A Penny for Your Choice

Happy Monday!  It's hard to believe this is the last day of January already! 

I write a lot about making wise choices, so here's an interesting choice to contemplate:  I'll write you a check today for a million dollars or I'll give you a penny today and it every day for thirty-one days.  Two choices - a million dollars today or the sum of a penny doubled for one month.

Would it surprise you to know that if you chose to receive a penny a day for 31 days, you would end up with $10,737,418?  (This example is from page 17 of "Dr. A's Habits of Health".)

If we didn't pull out a calculator and figure out the difference, I think most of us would be inclined to take the million dollar check and run.  Waiting for something, even if it will be a lot better in the long run, isn't something we like to do.  Instant gratification is almost hard-wired into us.  I remember as a kid hearing my dad say "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," and I took that saying to heart.

The problem with that saying (and my dad is a wise person who didn't really live by that saying) is that we end up settling for the immediate gratification, and that often means we settle for less than the best.

Dr. Andersen uses this example in his book to illustrate the art of compounding.  One penny on day one doesn't seem like a big deal after all - how many of us will even stoop down to pick up a penny on the sidewalk?  But one penny doubled day after day eventually becomes something that's valuable indeed.

Those new, healthy habits that we're working to incorporate into our lives take time.  One day of eating right or exercising doesn't really make any difference one way or the other, like a lone penny lying on the sidewalk.  But when those healthy choices are repeated day after day, the compounded effect is profound - and it's life changing.  The challenge is to not expect instant results, because when it comes to making permanent changes, the results don't show up overnight.  But they will show up, I promise you, as you make one wise choice at a time.  Choose wisely :-)

Happy Birthday to My Husband!

Today is my husband's 60th birthday and I am taking this opportunity to wish him a VERY happy birthday!  John and I met my freshman year in college - I was 18 and he was 19 - started dating a year later and married two years after that.  It is hard for me to believe that he is celebrating his 60th birthday . . . I am shaking my head in disbelief.  I told him that while our commitment was to grow old together, I just didn't expect to get here so fast :-).

While 60 starts another decade for John, he is healthier than he's been for most of his adult life.  When we got married in 1973, he was overweight - pudgy probably best described him at that time.  I cooked up a storm that first year of marriage and managed to pack another 20 pounds on him (and a few pounds on myself, too).  We did a couple of crazy diets together and while I dropped the weight and was fairly successful in keeping it off until my mid-30's, other than a brief period of time when he adopted a rigid diet and took up running to lose weight, John was overweight his entire adult life.

That all changed three years ago.  He watched me lose weight beginning in June of 2007 and by January of 2008, he was ready to try Take Shape for Life/Medifast for himself.  In three months' time he lost 50 pounds and has maintained his weight loss.  By losing weight, he was also able to get off his blood pressure and cholesterol medications.  Heart disease runs in his family and both his father and his older brother had heart attacks in their early 60's.  Had John not gotten healthy, he may well have been facing heart disease himself.

Three years ago he made the choice to get healthy, and I'm so thankful he did.  Because of that choice and all of the choices he's made since that time, Lord willing, I look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with him!

Have a great Sunday, and remember to choose wisely :-)

Dreams or Goals?

"Life is too short to waste.  Dreams are fulfilled only through action, not through endless planning to take action."  ~ David J. Schwartz

My husband tweeted this quote yesterday and it make me think.  Sometimes we spend a lot of time and energy getting ready to take action instead of pouring that energy into actually TAKING action.  We think and over-think things and wait for THE perfect moment, after every duck is in a row and every possible obstacle is removed.  In the meantime, time is passing - quickly.

While I certainly don't recommend starting Take Shape for Life/Medifast or an exercise program the day before a holiday or just before starting on a cruise, I also think it's a mistake to wait until life isn't busy or things settle down.  The reality is that life is ALWAYS busy and as soon as one thing settles down, something else bubbles up.  So many people wait for that perfect Monday to start (or restart), instead of just starting.  We tend to look at our busy schedules and multiple demands and think that we'll eat better and exercise more when life isn't so crazy . . . . months later, things are still crazy and we're still waiting.

I'm talking to myself here when it comes to exercise . . . it is NOT my favorite thing to do and there are ALWAYS other things that get in the way.  I have great intentions, really I do, but they too often fall into the "planning to take action" rather than the "take action" category. 

The reality is that we will move from planning to take action to taking action when we make the decision to move from something being a dream to something being a goal.  As long as what we want stays in the dream stage, we're unlikely to take definitive steps to actualize it and it stays in the "wouldn't it be nice someday" phase - and it can stay there indefinitely.  But once that dream becomes a goal, then those action steps we've mulled over in our minds become action steps that we're ready and willing to take.

When our dreams become our goals, we will also MAKE the time and figure out how to deal with the obstacles.  We won't wait for the perfect moment to get started, we'll just get started and take one action step at a time.

Is getting to a healthy weight your dream or your goal?  You can choose today to either keep planning to take action or you can take action.  The choice is yours . . . choose wisely :-)

Walking Away

I just re-read a blog that I wrote back on September 1, 2007,  just a little over two months after starting on Take Shape for Life/Medifast.  The blog chronicled a real turning point in my thinking.  I hope it will be helpful to you today!

****
I read an interesting story not too long ago, and it's been rambling around in my brain until today, when I decided to blog about it.

Have you ever seen an elephant at the circus?  I don't know if they still do this, but years ago circus elephants could be seen standing next to a small wooden stake in the ground with a chain around one ankle. In the story I read, the writer became rather curious as to how one small wooden stake could hold a large elephant captive, so he did some investigating.  As it turns out, the trainer begins using the chain and stake when the elephant is just a baby.  The baby elephant is unable to pull free and, over time, gradually accepts the chain and the restriction it provides.  What the elephant never realizes is that as it grows stronger, it could easily pull the stake out of the ground and be free.  You see, the elephant adapts itself so completely to the chain that it loses sight of the fact that it could free itself in a moment, if it only realized that the chain no longer had any power over it.

This is a powerful illustration for me!  I feel like I have been chained to unhealthy food choices for a long time, a prisoner of stress eating and unending cycles of yo-yo dieting.  I felt like I was trapped and would never be set free.  What I didn't realize, until recently, is that all I have ever had to do was gently but firmly pull and the chain would fall away.  I stood next to a weak wooden stake called "food addiction" and allowed myself to think that it held me captive - I gave it power it never had on its own.

As God continues to work in my life through this program and so many of the supportive people I've met, I have finally walked away from this chain and it no longer has the power to hold me captive.  I am learning to put food into its proper place and not run to it to deal with stress, smooth a hurt, or celebrate a victory.  This is so freeing!

One of my new favorite songs is called "Finally Free" by Nichole Nordeman. Here are the lyrics:

No chain is strong enough, no choice is wrong enough
No mountain high enough that He can't climb
No shadow dark enough, no night is black enough
No road is lost enough that He can't find

*chorus*
And if the Son has set us free, then we must be free indeed
Let the chains fall away, starting today
Everything has changed...I'm finally free

v.2
No pain is deep enough, no heart could bleed enough
Nothing but Jesus' love can make a way

*chorus*
And if the Son has set us free, then we must be free indeed
Let the chains fall away, starting today
Everything has changed...I'm finally free

****
That day, almost three and a half years ago, I celebrated a new-found freedom.  Today, over 2-1/2 years since reaching my goal, I'm still celebrating that freedom!  I tell people all the time that when I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, I was just hoping to lose a little bit of weight - I had NO idea that there would be so much emotional and spiritual growth in the process. 

The freedom from my long-standing food addition didn't happen in an instant, but each day as I made the choice to stay on plan and chose to find healthier ways to deal with stress and emotional issues (and for me, that healthier way was turning to my Heavenly Father), I took another step away from my food addiction and another step towards a healthier rest of my life.

I write this knowing that some of you are dealing with a lot of emotional eating issues.  I've been there, I've walked a similar path, and I understand probably more than you could ever know.  I also know that we can be set free, completely free, starting today.  Those chains will begin to fall, one choice at a time.  Choose wisely :-)

What's It Worth?

How much money would it take to convince you to go back to your starting weight and remain there for the rest of your life?

I think about where I was four years ago, just before starting Take Shape for Life/Medifast and where I am now and how much my life has changed.  I asked myself, would a million dollars be worth going back (and staying at) 260 pounds?  Would two million?  How about a billion dollars?  Would I be willing to regain the weight and never take it off for that kind of money?

As I thought about this (and I didn't have to think very long), I realized that NO amount of money would ever entice me to gain back 126 pounds!  Regaining the weight would be undoubtedly put me back into a diabetic state, I'd be back on meds for cholesterol and GERD (and probably an anti-depressant as well).  My self-esteem would be back in toilet, and my back and knee would hurt all the time.  I would be back to facing the myriad of health risks associated with diabetes and obesity and I would surely have a shorter life span.  Since I'll be 59 in July, I know how fast these years go and that we have no guarantee for the future.  There is NO WAY I'd be willing to spend another minute, let along the rest of my life, morbidly obese!!

While most of us wouldn't take money to deliberately regain the weight, the risk is there for all of us to do that IF we don't really, permanently change our thinking about food, our emotional issues with food, and our lifestyle.  We might not take the money to regain the weight, but we could end up doing that very thing for "free" if we aren't diligent.  That is a very sobering thought for me!

Take Shape for Life/Medifast has a wonderful plan for not only losing the weight, but helping us to slowly transition back to "regular foods" when we've completed the weight loss portion of this journey, and there is ongoing help for us when we're in maintenance.  Most of us are focused on the weight loss part right now, but that is only the first half of the journey.  The other, and more difficult part, will be to successfully transition and then maintain our weight loss.

As I thought about all of the reasons that I NEVER want to regain the weight, I realized all over again that I will need to be alert and thinking about what I eat and why I eat for the rest of my life.  Almost three years since reaching goal, there are days when being alert and mindful is pretty easy, and other days when it's not.  Maintenance isn't easy, but the alternative is unthinkable to me.

I wouldn't take a billion dollars to regain the weight, so I sure don't want to do it for free, one mindless forkful at a time! 

Getting to a healthy weight and incorporating the healthy habits needed to stay there is a series of daily choices.  Choose wisely :-)

The Butterfly Effect

Sometimes we wonder if the simple choices we make today really matter.  When faced with temptation, it may be easy to think that going off plan won't hurt "just this once."  We may tend to think of our choices as disjointed, not really having much of an impact on the overall picture.  An article I read about a so-called "Butterfly Effect" made me realize that nothing is truly inconsequential.

In 1960, an MIT meteorologist made an accidental discovery while he was trying to develop a computer program that could simulate and forecast weather conditions.  One day he was in a hurry, and instead of entering .506127, the number he had used in an earlier trial, he rounded to the nearest thousandth, or .506, figuring that rounding the number to the nearest thousandth would be inconsequential, then left his lab.  When he returned, he found a radical change in the weather conditions.  He estimated that the numerical difference between the original number and the rounded number was the equivalent of a puff of wind created by a butterfly's wing, concluding that an event as minor as the flapping of a butterfly's wing could conceivable alter wind currents sufficiently to eventually change weather conditions thousands of miles away.  "Tiny differences in input can quickly become overwhelming differences in output."

After describing the "butterfly effect," the author went on to write that "small changes and small choices become magnified over time, and have major consequences . . . Too often we fail to connect the dots between choices and consequences.  Every choice has a domino effect that can alter our destiny."

It may seem like such a small and inconsequential thing today to choose to stay on plan, and you may have a dozen different really good reasons to step off.  What you decide today matters - it really does - and not just today.  If you choose to stay on plan, you are reinforcing your decision to get healthy, to delay immediate gratification for something far more important.  Your decision to stay on plan today will increase the likelihood that you'll stay on plan tomorrow as well.  For me, every time I successfully faced and conquered a temptation, it strengthened my resolve and my ability to withstand the next.

If you choose to step off plan today, it certainly doesn't mean that you won't ultimately be successful - please know that I'm not implying that at all!  What I am saying, however, is that it will be more challenging to stay the course tomorrow.  Once you take your eyes off of your goal and choose the instant gratification, it can be hard to get refocused.  The next time you face a similar choice to the one you face today, you won't have the successful outcome from today to boost your resolve tomorrow.  Again, you may well get to your goal (and I hope you do!), but you've increased the incline on the treadmill by a degree or two, making the climb from here to goal a bit more challenging. 

As I've shared on numerous occasions in past blogs, I don't take any credit - none - for the fact that I stayed on plan and didn't step off from the time I started until I reached my goal.  I know better than anyone how prone to failure I was and how utterly weak I felt in my own strength.  For me, the only way I was able to do this program successfully was because I admitted my need for help and turned to the Source of my strength, my Heavenly Father.  I also found a great deal of support from the on-line community here, and I'm eternally thankful!

The "butterfly effect" of the choices I made beginning with that first choice in June of 2007 to begin the Take Shape for Life/Medifast program continues to spread.  I had no idea that anything would come of that first choice - I didn't even believe that it would work for me.  However, because I lost 126 pounds and got healthy, I have directly or indirectly helped literally hundreds and hundreds of others lose thousands of pounds over the past three years, and those individuals are inspiring still others to do the same.  It amazes and humbles me every day.

The choices you make today matter far more than you may even realize.  Choose wisely :-)

Warning Lights

I know almost nothing about cars.  Most of my ignorance is frankly by choice, because I don't WANT to know how to change the oil or change a tire.  Our mechanic changes the oil every 3,000 miles and I keep my auto club card handy in case of an emergency on the road.  Despite my chosen ignorance when it comes to cars, I know that the warning lights are not to be ignored.  When the "check engine" light or another warning light comes on, I get it checked out immediately because I know that ignoring it will lead to bigger, more expensive problems.  The warning light tells me that something is interfering with the car's ability to run at peak performance, and ignoring the light won't make the problem go away.

I'm guessing you're probably the same way when it comes to warning lights on your car.  Whether you're a mechanic, just like to tinker under the hood or are as clueless as I am about the whole thing, you know that warning lights are nothing to ignore.

It's ironic that while we pay close attention and spring into action the minute a warning light comes on in our car, we will go years (or in my case decades) ignoring the warning lights in our bodies.  We see a few (or many) extra pounds reflected on the scale, our clothes get tight so we go out and buy a bigger size, our cholesterol and blood pressure go up and we start taking medication, and perhaps our blood sugar rises and we find ourselves on oral medications or even insulin. 

Instead of seeing each and every one of these things are warning lights flashing in front of us, some of us may have just assumed that these things were part of getting older.  After all, doesn't just about every person over 40 take medication for something or another?  By the time people are in their 60's or 70's, we marvel at those rare individuals who "only take an aspirin for a headache," because we assume that taking prescription medication is just part of the aging process.  Instead of springing into action when the scale goes up or our clothes get tight, we've acquiesced to the inevitable and reluctantly purchased a larger size. 

As we've ignored our warning lights, we've continued to function, just as a car will continue to run for a while (most of the time).  However, over time we find that our own "engines" are running less and less effectively - we lack the energy and stamina we need so we take the escalator instead of the stairs and we look for the closest parking spot.  We come home at the end of the day completely depleted of energy and spend our evenings eating in front of the TV.  Our lab work sends another warning light that things aren't running internally as designed and we begin taking medication.  And all the while the warning light keeps flashing faster and faster.

That description may or may not have described where you've been, and those warning lights may have been the catalyst for you starting on Take Shape for Life/Medifast.  The good news is that you are now taking definite, positive steps to address and potentially reverse many of the things that triggered your own warning lights.  It's amazing to see how quickly blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar readings often stabilize and even normalize once people get started on this program.  Even before significant weight is lost, many of these readings improve dramatically.  Eating six small, nutritious meals evenly spaced throughout the day has a profound impact on our health.  Take Shape for Life/Medifast's medical director and Take Shape for Life co-founder, Dr. Wayne Scott Andersen, refers to these six small meals as "fuelings."  Think of each meal as putting the highest quality fuel into your own tank, because that's exactly what you're doing!

So congratulations on choosing to respond to your warning lights!  Each time you make the choice to fuel your body appropriately, you are doing what you can to ensure that your "engine" will run at peak efficiency for years to come.  The choices you make today really do count, so choose wisely :-).