Keep Looking Ahead

I wrote this blog a year ago, but since it addresses challenges we all face, I thought I'd repost it today.  I hope it will be an encouragement to you!

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It happened again.  Even though I've seen it happen before, I'm always saddened when it happens, and this morning was no exception. 

I picked up an e-mail from a friend of mine who lives out of state.  It's been a while since we'd talked or e-mailed, so I was really happy to hear from her again.  What made me sad was reading that she had gained almost all of her weight back.  She'd lost about 30 pounds on the program and was less than 10 pounds from her goal the last time I saw her and she looked and felt great.  I didn't have to wonder what happened, because she told me that "when you lose all the weight & look good, you tend to cheat, never thinking you will gain it all back."  She's back to a place she never thought she'd be, and I could almost hear the sadness and frustration in her voice.

Why does this happen?  Everyone on plan today wants to reach their goal, and I imagine that the vast majority of you are vowing that you will never, EVER gain the weight back.  Have I guessed right? 

The challenge is to keep looking ahead to what we want to create in our lives.  In Dr. A's Habits of Health, he addresses the issue in Chapter 3, "Motivation for Change."  In this chapter, he described in detail the sequence of events that my friend has experienced.  When we approach weight loss from a problem-solving perspective (which is honestly how most of us approach it, and that was my perspective as well), Dr. Andersen says that this type of motivation almost never leads to lasting change.  He says that when we feel emotional conflict:

1. We're motivated to act. 
2. Once we've taken action, we begin to feel better, even if the situation hasn't changed much. 
3. When we feel better, we feel less pressure to change, which lessens the emotional conflict.
4.  When we feel less emotional conflict, there's less reason to continue making the changes.
5.  When we feel better, we don't feel the pressing need to follow through with our actions.
6.  We return to our old habits.

This is the miserable yo-yo pattern that many of us have been stuck in for years. 

Not ever gaining the weight back was both my vow and my fear.  I had never successfully lost all of the weight I needed to lose before, and any weight that I lost quickly came back.  I hadn't had any success whatsoever is losing weight and keeping it off, so my vow was filled with faith and hope and my fear was well-justified.

What made the difference for me this time is what Dr. Andersen spends most of his book discussing:  shifting from solving a problem (obesity) to creating health in our lives.  Changing our focus from what we're against (obesity) to what we're for (health and vitality) is the key.  When we shift our focus to creating health in our lives, reaching our goal weight isn't the end of the journey.  Instead, it's the first important step on what will be a life-long journey towards optimal health.

I don't have the time or space to fully explain all of this, and since Dr. Andersen has already done it much better than I ever could, I really encourage you to get a copy of his book and read it for yourself.  I'm not saying this because I'll make any money from this, because I won't.  I just know that if you want to successfully lose your weight and keep it off, and if you want reaching your goal to be the first step of the rest of your healthy life, you owe it to yourself to get a tool that will help you create the life you want.

In the meantime, I really encourage you to stay focused on taking the steps that you need to take today.  If you're just starting your weight loss journey, keep up the great work!  Don't allow the length of the journey ahead to discourage you because you WILL get there, one day and one Medifast meal at a time.  If you're nearing your goal, stay focused on reaching your goal and moving beyond it.  Don't settle for anything less than the healthiest you that you can be.

Today will come down, once again, to the choices that we make.  Choose wisely :-)

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Thanks for your concern and prayers for my mom.  The echocardiogram she had yesterday showed that her heart is healthy - no sign of disease, so they aren't sure what has been causing the chest pressure and shortness of breath.  She was released from the hospital late yesterday afternoon and will follow up with her physician, but she's doing well and very happy to be home!