Tricks and No Treats

When it comes to "magic" weight loss, the news is filled with tricks and definitely NO treats.  I remember reading a couple of news articles several months ago that caught my attention and neither was good news for anyone looking for an easy answer to losing weight. The first article was alarming, actually.  Apparently there are a number of patients of a California plastic surgeon who elected to have a patch surgically applied to their tongue.  The purpose, according to the physician, was to "make chewing solid foods very difficult and painful, limiting the patient to a liquid diet."  I read that and thought, "you have GOT to be kidding me" . . . except I knew it wasn't a joke.  The article included concerns from other physicians about the risk of infection and other potential complications from this procedure.  Apparently the tongue patch was intended to be kept in place for only 30 days before being removed, but this is certainly not a wise approach, even on a short-term basis. The other article announced that federal health regulators had decided not to approve yet another experimental diet pill which had been touted by some experts as the most promising weight-loss drug in over a decade.  The FDA has asked for more study results and additional information on the drug's possible health risks, including major cardiovascular events and risks for women of childbearing age.  The article went on to say that research continues in an effort to find an answer to America's obesity crisis. In my humble opinion, the answer to America's obesity crisis will never be found in a surgical procedure, any surgical procedure, and it won't be found in a pill, either.  These are all attempts to treat the symptoms and don't address the cause. I'm not a psychologist and I'm not trying to paint everyone with the same brush, but I know that I didn't double my weight between my early 30's and my early/mid 50's because I was (am) a good cook and enjoy food.  I spent a lot of time in denial to be sure, but even in my denial I understood that I was doing a lot of emotional eating.  No surgery and no drug could fix that . . . It wasn't until I started on this program that I finally began the work of addressing my emotional eating issues.  What prompted me to do that were two things:  first of all, I couldn't justify the cost of doing this program unless I was actually DOING the program.  I knew it would only be cost-neutral if I was staying on plan.  Secondly, when the weight started coming off, I was afraid to mess up what was finally clearly working and working well, so I was motivated to stay on plan.  Both of these compelling reasons to stay on plan forced me to begin to deal with the stuff of life without running to food to stuff my feelings.  At the time I made the decision to stay on plan, I certainly didn't think about the emotional ramifications of that decision, but learning how to deal with stress, boredom, etc. without running to chocolate (my drug of choice) made all of the difference for me. As I've shared before, part of my story is that I learned that food couldn't fix the issues and I learned to turn in a deeper way to the true Source of my comfort - my Heavenly Father.  He was and is faithful in meeting my every need! Take Shape for Life/Medifast isn't a bag of tricks - it's a solid, proven program that works.  If you make the choice to work the program, you will not only lose weight, but you just might experience personal growth in the process.  How's that for an added treat? It all begins with the choices you make.  Choose wisely :-)

Changing or Choosing?

Here's a quote to ponder a while:  "Whatever you are not changing . . . you are choosing."  What do you think? I had to think about that for a bit, but it makes sense.  There are certainly some things in our lives that we CAN'T change, but we have the ability to change a lot more than we often think we can . . . IF we choose.  When there are things in our lives that we wish were different and we have the ability to change them, inaction really boils down to our decision to choose the status quo. That certainly is true when it comes to our weight - the issue that brought all of us here :-).  It doesn't matter what we think our genetics are, it doesn't matter if we've never been at a healthy weight in our lives, it doesn't matter how old we are or anything else.  We can change our weight and begin or continue on a path to a healthy weight if we choose.  If we aren't making progress and losing weight, if we aren't taking control of our weight, then it's because we're choosing to stay at an unhealthy weight. Nobody can do this program for us.  Conversely, nobody can make us go off plan.  The only exception to the last sentence would be if someone tied us to a chair, pried our mouth open and force-fed us.  I doubt that's happened to anybody lately!  I'm not saying that staying on plan is easy, because it's not.  I also fully understand the struggle with emotional eating as I was a long-time emotional eater.  However, it's still our choice - every time.  The reality is that if we decide to change, really decide, we will make the choices we need to make that change happen.  We may not do this perfectly, but over time our choices will more and more align with our decision to implement change. So what are you choosing today?  Are you choosing to change, or are you making the choice to stay where you are?  The secondary choices you make today will support what it is that you really want.  Choose wisely :-)

Don't Get Spooked!

Happy Wednesday!  We're half-way through this week and are coming up fast on the weekend, which includes Halloween.  In my past, Halloween was the beginning of an all-out food fest that didn't end until I was in a sugar-induced stupor on January 2.  Between Halloween and New Year's, it wasn't unusual for me to pick up at least 10 pounds - yikes!

I have a terrible sweet tooth that I inherited from my dad (he's the only person  I know who will put PB&J on his grilled cheese sandwiches, and I've seen him put it on hamburgers once or twice).  When my children were young, I would sort through their trick-or-treat bags and take out all of the "yucky" candy bars (I know, I'm bad . . . the kids eventually figured out what I was doing and I was busted).

Four years ago, being on Take Shape for Life's 5&1 program and staying on plan meant keeping my hands out of my grandchildren's trick or treat bags (a sugar-aholic is shameless . . . ), but it wasn't easy.  Halloween was the first big test of my commitment to stay on plan, so I approached the day with a bit of trepidation.  When the moment finally arrived and I stared down all that candy, I realized that once I started eating it I probably wouldn't be able to stop, and I knew that once I DID stop, I'd feel awful - physically and mentally.  That was one of the first times on plan that I can remember sensing a serious threat looming to my weight loss journey, and my response was to think ahead and not get caught up in the moment.

I'm writing about this now because I'm guessing that some of you will be facing down a lot of candy and chocolate this weekend.  I'm encouraging you to think about it now and decide now what you're going to do and how you're going to respond.

Planning ahead is critical on this plan.  So many of us are impulsive eaters, and I know that there were many times when I found myself eating almost before I realized it.  That was always followed by regret, but it was too late to undo what had been done.  When we take the time to anticipate temptation and plan how we're going to respond, we're more likely to be successful.

Eating my Medifast meals on time was key to keeping me on plan, even when faced with some of my favorite sweets.  Because I was eating my meals at regular intervals, my blood sugar stayed stable and my cravings didn't get out of hand.  Because I wasn't hungry, it was much easier to walk away.  Keeping a crunch bar handy can also be helpful if the craving continues - they really satisfy my sweet tooth!

The most important thing you can do ahead of time is to spend some time thinking about what you really want.  When you're not facing a temptation, it's much easier to focus on what you really want (and what you REALLY want isn't the Halloween candy . . . ).  Get a clear picture in your mind now of what you want - think about how you'll look and feel at your goal.  If you get that picture in your mind, you'll be in a better position to make choices that will support your goal.

I'll talk more about the holidays in upcoming posts, but I'm encouraging you to start thinking and planning now for this weekend.  Getting through this sugar-infused day will position you for success as we move closer to those OTHER holidays!

It's all about making choices to support what we really want. Choose wisely :-)

Feeling Deprived

In my early days of being on Take Shape for Life's 5&1 plan, I had days when I really struggled  with feeling deprived and looking at all of the things that I "couldn't have."  I hate feeling deprived (honestly, does anybody really like feeling that way??) and had I stayed in that mindset, I never would have gotten to my goal. 

Thankfully, over time I began to embrace the reality that I COULD have those things - if I wanted to and chose to have them.  I was a grown-up and free to make those choices.  I also understood that there was something I wanted more than the food - I wanted to get to my goal and have a thin, healthy body.  Because I wanted that, and I really did want that, I made the choice to not eat certain things.  I've written a lot about the need to make secondary choices to support our primary choice, and I keep going back to this because it is SO important!

If you have a mindset that thinks of this program as being all about deprivation - can't have that and can't have this - your journey will be a lot more of a struggle.  None of us likes to feel deprived.  We are hardwired to take care of ourselves and feeling deprived for very long often leads to resentment and anger.  Those feelings are hard to carry with us for weeks or months at a time and staying in a deprivation mindset often leads to eventually going off plan because we feel almost driven to "be good to ourselves."

However, if we've made the primary choice to get healthy, then we will view the secondary choices we make - including staying on program - from a different perspective.  We will understand that these choices are steps on a ladder, with each choice bringing us that much closer to what we really want.  We will embrace these choices are just that - the choices we are choosing to make.  When I was on 5&1, I adopted the mindset of "I can have anything I want any time I want, but I am choosing to eat 5&1 instead of that because 5&1 will get me where I want to go and that won't."  That thinking kept me out of feeling deprived all the time and it was one of the things that helped keep me focused and relatively cheerful all the way to my goal (I said relatively . . . !).

You don't have to stay on plan and you don't have to reach your goal.  You really don't!  The choice is yours, and if you've made the choice to stay on plan and get to your goal (and I hope you have!), then embrace this as your choice, then continue to choose wisely :-)

Interested or Committed?

"There is a difference between interest and commitment.  When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permits.  When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results."

I've written before about the difference between being interested in doing something (like losing weight) and committing to doing it, but I like the way this quote sums it up.  It's really true, when you stop and think about it.

To be honest, quotes like this one used to make me mad, especially as it related to weight loss.  I really thought I was committed to losing weight - goodness, I tried every new diet that came out!  Didn't that prove how committed I was to losing weight?  I sure thought so!

What I understand now is that up until I finally started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, I was just interested in losing weight, not committed to doing so.  I was interested and as long as nothing came up in my life, I was fairly compliant with whatever plan I was on and dutifully counted the obligatory calories, carbs, fat grams or points.  I was really pretty good, at least until something came up.  The problem, of course, was that something ALWAYS came up!  It was almost impossible to get through an entire week without SOMETHING coming up.  We'd go out to dinner with friends or our Bible study group would meet and there would be a homemade dessert or the kids would want to come over for pizza or . . . you get the idea.  Throw in a fair amount of stress (after all, I couldn't be expected to stay on a program when I was stressed, could I?) and a busy schedule that sometimes had me grabbing a meal at a fast-food drive-through and I was almost always more "off" than I was "on" any program I'd ever tried.  I was interested in losing weight all right, but I was only interested in doing something as long as it was easy and there were no obstacles of any kind in my way.

How frustrating that life is always throwing obstacles in our way!  If we're only interested in losing weight, those obstacles will trip us up over and over again.

However, when we're committed to losing weight, it's amazing how our attitude changes.  We see the excuses for what they are - excuses - and we're focused on results.  Once we know what we want, we figure it out.  I've seen this happen over and over again.

Are you interested in getting to a healthy weight or are you committed to reaching your goal?  If you're committed - if you've made the fundamental choice to get there - then the choices you face become much easier because you will make the choices necessary to get you where you want to be.  What do you want?  Be honest with yourself as you answer that question, then choose wisely :-)

Motivation for Permanent Change

In Dr. A's Habits of Health (a fabulous book written by Take Shape for Life/Medifast's medical director and Take Shape for Life co-founder, Dr. Wayne Scott Andersen), Dr. Andersen writes "Change motivated by conflict will always be temporary; change motivated by desired outcomes can lead to permanent change."  His point is that to make change permanent, we need to move from solving a problem to creating something in our lives.

When I started my weight loss plan, I was trying to solve a couple of problems - my obesity and my diabetes.  My blood sugar returned to normal within one week of starting the program, so that "problem" began to improve almost immediately.  Week by week, as I saw the pounds melt off and I dropped size after size, the pain of obesity began to ease.  Had my focus remained on solving my problems, I'm not sure I would have ever reached my goal.  By the time I'd lost 60 pounds and was 200 pounds, I looked and felt a LOT better.  I was out of women's sizes and my blood sugar remained normal.  I was pretty tired of being on plan and I remember toying with the idea of quitting.  I remember walking through the grocery store, loading my cart with lean protein and my greens while smelling great things from the bakery.  I took note of all of the people pushing carts loaded with very Medifast-unfriendly food, and many of these people were quite a bit heavier than I was.  I remember being mad that I was still on such a restrictive plan while other people were eating all of the "fun stuff," and I began to rationalize.  I was 55, I had 4 grandchildren, I was wearing size 16, and I momentarily thought that where I was at was good enough.

Thankfully, I came out of that thinking pretty quickly, before I allowed it to take me down a road I didn't want to take.  What brought me back and kept me moving forward was a vision I had in my mind of being at a healthy weight and wearing a small size.  I imagined the joy at finally reaching my goal, and I knew if I stopped short of my goal I would feel like I had settled for less than what I really wanted.

What I didn't realize at the time was that I had done exactly what Dr. A wrote about - I moved from solving a problem to creating something in my life.  My focus was on moving forward towards something I wanted rather than moving away from something I didn't want.  Ultimately, that made all of the difference for me.

It still makes a difference.  My focus now is on continuing on the path to optimal health.  Optimal health looks different for each of us, but I have a clear vision in my mind of what optimal health is for me.  As long as I stay focused on what I want to create in my life, I am motivated to make the choices necessary to continue moving forward.

Today we each have to choose if we're going to look back at what brought us to this program, or if we're going to look forward at what we want to create in our lives.  I'd rather create than problem solve - how about you?  Creating something new and wonderful in your life will happen one day, one meal and one choice at a time.  Choose wisely :-)

Making Those Secondary Choices

This morning my husband and I are off to the health club to work out after a L-O-N-G hiatus.  From early October of 2007 (about 3-1/2 months after starting on 5&1) until May of 2010, I worked out fairly regularly at a health club near our house.  My husband has successfully kept off the 50 pounds he lost on 5&1, but exercise has never been his strong suit, if you know what I mean.  He started working out with me in May of 2010, but once I was injured late that month when I slipped and fell off the treadmill, breaking a bone in my right knee, he never went back.  The injury kept me fairly immobilized for several weeks and even after the break healed, my knee was never the same and this injury was most likely the final straw that led to my total knee replacement this past August.

Anyway . . . it's been close to 18 months since either one of us have worked out regularly or gotten much exercise besides a walk.  We'd canceled our health club membership and tried to work out at home on some equipment we have, but it was definitely hit and miss, with more "miss" than "hit."  We recently received an offer to join another health club (membership fee waived and very reasonable monthly rate).  I've finished physical therapy for my knee and know that working out will help to further strengthen my knee as well as provide the overall conditioning and health benefits we need, so we decided it was time to get going again.

To my surprise and delight, the trainer we're working with was one of the trainers on The Biggest Loser (TBL has an entire team of trainers, not just the ones seen on camera).  This guy knows his stuff and my husband and I are really impressed with how thorough he has been in doing an assessment of where we are and what we need.  I'm excited to see what happens over the next months as we get back into a good workout routine under the guidance of this trainer!

One thing we know for sure:  maintenance is about more than just maintaining at a healthy weight.  That's important, to be sure, but getting to our goal weight isn't the end of the road, just an important milestone on the journey to being optimally healthy.  One of my friends who has lost 30 pounds and maintained a healthy weight for several years said that it's important for her to continue to set health goals for herself.  By doing so, she continues to move forward on her own optimal health journey and she continues to experience the satisfaction of reaching new goals. 

Consistency in exercise has been an ongoing challenge for me and this is the next hurdle to overcome on my own journey.  Certainly the issues with my knee complicated my ability to exercise, but the truth is that I really don't like to do it!  However, I DO like to be healthy and I DO want to live a healthy, active lifestyle for as long as I can.  Because those things are important to me, I'm heading to the health club today!

Exercise is a secondary choice I am making because it supports what I
REALLY want.  The important thing to note about secondary choices is that they are often things we don't want to do . . . but we do them anyway because they support what it is that we DO want.  Just as a concert pianist will practice for hours, not for the love of practice but because practicing supports their desire to be a concert pianist, those of us who want to be healthy make secondary choices that support our goal. 

Staying on plan is a secondary choice, drinking water instead of something else may be a secondary choice, and working out instead of relaxing at home is definitely a secondary choice.  We may not particularly want to do any of those things for the pure joy of doing them, but choosing to do those things will allow us to live a long and healthy life.  If that's your goal, choose wisely :-)

Why I Didn't Cheat

One question I get asked a lot is, "How did you manage to stay on plan without cheating for almost a year?" 

The answer really isn't easy, and sometimes I'm almost hesitant to admit that I didn't cheat, especially when I can just tell that the person asking me is hoping to hear that yes, I got off plan numerous times, then got back on and got to my goal. 

There are many, many people on program who did exactly that - found themselves off plan from time to time, but eventually they reached their goal.  They have nothing but my deep admiration and respect, and I applaud them for their gritty tenacity and never-give-up spirit.

But that wasn't me. 

First of all, I was scared to death to get off plan.  I'd finally found something that WORKED - I was losing weight and I felt GOOD, unheard of on every other diet I'd ever gone on.  I was faithfully logging my meals, involved with the on-line community here, and just plain had my head in the game.  Because I had failed miserably on every other weight loss plan I'd ever gone on (and I'd been on just about every plan, sane and crazy, that was out there), it seemed incredible to find something that actually worked.  I was afraid that if I got off plan and shifted my focus, I might never be able to get it going again.  I was researching weight loss surgery options on line (including lap band in Mexico because it was cheaper . . . ) when I found information about Take Shape for Life/Medifast.  I was pretty desperate and felt that if this plan didn't work, I didn't know what I'd do.

So fear kept me motivated :-).  I was also sick to death of dieting, having done so for the majority of two solid decades.  I was tired of always either being on a diet or feeling guilty because I wasn't on a diet and needed to be, or researching the NEXT sure thing diet.  This time, I was ready to just get it done.  I took the mindset that this wasn't going to be for the rest of my life, that this was a season in my life I'd set aside to get healthy.  I told myself that all the things I wasn't eating while on 5&1 would eventually come back and I'd be able to enjoy them at a healthy weight.

I was tired of feeling guilty about what I ate.  Almost every time I ate something "bad", I'd feel guilty, knowing that I "shouldn't" be eating it.  That guilt was magnified many times over when I'd eat the forbidden food while on a diet.  When I started on 5&1, I decided that I wanted to really enjoy what I was eating, and I wanted to be able to eat it without feeling guilty about it.  The wonderful thing is that now I CAN eat pretty much what I want, in moderation, and I don't feel guilty anymore.  That is an amazing feeling of freedom!  Also, because I no longer feel guilty, I don't have guilt that ends up fueling a binge.

So that's WHY I stayed on plan.  Now let me share with you how I did it.

I planned, planned, planned - every meal every day.  I faithfully logged my meals and my water intake every day so I kept myself accountable.  I would generally sit down in the evening and log everything I planned for the next day, right down to the lean & green (if I knew ahead of time what we were going to have).  I'd get my shake ready, mix up my soup, and put my oatmeal packet and a bar in my purse, ready for work the next morning.  Because I logged everything ahead of time, I knew every day how many calories and carbs I had allotted myself, which made it easier to turn down tempting treats.  And I mean I logged everything - weighed my meat, measured my veggies, and made sure that if it went in my mouth, it was logged on my meal plan for the day.  If I had a day when I was going to be on the go all day, I made oatmeal muffins and cream soup bread and made sure that I had packets of shakes or cappuccino with me (I lost my weight before the crunch bars, pretzels, cheese puffs and bites which make on-the-go days SO much easier now!).  I had extra meals in my purse, at my desk, and in my car, and I kept an extra shaker bottle in my desk drawer.  I left no room for failure, and I wanted to make sure that I never was in a position where I needed to eat and didn't have anything with me.  That said, I also came to realize that I would NOT die if I didn't eat immediately, that I really COULD wait to eat, if need be :-).

Lastly, I finally admitted that I was incapable of losing weight on my own.  I asked God every day to give me the strength I needed for that day, and I found Him to be faithful to my very earnest prayer.  Because I couldn't run to food for comfort, I realized all over again that He really IS my true Source of comfort! 

So that's pretty much why I stayed on plan and how I did it.  It certainly wasn't easy, and there were many days I didn't wake up joyful that I was facing another day of 5&1 :-).  But I did, and I don't have any regrets.  I reached my goal over 3 years ago and am still maintaining a healthy weight.  It was definitely worth it!

So that's my story - how about you?  It doesn't matter if you're just starting the plan, or if you're restarting for the umpteenth time.  Today can be the first in a series of on-plan days that will ultimately lead you to your goal.  And you'll reach your goal one day, one meal, and one choice at a time . . . choose wisely :-)

Mood or Mindset?

I've got a question for you today:  are your responses based on your mind-set or on your mood?

A couple of years ago I did a Beth Moore Bible study based on the book of Esther.  In this study, Beth talked about several Bible characters who stood firm even under difficult (and sometimes life-threatening) circumstances.  She made the statement that "each responded out of his mind-set rather than his mood." 

Up until I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, my weight loss efforts were pretty much dictated by my mood.  When I was feeling motivated, I tried to lose weight.  When I didn't feel like it, I'd tell myself that it wasn't going to be a "good diet day" and I gave myself permission to eat whatever I wanted.  Needless to say, a mood-driven weight loss program got me absolutely no where!

It wasn't until I embraced a mind-set of getting healthy that I finally began my final weight loss journey.  Having the right tools - this program! - certainly made the difference, but what was also different this time was that I had a different mind-set.

When I started on this program, I wasn't trying to lose weight for a specific event, and I didn't set a date to reach my goal.  This time, my goal was to get healthy and stay healthy, and I didn't care how long it took (but naturally I hoped it would be fast!).  Once I embraced a mind-set of getting healthy, it was amazing to see the difference in my resolve.  

If you're in the habit of responding out of your mood, this journey is going to be a long and rocky one, because there will be times when I can guarantee that you won't be in the mood to stay on plan.  There are days when this isn't fun at all, and unless you have a mind-set that is fixed on getting to a healthy weight and continuing your pursuit of health, you're likely to succumb to the myriad of temptations that surround you.

Part of moving from mood to mind-set is taking the time to identify what it is that you really want.  If you want to be at a healthy weight, write it down.  Picture in your mind what your life will look like when you reach your goal - what kind of clothes will you wear?  How will you feel?  What will you be able to do?  If you can get a picture in your mind of what you want, that can help you keep moving forward on those days when this isn't fun.  Instead of moving away from what you don't want (being overweight, on medication, etc.), think about what you want to create in your life.  That's much more fun and will be a big step forward in giving you the mind-set you need to get to your goal.

The choice is yours - mood or mind-set?  Choose wisely :-)

Season Within a Season

Every now and then, I like to share some of my earliest blogs, written when I was in the early weeks of 5&1.  Since that's where many of you are right now, I hope that what I wrote a little over four years ago will be helpful to you today!

***
It's looking a lot like autumn around my house, both inside and outside.  Outside, the trees are slowly but surely changing color and some leaves are beginning to fall.  I love to have my surroundings reflect the seasons, so last night I bought pumpkins and mums to join a stuffed scarecrow on my porch and put away all of the summer decorations around my house.  In their place are leaves, pumpkins, and spicy candles.  I am always amazed at how quickly one season turns into another, and realized that in just a few weeks all of my autumn decorations will be replaced by Christmas things.

When I was a young wife and mother, I remember hearing a speaker talk about the seasons in a woman's life.  It was a time in my life when I thought I had to do everything NOW and I was running in a hundred different directions, feeling very fragmented and frazzled.  The speaker urged women to embrace each season of our lives and not try to rush from one season to the other, because we would find in retrospect that they had passed very quickly indeed.  I remember thinking that I "couldn't wait until the baby was walking, or potty trained, or ready for preschool, etc.", and I also felt such a sense of urgency to keep a dozen balls in the air all at the same time.  The speaker's comments about viewing different stages as seasons really resonated with me and forced me to slow down and re-evaluate my priorities.  At the time, I was in the "young stay-at-home wife and mother" season, and, as she predicted, it all too soon turned into the "full-time working mom of adolescents/teenagers" season, making me wonder why I was in such a hurry for the first season to pass .  Now I'm in the peaceful season of the empty-nester, very much enjoying having my adult married daughters and families nearby and my son in college.

I'm finding that there are also "seasons-within-seasons."  This journey on Take Shape for Life/Medifast is a "season-within-a-season" in my life; viewing this as a season helps me to maintain perspective on some of my "I don't want to do this anymore" days.  Yes, I have stayed on plan 100% for 14 weeks, but there have been numerous times when all I could think was, "This is NOT fun anymore."  Going to a great potluck and turning down the cheesy potatoes and wonderful desserts wasn't easy, and there have been other times when I would have killed for a slice of pizza or hot yeast roll.  Then I remind myself that this is the season I have devoted to getting healthy - this is NOT the rest of my life (although I know and accept the fact that I will never again be able to eat like I once did).  For this season, I am choosing to stay on plan and focus on losing the weight I need to lose and just getting myself healthy.

So as I view the falling leaves and think about how quickly the seasons change, I am reminded that this season of dieting will also pass, unfolding to what I hope will be a very LONG season of enjoying my thin and healthy body!

***
Reading this again four years later is a reminder to me of what an amazing journey this was - and is!  I am almost 3-1/2 years into the season called "Maintenance" and it's a lovely season indeed!  It's certainly not without its challenges, but getting to a healthy weight and maintaining is well worth any and all challenges.

My hope and prayer for you is that this "season within a season" will be short and that you will enjoy a thin and healthy body for many seasons to come!  You'll get there one day, one meal, and one choice at a time . . . choose wisely :-)

Do You Really Want To?

Do you want to get to a healthy weight?  Do you want to stay at a healthy weight for the rest of your life?

This seems like an obvious question, doesn't it?  And I hate it when people ask obvious questions (makes me wonder if they think I'm stupid or something . . . ).  But I'm asking this question today because I think it's an important question to ask.

One book I really like is, "At His Feet" by Chris Tiegreen.  One of the devotional readings in this book is based on the story of Jesus healing a man who had been an invalid for 38 years.  When Jesus approached the man, He asked the man, "Do you want to get well?"  Interestingly, the man didn't respond, "Well, of course!"  Instead, he offered an excuse (the entire story can be found in John 5:1-15 if you want to read the entire account).

The writer of the devotion noted that as much as we think we want to change, we're comfortable with the status quo.  The man may have been tired of being an invalid, but he also may have feared the changes in his life that being healed would bring.  So Jesus asked what seems to be an obvious question, "Do you want to get well?"

Our problem is that all too often we want change, but we don't want TO change.  At least that's true for me :-).  I want to keep doing what I've always done, but get better results!  Unfortunately, that happens to be the definition of insanity (doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results . . . ).

We know we SHOULD lose weight, and perhaps we even want to lose weight, sort of.  But things come up that are more important to us that getting to a healthy weight and we cheat.  Or perhaps losing weight makes people begin to notice us, and that makes us uncomfortable, so we start sabotaging ourselves.  Status quo can be a pretty comfortable and safe place to be sometimes, even if we know it's not healthy in the long run.

So the question needs to be asked, and I ask it respectfully:  Do you want to get to a healthy weight and stay there?  If you do, you are on the right program to get you there.  You have a lot of wonderful tools to help you each step of the way and there is an amazing amount of support available.  The program is a proven program - the only variable is you.  If you work the program, it works!  If you don't work the program, it doesn't work.

As I've shared before, for me the food part of this program was the easy part.  The really, really hard part was the head and the heart part, because I had to change in pretty fundamental ways how I thought and felt about food.  I had to end a long relationship with food, and that was not an easy task.  What made this time different than all of the other bazillion times I'd tried in the past was that this time I finally, really wanted to change.

I hope your answer to my question today is a resounding "YES!!!"  But be honest with yourself, and if it's not, spend some time figuring out why.  If you figure out what's holding you back and then take steps to deal with it, you'll eventually be able to answer "YES!", too.  And when you do, you'll reach your goal and stay there!  And you'll reach your goal one day, one meal, and one choice at a time . . . choose wisely :-)

It's a Marathon!

One thing I know for sure . . . getting to and maintaining a healthy weight isn't a sprint - it's a marathon.  We really have to prepare ourselves to stay consistent over the long haul, because no matter how long it will take for us to reach our goal, reaching our goal is only the first phase of this program.  Maintaining at a healthy weight is the rest of the program - one marathon after another.

I'm not a runner due to my knee (recently replaced, but bad for over 30 years), but I've watched bits and pieces of a few marathons over the years and I've watched my daughter run.  As I think back to the marathons, one thing I remember is that most of the runners aren't smiling while they're running.  Some of them look like they're concentrating, and others are actually grimacing.  The exhilaration of taking off at the starting line eventually fades and the marathoner is faced with the task of just putting one foot in front of the other.  At some point along the way, it's not particularly fun any more.  But running a marathon isn't necessarily about having fun along the way (although some runners really do enjoy the journey).  Running in a marathon is about finishing it and having the satisfaction of knowing that the runner accomplished something difficult.  There might not be a lot of smiling going on during the marathon, but there are lots of smiles and lots of celebrations at the finish line.

Sometimes we have unrealistic expectations about the weight loss marathon we're on and we expect it to be fun and exciting the entire time.  That might be true if it was a 50 yard dash, but it's not a dash - this is the marathon of our lives.  The reality is that we will alternate between exhilaration and exhaustion, between feeling like this is the best thing we've ever done to hating the thought of doing this one more day.  In the end, we will experience a full spectrum of emotions on this journey, but as long as we keep putting one foot in front of another, we will cross the finish line.  And when we cross the finish line and reach goal, there will be smiles and lots of celebration. 

And after the celebration we'll begin the next marathon - maintenance :-).

So, are your running shoes laced up this morning?  It's another marathon day - are you committed to staying the course today?  The choice is yours . . . choose wisely :-)

Oh Really????

On our way home from Chicago this past Monday night, we passed a billboard for a bariatric surgeon.  The billboard read, "Obesity is a Disease, Not a Decision."  All I could think of was, "Oh really????"

The billboard really frustrated me (actually made me angry, if the truth be told).  It gives the impression that obesity is something that can't be helped - it's a disease that apparently you "catch."  The billboard gives the distinct impression that an individual's decisions have nothing to do with their obesity. Again, I can only ask, "Oh really????"

As long as people think that they are somehow helpless victims of this epidemic, somehow caught in the throes of a disease called "obesity," they will view themselves as powerless to escape.  Disease is viewed as something to be treated externally by someone else, whether the treatment is in the form of medication or, in the case of the physician on this billboard, through surgery.  Disease somehow implies that there is little to no personal responsibility involved.  After all, it's not a decision.

Ugh! 

The truth is that while we may not have decided to become obese (in that sense, it's not a decision because most rational people don't one day decide that they want to be obese), the hundreds and thousands of decisions we made along the way brought us to the point of obesity.  If obesity is a disease, it is one that we inflicted on ourselves one decision at a time.

Owning up to that is an important step in reversing our obesity.  When I saw "268" on the scale, I knew I'd done it to myself, one forkful at a time.  Because I was able to accept responsibility for what I'd done to my body and acknowledged that the Type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol I had was a direct result of my obesity and the choices I'd made, I was eventually able to make the decision to get healthy.  Just as I got obese one decision at a time, I got to a healthy weight that same way - one choice and one decision at a time.

It's not easy to turn things around, but it IS possible.  That's not just my own story, but it's the story of so many others I know who finally made the same decision I did.  We aren't helpless, and we aren't victims.  We have the ability to choose a different path that can lead us to being healthier than we ever thought possible.   With all due respect to the surgeon who posted that billboard, obesity IS a decision.  And we know it can be reversed in a matter of weeks or months, one choice at a time.  Choose wisely :-)

When the Adrenaline Rush is Gone

Yesterday was an interesting mix for me emotionally.  On the one hand, I was really happy to be home after a busy ten days away and it felt good to be on my own turf with a more normal schedule.  On the other hand, getting back to the "real world" always feels a bit anti-climatic.  After a trip that included a conference, time with friends and sight-seeing, I was back home with laundry to do, dust to contend with, and a pile of things waiting on my desk.  I am a hopeless adrenaline junkie, so my mini-crash today was to be expected.

The same is true for our weight loss journey.  When things are happening - the scale is moving, sizes are shrinking, people are noticing - it's pretty exciting!  When things are happening, it's not too hard to stay motivated.  The challenge comes when things aren't happening anymore.

To my surprise, I experienced a mini let-down after I reached my goal and went through Transition.  After almost a year of watching the scale move, after almost a year of watching sizes shrink and eventually getting constant comments about how great I was looking, I reached Maintenance.  The scale didn't move any more, I wasn't going to drop any more sizes, and people began to adjust to my new, small size and comments stopped.  This was my new normal, and while I was happy to finally be here, the adrenaline rush was gone.  There was no excitement as I stepped on the scale each morning, and I found that I missed it.

The easy part of this program is the food part.  The hard part is the head part.  I worked on a lot of my food-related issues while I was on 5&1, but I hadn't really anticipated feeling any let-down post goal.  I realized that part of what kept me going for almost a year was the excitement of something happening all of the time, and I also realized that I needed to dig deeper to stay motivated for the long haul of Maintenance.

Much like returning to my normal routine that includes laundry and dusty furniture, Maintenance isn't glamorous.  Some days are more fun than others, but the adrenaline rush has slowly been replaced by something that is ultimately more satisfying - a healthy life and lifestyle.  The more I think about it, the more I realize that the lack of excitement is a GOOD thing, because it means that all of this has truly become an integral part of my life.

For those of you who are on 5&1, I hope this is an exciting phase for you!  I hope you're seeing consistent weight loss, that you are shrinking out of your clothes on a regular basis, and that you're starting to receive encouraging and complimentary comments from others.  This is a great time in your life and it's truly life-changing!  By staying on plan day by day, you are not only moving ever closer to your goal, you are also establishing new habits that will serve you well in Maintenance.  And even though Maintenance isn't always exciting, it is great place to be - come join me!  You'll get there one day, one meal, and one choice at a time . . . choose wisely :-)

Waving My Magic Wand

I am the weight loss fairy and I am waving my magic wand, sprinkling fairy dust all around.  If you are blessed enough to catch the breeze of my wand or have a few bits of dust land on you - poof!  You will be at your goal!  Anybody interested?

Wouldn't it be GREAT if it was that simple?  How I wish I could wave a magic wand or sprinkle dust around and know that everyone touched would immediately be at their goal. 

Of course, it's not that easy, is it?  It's almost that simple, however.  Eat 5 Medifast meals a day and fix a lean and green (or order one at a restaurant).  Not much thinking required, and the program really DOES work like magic . . . it's just that the magic on this program takes a bit longer :-)

So are you ready to change your life today?  Even in the absence of a weight loss fairy, you CAN make all of your dreams come true, if you decide that's what you want to do.  Best of all, unlike magic that has an annoying way of disappearing, the changes you'll make on this program can last a lifetime.

The changes begin with the choices you'll make today, so choose wisely :-)

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I am leaving today for Chicago and will be flying to Salt Lake City tomorrow morning for a leadership conference at Sundance, Utah.  I'll be back on October 11 and will get to blogging when I get home.  In the meantime, you know what to do . . . keep making those wise choices!