I need some help today to understand something. I've heard this over and over again and I'm just a bit confused. Anybody want to help me out?
Here's what has me confused: I've heard from several people lately who were on plan and doing well at one point, but now say that they're too busy to stay on plan right now and will get back to 5&1 when things settle down.
Maybe it's because I found Take Shape for Life/Medifast to be the easiest plan I ever did, but I'm frankly at a loss to understand how it's possible to be too busy to grab a packet (or, more simply, a crunch bar or a bag of pretzels or cheese puffs). I am assuming that regardless of how busy we are, at some point in our day we do eventually put something in our mouths, right? Even though I'm in maintenance, if I have a crazy-busy day, I'll eat Medifast meals throughout the day. I may be too busy to fix something else, but I have bars, pretzels or cheese puffs with me wherever I am, and I always have water.
Here's what I *think* might really be going on, based on my own past experience with food. When I'd get really busy and that busyness resulted in lots of extra stress, it wasn't so much that I didn't have time to diet as it was that I didn't want to. I rationalized that being extra busy and stressed meant I "deserved" to take a break and treat myself - I deserved to eat what I wanted and reward myself because I was working so hard.
I'm not meaning to be at all harsh or difficult here, and I hope that those of you who've read my blogs for a while have gotten a glimpse of my heart and know how much I care about people and how much I want everyone to get to a healthy weight. I struggled with morbid obesity for so many years and I know how hard it is to change entrenched habits. Past attempts at losing weight were always subject to the whims of weather, mood, how busy I was, etc. etc. The reality is that it didn't take much for me to decide that "today isn't a good diet day" - I cut myself slack all the time. The problem was that life continued to be busy, living in Michigan meant that the weather was often not to my liking, and hormones varied my mood some days moment to moment. It all added up to lots of days that weren't "good diet days."
Funny thing happened, however. One day I was ready - really ready - to make a change in my life. I made the fundamental decision to get to a healthy weight. Once I did that, my life didn't slow down, the weather in Michigan didn't improve, and my hormones . . . don't even go there! Only this time none of this mattered when it came to whether or not I was going to stay on plan. That certainly doesn't mean it was easy, because sometimes it was incredibly hard and sometimes the last thing I wanted to do in the morning was face a day filled with 5 Medifast meals and a "boring lean and green." But even being tired of the program didn't alter the fact that I'd made a fundamental choice to get healthy. As a result, as each challenge came (and trust me, they came), I figured out what I needed to do to stay on plan.
In the end, whether or not we choose to stay on plan probably depends less on how busy our schedule is and more on whether or not we've made the decision to just do it. The choice is yours . . . choose wisely :-)
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Tweaking and Out-Smarting - Again!
I had a rather interesting conversation with a dear friend a couple of days ago. She was on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1 a couple of years ago, lost quite a bit of weight, lost focus and ended up gaining it all back. That's the bad news. The good news is that because she remembered how great she felt on the program and knew she lost weight quickly, when she was finally ready to lose weight again, she came back to this program - didn't even consider anything else.
She's been on the program for about three weeks, and what was interesting was her comment that she was a bit disappointed because she wasn't losing weight as fast this time. I tried to be helpful, so I went over with her what she was eating every day. As it turns out, she was eating her five Medifast meals, having an on-program lean and green, and snacking on baby carrots. She admitted that the snack wasn't exactly on plan, but reasoned that this was a much better choice than eating cookies.
Now while I won't disagree for a minute that eating baby carrots is an infinitely better choice than eating cookies, the reality is that the carrots are still off-plan and were keeping her out of the fat-burning state. As a result, her weight loss, while good, was less than it could have been.
I share this only because this is so like ALL of us . . . we want the results but sometimes don't want to follow the process to get those results. We may try to tweak or otherwise do our own thing with this program, but the honest truth is that if we do, we simply won't get the results we want when we want them. We may decide that we're going to stay on plan during the week and take the weekends off, and we're free to do that, as long as we understand that working the program that way isn't really working the program.
When I started on 5&1, one of the things I loved about this program was knowing that I didn't have to think about what I needed to eat. I didn't have to count anything, just open my packets and make sure I had my lean and green. The simplicity was a welcome relief after years of counting carbs, calories, fat grams or points. I was sick of being obese and ready to follow the program exactly if it promised to get me to a healthy weight. I did and it did :-).
You certainly don't have to follow this program as written - you are free to tweak this in any way that you want. Just tweak away with an awareness that you'll not reach your goal as fast. I shared a story a few weeks ago, but I'll share it again in case some of you missed it. A husband and wife started this program at the same time and both followed 5&1, eating five Medifast meals and their lean and green each day. The only difference was that the husband had a glass of wine every evening and his wife didn't. In the same amount of time that his wife lost 50 pounds, he lost 20 (and men usually lose faster than women!). I don't know about you, but no off-plan food would have been worth taking over twice as long to lose the 126 pounds I needed to lose!
The choice is yours - choose wisely :-)
She's been on the program for about three weeks, and what was interesting was her comment that she was a bit disappointed because she wasn't losing weight as fast this time. I tried to be helpful, so I went over with her what she was eating every day. As it turns out, she was eating her five Medifast meals, having an on-program lean and green, and snacking on baby carrots. She admitted that the snack wasn't exactly on plan, but reasoned that this was a much better choice than eating cookies.
Now while I won't disagree for a minute that eating baby carrots is an infinitely better choice than eating cookies, the reality is that the carrots are still off-plan and were keeping her out of the fat-burning state. As a result, her weight loss, while good, was less than it could have been.
I share this only because this is so like ALL of us . . . we want the results but sometimes don't want to follow the process to get those results. We may try to tweak or otherwise do our own thing with this program, but the honest truth is that if we do, we simply won't get the results we want when we want them. We may decide that we're going to stay on plan during the week and take the weekends off, and we're free to do that, as long as we understand that working the program that way isn't really working the program.
When I started on 5&1, one of the things I loved about this program was knowing that I didn't have to think about what I needed to eat. I didn't have to count anything, just open my packets and make sure I had my lean and green. The simplicity was a welcome relief after years of counting carbs, calories, fat grams or points. I was sick of being obese and ready to follow the program exactly if it promised to get me to a healthy weight. I did and it did :-).
You certainly don't have to follow this program as written - you are free to tweak this in any way that you want. Just tweak away with an awareness that you'll not reach your goal as fast. I shared a story a few weeks ago, but I'll share it again in case some of you missed it. A husband and wife started this program at the same time and both followed 5&1, eating five Medifast meals and their lean and green each day. The only difference was that the husband had a glass of wine every evening and his wife didn't. In the same amount of time that his wife lost 50 pounds, he lost 20 (and men usually lose faster than women!). I don't know about you, but no off-plan food would have been worth taking over twice as long to lose the 126 pounds I needed to lose!
The choice is yours - choose wisely :-)
Monday, March 29, 2010
Getting Our Wag Back
A friend recently related a true story to me that he found most ironic, and after hearing the story, I had to agree. He was visiting a friend and as they chatted, they snacked on a variety of typical snack foods, including taco chips. His friend's dog came over to sniff at what they were eating, which prompted his friend to quickly say, "Don't feed this stuff to the dog -it's not good for him." My friend couldn't help but wonder, "If we wouldn't feed this to a dog, why are we eating it ourselves?"
Good question! It's ironic that we are at a point in this country where we are feeding our pets better than many of us are feeding ourselves. The pet food industry is big business and there is a lot of emphasis on feeding our pets nutritious food. People who eat all kinds of junk food themselves are often incredibly particular about what they feed their pets, spending top dollar to purchase healthy, nutrient-rich food for Fido or Fluffy.
Honest, I am a dog lover and adored the dogs we had (we have been pet-less for the past few years, but I enjoy lots of doggie love when I visit my daughters). I'm certainly not advocating feeding our pets table scraps, especially since much of the table scraps today would make them sick. Why wouldn't they make our pets sick? What so many of us have been eating has made us sick, too! I find it ironic that so many people who carefully read pet food labels mindlessly shove unhealthy food into their own bodies (and the bodies of their children . . . )
One of the things that amazes people shortly after starting on Take Shape for Life/Medifast is how good they feel. People pretty quickly start feeling more energetic and have an all-around sense of well-being - I know I did. When I shifted to this nutrient-dense program and eliminated all of the empty calories I had been consuming every day, I realized that even though I was taking in far fewer calories than before, I was getting much better nutrition. As a result, I definitely got the "wag back in my tail" :-)
This isn't a diet - it's a nutritional program that helps us get to a healthy weight in a healthy way, and teaches us how to change our eating habits so that we stay there for the rest of our lives. If we embrace this concept and are willing to make permanent changes in what we eat and how we relate to food, this program will change our lives. Are you ready to make permanent changes in your life and "get the wag" back? Those changes will happen one day and one choice at a time - choose wisely :-)
Good question! It's ironic that we are at a point in this country where we are feeding our pets better than many of us are feeding ourselves. The pet food industry is big business and there is a lot of emphasis on feeding our pets nutritious food. People who eat all kinds of junk food themselves are often incredibly particular about what they feed their pets, spending top dollar to purchase healthy, nutrient-rich food for Fido or Fluffy.
Honest, I am a dog lover and adored the dogs we had (we have been pet-less for the past few years, but I enjoy lots of doggie love when I visit my daughters). I'm certainly not advocating feeding our pets table scraps, especially since much of the table scraps today would make them sick. Why wouldn't they make our pets sick? What so many of us have been eating has made us sick, too! I find it ironic that so many people who carefully read pet food labels mindlessly shove unhealthy food into their own bodies (and the bodies of their children . . . )
One of the things that amazes people shortly after starting on Take Shape for Life/Medifast is how good they feel. People pretty quickly start feeling more energetic and have an all-around sense of well-being - I know I did. When I shifted to this nutrient-dense program and eliminated all of the empty calories I had been consuming every day, I realized that even though I was taking in far fewer calories than before, I was getting much better nutrition. As a result, I definitely got the "wag back in my tail" :-)
This isn't a diet - it's a nutritional program that helps us get to a healthy weight in a healthy way, and teaches us how to change our eating habits so that we stay there for the rest of our lives. If we embrace this concept and are willing to make permanent changes in what we eat and how we relate to food, this program will change our lives. Are you ready to make permanent changes in your life and "get the wag" back? Those changes will happen one day and one choice at a time - choose wisely :-)
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Choosing to Change Our Choices
After being gone last week, I'm happy to be home and also happy to be back blogging :-). We had a wonderful time at the resort in the Dominican Republic, where we soaked up a lot of sun, did a ton of walking, and just relaxed with a group of friends. Because we stayed active and were semi-mindful of what we ate, the scale was pretty gentle to us when we got home - always a welcome relief! My husband and I have both cut back for a few days and picked up some additional Medifast meals to enable us to quickly return to our pre-trip weight. I love how easy this program makes it to lose weight AND maintain our healthy weight!
The challenge we face, whether we're in the weight loss 5&1 phase of this program or well into maintenance, is being willing to make the changes required. I don't know about you, but I still fight the "want my cake and eat it, too" mindset, and I'm not talking about a Medifast "shake cake", either :-). As I've shared in the past, I still have what I call my "fat girl" taste buds - every fattening food I ever enjoyed at 268 pounds still sounds and frankly tastes as good to me as it ever did. I have to choose whether or not I'm going to make healthy choices: to have baked chicken instead of fried (even though, truth be told, I prefer fried . . . ), to skip the loaded baked potato and have steamed vegetables instead, etc. Almost two years into maintenance finds me making the healthier option the vast majority of the time because, honest to goodness, nothing - NOTHING - tastes as good as thin feels :-). That doesn't make it easy all the time, but it DOES make it worth it!
When I was on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1, learning to say "no" to things that weren't on plan helped me change my mindset about food. I'm pretty strong-willed and not a particularly compliant person (honest!), so learning to be compliant on a very structured program was a big deal to me. Getting the results I wanted meant I couldn't tweak things to my liking, and it signaled the end of trying to rationalize and "outsmart" a program, something I did on every other program I'd ever done.
Getting the results we want (reaching our goal) in the time frame we want them (which I assume is "as fast as possible", right?) requires following the program. Period. That doesn't mean that if someone goes off plan, they're destined to fail, because that's not true at all. What I have observed, however, is that the individuals who DO reach goal eventually get to the point where they're ready to follow the program. They may have gone on and off plan at some point, but when they make the decision to get to their goal, the off-plan eating comes to an end. At the point a person is ready to really do it, they figure out what they need to do to make it happen. Funny thing, too - once they make that decision and go for it, they finally get there!
It always comes down to choices, doesn't it? Once we know what we want, the choices we need to make become clear. Do you know what you want today? If so, focus on that and then, of course, choose wisely :-)
The challenge we face, whether we're in the weight loss 5&1 phase of this program or well into maintenance, is being willing to make the changes required. I don't know about you, but I still fight the "want my cake and eat it, too" mindset, and I'm not talking about a Medifast "shake cake", either :-). As I've shared in the past, I still have what I call my "fat girl" taste buds - every fattening food I ever enjoyed at 268 pounds still sounds and frankly tastes as good to me as it ever did. I have to choose whether or not I'm going to make healthy choices: to have baked chicken instead of fried (even though, truth be told, I prefer fried . . . ), to skip the loaded baked potato and have steamed vegetables instead, etc. Almost two years into maintenance finds me making the healthier option the vast majority of the time because, honest to goodness, nothing - NOTHING - tastes as good as thin feels :-). That doesn't make it easy all the time, but it DOES make it worth it!
When I was on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1, learning to say "no" to things that weren't on plan helped me change my mindset about food. I'm pretty strong-willed and not a particularly compliant person (honest!), so learning to be compliant on a very structured program was a big deal to me. Getting the results I wanted meant I couldn't tweak things to my liking, and it signaled the end of trying to rationalize and "outsmart" a program, something I did on every other program I'd ever done.
Getting the results we want (reaching our goal) in the time frame we want them (which I assume is "as fast as possible", right?) requires following the program. Period. That doesn't mean that if someone goes off plan, they're destined to fail, because that's not true at all. What I have observed, however, is that the individuals who DO reach goal eventually get to the point where they're ready to follow the program. They may have gone on and off plan at some point, but when they make the decision to get to their goal, the off-plan eating comes to an end. At the point a person is ready to really do it, they figure out what they need to do to make it happen. Funny thing, too - once they make that decision and go for it, they finally get there!
It always comes down to choices, doesn't it? Once we know what we want, the choices we need to make become clear. Do you know what you want today? If so, focus on that and then, of course, choose wisely :-)
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Are You Ready for the Weekend?
Happy Spring! I don't know about you, but I am SO happy to welcome Spring this morning - what a great way to start a weekend!
Speaking of weekends, are you ready for an on-plan weekend? If you've had a good week on plan and have seen the scale move in the right direction, you are probably (hopefully!) But what if you've stayed on plan all week and the scale hasn't moved? What if it hasn't moved in a couple of weeks? Staying focused when we're not seeing the results we want is an entirely different matter, and I understand how hard it is when the scale is stuck. I know how easy it is to think that we "might as well enjoy" ourselves since we're not losing weight anyway. I've seen people rationalize that "maybe a weekend of eating off plan will jump-start my metabolism and get the scale moving again." You can probably already guess that I strongly caution against slipping into that mindset!
How DO we keep motivated when the scale refuses to budge? How do we keep our focus when progress is painfully slow? Our fast-paced, instant-gratification society sets us up to expect immediate results all the time, so many of us aren’t accustomed to waiting for much of anything. In my past life (before Medifast), I actually left one drive-through line at a fast food restaurant because I decided it was too long and went to another fast food restaurant where I could drive right up and order my food without waiting! Never mind the fact that it was fast food to begin with, or that I didn’t even have to park my car and get out to get it – I wanted the fast food FAST (are you beginning to understand how I got to 268 pounds?) That need for instant gratification kicked in over and over again with past weight loss plans because my desire to lose weight quickly dissipated when faced with the temptation of the day, and I chose the immediate thing over waiting to get what I really wanted – a thin and healthy body.
When I was on 5&1, I finally realized that the weight didn't come on in a day and that it wouldn't come off in a day, either :-). I set up a spreadsheet to track my weight loss week by week, and what I saw was a lot of variation in how much I lost each week, but I also saw that those small weekly losses added up. I knew it was impossible to gain weight on less than 1,000 calories a day, and I knew that as long as I stayed on plan my body would eventually have to give up the pounds (and it tried hard sometimes to hang on to them). Like most of you, I had weeks where I only lost 1 pound, and I had several weeks when I didn't lose anything. Of course it was discouraging to see the scale stuck, but I'd look back at the losses I'd recorded over the previous weeks and realize that the scale would start moving again - it HAD to.
It's really the "reap what we sow" principle. If we are sowing good habits, they WILL eventually give us the return we're wanting - it is inevitable! We don't always see those results right away, but we can be confident that we WILL see them in time, if we're willing to give it time :-).
Now that spring has arrived, it won't be long here in Michigan before farmers are out in their fields planting their crops. A lot of work and sweat goes into the planting, and then all they can do is wait and keep weeding and watering. Those seeds are germinating under ground, but it will be a while before they sprout, and even longer until it's time to harvest what is now being sown. If the farmer decides after a couple of days that nothing is happening because he's not seeing results, and if he stops watering and weeding, guess what? He won't end up with much of a crop. The harvest comes as he continues to do the hard work and as he patiently waits.
You are sowing your own seeds right now that will soon give you a harvest of good health. Your part is to do the hard work, whether you feel like it or not, whether you're seeing results at the moment or not. Even when you aren't seeing results, things ARE happening, both in your body and in your mind. You are leaning to choose the hard thing now, you are choosing to forgo the instant gratification, in order to gain something far better - what you REALLY want!
So who's committed to an on-plan day today, even if you don't feel like it? The choice is yours - choose wisely :-)
NOTE: This is my last blog for the next week, as I'm leaving tomorrow morning for five days in the Dominican Republic. We will be at an all-inclusive resort :-) to enjoy a few days of sun and warm weather. Have a great, on-plan week, and keep choosing wisely!
Speaking of weekends, are you ready for an on-plan weekend? If you've had a good week on plan and have seen the scale move in the right direction, you are probably (hopefully!) But what if you've stayed on plan all week and the scale hasn't moved? What if it hasn't moved in a couple of weeks? Staying focused when we're not seeing the results we want is an entirely different matter, and I understand how hard it is when the scale is stuck. I know how easy it is to think that we "might as well enjoy" ourselves since we're not losing weight anyway. I've seen people rationalize that "maybe a weekend of eating off plan will jump-start my metabolism and get the scale moving again." You can probably already guess that I strongly caution against slipping into that mindset!
How DO we keep motivated when the scale refuses to budge? How do we keep our focus when progress is painfully slow? Our fast-paced, instant-gratification society sets us up to expect immediate results all the time, so many of us aren’t accustomed to waiting for much of anything. In my past life (before Medifast), I actually left one drive-through line at a fast food restaurant because I decided it was too long and went to another fast food restaurant where I could drive right up and order my food without waiting! Never mind the fact that it was fast food to begin with, or that I didn’t even have to park my car and get out to get it – I wanted the fast food FAST (are you beginning to understand how I got to 268 pounds?) That need for instant gratification kicked in over and over again with past weight loss plans because my desire to lose weight quickly dissipated when faced with the temptation of the day, and I chose the immediate thing over waiting to get what I really wanted – a thin and healthy body.
When I was on 5&1, I finally realized that the weight didn't come on in a day and that it wouldn't come off in a day, either :-). I set up a spreadsheet to track my weight loss week by week, and what I saw was a lot of variation in how much I lost each week, but I also saw that those small weekly losses added up. I knew it was impossible to gain weight on less than 1,000 calories a day, and I knew that as long as I stayed on plan my body would eventually have to give up the pounds (and it tried hard sometimes to hang on to them). Like most of you, I had weeks where I only lost 1 pound, and I had several weeks when I didn't lose anything. Of course it was discouraging to see the scale stuck, but I'd look back at the losses I'd recorded over the previous weeks and realize that the scale would start moving again - it HAD to.
It's really the "reap what we sow" principle. If we are sowing good habits, they WILL eventually give us the return we're wanting - it is inevitable! We don't always see those results right away, but we can be confident that we WILL see them in time, if we're willing to give it time :-).
Now that spring has arrived, it won't be long here in Michigan before farmers are out in their fields planting their crops. A lot of work and sweat goes into the planting, and then all they can do is wait and keep weeding and watering. Those seeds are germinating under ground, but it will be a while before they sprout, and even longer until it's time to harvest what is now being sown. If the farmer decides after a couple of days that nothing is happening because he's not seeing results, and if he stops watering and weeding, guess what? He won't end up with much of a crop. The harvest comes as he continues to do the hard work and as he patiently waits.
You are sowing your own seeds right now that will soon give you a harvest of good health. Your part is to do the hard work, whether you feel like it or not, whether you're seeing results at the moment or not. Even when you aren't seeing results, things ARE happening, both in your body and in your mind. You are leaning to choose the hard thing now, you are choosing to forgo the instant gratification, in order to gain something far better - what you REALLY want!
So who's committed to an on-plan day today, even if you don't feel like it? The choice is yours - choose wisely :-)
NOTE: This is my last blog for the next week, as I'm leaving tomorrow morning for five days in the Dominican Republic. We will be at an all-inclusive resort :-) to enjoy a few days of sun and warm weather. Have a great, on-plan week, and keep choosing wisely!
Friday, March 19, 2010
Who Are We Kidding?
I just read an interesting article on Health.com entitled "What You Eat When Nobody's Watching." Over 600 Health readers were surveyed to find out what they eat when nobody’s looking. According to the article, over half wait until no one is home to break into a secret snack stash or head to the grocery store and devour treats on the way home. Amazingly, when the survey asked what was the strangest thing a person had eaten alone, the most common answer was "something they dug out of the trash." Additionally, 86% of those in the survey wait until they’re all alone to eat their favorite indulgent foods, 46% have been caught digging into a secret stash, and 71% reported that they have buried a food wrapper deep in the trash to hide the evidence.
Did I mention that these individuals were readers of a magazine that promotes health? It's amazing to me that we are so inclined to engage in behaviors that we know aren't healthy for us, behaviors that, at some level, embarrass us.
I used to do a lot of secret eating. I was embarrassed to have people see what I ate, or how much I ate, and I got really good at hiding my eating. When there would be goodies in the kitchen at work, I'd "palm" a piece (or two, or three) and take the food into the bathroom so I could eat it in private. Even while I was doing this, I knew there was something really, really wrong about needing to eat in secret. Obviously the results of my eating were evident to everyone, so I'm not sure I know who I thought I was fooling. I know I didn't want people to see me eating and think, "no wonder she's so fat," or risk receiving disapproving looks. What's sad is that I didn't really enjoy the food I ate in secret. I ate it quickly so I wouldn't be caught, inhaling it with a "make it gone" mentality. Sometimes my thinking was so irrational that my purpose in eating the food was to get rid of it so I wouldn't be tempted by it anymore. That makes absolutely no sense, obviously, but when we're in denial about our eating and working hard to keep it a secret from others, our ability to think rationally may well suffer.
Eating food in secret, stashing wrappers deep in the trash container may have kept my eating away from the eyes of others, but my body was keeping track of every calorie. For a long time, I convinced myself that even though I was morbidly obese, I was still healthy. My lab work came back normal and I would think, "Whew, I'm still getting away with this." Honestly, that's what I'd think. I would also give a fleeting thought to maybe trying to do something before my bad habits caught up with me, and that would often be the start of yet another diet, but nothing lasted very long. When the day finally came when all of my lab work came back awful - high cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood glucose - I knew my years of bad habits had finally caught up with me. To borrow an old expression from my childhood, "the chickens had finally come home to roost."
It took almost two more years before I was ready to finally stop fooling myself or anybody else, and that's when I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast. In addition to helping me lose 126 pounds, this program has also helped me to finally align what I know I should be doing with the actions that I actually do. I am now focused on creating health in my life, and I try hard to make sure that the vast majority of the time I'm making food choices that support my goal. I'm no longer trying to fool myself, and I no longer need to try and fool others. It's very freeing to no longer be ashamed of what or how I eat!
Being willing to get honest with ourselves is the first step in aligning what we know we should do with what we actually do. We need to be honest in determining what it is that we really want. Do we really want to lose weight and get healthy? If we do (if we REALLY do), then we will begin to make the choices needed to move us in the direction we want to go. So ask yourself, "is this what I really want?" If your answer is "yes", you know what to do: choose wisely :-)
Did I mention that these individuals were readers of a magazine that promotes health? It's amazing to me that we are so inclined to engage in behaviors that we know aren't healthy for us, behaviors that, at some level, embarrass us.
I used to do a lot of secret eating. I was embarrassed to have people see what I ate, or how much I ate, and I got really good at hiding my eating. When there would be goodies in the kitchen at work, I'd "palm" a piece (or two, or three) and take the food into the bathroom so I could eat it in private. Even while I was doing this, I knew there was something really, really wrong about needing to eat in secret. Obviously the results of my eating were evident to everyone, so I'm not sure I know who I thought I was fooling. I know I didn't want people to see me eating and think, "no wonder she's so fat," or risk receiving disapproving looks. What's sad is that I didn't really enjoy the food I ate in secret. I ate it quickly so I wouldn't be caught, inhaling it with a "make it gone" mentality. Sometimes my thinking was so irrational that my purpose in eating the food was to get rid of it so I wouldn't be tempted by it anymore. That makes absolutely no sense, obviously, but when we're in denial about our eating and working hard to keep it a secret from others, our ability to think rationally may well suffer.
Eating food in secret, stashing wrappers deep in the trash container may have kept my eating away from the eyes of others, but my body was keeping track of every calorie. For a long time, I convinced myself that even though I was morbidly obese, I was still healthy. My lab work came back normal and I would think, "Whew, I'm still getting away with this." Honestly, that's what I'd think. I would also give a fleeting thought to maybe trying to do something before my bad habits caught up with me, and that would often be the start of yet another diet, but nothing lasted very long. When the day finally came when all of my lab work came back awful - high cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood glucose - I knew my years of bad habits had finally caught up with me. To borrow an old expression from my childhood, "the chickens had finally come home to roost."
It took almost two more years before I was ready to finally stop fooling myself or anybody else, and that's when I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast. In addition to helping me lose 126 pounds, this program has also helped me to finally align what I know I should be doing with the actions that I actually do. I am now focused on creating health in my life, and I try hard to make sure that the vast majority of the time I'm making food choices that support my goal. I'm no longer trying to fool myself, and I no longer need to try and fool others. It's very freeing to no longer be ashamed of what or how I eat!
Being willing to get honest with ourselves is the first step in aligning what we know we should do with what we actually do. We need to be honest in determining what it is that we really want. Do we really want to lose weight and get healthy? If we do (if we REALLY do), then we will begin to make the choices needed to move us in the direction we want to go. So ask yourself, "is this what I really want?" If your answer is "yes", you know what to do: choose wisely :-)
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Pulling Weeds
Spring is definitely (and finally!) in the air here in West Michigan. The temperature today is supposed to hit 60 and all of the snow is finally gone - yeah!! Now that the snow is gone, I can finally see my little perennial garden planted by the patio of our condo. No surprise, there are some weeds that need attention. Because I think that weeding has some great applications to our weight loss journey, I decided to re-run a blog I originally posted the summer of 2007, shortly after starting on Take Shape for Life/Medifast. I hope it will be encouraging to you!
"I just came inside after spending almost an hour weeding my perennial garden. I haven't weeded in a month; we were on vacation for two weeks, and the last two weeks have either been too hot and humid, or it's rained. So today was my day! As I surveyed the flower bed before starting my work, all I could think was, "where on earth did all of these weeds come from?" We live in a condo association and all of the grounds are very well maintained, with nary a weed to be found. My flowers are planted in the barked area next to our house, just off from our walk-out lower level, so the amount and variety of weeds amazed me.
I know I have NEVER planted a weed, yet they've grown in abundance in every garden I've ever had, vegetable and flower. They take advantage of every open spot of soil, of every inattentive moment. If left to grow unchecked, they will eventually overwhelm my garden, choking out the plants I've so carefully selected and tended.
Kind of like life, and definitely like my life on Take Shape for Life/Medifast. I have carefully selected and am trying to nurture new, good habits, which I so want to see flourish into a beautiful garden in my life. Right now these habits are rather tender and vulnerable, and they can easily be choked out by the weeds in my life if I'm not careful. Weeds like impatience, comparison, frustration, discouragement, unrealistic expectations, busyness, and rationalization keep popping up and must be immediately pulled and thrown into the trash heap. If I don't, I know from past experience (and much gardening) that they will eventually overwhelm the good habits. The good habits will either die off completely, or they will be left in a weakened state and never reach their full potential.
Bad habits and bad thought patterns are not intentionally sown, but they are very opportunistic and can take root before we've even realized it. The challenge is to catch them right away - they are much easier to pull out by their roots when young, and can be almost impossible to eradicate if allowed to mature. Mature weeds have roots that snake deep underground and entangle themselves with the roots of the flowers, making it difficult to pull them out without damaging the flowers.
I know that, in time, the perennials (and the good habits) will grow and fill most of the space, making it more and more difficult for weeds to take root. Until that time, I need to be diligent in checking for weeds, in my garden and in my life. My reward? A lovely garden - eventually!"
As I re-read this blog, first written almost three years ago, I couldn't help but smile as I realized that good habits ARE finally flourishing in my little garden. Weeding certainly continues, but I'm trying to be diligent to pull out the weeds before they take root. Consistency is definitely the key to keeping the weeding easy :-).
Anybody want to join me in doing a little weeding today? The choice is yours - choose wisely :-)
"I just came inside after spending almost an hour weeding my perennial garden. I haven't weeded in a month; we were on vacation for two weeks, and the last two weeks have either been too hot and humid, or it's rained. So today was my day! As I surveyed the flower bed before starting my work, all I could think was, "where on earth did all of these weeds come from?" We live in a condo association and all of the grounds are very well maintained, with nary a weed to be found. My flowers are planted in the barked area next to our house, just off from our walk-out lower level, so the amount and variety of weeds amazed me.
I know I have NEVER planted a weed, yet they've grown in abundance in every garden I've ever had, vegetable and flower. They take advantage of every open spot of soil, of every inattentive moment. If left to grow unchecked, they will eventually overwhelm my garden, choking out the plants I've so carefully selected and tended.
Kind of like life, and definitely like my life on Take Shape for Life/Medifast. I have carefully selected and am trying to nurture new, good habits, which I so want to see flourish into a beautiful garden in my life. Right now these habits are rather tender and vulnerable, and they can easily be choked out by the weeds in my life if I'm not careful. Weeds like impatience, comparison, frustration, discouragement, unrealistic expectations, busyness, and rationalization keep popping up and must be immediately pulled and thrown into the trash heap. If I don't, I know from past experience (and much gardening) that they will eventually overwhelm the good habits. The good habits will either die off completely, or they will be left in a weakened state and never reach their full potential.
Bad habits and bad thought patterns are not intentionally sown, but they are very opportunistic and can take root before we've even realized it. The challenge is to catch them right away - they are much easier to pull out by their roots when young, and can be almost impossible to eradicate if allowed to mature. Mature weeds have roots that snake deep underground and entangle themselves with the roots of the flowers, making it difficult to pull them out without damaging the flowers.
I know that, in time, the perennials (and the good habits) will grow and fill most of the space, making it more and more difficult for weeds to take root. Until that time, I need to be diligent in checking for weeds, in my garden and in my life. My reward? A lovely garden - eventually!"
As I re-read this blog, first written almost three years ago, I couldn't help but smile as I realized that good habits ARE finally flourishing in my little garden. Weeding certainly continues, but I'm trying to be diligent to pull out the weeds before they take root. Consistency is definitely the key to keeping the weeding easy :-).
Anybody want to join me in doing a little weeding today? The choice is yours - choose wisely :-)
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