and greatest new plan would be THE key. When someone I knew lost weight, I'd always ask them how they did it. When they responded that they changed how they ate and started exercising, I was always disappointed because that answer was so simple - I wanted to hear about something new that would let me eat whatever I wanted, continue to be a couch potato, and still melt the pounds.
Of course, that "secret" never materialized, and I know now that it never will. There IS no magic potion, pharmaceutical wonder, or anything else that will bring the results we want without effort on our part. Sigh!
However, this plan works and it works fast. All of the hard work has been done for us - we don't have to figure anything out. No counting calories, carbs or fat grams, no worrying about whether or not we're getting the nutrition we need - it's all been taken care of. All we have to do once we start is just keep going and not quit. If we do that, the chances that we'll reach our goal is 100%.
Get started. Don't quit. The choice is ours, so choose wisely :-)
Monday, January 4, 2010
Back to Regular Programming
Happy Monday morning! For most of us, today means the holidays are finally - really - over. Children are back in school, people are back to work, and things will begin to settle into a normal routine pretty quickly.
My own plan to return to my regular routine was delayed by a day when my daughter called me this past Saturday and proposed a day trip to Chicago (2-1/2 hours from my house) yesterday. The destination was a surprise visit to the American Girl store for my two oldest granddaughters (6-1/2 and almost 5), where the youngest was able to pick out her American Girl doll as an early birthday present (she turns 5 at the end of this month). Following our time at the store, we went to one of our favorite Chicago casual restaurants before heading back to Michigan.
Whether you are already back into your own regular routine or dealing with re-entry into reality today, sooner or later things settle down for all of us. The renewed burst of enthusiasm and resolve that kicks off the new year for us will probably be gone before the month is over.
How do you keep going when it's not fun anymore? That is a huge challenge for many of us. When things are new and exciting and we're seeing results, staying motivated isn't hard. Staying motivated when it isn't fun is a whole 'nother matter entirely.
When I was on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1, there were many days when staying on plan definitely wasn't fun any more. I got tired of staying on plan and I got really tired of eating Medifast food for 5 of my 6 meals a day. I grew weary of being restricted to lean and green for my dinner options. On those "not fun" days, what kept me motivated wasn't the thrill of the moment, but a vision of creating something wonderful in my life. I kept focused on where I was going and thought about how amazing it would be to actually be at my goal. I also would allow myself to look back at the progress I'd made and celebrate how far I'd come. I tell people that although I got tired of being on plan, I never got tired of seeing the scale go down and watching myself drop another size.
Ultimately, I realized that it didn't really matter if I was tired of doing this or not - it was simply what I HAD to do. My health depended on it, and I knew I was sick to death of feeling lousy about myself (I was also sick of feeling lousy). I told myself over and over again that being on 5&1 wasn't forever - that it was a season in my life that I'd set aside to get to a healthy weight. I really wanted this season to be as short as possible and I knew the only way to keep it a short season was to stay on plan and get to my goal as quickly as possible.
The other thing I did each and every day was ask God for the strength I needed to stay on plan one more day. Some days I had to ask Him to give me the strength I needed to just get through the next meal, but He was faithful to provide what I needed, one day and one meal at a time.
Today I hope you're excited to be on plan and making progress towards your goal, but even if this isn't one of your "fun days," there are still choices to be made. Your choices today will either move you in the direction you want to go, or they will take you a step or two backwards. Focus on what you want, then choose wisely :-).
My own plan to return to my regular routine was delayed by a day when my daughter called me this past Saturday and proposed a day trip to Chicago (2-1/2 hours from my house) yesterday. The destination was a surprise visit to the American Girl store for my two oldest granddaughters (6-1/2 and almost 5), where the youngest was able to pick out her American Girl doll as an early birthday present (she turns 5 at the end of this month). Following our time at the store, we went to one of our favorite Chicago casual restaurants before heading back to Michigan.
Whether you are already back into your own regular routine or dealing with re-entry into reality today, sooner or later things settle down for all of us. The renewed burst of enthusiasm and resolve that kicks off the new year for us will probably be gone before the month is over.
How do you keep going when it's not fun anymore? That is a huge challenge for many of us. When things are new and exciting and we're seeing results, staying motivated isn't hard. Staying motivated when it isn't fun is a whole 'nother matter entirely.
When I was on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1, there were many days when staying on plan definitely wasn't fun any more. I got tired of staying on plan and I got really tired of eating Medifast food for 5 of my 6 meals a day. I grew weary of being restricted to lean and green for my dinner options. On those "not fun" days, what kept me motivated wasn't the thrill of the moment, but a vision of creating something wonderful in my life. I kept focused on where I was going and thought about how amazing it would be to actually be at my goal. I also would allow myself to look back at the progress I'd made and celebrate how far I'd come. I tell people that although I got tired of being on plan, I never got tired of seeing the scale go down and watching myself drop another size.
Ultimately, I realized that it didn't really matter if I was tired of doing this or not - it was simply what I HAD to do. My health depended on it, and I knew I was sick to death of feeling lousy about myself (I was also sick of feeling lousy). I told myself over and over again that being on 5&1 wasn't forever - that it was a season in my life that I'd set aside to get to a healthy weight. I really wanted this season to be as short as possible and I knew the only way to keep it a short season was to stay on plan and get to my goal as quickly as possible.
The other thing I did each and every day was ask God for the strength I needed to stay on plan one more day. Some days I had to ask Him to give me the strength I needed to just get through the next meal, but He was faithful to provide what I needed, one day and one meal at a time.
Today I hope you're excited to be on plan and making progress towards your goal, but even if this isn't one of your "fun days," there are still choices to be made. Your choices today will either move you in the direction you want to go, or they will take you a step or two backwards. Focus on what you want, then choose wisely :-).
Sunday, January 3, 2010
In Case You're Wondering . . .
Happy Sunday morning! Since I know there are new people reading this who weren't around when I first started writing my daily blogs (almost a year ago!), I thought I'd use today's blog to reintroduce myself, tell my story, and also explain why I write a daily blog. If you've heard all this before, feel free to skip today :-)
I'm 57 years old and started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast on June 24, 2007. When I started on the plan, I weighed 260 pounds and was bursting out of my 24W/3X clothes. I was also diabetic and on medication for high cholesterol and gastric reflux. My blood pressure was going up and I knew it wouldn't be long before I was on medication for that as well. I was researching weight loss surgery options when I came across information on this program. Since my insurance didn't cover weight loss surgery (I was toying with taking out a second mortgage on our home to pay for it), I thought it was worth trying Take Shape for Life/Medifast for a month. I was impressed with what I read on line about the program, particularly the connection with Johns Hopkins, and the success photos were inspiring. I ordered a 4-week supply, not really expecting the plan to work, but figured I didn't have anything to lose (except 130 pounds!). To my surprise, I lost nine pounds my first week and my morning glucose reading returned to normal. I told my husband "this just might work," and 10 months and 28 days later, I reached my goal of 140. I now wear size 6 slacks and jeans and size 4 dresses and jackets. It's been over 19 months since I reached my goal and I'm still in my goal range. Best of all, I am healthy - my diabetes is gone and I'm no longer on any medication, except my allergy/asthma meds.
While I was on 5&1, one thing that was particularly helpful was a morning "commitment blog" that someone posted every day. I looked for it every morning and every morning I posted my commitment to staying on plan for that day. With over 100 pounds to lose, it was impossible for me to fathom committing to staying on plan for the better part of a year, and even committing to staying on plan for a month was a stretch. However, I COULD commit to doing this one day at a time, so every morning I posted a comment and reconfirmed my commitment to staying on plan for one more day. Doing that every day helped me to focus for the day and it made the difference.
About mid-January last year, I became aware that a number of people were struggling to stay on plan. I remembered how helpful it was for me to have a daily commitment blog, so I decided to resurrect the daily blog in an effort to help others in the same way. I've been writing a blog almost every day since then.
I changed the title from "commitment blog" to "choice blog" last October because I realized that, for a lot of people, "commitment" and "obligation" are synonymous - and obligations don't feel very good :-). The reality is that we can make the choice every day to stay on plan or not - it's not an obligation, but a choice. When I was on 5&1, I adopted the mindset that I could have anything I wanted, but I chose to stay on plan. That was a lot more positive than telling myself all the time that I "couldn't" have something. In fact, people would point to something and ask, "since you're on a diet, you can't have this, can you?" and I would always respond, "I can have anything that I want, but I'm choosing to not eat that right now."
Every day, each of us has to make the choice once again to continue moving towards what we really want - a thin, healthy body - or not. Each day, including today, my encouragement to you is to choose wisely :-).
Have a great Sunday!
I'm 57 years old and started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast on June 24, 2007. When I started on the plan, I weighed 260 pounds and was bursting out of my 24W/3X clothes. I was also diabetic and on medication for high cholesterol and gastric reflux. My blood pressure was going up and I knew it wouldn't be long before I was on medication for that as well. I was researching weight loss surgery options when I came across information on this program. Since my insurance didn't cover weight loss surgery (I was toying with taking out a second mortgage on our home to pay for it), I thought it was worth trying Take Shape for Life/Medifast for a month. I was impressed with what I read on line about the program, particularly the connection with Johns Hopkins, and the success photos were inspiring. I ordered a 4-week supply, not really expecting the plan to work, but figured I didn't have anything to lose (except 130 pounds!). To my surprise, I lost nine pounds my first week and my morning glucose reading returned to normal. I told my husband "this just might work," and 10 months and 28 days later, I reached my goal of 140. I now wear size 6 slacks and jeans and size 4 dresses and jackets. It's been over 19 months since I reached my goal and I'm still in my goal range. Best of all, I am healthy - my diabetes is gone and I'm no longer on any medication, except my allergy/asthma meds.
While I was on 5&1, one thing that was particularly helpful was a morning "commitment blog" that someone posted every day. I looked for it every morning and every morning I posted my commitment to staying on plan for that day. With over 100 pounds to lose, it was impossible for me to fathom committing to staying on plan for the better part of a year, and even committing to staying on plan for a month was a stretch. However, I COULD commit to doing this one day at a time, so every morning I posted a comment and reconfirmed my commitment to staying on plan for one more day. Doing that every day helped me to focus for the day and it made the difference.
About mid-January last year, I became aware that a number of people were struggling to stay on plan. I remembered how helpful it was for me to have a daily commitment blog, so I decided to resurrect the daily blog in an effort to help others in the same way. I've been writing a blog almost every day since then.
I changed the title from "commitment blog" to "choice blog" last October because I realized that, for a lot of people, "commitment" and "obligation" are synonymous - and obligations don't feel very good :-). The reality is that we can make the choice every day to stay on plan or not - it's not an obligation, but a choice. When I was on 5&1, I adopted the mindset that I could have anything I wanted, but I chose to stay on plan. That was a lot more positive than telling myself all the time that I "couldn't" have something. In fact, people would point to something and ask, "since you're on a diet, you can't have this, can you?" and I would always respond, "I can have anything that I want, but I'm choosing to not eat that right now."
Every day, each of us has to make the choice once again to continue moving towards what we really want - a thin, healthy body - or not. Each day, including today, my encouragement to you is to choose wisely :-).
Have a great Sunday!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
It's a New Year!
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season! We had a lovely and busy Christmas and New Year, and I for one am very happy and ready to settle into a regular routine again. I stayed on 5&1 until just before Christmas and lost the weight I wanted to lose, which made me feel good about moving into the past week. Now that the holidays are over, my husband and I are cutting back for the next couple of weeks and I've already gone back to the health club.
How did the rest of you do? I've heard from several people who stayed on plan and are thrilled to have started a new year weighing less than they have in years. If that's you, congratulations! After staying on plan two years ago when I was losing weight, I know it wasn't easy - but it sure was worth it! After getting through the holidays, you are well on your way to reaching your goal sometime this year.
If you weren't on plan over the holidays - either because you planned to go off or because life happened - this is a new year. I read an article a few days ago about a tradition in New York where people get together just before the end of the year for a bonfire where they burn the things they don't want to bring into the new year. It's not too late to hold your own personal bonfire, figurative or an actual bonfire, and let go of any and all failures of 2009. Don't allow what did or didn't happen last year to influence what you want to happen this year. It really is a new year and you can accomplish anything you want to accomplish this year.
Millions of Americans put losing weight on the top of their list of New Year's resolutions. A lot of them woke up this morning resolved to lose weight but they don't have a clue how they're going to do it; many aren't thinking beyond a vague "eat better and exercise" strategy. Not to be pessimistic, but I'm guessing that the majority will make little or not real progress. What's different about everyone here is that we have a proven plan and we know that it works. We may be getting up this morning resolved to get to our goal weight, but we know exactly what to do - and we have the tools we need to do it. That gives a wonderful advantage and I can assure you that your chance of success is 100% - IF you stay with the program :-).
The choice to stay on plan, or get back on plan, is ours. As you begin this new year, I hope you'll choose wisely :-)
How did the rest of you do? I've heard from several people who stayed on plan and are thrilled to have started a new year weighing less than they have in years. If that's you, congratulations! After staying on plan two years ago when I was losing weight, I know it wasn't easy - but it sure was worth it! After getting through the holidays, you are well on your way to reaching your goal sometime this year.
If you weren't on plan over the holidays - either because you planned to go off or because life happened - this is a new year. I read an article a few days ago about a tradition in New York where people get together just before the end of the year for a bonfire where they burn the things they don't want to bring into the new year. It's not too late to hold your own personal bonfire, figurative or an actual bonfire, and let go of any and all failures of 2009. Don't allow what did or didn't happen last year to influence what you want to happen this year. It really is a new year and you can accomplish anything you want to accomplish this year.
Millions of Americans put losing weight on the top of their list of New Year's resolutions. A lot of them woke up this morning resolved to lose weight but they don't have a clue how they're going to do it; many aren't thinking beyond a vague "eat better and exercise" strategy. Not to be pessimistic, but I'm guessing that the majority will make little or not real progress. What's different about everyone here is that we have a proven plan and we know that it works. We may be getting up this morning resolved to get to our goal weight, but we know exactly what to do - and we have the tools we need to do it. That gives a wonderful advantage and I can assure you that your chance of success is 100% - IF you stay with the program :-).
The choice to stay on plan, or get back on plan, is ours. As you begin this new year, I hope you'll choose wisely :-)
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