I love food. There are very few things I don't like. One of my successful Take Shape for Life/Medifast friends has challenged herself to only say "love" when referring to God or people and talks about "enjoying" food instead of "loving" it. I think that's a great attitude and I aspire to truly think that way, but when I'm honest with myself, there are a lot of foods that I love to eat. There have been times when something is so over-the-top delicious that I've said, or I've heard someone else say, "that is to DIE for!" What we mean, of course, is that the food is beyond-description yummy.
Because I've described food as "to die for" on numerous occasions in my life, I was interested to see an article posted on the internet yesterday with the title "7 Foods to Die For." Naturally I had to check them out! The seven foods were an assortment of some of the latest menu offerings at national chain restaurants, including a milkshake that is over 2,000 calories! The foods listed weren't in the article because they were delicious beyond description "to die for," they were listed because these are the types of foods that are literally killing us. Another menu option on the list of "to die for" foods was a huge hamburger with all of the fixings nestled between TWO grilled cheese sandwiches (the sandwiches took the place of the bun). The food industry seems intent on finding new ways to help us put on weight, clog our arteries, and raise our blood pressure and blood sugar, and far too many people are lining up and shelling out money to do just that.
At a time when more people are obese than at any other time in history - HISTORY!! - and when excess is celebrated in so many circles, we are truly doing something counter-cultural here. We are lowering calories, temporarily limiting options, and learning the difference between full and satisfied. We are also learning what it means to make new and better choices by staying focused on what we want - a healthy, thin body.
There are a number of things I would die for - my faith and my family are at the top of that list. There are also things I'm not willing to die for, and food is at the top of THAT list! After losing 126 pounds on this program and maintaining my weight loss for over two years (thank you, Jesus!), I know that I am no longer digging my grave with my fork. I enjoy food, and I may even kind of sort of love it (sometimes), but die for it? Never!
There are so many food choices out there, and some are literally to die for. It's up to each of us to decide for ourselves what we'll choose, and the choices we make are based on what we decide is most important to us. Choose wisely :-)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Making Choices
We got home last night after spending the weekend in Chicago. My aunt passed away last Thursday night in the Chicago area, so the past few days have been busy with family and friends. It was a hard time and a very good time, all at the same time.
After church and before going to the funeral home, we went out to dinner with my family (my husband and I had grilled salmon and extra veggies). Because we knew that the visitation on Sunday would be long (3-8 PM), we made sure we had a couple of crunch bars and some pretzels and cheese puffs with us, along with several bottles of water (we kept the extra water in the car). There was a lot of food available in the family lounge, but it was mostly cookies, sweet breads, sub sandwiches and snack mix - all of which we skipped.
Yesterday was the funeral, so we tucked a couple of crunch bars in my purse to provide a mid-morning meal between breakfast and the luncheon following the funeral (we ate our bars on the way to the cemetery).
Why am I sharing this rather mundane information? Because it represents how ingrained Maintenance is in our lifestyle. There are several key components to successfully maintaining our weight:
Breakfast every day
Exercise - incorporating activity into our lives (both through planned exercise and passive exercise such as parking far from the door, taking stairs, etc.)
Support - maintaining a good support network of others who are also committed to a healthy lifestyle (it makes a big difference!)
Lowfat meals 5-6 times a day
Individual plan - planning what we're going to eat and when on a daily basis, and being prepared for the unexpected
Monitor - weighing at least once a week and keeping track of how our goal size fits
This is our BeSlim lifestyle, and it works - even under difficult and stressful times like this past weekend. Each and every day, we take a look at our schedules and figure out what we're going to eat. If we're home, those small meals will most likely include things like Greek yogurt, fruit, a few almonds or low-fat cheese, whole grain bread and lean meat. For times like this past weekend, however, we're thankful for the convenience of Medifast meals!
We made a choice to not only get healthy, but to stay healthy, and by incorporating six simple things into our lifestyle, we are maintaining our BeSlim lifestyle and will do so for the rest of our lives. For us, there is no other option because we are never going back to where we were. It means that we have to make daily choices, just like you.
What choices will you make today? Choose wisely :-)
After church and before going to the funeral home, we went out to dinner with my family (my husband and I had grilled salmon and extra veggies). Because we knew that the visitation on Sunday would be long (3-8 PM), we made sure we had a couple of crunch bars and some pretzels and cheese puffs with us, along with several bottles of water (we kept the extra water in the car). There was a lot of food available in the family lounge, but it was mostly cookies, sweet breads, sub sandwiches and snack mix - all of which we skipped.
Yesterday was the funeral, so we tucked a couple of crunch bars in my purse to provide a mid-morning meal between breakfast and the luncheon following the funeral (we ate our bars on the way to the cemetery).
Why am I sharing this rather mundane information? Because it represents how ingrained Maintenance is in our lifestyle. There are several key components to successfully maintaining our weight:
Breakfast every day
Exercise - incorporating activity into our lives (both through planned exercise and passive exercise such as parking far from the door, taking stairs, etc.)
Support - maintaining a good support network of others who are also committed to a healthy lifestyle (it makes a big difference!)
Lowfat meals 5-6 times a day
Individual plan - planning what we're going to eat and when on a daily basis, and being prepared for the unexpected
Monitor - weighing at least once a week and keeping track of how our goal size fits
This is our BeSlim lifestyle, and it works - even under difficult and stressful times like this past weekend. Each and every day, we take a look at our schedules and figure out what we're going to eat. If we're home, those small meals will most likely include things like Greek yogurt, fruit, a few almonds or low-fat cheese, whole grain bread and lean meat. For times like this past weekend, however, we're thankful for the convenience of Medifast meals!
We made a choice to not only get healthy, but to stay healthy, and by incorporating six simple things into our lifestyle, we are maintaining our BeSlim lifestyle and will do so for the rest of our lives. For us, there is no other option because we are never going back to where we were. It means that we have to make daily choices, just like you.
What choices will you make today? Choose wisely :-)
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Expressway or Back Roads?
My husband and I are getting ready for a road trip. We're driving to Dallas (leaving July 4) for the Take Shape for Life convention and have decided to take a leisurely (and scenic) drive home. My dad loaned us his copy of Reader's Digest's book, "The Most Scenic Drives in America" and we're busy deciding which route we want to take. We know that we're going to stay off the interstate and will be on the lookout for all of the hidden treasures we miss when we're on cruise control at 70 miles per hour. We love to stop and take pictures along the way, talk to people, and try fun, local restaurants. We don't always have time for a leisurely drive, but it's fun when we can.
There are other times, of course, when we are focused on getting where we need to be and set our GPS to get us there as quickly as possible. The route we take depends on how fast we want/need to get to our destination.
I don't know about you, but once I finally decided (REALLY decided) to lose weight, I wanted to reach my goal as quickly as possible. I wasn't interested in taking the scenic route - I wanted the autobahn. I'd done the "count points" program three different times, none of them particularly successfully, and the thought of doing a lot of work and getting maybe a half-pound loss per week for the effort didn't appeal to me at all.
I didn't want a "make it up as I go along" plan, either - I'd done that a zillion times. You know - the "I'll just eat less, watch my portions and make better choices" plan, completely unstructured and for me, completely unsuccessful.
This last and final time (thank the Lord, it really WAS the last time!) that I decided to lose weight, I wanted a proven system. I wanted something that was fast AND safe, and I wanted something that would not just get me thinner, but also healthier. Take Shape for Life/Medifast totally met the criteria and then some!
When we're going on a trip and time is of the essence, we study a map and find the shortest route from Point A to Point B, or we plug the destination into our GPS and select the "shortest route" option. Once we have our route in place, we stick to the route and ignore the signs that advertise attractions ten miles off an exit en route. It's not that the attractions aren't interesting, but we have a destination to get to and we're focused on getting there as soon as we can.
Those off-plan foods are the attractions ten miles off the exit . . . if we veer off course and take the side-trip, we're going to waste a lot of time and delay getting to our destination. When it comes to getting to a healthy weight, we need to stay in the express lane with no exits between the time we get on and our goal.
Are you on the autobahn today or are you taking a leisurely route to get to your goal? The choices you make determine the route you take. Choose wisely :-)
There are other times, of course, when we are focused on getting where we need to be and set our GPS to get us there as quickly as possible. The route we take depends on how fast we want/need to get to our destination.
I don't know about you, but once I finally decided (REALLY decided) to lose weight, I wanted to reach my goal as quickly as possible. I wasn't interested in taking the scenic route - I wanted the autobahn. I'd done the "count points" program three different times, none of them particularly successfully, and the thought of doing a lot of work and getting maybe a half-pound loss per week for the effort didn't appeal to me at all.
I didn't want a "make it up as I go along" plan, either - I'd done that a zillion times. You know - the "I'll just eat less, watch my portions and make better choices" plan, completely unstructured and for me, completely unsuccessful.
This last and final time (thank the Lord, it really WAS the last time!) that I decided to lose weight, I wanted a proven system. I wanted something that was fast AND safe, and I wanted something that would not just get me thinner, but also healthier. Take Shape for Life/Medifast totally met the criteria and then some!
When we're going on a trip and time is of the essence, we study a map and find the shortest route from Point A to Point B, or we plug the destination into our GPS and select the "shortest route" option. Once we have our route in place, we stick to the route and ignore the signs that advertise attractions ten miles off an exit en route. It's not that the attractions aren't interesting, but we have a destination to get to and we're focused on getting there as soon as we can.
Those off-plan foods are the attractions ten miles off the exit . . . if we veer off course and take the side-trip, we're going to waste a lot of time and delay getting to our destination. When it comes to getting to a healthy weight, we need to stay in the express lane with no exits between the time we get on and our goal.
Are you on the autobahn today or are you taking a leisurely route to get to your goal? The choices you make determine the route you take. Choose wisely :-)
Friday, June 25, 2010
Today's Choices, Tomorrow's Impact
"If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself." ~ George Burns
The late George Burns, who lived just past his 100th birthday, often joked about his age. While the above quote was said in jest, I think there is much truth in the statement.
Most of us are busy living our lives today, trying to keep up with demanding schedules and busy families. We spend very little time, if any, thinking about longevity. You may or may not aspire to reach 100, but what if you do? What do you want your life to look like when you're in your 80's, 90's or beyond? That may seems like an irrelevant question to ask right now, particularly if you're younger than 50. The 80's seem a hundred years away, so why worry about them now?
The answer to that question, of course, is that they will be here sooner than you realize :-). The choices we're making today will directly impact not only the length of our life, but also the quality of our latter years. That's good news, because the younger you are, the more you can change the health trajectory of your future! So many of the diseases that can compromise the quality of our lives, or even shorten them, are directly related to obesity. By getting to a healthy weight now and incorporating healthy habits, we can move into the latter decades of our lives healthy and with the ability to live life at its fullest.
I would like to someday celebrate my 100th birthday, providing I can do so with a decent measure of both physical and mental health. I'm making choices today to improve my chances of reaching that milestone. My life is in God's hands and I don't know the number of my days, but if the Lord allows me to reach 100, I want to celebrate that day as healthy as I can possibly be.
The choices we make today will not only impact us next month and next year, but they will impact our health decades from now. More than ever, it's important that we choose wisely :-)
The late George Burns, who lived just past his 100th birthday, often joked about his age. While the above quote was said in jest, I think there is much truth in the statement.
Most of us are busy living our lives today, trying to keep up with demanding schedules and busy families. We spend very little time, if any, thinking about longevity. You may or may not aspire to reach 100, but what if you do? What do you want your life to look like when you're in your 80's, 90's or beyond? That may seems like an irrelevant question to ask right now, particularly if you're younger than 50. The 80's seem a hundred years away, so why worry about them now?
The answer to that question, of course, is that they will be here sooner than you realize :-). The choices we're making today will directly impact not only the length of our life, but also the quality of our latter years. That's good news, because the younger you are, the more you can change the health trajectory of your future! So many of the diseases that can compromise the quality of our lives, or even shorten them, are directly related to obesity. By getting to a healthy weight now and incorporating healthy habits, we can move into the latter decades of our lives healthy and with the ability to live life at its fullest.
I would like to someday celebrate my 100th birthday, providing I can do so with a decent measure of both physical and mental health. I'm making choices today to improve my chances of reaching that milestone. My life is in God's hands and I don't know the number of my days, but if the Lord allows me to reach 100, I want to celebrate that day as healthy as I can possibly be.
The choices we make today will not only impact us next month and next year, but they will impact our health decades from now. More than ever, it's important that we choose wisely :-)
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Three Years Later
I'm not wired to remember most dates. I can't tell you the date my husband proposed to me (but I do remember the day we got married!), I have no clue regarding the date I graduated from high school or college . . . you get the idea :-). There are a few key dates that are indelibly imprinted on my brain, and today is one of those dates. In addition to being my youngest daughter's wedding anniversary (10 years for them - congratulations!), this date has another very special meaning to me.
There are days on the calendar that we know up front will be special, and there are other days that only become significant as we look back. Three years ago today, I had no idea how important this date would be, but it's a significant date because I made the decision three years ago today to open a little white packet and begin my Take Shape for Life/Medifast journey. It was a simple choice, but that first choice led to a second, and then a third, and before you know it, my whole life changed. I couldn't have been more skeptical as I opened my first packet of oatmeal (is there anybody who DIDN'T have oatmeal as their very first Medifast meal?). I also had just a smidgen of hope that perhaps this time would finally be different for me. I'd tried just about every other program out there and failed miserably at each and every one, but part of me remained eternally optimistic that maybe, just maybe, I would somehow, someday find a program that worked. After seriously considering taking out a second mortgage on our home to pay for weight loss surgery, I thought I'd give this program a try before risking my life and our house. I'm so thankful I did!
Three years ago today marked the beginning of a very new - and very wonderful - life. I didn't know it at the time, and I certainly couldn't have imagined that in less than 11 months I would lose 120 pounds. I couldn't have imagined that in less than a year I would be able to stand in one leg of my size 24W slacks, or that my goal size would be a 6. I couldn't have imagined that my diabetes would be gone and that I would be off of all medication. And I certainly couldn't have imagined that I would be maintaining my weight loss more than two years later.
I wrote my very first blog three years ago today. Here's how I ended that very first blog on my very first day on the program:
One little choice - to try yet again to get to a healthy weight - and it changed everything. That's the power of the choices we make. Choose wisely :-)
There are days on the calendar that we know up front will be special, and there are other days that only become significant as we look back. Three years ago today, I had no idea how important this date would be, but it's a significant date because I made the decision three years ago today to open a little white packet and begin my Take Shape for Life/Medifast journey. It was a simple choice, but that first choice led to a second, and then a third, and before you know it, my whole life changed. I couldn't have been more skeptical as I opened my first packet of oatmeal (is there anybody who DIDN'T have oatmeal as their very first Medifast meal?). I also had just a smidgen of hope that perhaps this time would finally be different for me. I'd tried just about every other program out there and failed miserably at each and every one, but part of me remained eternally optimistic that maybe, just maybe, I would somehow, someday find a program that worked. After seriously considering taking out a second mortgage on our home to pay for weight loss surgery, I thought I'd give this program a try before risking my life and our house. I'm so thankful I did!
Three years ago today marked the beginning of a very new - and very wonderful - life. I didn't know it at the time, and I certainly couldn't have imagined that in less than 11 months I would lose 120 pounds. I couldn't have imagined that in less than a year I would be able to stand in one leg of my size 24W slacks, or that my goal size would be a 6. I couldn't have imagined that my diabetes would be gone and that I would be off of all medication. And I certainly couldn't have imagined that I would be maintaining my weight loss more than two years later.
I wrote my very first blog three years ago today. Here's how I ended that very first blog on my very first day on the program:
" And today it begins. I am hopeful, and I am refusing to listen to the voices in my head that tell me I will fail at this like I've failed at everything else.
God is my refuge and my strength, and I want to honor Him with the way I care for this temple He has given me."
One little choice - to try yet again to get to a healthy weight - and it changed everything. That's the power of the choices we make. Choose wisely :-)
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Untying Nots
One of the things that I have almost no patience for is untying knots. When things seem to be hopelessly knotted, my first inclination is to just toss them rather than deal with the frustration of patiently working out the tangle that resulted in a knot. I have a couple of fine gold chain necklaces that knot very easily, and every time they did, I'd give myself about a minute to get the knot out before turning the chain over to my patient husband (who also spent 38 years as a jeweler).
What do we do with some of the other knots in our lives, the ones that are spelled "not" ? You know, the "have nots", "can nots" "do nots", "will nots", "may nots", "could nots", "would nots", "should nots" and especially the "would nots." I think most of us have a lot of "nots" that need to be untangled, not with our hands, but with our minds and our attitudes. So many of these "nots" are nothing more than concepts that can get in the way of us reaching our goal.
Ever thought that I "cannot" stay on plan because (fill in the blank)? That's a "not" that needs some work! How about the "this plan might work for others, but it 'will not' work for me" not? Yep, that one needs some work, too.
When I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast almost three years ago, I had a lot of "nots" to untangle: a post-menopausal woman "cannot" lose weight; I have no willpower and "will not" be able to do this program; I "could not" ever get into the same sizes I wore in my 20's; I "may not" be able to reverse the diabetes and other health issues I had from over twenty years of obesity.
These "nots" didn't untangle all at once, but slowly but surely, over time, they DID untangle. These weren't the kind of knots I could hand over in frustration to my patient husband - I had to learn to untangle them myself, one at a time. There were other "nots", too, that came up later: I "will not" be able to maintain my weight loss, etc. More untangling needed :-) It wasn't always easy, but with God's help, they untangled.
Do you have some "nots" that need untangling today? Don't be discouraged - over time, it WILL happen, one day and one choice at a time. Hang in there, and choose wisely :-)
What do we do with some of the other knots in our lives, the ones that are spelled "not" ? You know, the "have nots", "can nots" "do nots", "will nots", "may nots", "could nots", "would nots", "should nots" and especially the "would nots." I think most of us have a lot of "nots" that need to be untangled, not with our hands, but with our minds and our attitudes. So many of these "nots" are nothing more than concepts that can get in the way of us reaching our goal.
Ever thought that I "cannot" stay on plan because (fill in the blank)? That's a "not" that needs some work! How about the "this plan might work for others, but it 'will not' work for me" not? Yep, that one needs some work, too.
When I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast almost three years ago, I had a lot of "nots" to untangle: a post-menopausal woman "cannot" lose weight; I have no willpower and "will not" be able to do this program; I "could not" ever get into the same sizes I wore in my 20's; I "may not" be able to reverse the diabetes and other health issues I had from over twenty years of obesity.
These "nots" didn't untangle all at once, but slowly but surely, over time, they DID untangle. These weren't the kind of knots I could hand over in frustration to my patient husband - I had to learn to untangle them myself, one at a time. There were other "nots", too, that came up later: I "will not" be able to maintain my weight loss, etc. More untangling needed :-) It wasn't always easy, but with God's help, they untangled.
Do you have some "nots" that need untangling today? Don't be discouraged - over time, it WILL happen, one day and one choice at a time. Hang in there, and choose wisely :-)
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Ready to Rock?
How do you feel about rocking the boat? Does the very thought of it leave you running for seasick medication?
I'm asking because I read a column in my local newspaper about that very thing, and the author contends that to get the most out of our lives, sometimes we have to take the difficult path. She talked about how we "compile a body of evidence and experiences that make up our story line", then we reinforce our story line by repeating it until we convince ourselves that the ending we've focused on is the only possible ending to our story. The author wrote about people who talk about health issues that they don't have the time to take care of, and marveled that we can convince ourselves that not feeling well is preferable to making the effort to change.
Change is difficult - no doubt about it! Sometimes we prefer to stay where we are, even when we don't like it, because it's familiar - even comfortable, in an uncomfortable sort of way. On one level, it really doesn't make sense, but on an emotional level, that's exactly what we often choose to do over and over again. Self-sabotage often plays a role here, as we may subconsciously work to maintain the more familiar status quo, rather than risk dealing with the changes that new behaviors will invariably bring.
Part of maintaining the comfortable status quo is writing a story that goes something like, "I have a slow metabolism and can't lose weight" or "Being overweight is genetic - all of my family is overweight so I can't help but be overweight, too." More stories may read "I have big bones and need more weight on my body" "My spouse prefers me to be soft and cuddly" or "I couldn't possibly cook healthy because my family won't eat it." When we write a story that sounds something like this, and when we repeat it often enough, it becomes our reality - whether it's actually true or not. We repeat it and we believe it, and every time we fail on another weight loss plan, it only reinforces our belief in our story.
What's exciting, however, is when someone has the courage to rewrite their story, to realize that it CAN be different and that the ending can be changed. I see that here every day! Making the changes required to lose weight and keep it off will definitely rock our boats, and often the boats of others in our lives. Sometimes the boat rocking will leave us scrambling to maintain (or even regain) our equilibrium, but in time we find ourselves settling into a new and much richer (and healthier) routine. To our surprise, we find that we've rewritten our story.
Three years ago, my story was typical of many women in their mid-50's: I was overweight (OK, I was morbidly obese . . .), I was on several medications, I had been diagnosed with diabetes, and my back and knees hurt. The expected story was that women my age couldn't lose weight; that once a person was on medication, the only thing one could do was manage the medication (and remember to take the pills on time). For a long time, I believed that story and I thought that the story wouldn't have a very happy ending. Then God led me to Take Shape for Life/Medifast and before I knew it, my story began to be rewritten. I found out that much that I THOUGHT was true simply wasn't: women my age CAN lose weight; it IS possible to reverse disease and get off of medications. My story reads very differently now than it did just three short years ago and I am hopeful that, Lord willing, it will have a much happier and healthier ending. Making the changes wasn't easy and I definitely rocked not only my boat but my family's boat - but it was definitely worth it!
My challenge for you today is to go for it! Rock your boat and rewrite your story. You'll do both one on-plan day at a time :-). Boat rocking begins with the choices you make today . . . choose wisely :-)
I'm asking because I read a column in my local newspaper about that very thing, and the author contends that to get the most out of our lives, sometimes we have to take the difficult path. She talked about how we "compile a body of evidence and experiences that make up our story line", then we reinforce our story line by repeating it until we convince ourselves that the ending we've focused on is the only possible ending to our story. The author wrote about people who talk about health issues that they don't have the time to take care of, and marveled that we can convince ourselves that not feeling well is preferable to making the effort to change.
Change is difficult - no doubt about it! Sometimes we prefer to stay where we are, even when we don't like it, because it's familiar - even comfortable, in an uncomfortable sort of way. On one level, it really doesn't make sense, but on an emotional level, that's exactly what we often choose to do over and over again. Self-sabotage often plays a role here, as we may subconsciously work to maintain the more familiar status quo, rather than risk dealing with the changes that new behaviors will invariably bring.
Part of maintaining the comfortable status quo is writing a story that goes something like, "I have a slow metabolism and can't lose weight" or "Being overweight is genetic - all of my family is overweight so I can't help but be overweight, too." More stories may read "I have big bones and need more weight on my body" "My spouse prefers me to be soft and cuddly" or "I couldn't possibly cook healthy because my family won't eat it." When we write a story that sounds something like this, and when we repeat it often enough, it becomes our reality - whether it's actually true or not. We repeat it and we believe it, and every time we fail on another weight loss plan, it only reinforces our belief in our story.
What's exciting, however, is when someone has the courage to rewrite their story, to realize that it CAN be different and that the ending can be changed. I see that here every day! Making the changes required to lose weight and keep it off will definitely rock our boats, and often the boats of others in our lives. Sometimes the boat rocking will leave us scrambling to maintain (or even regain) our equilibrium, but in time we find ourselves settling into a new and much richer (and healthier) routine. To our surprise, we find that we've rewritten our story.
Three years ago, my story was typical of many women in their mid-50's: I was overweight (OK, I was morbidly obese . . .), I was on several medications, I had been diagnosed with diabetes, and my back and knees hurt. The expected story was that women my age couldn't lose weight; that once a person was on medication, the only thing one could do was manage the medication (and remember to take the pills on time). For a long time, I believed that story and I thought that the story wouldn't have a very happy ending. Then God led me to Take Shape for Life/Medifast and before I knew it, my story began to be rewritten. I found out that much that I THOUGHT was true simply wasn't: women my age CAN lose weight; it IS possible to reverse disease and get off of medications. My story reads very differently now than it did just three short years ago and I am hopeful that, Lord willing, it will have a much happier and healthier ending. Making the changes wasn't easy and I definitely rocked not only my boat but my family's boat - but it was definitely worth it!
My challenge for you today is to go for it! Rock your boat and rewrite your story. You'll do both one on-plan day at a time :-). Boat rocking begins with the choices you make today . . . choose wisely :-)
Monday, June 21, 2010
A Question for You
Happy first day of summer! It's felt like summer in my neighborhood for several weeks, but now it's official!
I heard a question last week that got me thinking: "Why do we see value in the things that bring us harm?" That question has implications far beyond food, of course, but it's a great question to ask ourselves while we're on this weight loss journey.
When we're thinking clearly, it's easy to recognize the poor choices and bad habits and we understand that they haven't gotten us where we want to be. We get on the scale and groan, we pull on a pair of slacks and they're too tight, or the doctor tells us that our cholesterol, blood pressure, or blood sugar is too high. Something triggers the moment when we vow to change our ways and lose weight. We are serious - this time is going to be different.
But for some of us, there eventually comes a time when there is a disconnect between what we know we should do and what we find ourselves doing, a disconnect between what we say we want and the actions we take that are actually leading us in the opposite direction. On some level, we are finding value in the very things that brought us to an unhappy place to begin with.
Today I'm not here to figure out why we do this - and we all do. I'm just asking the question, why do we continue to assign value to these things? I think it's a question worth asking, and as we answer that question for ourselves, we'll be one step closer to making the permanent, healthy changes we want to make.
Have a great day, and don't forget to choose wisely :-)
I heard a question last week that got me thinking: "Why do we see value in the things that bring us harm?" That question has implications far beyond food, of course, but it's a great question to ask ourselves while we're on this weight loss journey.
When we're thinking clearly, it's easy to recognize the poor choices and bad habits and we understand that they haven't gotten us where we want to be. We get on the scale and groan, we pull on a pair of slacks and they're too tight, or the doctor tells us that our cholesterol, blood pressure, or blood sugar is too high. Something triggers the moment when we vow to change our ways and lose weight. We are serious - this time is going to be different.
But for some of us, there eventually comes a time when there is a disconnect between what we know we should do and what we find ourselves doing, a disconnect between what we say we want and the actions we take that are actually leading us in the opposite direction. On some level, we are finding value in the very things that brought us to an unhappy place to begin with.
Today I'm not here to figure out why we do this - and we all do. I'm just asking the question, why do we continue to assign value to these things? I think it's a question worth asking, and as we answer that question for ourselves, we'll be one step closer to making the permanent, healthy changes we want to make.
Have a great day, and don't forget to choose wisely :-)
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Happy Father's Day!
Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there - especially my dad and my husband! Both my dad and my husband are much healthier today thanks to Take Shape for Life/Medifast, and I'm SO thankful! They not only got healthy themselves, but they were (and continue to be) incredibly supportive of my mom and I as we were on our own weight loss journeys. I'm also thankful for my two sons-in-law, who are loving and supportive husbands and fathers. I am blessed to be surrounded by such a wonderful group of strong and godly men!
Have a wonderful day, and remember to choose wisely :-)
Have a wonderful day, and remember to choose wisely :-)
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Doing What We Want
"We will never remain free doing what we think we ought to do. It's a good way to get started, but we won't sustain on that motivation. It has to be what our heart desires. In the end, we always do what we want to do."
That quote is from the fourth DVD lesson in Beth Moore's "Breaking Free" Bible study, and it really resonated with me. Any change we decide to make, including breaking free from the shackles of overeating, will ultimately happen only if that's what our heart truly desires.
Many of us started on this program, like so many other programs before, because we knew we needed to lose weight. Perhaps our physician had told us to lose weight, and maybe we'd gotten gentle suggestions or even overt pressure from family members and friends. We knew that's what we needed to do, but the truth is that some of us are on this program right now because we know it's what we "should" do, but getting to a healthy weight isn't our heart's desire.
I say that because some of us allow anything and everything to interfere with staying on plan. We feel guilty when we go off plan and we get back on (which is a good thing!), vowing to really do it this time. Then the next thing comes up and we're off plan again. I'm not discounting all of the things that factor into the decision to go off plan, but I am suggesting that we make the choice to go off plan because, on some level, we're still doing this because we think we should, not because we've determined in our hearts that we're going to do what it takes to get to a healthy weight.
It's really not a matter of being strong. The people who stay on plan and reach goal aren't stronger or somehow endowed with more willpower than anyone else. They simply made a decision that what they wanted more than anything else was to get to a healthy weight. Once they identified this as the desire of their heart, circumstances really didn't matter anymore and they figured out what they needed to do. In the end, we always do what we want to do.
So what do you want to do today? Once you know what you want, the choices will be easy. Figure out what you want, then choose wisely :-)
That quote is from the fourth DVD lesson in Beth Moore's "Breaking Free" Bible study, and it really resonated with me. Any change we decide to make, including breaking free from the shackles of overeating, will ultimately happen only if that's what our heart truly desires.
Many of us started on this program, like so many other programs before, because we knew we needed to lose weight. Perhaps our physician had told us to lose weight, and maybe we'd gotten gentle suggestions or even overt pressure from family members and friends. We knew that's what we needed to do, but the truth is that some of us are on this program right now because we know it's what we "should" do, but getting to a healthy weight isn't our heart's desire.
I say that because some of us allow anything and everything to interfere with staying on plan. We feel guilty when we go off plan and we get back on (which is a good thing!), vowing to really do it this time. Then the next thing comes up and we're off plan again. I'm not discounting all of the things that factor into the decision to go off plan, but I am suggesting that we make the choice to go off plan because, on some level, we're still doing this because we think we should, not because we've determined in our hearts that we're going to do what it takes to get to a healthy weight.
It's really not a matter of being strong. The people who stay on plan and reach goal aren't stronger or somehow endowed with more willpower than anyone else. They simply made a decision that what they wanted more than anything else was to get to a healthy weight. Once they identified this as the desire of their heart, circumstances really didn't matter anymore and they figured out what they needed to do. In the end, we always do what we want to do.
So what do you want to do today? Once you know what you want, the choices will be easy. Figure out what you want, then choose wisely :-)
Friday, June 18, 2010
It's Worth It
I am so happy to report that my leg is healing nicely following my injury on the treadmill a little over four weeks ago! I saw the doctor on Wednesday and he told me I could wear the leg immobilizer at my discretion, if I felt the need (which I don't!) and he also told me that I can get by on just one crutch. I've been flexing my knee and while it's a long way from having the range of motion I had before, I'm seeing daily improvement and walking is getting better by the day. Best of all, he told me that I could resume driving as soon as I felt I had the strength needed, and I'm now there :-).
When I think about so many individuals who are permanently disabled due to injury or birth defect, these last four weeks of immobility seem pretty paltry. I'm so thankful for the healing that has taken place, and I'm also thankful that I made myself follow doctor's orders (at least for the most part). It wasn't always easy!
Why is it that our human nature so often leads us to think that somehow we know better than the experts? We're given expert advice from someone who has the knowledge and credentials to know what they're talking about, but then some of us (I'm talking to myself here) think that we can be selective in following that advice. We view the advice more as a suggestion. I have to be honest and admit that I didn't always use the crutches as instructed because I found them inconvenient and, in my words, "more trouble than they were worth." I used them if we were out and going to walk a distance, but I didn't use them around my house. (I WAS compliant in using the leg immobilizer, because I understood the need to keep my leg and knee straight while the fracture healed.) When I was tempted to push the envelope and not wear the immobilizer or leave the crutches at home when we were out, I reminded myself that the doctor really knew a lot more about what was required for healing than I did, and I knew I wanted to get better as quickly as possible. I understood that following his advice, which I didn't always want to do, was the best and fastest way to get me to my own goal, which was back to normal without any complications.
Two things kept me fairly compliant: a desire to be off my crutches and immobilizer and back to driving by the time we leave for our trip to Dallas on July 4, and a fear that not following doctor's orders could lead to a set back, perhaps even the need to be in a full cast. Because I had a goal and a realistic concern, I made myself do the things I didn't want to do.
Hearing from the doctor that the x-rays show things are healing very nicely, having him tell me that I didn't need the immobilizer and could start driving made all of it worthwhile. He also told me that I should be pretty close to normal by the time we leave for Dallas :-).
Our weight loss journey has many things in common with this most recent journey of mine: we are put in a position where we've been given expert advice, advice that if followed will bring us to our goal. We have to choose whether or not we're going to follow that advice or whether we're going to try and outsmart it and follow our own path. If we choose to follow it, we will definitely be doing some things that may not be our first choice. We'll be eating some food that, while tasty, certainly isn't gourmet and nothing like our own home cooking. We'll choose to not eat the aforementioned gourmet food and home cooking, even though that's what we'd rather do. We may be drinking lots more water than we ever have before, and we may be incorporating exercise into our lives even though we'd rather watch TV or be on the computer. We choose to do all of those things, and more, not necessarily because they're the things we want to do, but they are the means to get us to where we want to go. This is a proven program and it works - IF we choose to work it.
There were some times over the past four weeks when I wasn't having very much fun sitting in one place, but getting a good report from the doctor made it all worth it. When you reach your goal (and you WILL reach it if you stay on plan!), every choice you're making now will be worth it - you won't have a single regret!
As always, it comes down to the choices we make. Stay focused on what you REALLY want, then choose wisely :-)
When I think about so many individuals who are permanently disabled due to injury or birth defect, these last four weeks of immobility seem pretty paltry. I'm so thankful for the healing that has taken place, and I'm also thankful that I made myself follow doctor's orders (at least for the most part). It wasn't always easy!
Why is it that our human nature so often leads us to think that somehow we know better than the experts? We're given expert advice from someone who has the knowledge and credentials to know what they're talking about, but then some of us (I'm talking to myself here) think that we can be selective in following that advice. We view the advice more as a suggestion. I have to be honest and admit that I didn't always use the crutches as instructed because I found them inconvenient and, in my words, "more trouble than they were worth." I used them if we were out and going to walk a distance, but I didn't use them around my house. (I WAS compliant in using the leg immobilizer, because I understood the need to keep my leg and knee straight while the fracture healed.) When I was tempted to push the envelope and not wear the immobilizer or leave the crutches at home when we were out, I reminded myself that the doctor really knew a lot more about what was required for healing than I did, and I knew I wanted to get better as quickly as possible. I understood that following his advice, which I didn't always want to do, was the best and fastest way to get me to my own goal, which was back to normal without any complications.
Two things kept me fairly compliant: a desire to be off my crutches and immobilizer and back to driving by the time we leave for our trip to Dallas on July 4, and a fear that not following doctor's orders could lead to a set back, perhaps even the need to be in a full cast. Because I had a goal and a realistic concern, I made myself do the things I didn't want to do.
Hearing from the doctor that the x-rays show things are healing very nicely, having him tell me that I didn't need the immobilizer and could start driving made all of it worthwhile. He also told me that I should be pretty close to normal by the time we leave for Dallas :-).
Our weight loss journey has many things in common with this most recent journey of mine: we are put in a position where we've been given expert advice, advice that if followed will bring us to our goal. We have to choose whether or not we're going to follow that advice or whether we're going to try and outsmart it and follow our own path. If we choose to follow it, we will definitely be doing some things that may not be our first choice. We'll be eating some food that, while tasty, certainly isn't gourmet and nothing like our own home cooking. We'll choose to not eat the aforementioned gourmet food and home cooking, even though that's what we'd rather do. We may be drinking lots more water than we ever have before, and we may be incorporating exercise into our lives even though we'd rather watch TV or be on the computer. We choose to do all of those things, and more, not necessarily because they're the things we want to do, but they are the means to get us to where we want to go. This is a proven program and it works - IF we choose to work it.
There were some times over the past four weeks when I wasn't having very much fun sitting in one place, but getting a good report from the doctor made it all worth it. When you reach your goal (and you WILL reach it if you stay on plan!), every choice you're making now will be worth it - you won't have a single regret!
As always, it comes down to the choices we make. Stay focused on what you REALLY want, then choose wisely :-)
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Real Food
Happy Thursday! I hope you're having a good week and are gearing up for a great, on-plan weekend :-).
One of the things that has become crystal clear to me over the past almost-three years is that this is NOT a diet. I started Take Shape for Life/Medifast thinking that it was another diet, and hoped that somehow it would be different from the myriad of diets I'd tried over my 20+ years of obesity. Many, if not most, of us are veteran dieters with a long list of tried - and failed - diets. Some of my past diet attempts were semi-nutritionally focused, and others were, well, not. One of the things that initially attracted me to Take Shape for Life/Medifast was knowing that it was nutritionally sound. I had reached the point in my life where I knew I was done with fad diets - I wanted something that would not only help me lose weight, but I didn't want to make myself sick in the process. I started this plan viewing it as a healthy diet, but very much had "diet" stuck in my head.
I realize now that this is a plan to get people healthy, to put them on a journey towards optimal health that will last them the rest of their lives. Getting to a healthy weight is an important first step on that journey, but arriving at goal is not the end of the journey. If we view reaching our goal (as important as that is!) as the end of the journey, we're in a diet mindset and in danger of gaining all of our weight back, and more.
This is about learning how to nourish our bodies, and about how to redefine how we think about food.
I often hear (and read) about individuals who bemoan the fact that they are missing "real" food. I used to feel the same way. Then I began to ask myself "what is REAL food?" Food is fuel for our body - food is the nourishment we need to function and be healthy. Right now, while on 5&1, there are some real foods that aren't included (fruit, dairy, whole grains), but these are reintroduced as part of our healthy diet when we begin transition. The intent is not to exclude these foods permanently - quite the contrary! There are other foods, however, that we think of as REAL food that contain very little nutrition, especially when we look at the calories, fat and carbs these foods contain. I won't list them, but we all know what they are. Sometimes when I was missing my "real" food, what I was missing were the high calorie, high fat and high carb foods that got me into trouble to begin with.
I now know that the Medifast products ARE real food, in the truest sense of the word. Yes, they are pre-packaged, but they are nutritionally dense and provide what we need to properly fuel our bodies, in the proper portions. That's what food is primarily intended to do!
Because this is real food, doing for my body what real food is intended to do, I continue to use 2-3 Medifast meals a day even in maintenance. They provide the nutrition I need and help me manage my calories, fat and carbs that, in turn, help me maintain my 126 pound weight loss. Sure, I could replace these meals with other things, but I would probably spend more money and it would take more time and planning. I call Medifast my cheap fast food - I don't have to think about it!
When I talk to people about this program, one question I'm often asked is, "Do I have to eat this forever?" People want to be reassured that these products won't be a part of their lives forever, because they want to return to "real" food. I let them know that no, they don't have to continue using the products after they reach their goal if they choose not to, and I share with them how I've incorporated 2-3 of the meals into my daily 5-6 meals. The bottom line for me is that I will NEVER regain my weight, and I don't care what I have to do to keep it off. If eating 2-3 Medifast meals a day not only helps to provide the nutrition I need but also helps me maintain my weight loss, then for me it's a win-win situation.
When we were in Pennsylvania last week, my sister (who is not on the program, as much as I wish she was) commented that I still seem to really enjoy food and "just use Medifast so I can eat other things." While her implication was that she thought I hadn't changed that much and am just using Take Shape for Life/Medifast products as a crutch so I could "get away" with old eating, the reality is quite different. When we travel and I'm out of my routine, including more eating out, I DO include more Medifast meals. They're easy to travel with and because I know I'm eating differently, using the meals helps me manage my calories so that I CAN enjoy my restaurant meals (and even include dessert) without doing damage. I don't see this as a crutch, but as a strategy to help me maintain my weight loss. Two plus years in maintenance, this strategy works for me!
Food is fuel, food is nutrition, and Medifast IS real food for me. This isn't a diet, it's a way of life for me, and a way of life that will keep me healthy for, Lord willing, a long time to come. And, like you, I'm doing it one day and one choice at a time. Choose wisely :-)
One of the things that has become crystal clear to me over the past almost-three years is that this is NOT a diet. I started Take Shape for Life/Medifast thinking that it was another diet, and hoped that somehow it would be different from the myriad of diets I'd tried over my 20+ years of obesity. Many, if not most, of us are veteran dieters with a long list of tried - and failed - diets. Some of my past diet attempts were semi-nutritionally focused, and others were, well, not. One of the things that initially attracted me to Take Shape for Life/Medifast was knowing that it was nutritionally sound. I had reached the point in my life where I knew I was done with fad diets - I wanted something that would not only help me lose weight, but I didn't want to make myself sick in the process. I started this plan viewing it as a healthy diet, but very much had "diet" stuck in my head.
I realize now that this is a plan to get people healthy, to put them on a journey towards optimal health that will last them the rest of their lives. Getting to a healthy weight is an important first step on that journey, but arriving at goal is not the end of the journey. If we view reaching our goal (as important as that is!) as the end of the journey, we're in a diet mindset and in danger of gaining all of our weight back, and more.
This is about learning how to nourish our bodies, and about how to redefine how we think about food.
I often hear (and read) about individuals who bemoan the fact that they are missing "real" food. I used to feel the same way. Then I began to ask myself "what is REAL food?" Food is fuel for our body - food is the nourishment we need to function and be healthy. Right now, while on 5&1, there are some real foods that aren't included (fruit, dairy, whole grains), but these are reintroduced as part of our healthy diet when we begin transition. The intent is not to exclude these foods permanently - quite the contrary! There are other foods, however, that we think of as REAL food that contain very little nutrition, especially when we look at the calories, fat and carbs these foods contain. I won't list them, but we all know what they are. Sometimes when I was missing my "real" food, what I was missing were the high calorie, high fat and high carb foods that got me into trouble to begin with.
I now know that the Medifast products ARE real food, in the truest sense of the word. Yes, they are pre-packaged, but they are nutritionally dense and provide what we need to properly fuel our bodies, in the proper portions. That's what food is primarily intended to do!
Because this is real food, doing for my body what real food is intended to do, I continue to use 2-3 Medifast meals a day even in maintenance. They provide the nutrition I need and help me manage my calories, fat and carbs that, in turn, help me maintain my 126 pound weight loss. Sure, I could replace these meals with other things, but I would probably spend more money and it would take more time and planning. I call Medifast my cheap fast food - I don't have to think about it!
When I talk to people about this program, one question I'm often asked is, "Do I have to eat this forever?" People want to be reassured that these products won't be a part of their lives forever, because they want to return to "real" food. I let them know that no, they don't have to continue using the products after they reach their goal if they choose not to, and I share with them how I've incorporated 2-3 of the meals into my daily 5-6 meals. The bottom line for me is that I will NEVER regain my weight, and I don't care what I have to do to keep it off. If eating 2-3 Medifast meals a day not only helps to provide the nutrition I need but also helps me maintain my weight loss, then for me it's a win-win situation.
When we were in Pennsylvania last week, my sister (who is not on the program, as much as I wish she was) commented that I still seem to really enjoy food and "just use Medifast so I can eat other things." While her implication was that she thought I hadn't changed that much and am just using Take Shape for Life/Medifast products as a crutch so I could "get away" with old eating, the reality is quite different. When we travel and I'm out of my routine, including more eating out, I DO include more Medifast meals. They're easy to travel with and because I know I'm eating differently, using the meals helps me manage my calories so that I CAN enjoy my restaurant meals (and even include dessert) without doing damage. I don't see this as a crutch, but as a strategy to help me maintain my weight loss. Two plus years in maintenance, this strategy works for me!
Food is fuel, food is nutrition, and Medifast IS real food for me. This isn't a diet, it's a way of life for me, and a way of life that will keep me healthy for, Lord willing, a long time to come. And, like you, I'm doing it one day and one choice at a time. Choose wisely :-)
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Ready to Start a New Chapter?
The book "Failing Forward" (author: John Maxwell) includes a piece by Portia Nelson entitled "Autobiography in Five Short Chapters." I think it's a excellent description of how we can change to move from failure to success:
Some of us are stuck in Chapters 1 or 2 - we keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again and continue to wonder why we're stuck. We have a tendency to blame others - our husband/boyfriend/ mother/girlfriend/boss made us eat off plan. We blame circumstances - we were stressed/upset/bored/tired/it was our birthday-anniversary-Friday night. We believe that if everyone in our lives would just get behind us and quit sabotaging us, we'd be successful. When things settle down and we aren't so busy at work or so stressed with the kids, then it will be easier to stay on plan.
Change really begins when we move to Chapter 3. We may have fallen back into the same old hole, but now we are ready to take responsibility and we don't stay in that hole. Once we realize that we CAN take responsibility, more than that, that we HAVE to take responsibility for our choices, we are then able to take charge and change begins.
Chapter 4 marks the change, as we recognize the hole and are able to avoid it. There is something very empowering about knowing that we really can avoid the very pit we've fallen into time and time again, and we avoid falling in by choosing to walk around it. This is where many of us are right now. The path we're on is familiar, but we're learning to not trip over the same old things and end up in the same old place.
Chapter 5 is hopefully where we're heading - on a new path all together. As we learn healthy new habits, we find ourselves walking on a new path that will take us places we can't even imagine. When we do that, we won't fall into the same old holes ever again. Of course, this is only true if we choose to take a new path. This program provides the tools we need to navigate a new path. We just have to choose to use them, then choose to take a new path.
Which chapter represents where you are right now? If you are stuck in one of the early chapters, are you ready to turn the page? You can, and it will happen one day and one choice at a time. Choose wisely :-)
Chapter 1: I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost. I am helpless. It isn't my fault. It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter 2: I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don't see it. I fall in again. I can't believe I am in the same place, but it isn't my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter 3: I walk down the same street. there is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in. It's a habit. My eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.
Chapter 4: I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.
Chapter 5: I walk down another street.
Some of us are stuck in Chapters 1 or 2 - we keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again and continue to wonder why we're stuck. We have a tendency to blame others - our husband/boyfriend/ mother/girlfriend/boss made us eat off plan. We blame circumstances - we were stressed/upset/bored/tired/it was our birthday-anniversary-Friday night. We believe that if everyone in our lives would just get behind us and quit sabotaging us, we'd be successful. When things settle down and we aren't so busy at work or so stressed with the kids, then it will be easier to stay on plan.
Change really begins when we move to Chapter 3. We may have fallen back into the same old hole, but now we are ready to take responsibility and we don't stay in that hole. Once we realize that we CAN take responsibility, more than that, that we HAVE to take responsibility for our choices, we are then able to take charge and change begins.
Chapter 4 marks the change, as we recognize the hole and are able to avoid it. There is something very empowering about knowing that we really can avoid the very pit we've fallen into time and time again, and we avoid falling in by choosing to walk around it. This is where many of us are right now. The path we're on is familiar, but we're learning to not trip over the same old things and end up in the same old place.
Chapter 5 is hopefully where we're heading - on a new path all together. As we learn healthy new habits, we find ourselves walking on a new path that will take us places we can't even imagine. When we do that, we won't fall into the same old holes ever again. Of course, this is only true if we choose to take a new path. This program provides the tools we need to navigate a new path. We just have to choose to use them, then choose to take a new path.
Which chapter represents where you are right now? If you are stuck in one of the early chapters, are you ready to turn the page? You can, and it will happen one day and one choice at a time. Choose wisely :-)
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Are You Excited?
Happy Wednesday! Are you excited about another day to be on plan?
I'm asking if you're excited because I have learned that our attitude can make all the difference in how we approach our day and the things we have to do. I remember watching a program several years ago (I can't remember what it was called) where someone spoke in a monotone about all the things they had to do that day. They then repeated the exact same sequence of events, but each one was punctuated with excitement and an "I get to do this!" attitude - what a difference! The sequence of events didn't change, but the attitude did. The second time the person went through the list, the excitement built with each new thing on the list.
We can either view our day as one filled with obligations or one filled with opportunity. That is certainly true of facing another day of being on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1! Trust me, I did NOT wake up joyful every morning that I got to face 5 Medifast meals for the day, but what a difference it made when I DID get up with a positive attitude about the journey I was on.
Today is an opportunity to get one step closer to your goal, and that's exciting! Today is one step further away from where you started, and that's VERY exciting! Today is another day of honing the skills and the habits that will KEEP you at your goal weight. Today is one day closer to being able to eat (in moderation, of course) some of the things that you enjoy that aren't on the weight loss portion of this plan - how exciting is that?
Today can be exciting and filled with opportunity IF you focus on where you're heading. Your goal is straight ahead - can you see it? Can you visualize yourself at your goal, feeling and looking fabulous? It doesn't matter if you just started on the plan and have a long way to go, or if you've been on plan for a while and are closing in on your goal - you WILL get there, one day and one meal at a time. There is no "hope so" about it. If you are committed to making the choices each day that you need to make, you'll get to your goal. So be encouraged and excited today, because you're making progress, whether it feels like it or not.
Our attitude, along with whether or not we're on plan today, is our choice. Choose wisely :-)
*****
We're leaving tomorrow morning for 5 days in Pennsylvania to visit my sister. I'll be "unplugged" most of the time there, so I probably won't be able to post another blog until I get home next week. Keep making those wise choices!
I'm asking if you're excited because I have learned that our attitude can make all the difference in how we approach our day and the things we have to do. I remember watching a program several years ago (I can't remember what it was called) where someone spoke in a monotone about all the things they had to do that day. They then repeated the exact same sequence of events, but each one was punctuated with excitement and an "I get to do this!" attitude - what a difference! The sequence of events didn't change, but the attitude did. The second time the person went through the list, the excitement built with each new thing on the list.
We can either view our day as one filled with obligations or one filled with opportunity. That is certainly true of facing another day of being on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1! Trust me, I did NOT wake up joyful every morning that I got to face 5 Medifast meals for the day, but what a difference it made when I DID get up with a positive attitude about the journey I was on.
Today is an opportunity to get one step closer to your goal, and that's exciting! Today is one step further away from where you started, and that's VERY exciting! Today is another day of honing the skills and the habits that will KEEP you at your goal weight. Today is one day closer to being able to eat (in moderation, of course) some of the things that you enjoy that aren't on the weight loss portion of this plan - how exciting is that?
Today can be exciting and filled with opportunity IF you focus on where you're heading. Your goal is straight ahead - can you see it? Can you visualize yourself at your goal, feeling and looking fabulous? It doesn't matter if you just started on the plan and have a long way to go, or if you've been on plan for a while and are closing in on your goal - you WILL get there, one day and one meal at a time. There is no "hope so" about it. If you are committed to making the choices each day that you need to make, you'll get to your goal. So be encouraged and excited today, because you're making progress, whether it feels like it or not.
Our attitude, along with whether or not we're on plan today, is our choice. Choose wisely :-)
*****
We're leaving tomorrow morning for 5 days in Pennsylvania to visit my sister. I'll be "unplugged" most of the time there, so I probably won't be able to post another blog until I get home next week. Keep making those wise choices!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Prisoner or Pioneer?
"Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask yourself if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future." I recently read this quote and it got me thinking. This is a great question to ask ourselves!
Our "same old way" reactions are pretty much knee-jerk. If we don't stop for a second before we react, we will most likely react the way we always do. For those of us who are emotional eaters, the "same old way" means that under stress, or when we're bored, upset, tired, etc., our instinctive response is to eat. I spent years caught in that cycle and I know that some of you are still struggling to break free. That "same old way" reaction has resulted in failed weight loss attempts over and over again. We want to lose weight and we've started every weight loss plan with the intention that "this is IT, this is the diet that's going to finally work." We never started a new diet with the expectation that we'd fail, but we DID fail. Sometimes the diet was the reason, because we were trying some fad thing that clearly wasn't sustainable over time. Because it was a crash diet and not designed to teach us new, healthier patterns, we'd unwittingly set ourselves up for failure. Throw in our "same old way" reactions and it's no wonder some of us have been trapped in a miserable cycle for so many years.
But now we're on the right program. We aren't on a diet - we're on an optimal health program that is designed to get us quickly and safely to a healthy weight and teach us the healthy habits we need to stay there. This is a program that can help us to leave the "same old way" behind and truly put us on the path to a healthier and longer life.
The problem with being a pioneer is that pioneers are breaking new ground and going places they've never gone before. This can be scary, because it is venturing into the unknown. Being a pioneer means developing new skill sets and it means leaving old habits behind. It means that when we are on the verge of reacting in the same old way, we take a moment to Stop - Challenge (identify what we're feeling and why we're feeling it) - and Choose. This can take just a minute or two, but doing that can be the key to moving from a prisoner to a pioneer.
Are you ready to be a pioneer this morning and continue moving towards a healthier, longer life? If so, focus on what you want and then choose wisely :-)
Our "same old way" reactions are pretty much knee-jerk. If we don't stop for a second before we react, we will most likely react the way we always do. For those of us who are emotional eaters, the "same old way" means that under stress, or when we're bored, upset, tired, etc., our instinctive response is to eat. I spent years caught in that cycle and I know that some of you are still struggling to break free. That "same old way" reaction has resulted in failed weight loss attempts over and over again. We want to lose weight and we've started every weight loss plan with the intention that "this is IT, this is the diet that's going to finally work." We never started a new diet with the expectation that we'd fail, but we DID fail. Sometimes the diet was the reason, because we were trying some fad thing that clearly wasn't sustainable over time. Because it was a crash diet and not designed to teach us new, healthier patterns, we'd unwittingly set ourselves up for failure. Throw in our "same old way" reactions and it's no wonder some of us have been trapped in a miserable cycle for so many years.
But now we're on the right program. We aren't on a diet - we're on an optimal health program that is designed to get us quickly and safely to a healthy weight and teach us the healthy habits we need to stay there. This is a program that can help us to leave the "same old way" behind and truly put us on the path to a healthier and longer life.
The problem with being a pioneer is that pioneers are breaking new ground and going places they've never gone before. This can be scary, because it is venturing into the unknown. Being a pioneer means developing new skill sets and it means leaving old habits behind. It means that when we are on the verge of reacting in the same old way, we take a moment to Stop - Challenge (identify what we're feeling and why we're feeling it) - and Choose. This can take just a minute or two, but doing that can be the key to moving from a prisoner to a pioneer.
Are you ready to be a pioneer this morning and continue moving towards a healthier, longer life? If so, focus on what you want and then choose wisely :-)
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Not Having Fun?
I went back to the orthopedist yesterday and there was good news and there was (from my perspective!) bad news. First, the good news! They did another set of x-rays on my knee and the break is healing nicely. I'm really thankful for that and it's made all of the sitting and behaving I've been doing worth it. The bad news is that I have at least four more weeks of sitting and behaving myself, including four more weeks of no driving.
I know it wasn't realistic, but a part of me was hoping that he would have told me today that I didn't need to wear my leg immobilizer (basically a removable cast with Velcro) and let me return to driving. When it sunk in that there are at least four more weeks of the same thing looming, I was pretty disappointed.
Right now, what I am doing is not any fun at all, and it's not going to change for at least a month. Right now I absolutely don't feel like doing this any more - I'm tired of it. However, this is a time when I have to stay focused on what I REALLY want, and what I want is to have my knee completely healed as quickly as possible so that I can get back to the rest of my life. I know that if I disregard orders now, I will only slow down my recovery or perhaps even cause more damage. Right now it doesn't matter if I feel like doing this or not, this is what I have to do to get me from where I am to where I want to be.
You know where I'm going with this, don't you :-). Sometimes the scale disappoints us - sometimes we expect to be a lot further than we are. Sometimes we're sick to death of staying on plan and are eager to get back to normal. The problem is, if we aren't willing to stay with the program and follow the protocols (which are proven to work, by the way), we risk slowing down our progress or, worse yet, suffering a set back.
This is a time to take a deep breath and focus - hard - on what we want and where we're going. The process isn't always fun, and sometimes it's downright tedious. But the end result, if we're willing to do what we need to do in the meantime, will be worth it. Really it will :-)
The choice is ours today . . . choose wisely :-)
P.S. I'm involved with a weekend conference that will keep me busy and pretty much off-line from now until Sunday. As a result, I won't post another blog until Monday. Have a great weekend and keep making those wise choices!
I know it wasn't realistic, but a part of me was hoping that he would have told me today that I didn't need to wear my leg immobilizer (basically a removable cast with Velcro) and let me return to driving. When it sunk in that there are at least four more weeks of the same thing looming, I was pretty disappointed.
Right now, what I am doing is not any fun at all, and it's not going to change for at least a month. Right now I absolutely don't feel like doing this any more - I'm tired of it. However, this is a time when I have to stay focused on what I REALLY want, and what I want is to have my knee completely healed as quickly as possible so that I can get back to the rest of my life. I know that if I disregard orders now, I will only slow down my recovery or perhaps even cause more damage. Right now it doesn't matter if I feel like doing this or not, this is what I have to do to get me from where I am to where I want to be.
You know where I'm going with this, don't you :-). Sometimes the scale disappoints us - sometimes we expect to be a lot further than we are. Sometimes we're sick to death of staying on plan and are eager to get back to normal. The problem is, if we aren't willing to stay with the program and follow the protocols (which are proven to work, by the way), we risk slowing down our progress or, worse yet, suffering a set back.
This is a time to take a deep breath and focus - hard - on what we want and where we're going. The process isn't always fun, and sometimes it's downright tedious. But the end result, if we're willing to do what we need to do in the meantime, will be worth it. Really it will :-)
The choice is ours today . . . choose wisely :-)
P.S. I'm involved with a weekend conference that will keep me busy and pretty much off-line from now until Sunday. As a result, I won't post another blog until Monday. Have a great weekend and keep making those wise choices!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
37 Years of Loving Me Through Thick and Thin
Today is my 37th wedding anniversary and I want to wish my sweet husband a very happy anniversary!
We met in college - I was 18 and he was 19 and we started dating a year later and married a year after that. When we got married, I was thin and he wasn't ;-), and by the time we celebrated our first anniversary, we'd both put on weight (him more than I) due to my new-found love of cooking. That began a series of diets that we did together. I was generally dealing with 10-15 pounds I wanted to drop and he was usually needing to lose 50 or more pounds. We had good intentions, but wow, did we try some crazy things!
When the Atkins diet first came out, my husband thought this was the answer to a meat-lover's prayers. I remember one day when he ate 12 hot dogs, stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon - for LUNCH! Yep, the carbs were little to none, but the calories and artery-clogging fat grams? Nobody counted those and it's probably just as well we didn't know! I didn't eat quite that many, but I think I probably ate 3 or 4 of those "on plan" food items as well. Needless to say, we didn't lose very much weight and we also didn't feel that great (who could, with all that sodium and lack of nutrition?).
Then there was the "eat all of your calories first thing in the day" diet. We read an article that claimed if you ate all of your calories at the beginning of the day in one big meal, you'd lose weight. That sounded like a good idea so we got up one morning before work and made the breakfast to end all breakfasts - eggs, sausage, pancakes and I don't remember what else. We ate until we were stuffed, convinced we'd eaten enough to easily tide ourselves over until the next morning. Of course, by late afternoon we were hungry and by dinner time we were starving and ended up eating dinner. I think that's the only diet we did that only lasted one day.
There were other diets we tried together, too, and some of them worked temporarily. Since I was usually only fighting 10 pounds, these fad diets usually kept me close to where I wanted to be, but they didn't begin to teach me how to lose weight and keep it off in a healthy way. I was a stay-home, from-scratch cook for twelve years, starting when we had our oldest daughter, and our food was very healthy, even if the portions weren't.
By the time my weight started piling on and I went from needing to lose 10 pounds to being 126 pounds overweight, my husband had pretty much given up any attempts at losing weight. I went from one program to another and he ate, and we were both at very unhealthy weights.
Three years ago this month, everything began to change when I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast. My husband was very supportive, but he watched from the sidelines for over six months, until he finally decided to go on the program himself in January of 2008. He lost 50 pounds and reached his goal weight in three months and I reached my goal about five weeks later. We have now celebrated two years of both of us being at a healthy weight for one of the first times in our entire married life!
I thank the Lord for my wonderful husband who have loved me through thick and thin (literally) and who supported me on my 20+ year odyssey to a healthy weight. He never criticized either my weight or any of the methods I tried to lose weight, and when I finally found something that worked - Take Shape for Life/Medifast - he cheered and encouraged me each step of the way.
Thanks to both of us getting healthy on this program, I'm looking forward to at least 37 more years with this man. He reads my blogs every day, so Happy Anniversary, honey! I love you with all my heart!
For the rest of you reading this, I really care about you, too. And because I care so much about you, I'll end this blog like I end them all - choose wisely :-)
We met in college - I was 18 and he was 19 and we started dating a year later and married a year after that. When we got married, I was thin and he wasn't ;-), and by the time we celebrated our first anniversary, we'd both put on weight (him more than I) due to my new-found love of cooking. That began a series of diets that we did together. I was generally dealing with 10-15 pounds I wanted to drop and he was usually needing to lose 50 or more pounds. We had good intentions, but wow, did we try some crazy things!
When the Atkins diet first came out, my husband thought this was the answer to a meat-lover's prayers. I remember one day when he ate 12 hot dogs, stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon - for LUNCH! Yep, the carbs were little to none, but the calories and artery-clogging fat grams? Nobody counted those and it's probably just as well we didn't know! I didn't eat quite that many, but I think I probably ate 3 or 4 of those "on plan" food items as well. Needless to say, we didn't lose very much weight and we also didn't feel that great (who could, with all that sodium and lack of nutrition?).
Then there was the "eat all of your calories first thing in the day" diet. We read an article that claimed if you ate all of your calories at the beginning of the day in one big meal, you'd lose weight. That sounded like a good idea so we got up one morning before work and made the breakfast to end all breakfasts - eggs, sausage, pancakes and I don't remember what else. We ate until we were stuffed, convinced we'd eaten enough to easily tide ourselves over until the next morning. Of course, by late afternoon we were hungry and by dinner time we were starving and ended up eating dinner. I think that's the only diet we did that only lasted one day.
There were other diets we tried together, too, and some of them worked temporarily. Since I was usually only fighting 10 pounds, these fad diets usually kept me close to where I wanted to be, but they didn't begin to teach me how to lose weight and keep it off in a healthy way. I was a stay-home, from-scratch cook for twelve years, starting when we had our oldest daughter, and our food was very healthy, even if the portions weren't.
By the time my weight started piling on and I went from needing to lose 10 pounds to being 126 pounds overweight, my husband had pretty much given up any attempts at losing weight. I went from one program to another and he ate, and we were both at very unhealthy weights.
Three years ago this month, everything began to change when I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast. My husband was very supportive, but he watched from the sidelines for over six months, until he finally decided to go on the program himself in January of 2008. He lost 50 pounds and reached his goal weight in three months and I reached my goal about five weeks later. We have now celebrated two years of both of us being at a healthy weight for one of the first times in our entire married life!
I thank the Lord for my wonderful husband who have loved me through thick and thin (literally) and who supported me on my 20+ year odyssey to a healthy weight. He never criticized either my weight or any of the methods I tried to lose weight, and when I finally found something that worked - Take Shape for Life/Medifast - he cheered and encouraged me each step of the way.
Thanks to both of us getting healthy on this program, I'm looking forward to at least 37 more years with this man. He reads my blogs every day, so Happy Anniversary, honey! I love you with all my heart!
For the rest of you reading this, I really care about you, too. And because I care so much about you, I'll end this blog like I end them all - choose wisely :-)
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Atrophy
Welcome to June! It's hard to believe that this is the sixth month of the year already! For those of you who've been on the program for a while, I hope that the new, healthier habits you've been developing are becoming more and more established in your life.
When I was on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1, I often said that I was getting a lot of practice exercising my "no thank you muscle." I reasoned that learning to say "no thank you" to things while I was losing weight would strengthen my ability to say "no thank you" once I was in Maintenance. I understood that some of my old favorites would not, could not, be an ongoing part of a thin and healthy life, so it was important to have a strong "no thank you muscle."
The funny thing about muscles is that they have a tendency to either grow stronger or atrophy, depending on whether or not we use them. One definition for atrophy is " A wasting or decrease in size of a body organ, tissue, or part owing to disease, injury, or lack of use." I've noticed a definite weakening in my right leg over the past two weeks as it's been encased in a knee immobilizer and been elevated most of the time. I have spent very little time on my feet, and when I'm doing any walking at all, the immobilizer is providing support for my leg, even as it limits my movement. When I take the immobilizer off, I'm amazed to see how much weaker my leg is. Once I get the all-clear from my orthopedist, I know it will take a little bit of time and some focused effort to regain strength in that leg. It's truly a "use it or lose it" scenario when it comes to our muscles.
The same is true for our "no thank you muscle" :-). The more we practice it now, the stronger it will be and the better it will serve us on the other side of 5&1, which is the rest of our lives. There are so many reasons why it makes sense to stay on plan, and this is just one of them. Every time we choose to stay on plan, every time we turn down something that we'd really like to eat, choosing to stay focused on what we REALLY want, we grow a bit stronger. We learn that we CAN say no (that's something that came as a bit of a surprise to me!), we learn that we really CAN have a good time even though we aren't eating what everyone else is eating. And as we learn that, we grow stronger.
Are you ready to do a little muscle building today? The choice is yours . . . choose wisely :-)
When I was on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1, I often said that I was getting a lot of practice exercising my "no thank you muscle." I reasoned that learning to say "no thank you" to things while I was losing weight would strengthen my ability to say "no thank you" once I was in Maintenance. I understood that some of my old favorites would not, could not, be an ongoing part of a thin and healthy life, so it was important to have a strong "no thank you muscle."
The funny thing about muscles is that they have a tendency to either grow stronger or atrophy, depending on whether or not we use them. One definition for atrophy is " A wasting or decrease in size of a body organ, tissue, or part owing to disease, injury, or lack of use." I've noticed a definite weakening in my right leg over the past two weeks as it's been encased in a knee immobilizer and been elevated most of the time. I have spent very little time on my feet, and when I'm doing any walking at all, the immobilizer is providing support for my leg, even as it limits my movement. When I take the immobilizer off, I'm amazed to see how much weaker my leg is. Once I get the all-clear from my orthopedist, I know it will take a little bit of time and some focused effort to regain strength in that leg. It's truly a "use it or lose it" scenario when it comes to our muscles.
The same is true for our "no thank you muscle" :-). The more we practice it now, the stronger it will be and the better it will serve us on the other side of 5&1, which is the rest of our lives. There are so many reasons why it makes sense to stay on plan, and this is just one of them. Every time we choose to stay on plan, every time we turn down something that we'd really like to eat, choosing to stay focused on what we REALLY want, we grow a bit stronger. We learn that we CAN say no (that's something that came as a bit of a surprise to me!), we learn that we really CAN have a good time even though we aren't eating what everyone else is eating. And as we learn that, we grow stronger.
Are you ready to do a little muscle building today? The choice is yours . . . choose wisely :-)
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