Quick Update

This is a quick update on my mom, who is still in the hospital.  The test they ran yesterday was inconclusive so they are running more tests this morning.  We spent a fair amount of time at the hospital yesterday with her and my dad and I will probably be there much of today as well.  I have Medifast meals and water packed for the day, so I'm am prepared :-)

Thanks for the comments, well wishes and most of all for the prayers!  

Have a great (and on-plan) day and remember to choose wisely :-)

Reordered Day

Yesterday's plans flew right out the window when I received a call from my dad late morning telling me that my mom was having chest pain and was short of breath and wondering what he should do.  He was unsure if he should take her to an urgent care center or to the emergency room (she was insistent that she didn't need an ambulance).  I of course told him to head to the ER and I would meet them there.

Since my mom is almost 82, once she got to the hospital they did a quick triage assessment and got her right back to an ER room where a host of medical personnel descended to care for her.  Thankfully the EKG showed she wasn't having a heart attack and preliminary blood work indicated her heart enzymes were normal (a heart attack would show an enzyme change).  Some nitroglycerin (tablet and then a patch) alleviated the pressure she was feeling and she was then admitted to the telemetry unit for overnight monitoring, with a chemical stress test scheduled for some time this morning (she's unable to do a treadmill stress test).

So it was a long and tiring day with a nice rush of stress-induced adrenaline to add to my overall state.  Obviously I'm incredibly thankful that my mom is stable and we are awaiting a meeting with the doctor early this afternoon to get the results of the stress test.  Because my mom had a heart catherization three years ago that showed her arteries were in relatively good shape for someone her age, and someone who has been diabetic for over two decades, the attending physician now is fairly certain that what she is experiencing is the result of damage to the small vessels around her heart due to diabetes.  My mom has already experienced small vessel damage to her eyes (she's lost part of the vision in one eye) and to her kidneys, and she also has some mild neuropathy in her feet due to her diabetes.

Had my mom not gone on Take Shape for Life/Medifast three years ago and not only lost 40 pounds but also better managed her blood sugar (she is no longer taking insulin during the day), I know she would be in much worst condition now, or perhaps not be here at all, so we have much to be thankful for. 

Interestingly, because my mom uses a lot of Medifast meals to help her manage her blood sugar, she had her second meal of the day (a crunch bar) on the way to the ER.  About 3 hours later I talked to a nurse and told him that she managed her blood sugar with small, low-glycemic meals throughout the day and that she needed to eat again.  He asked me if I was her dietician and I told him no, that I was her daughter AND her health coach :-).  He then asked me what kind of food she needed to eat and I told him balanced protein and low-glycemic and gave him a couple of ideas (they brought her some light yogurt).  He ended up telling me that he needed to lose weight and asked for information about our program (I also showed him a couple of my "before" photos).

Once I received the call from my dad this morning, I threw some Medifast meals in my purse, grabbed my 32-oz. bottle of water and tossed some additional bottles of water into my car and headed to the hospital.  I was SO glad I had what I needed with me as there was certainly nothing in the vending machine I'd want to eat and the hospital cafeteria (like all hospital cafeterias) is woefully short of healthy meal options. 

Realizing that today's episode was most likely another manifestation of the insidious damage of diabetes also reinforced (again!) my need to be diligent in not only maintaining my own 126 pound weight loss, but also my need to continue to managing my own blood sugar through eating six small, low-glycemic meals on a daily basis (which is easy thanks in part to Medifast meals!).  Having been diabetic prior to starting on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, I know what my medical future holds if I'm not mindful. 

It's not always easy, and it's not always what I want to do, but I am committed to continuing to choose wisely . . . I hope you are, too!

Not Good Enough

One of the temptations that individuals often face after several months on the Take Shape for Life/Medifast program is the temptation to settle.  For those of you who've been on plan for some time, you've lost weight, dropped inches and sizes and you feel better than you have in a long time. 

This is both a very exciting time and a very dangerous time, because you may also be feeling rather bored with being on 5&1.  While the food tastes good, it certainly isn't gourmet, and it's not my home cooking, either!  Several months into this program, you may have hit a point where it's just not fun any more.  When the inevitable program fatigue coincides with someone feeling and looking better, it can be really tempting to think, "good enough."

I had those same thoughts three years ago, right as I was finally in a size 12.  Here's what I blogged then:

When I started Take Shape for Life/Medifast last June 24, I weighed 260 pounds and wore size 24W/3X pants and size 22W/2X tops.  I set my goal weight at 130 because that's what I weighed until I was in my early 30's.  When I set my goal weight, I told myself that I wasn't sure that I'd actually sure I'd need to get that low (I'm 5' 5").  I figured that if I could get back into size 12 pants and size 10 tops (the sizes I wore the last time I weighed 130), that would be a great place to stop.

Last June, I wasn't really sure I'd ever see those sizes again.  They seemed so small to me and were so far from my present reality that I knew I'd be thrilled to reach those sizes, and that those sizes would be plenty small enough.  After all, I'm 55 and have four grandchildren!

Guess what?  I am now WEARING size 12 pants and size 10 tops and you know what?  As great as this is (and trust me, it IS great), it's NOT good enough.

I have settled for less than what I've really wanted many times over the past twenty years as I've battled obesity.  I'm not settling now!  These are pretty "normal" sizes, but my BMI tells me that I'm still overweight, and so does the mirror when I step out of the shower. 

I have my eyes on a goal about 40 pounds away, and after losing almost 90 pounds so far, 40 pounds definitely feels like the home stretch.  Yes, I get a bit tired of all of this sometimes and I very much look forward to putting this dieting season behind me.  However, I don't want to settle for "good enough" now and look back later with regret that I didn't keep on keeping on.

I really want the deep satisfaction of seeing this all the way through to completion.  It's not about reaching for a particular size, because I have NO idea what size I'll wear 40 pounds from now.  It's about setting a goal (which my doctor thinks is a good goal weight for my height and build) and not settling for less than that.  It's about reaching a truly healthy weight for ME and not being dissuaded by a size label.  It's about not listening to the growing number of people in my life who care about me who are telling me that I look great and need to think about stopping my weight loss (I'm 173 pounds, for goodness sake - hardly approaching anorexic numbers!).  [NOTE:  my husband is not one of those voices, as he continues to be my #1 encourager and supporter.]

So tonight I've reached a point I could only dream of 7 months ago, and I've realized that the dream is not yet fully realized.  I'm going for it - no settling!

I'm so glad I didn't settle . . . I really think if I'd stopped then, I probably would have started regaining weight in short order and would possibly be up near my starting weight again (that is a terrifying thought to me!).  I'm so glad I made the choice to not chase a size but stayed focused on getting to a healthy weight.

Don't settle for less than being as healthy as you can possibly be!  The choice, of course, is yours . . . choose wisely :-)

Prairie Chickens and Eagles

What we believe about ourselves, or what we've learned to believe about ourselves over the years, has a direct impact on what we believe we can and can't do.  I read a Native American fable yesterday that illustrates this point beautifully.

According to the fable, a young brave found a nest filled with golden eagle eggs.  As a prank, he decided to see what would happen if he put one of the eggs in the nest of a prairie chicken.  Eventually the egg hatched and the eagle was raised with the family of prairie chickens.  He didn't have any reason to think he wasn't a prairie chicken so he scratched and clucked like all the others.

Years later the eagle saw an eagle soaring overhead and he marveled at the magnificent creature.  His prairie chicken brother assured him that no prairie chicken could ever possibly hunt or fly like the eagle, who the brother proclaimed to be the most majestic of all birds.

The golden eagle went back to his pecking, living and eventually dying as an earthbound prairie chicken, never realizing he was created to soar.

I'm guessing that many of us believe we're earthbound prairie chickens.  Perhaps we've been told this all our lives, or perhaps circumstances over the years have convinced us that dreaming of soaring is a foolish and wasted dream. 

This lovely fable has application to many areas of our lives, and it certainly applies to losing weight.  Believe you can - because you CAN!  Believe you can do more than just lose weight - believe you can maintain your weight loss and live a vibrant, healthy, THIN life - because you CAN!  While this plan works whether we believe it or not, what we believe about our ability to do it can impact the choices we make.  If we don't believe we can lose weight, we may self-sabotage and our cheating will reinforce our prairie chicken concepts.

I'm here to tell you that regardless of what you believe about yourself, you are an eagle.  You can do so much more - you can have so much more.  It doesn't matter if you've been pecking in the dust for a few years or your entire life, you can raise your wings and soar.  Choose to fly!  That won't happen in an instant, but it will happen one day and one choice at a time.  Choose wisely :-)

Cheating

Every now and then, it's fun for me to re-read some of my old blogs, dating back to my earliest days on Take Shape for Life/Medifast.  When I started on this plan on June 24, 2007, I weighed 260 pounds and wore a tight 24W.  I was pretty skeptical that this plan would work, mostly because nothing else ever had.  Still, I was hopeful and decided to chronicle my journey through the blogs.

I thought some of you might enjoy a peek into my brain back on August 17, 2007, about seven weeks into the program, when I posted this blog:

"Most of us are on Take Shape for Life/Medifast because we have tried and failed on multiple other diets.  I know I have, and I've always "cheated" on every other diet I've ever been on.  Sometimes I would almost smirk to someone that I was on such-and-such a diet, but decided "today" to cheat.  As if I thought it was funny, or smart, or justified. When we cheat on a diet, exactly who do we think we're cheating on?  The diet?  The diet doesn't care what we do!  We're cheating ourselves from the privilege of getting healthy, we're cheating ourselves from being able to fully participate in life, we're cheating our families from having us healthy.  So if we're going to be honest when we blog about cheating, we'd put in bold letters "I CHEATED MYSELF OUT OF BEING HEALTHY TODAY.  I MADE FOOD CHOICES THAT, IF CONTINUED, WILL GREATLY INCREASE THE CHANCES THAT I WILL DIE PREMATURELY."  Pray tell, what food is really worth that?

I made a commitment before I placed my first Take Shape for Life order that I would stay on it 100% and not cheat for the first 4 weeks to really give myself a chance to see what my body might actually do if allowed to be on a diet consistently.  It was pretty amazing, actually!  I recommitted when I ordered my second order, and again when I placed my third order.  For me, I cannot justify the expense unless I'm doing the program 100%. 

But another part of the commitment is that I am sick to death of being overweight, sick to death of having my weight and the dieting cycle define so much of my life.  Sick to death of knowing all of the statistics about the health risks of obesity and secretly worrying that I'll be a statistic, even while stuffing my face with high calorie, high sugar, high carb and high fat food.  Sick to death of thinking that I can continue to be unwise in my food choices and that it will not eventually catch up to me in the form of diabetes or heart disease.
So today I commit to doing the work required to improve my health - staying 100% on MF, drinking my water, exercising my body - no excuses!  And I will thank God that He's given me yet another opportunity to do the right thing.  I will NOT squander this opportunity!
No excuses.  No cheating.  Not this time."

I wrote this blog 7 weeks into a journey that would take a total of 11 months, so 9 more months of 5&1 were still ahead.  I look back at that time and it was NOT easy, but wow, was it ever WORTH IT! The changes I needed to make didn't happen overnight, but they did happen one day and one choice at a time - and that's just how you'll reach your goal!  Don't cheat yourself . . . choose wisely :-)

Sowing Seeds

I have a quote posted next to my computer that says, "What I am today reflects the choices I made yesterday; what I will be tomorrow will reflect the choices I make today.  Today's choices are tomorrow's fruits."  I have it posted there as a reminder that every day I am sowing seeds, whether I like it or not.  Every day I am watering the seeds I planted (and sometimes I'm throwing a bit of fertilizer on them as well).

The reality is that tomorrow will very much be a reflection of what we've done today.  If we're planting green bean seeds today, we can't expect tomatoes to sprout tomorrow :-).  If we make the decision to cheat "just today", we can't expect to be down a pound and drop a size tomorrow - it just won't happen!

Day by day, we are sowing habits that will produce fruit tomorrow, and the day after that.  If we've been sowing unhealthy eating habits for years (and I think that probably applies to almost everybody here, including me), developing new, healthy habits is hard work.  The planting of these new seeds will not be easy - the sun will be hot, your back may ache, and you will probably get some dirt under your fingernails.   Staying on plan, especially in the beginning, is not easy.  Staying on plan becomes easier the longer we do it, because new habits are being developed and new, healthy plants will begin to sprout. 

So maybe this is a day of planting those first seeds for you, or maybe you're getting into the groove and only need to do a little weeding around those tender plants.  Wherever you are on this journey, today is all you have - all any of us have.

What are you going to plant today?   The choice is yours . . . choose wisely :-)

The Dreaded Plateau

Welcome to March!  Perhaps it's because I live in snowy West Michigan, but I'm always happy to welcome March because it means that spring will soon be on its way.  The weather may still be cold and snow may still cover the ground, but I know that winter is finally on its way out. 

Sometimes this time of year in Michigan can feel a lot like being on a dreaded 5&1 plateau - bleak and endless.  Three years ago, despite staying 100% on plan, the scale decided to stall and I found myself on one of those dreaded plateaus.  Here's what I blogged then (I hope this will be an encouragement to those who are currently stuck on a plateau, or who may someday be on a plateau):

***

The dreaded plateau is here . . . ugh!  Two weeks ago I lost 4 pounds, but that was mostly due (I’m sure) to being sick and running a temp (fevers raise our BMR).  Last week I fully expected a small loss and I got it – one pound.  Since I’m finally feeling 100% after having the flu and really hit exercise pretty hard last week, as well as staying on plan and drinking a lot of water, I expected to see a nice loss this week.

It was not to be.  The scale didn’t budge.

Time for the same pep talk to myself that I’ve given to others:  this is a marathon, not a sprint; as long as I’m doing everything I can do to lose the weight, I know it will come off and I have no control over how fast my body chooses to release the weight, etc. etc. blah blah blah.  It’s a lot easier to GIVE the pep talk to others than it is to apply it when the plateau is happening to ME!

But God gave me a great object lesson yesterday, knowing that I’d need it today :-).

After weeks of frigid weather and an unbelievable amount of snow fall, yesterday it warmed up to the upper 40’s and we had rain.  The warmer temperatures and rain actually melted a little bit of the snow that was up against buildings.  As I walked into church yesterday morning, I was quite surprised to see that crocus leaves were up a couple of inches.  Who would have thought that underneath all that snow, the crocuses were beginning to emerge?

So what’s the object lesson I took from this?  Just this:  things are happening, whether I’m aware of them or not, and whether or not I see them.  All I may see are huge snow piles and I may feel like it will NEVER be warm and that spring will NEVER come, but a brief glimpse of crocus leaves tells me not to make assumptions based strictly on what I see – or feel.  Underneath all of that snow, new life is emerging!

God’s timing is perfect and He’s never late – whether it’s the blooming of the first spring bulb or in allowing me to lose the weight that remains.  I may not see the number go down on the scale and I may feel like I will NEVER reach my goal, or at least not reach it in MY time frame, but I’m on dangerous ground if I think that what I see and what I feel are the ONLY reality.  Things are continuing to change in my body and in my thinking, and eventually those changes that may be hidden for the moment will reveal themselves, just as those crocuses will eventually bloom.

There is no hurrying up of this process, as much as I’d love to hurry it up!  I want spring here NOW and I want to be at my goal NOW, but all of the wanting and wishing won’t make either happen a moment earlier than they are supposed to happen.  

So I am using the plateau (which I DO pray is a short one!) to reflect back on how far I’ve come and to learn – again – the value of doing the right thing even when I’m not receiving immediate and continuing positive feedback.  This is a time to trust a little more (God and the Take Shape for Life/Medifast program).

And in the waiting there is hope!

***

Of course, the plateau did eventually end and I reached my goal.  Hanging in there and continuing to do what I needed to do, even when I wasn't seeing progress, was a valuable lesson in delayed gratification.  I'm glad I made that choice, and there are certainly no regrets :-).

Have a great, on-plan day today!  If you're seeing steady progress right now, congratulations!  If the scale is stuck, hang in there!  Either way, choose wisely :-)