Happy Monday! I hope you're starting this week and ending August on plan and excited about your journey :-).
I constantly refer to this program as a journey, not a diet, because there is so much growing and stretching that happens along the way. Stretching isn't always fun, and sometimes it's downright painful!
Stiff muscles are always resistant to stretching, and I know that if I stop where it feels comfortable, my range of motion can be pretty limited sometimes. Even now, when I first bend over to touch my toes, sometimes my fingers reach the toes and sometimes they don't. What's really interesting, however, is that if I stretch as far as I can and hold it for a minute or so, even though it hurts a bit, the muscles relax and I can go down just a bit more. If I hold that for another minute or so, I can stretch farther yet. In fact, by stretching in increments I am able to touch my forehead to my knees and place my palms flat on the floor. I can never do that the very first time I bend over in the morning, but continuing to stretch and warming up those stiff muscles gets me where I want to go.
For many of you on the Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1 program, you are stretching some muscles you haven't used in a while. I used to say that every time I turned down a food temptation, I was strengthening my "no thank you" muscle :-). Whenever we stretch those muscles, it's initially not comfortable and sometimes even a bit painful. But if we hold the position for a moment or two, the pain leaves and we find we can make a little more progress. We won't get there all at once, but if we're persistent and refuse to give ground, and if we're willing to keep stretching, we WILL get there!
In the past, if I bent over and couldn't touch my toes, I'd give up, figuring that I just couldn't do it. I stopped where it was comfortable and wasn't willing to risk being a bit uncomfortable temporarily in order to get all the way down. Now I can reach way past my toes - much farther than I would have thought possible.
If you're feeling some tight muscles today as this program stretches you, hold your position and don't back off, because you will soon be reaching further than you can imagine - all the way to your goal.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Making Time
Happy Sunday - the last Sunday in August, no less! We're leaving for church pretty soon, so this will be short :-).
One thing I've realized again recently is how we always find the time we need to do what's really important to us. We're all busy, regardless of what season of life we're in, and we're all crunched for time. It feels like there is never enough time in a day to do everything we want to do, and that's true - there isn't. The list of things I want to do in a day is a long one, and I always - always - go to bed with things that I would have liked to have done left undone.
However, I somehow manage to do the things that are really important to me every day. Sometimes there are important things that don't get done, but the things that are most important to me do get done. There are days when things that I give lip service to being important are left undone, but the truth is that if I made them a priority, I would have done them. There are days when I don't get very much accomplished and I can look back on wasted hours, but a review of the day will show that I did the things that I really wanted to do.
The reason I'm thinking about this is that after at least three months of telling myself that I didn't have time to get to the health club, I've managed to get there three times a week for the past three weeks. I'm just as busy or busier than ever, so I'm not getting to the health club because time has magically opened in my schedule. Plain and simple, I'm now getting there on a regular basis because I've made it a priority. I'm going to bed a bit earlier and getting up a bit earlier so I can get out of the house and work out. Same 24 hours in the day as I've always had, but I am now making the time to exercise because I've elevated its importance in my life.
I've talked to people who tell me that they can't do the Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1 plan because they don't have time to eat during the day. I've talked to people who, like me, are convinced that they are way too busy to exercise on a regular basis, if at all.
The reality is that all of us WILL make sure that we put into our schedule those things that are important to us. My faith is important to me, so my daily schedule includes time to read my Bible and pray, and my weekly schedule includes attending church. Other things may go undone, but these are priorities in my life so I make time for them. Staying healthy is a priority for me, so I make sure that I plan out my meals for each day to ensure my calories and carbs are in line with my calorie range in maintenance, and now I'm making exercise a priority as well.
This morning I'm encouraging you to honestly assess what's important in your life and then make sure those things are part of your daily life. Busyness so often gets in the way of what's really important in our lives, and if our schedule is filled with busyness but not what's important, we'll find ourselves frustrated and burned out. Focusing on what's important energizes us and allows us to end each day with a sense of balance and accomplishment.
If getting healthy is important to you (and I believe it is!), make sure you're making time to plan your meals, getting in regular exercise, and doing all of the other things you need and want to do to support your priority.
Have a wonderful, on-plan Sunday!
One thing I've realized again recently is how we always find the time we need to do what's really important to us. We're all busy, regardless of what season of life we're in, and we're all crunched for time. It feels like there is never enough time in a day to do everything we want to do, and that's true - there isn't. The list of things I want to do in a day is a long one, and I always - always - go to bed with things that I would have liked to have done left undone.
However, I somehow manage to do the things that are really important to me every day. Sometimes there are important things that don't get done, but the things that are most important to me do get done. There are days when things that I give lip service to being important are left undone, but the truth is that if I made them a priority, I would have done them. There are days when I don't get very much accomplished and I can look back on wasted hours, but a review of the day will show that I did the things that I really wanted to do.
The reason I'm thinking about this is that after at least three months of telling myself that I didn't have time to get to the health club, I've managed to get there three times a week for the past three weeks. I'm just as busy or busier than ever, so I'm not getting to the health club because time has magically opened in my schedule. Plain and simple, I'm now getting there on a regular basis because I've made it a priority. I'm going to bed a bit earlier and getting up a bit earlier so I can get out of the house and work out. Same 24 hours in the day as I've always had, but I am now making the time to exercise because I've elevated its importance in my life.
I've talked to people who tell me that they can't do the Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1 plan because they don't have time to eat during the day. I've talked to people who, like me, are convinced that they are way too busy to exercise on a regular basis, if at all.
The reality is that all of us WILL make sure that we put into our schedule those things that are important to us. My faith is important to me, so my daily schedule includes time to read my Bible and pray, and my weekly schedule includes attending church. Other things may go undone, but these are priorities in my life so I make time for them. Staying healthy is a priority for me, so I make sure that I plan out my meals for each day to ensure my calories and carbs are in line with my calorie range in maintenance, and now I'm making exercise a priority as well.
This morning I'm encouraging you to honestly assess what's important in your life and then make sure those things are part of your daily life. Busyness so often gets in the way of what's really important in our lives, and if our schedule is filled with busyness but not what's important, we'll find ourselves frustrated and burned out. Focusing on what's important energizes us and allows us to end each day with a sense of balance and accomplishment.
If getting healthy is important to you (and I believe it is!), make sure you're making time to plan your meals, getting in regular exercise, and doing all of the other things you need and want to do to support your priority.
Have a wonderful, on-plan Sunday!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Planning an On-Plan Saturday
I'm heading out to the health club in just a few minutes but wanted to wish everyone a great Saturday!
Especially when I was raising my children, Saturdays could often end up being a lot busier than I had planned, and a fast-food drive through was often a given because I didn't have time to sit down and eat. If you have a busy Saturday planned, taking a minute now to figure out what you're going to eat and then bringing it with you (plus an extra meal, just in case . . . ) can make the difference between staying on plan and not.
I hope it will be a good day for you and that, whatever you've got planned for the day, you're planning on having an on-plan day :-).
Especially when I was raising my children, Saturdays could often end up being a lot busier than I had planned, and a fast-food drive through was often a given because I didn't have time to sit down and eat. If you have a busy Saturday planned, taking a minute now to figure out what you're going to eat and then bringing it with you (plus an extra meal, just in case . . . ) can make the difference between staying on plan and not.
I hope it will be a good day for you and that, whatever you've got planned for the day, you're planning on having an on-plan day :-).
Friday, August 28, 2009
Chasing Those Doubts Away
Happy Friday! I hope you've had a great, on-plan week and are gearing up for a wonderful (and on-plan!) weekend :-).
I participated in an webinar last night and heard something by one of the speakers that really challenged me, so I thought I'd share it with you. The speaker urged all of the listeners to "consciously chase away the doubts - they only bog you down."
I don't know about you, but I started the Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1 program with an awful lot of doubts. I had failed so many times that I honestly doubted that the program would work. I doubted the program and I certainly doubted my ability to be successful on it. It was only as I began to see signs of success that the doubt began to recede, and it was replaced by hope, and then by the calm assurance that I WOULD reach my goal.
Doubts can suck a lot of emotional energy from us, and if we dwell on them, the negativity they breed can really drag us down. When it comes to pursuing optimal health in our lives, we don't have room for negativity. We can't control when doubts pop up, but we can choose to chase them away!
The good news is that this program works whether we believe it will or not, as long as we're following the program, the weight comes off - one on-plan day at a time!
I participated in an webinar last night and heard something by one of the speakers that really challenged me, so I thought I'd share it with you. The speaker urged all of the listeners to "consciously chase away the doubts - they only bog you down."
I don't know about you, but I started the Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1 program with an awful lot of doubts. I had failed so many times that I honestly doubted that the program would work. I doubted the program and I certainly doubted my ability to be successful on it. It was only as I began to see signs of success that the doubt began to recede, and it was replaced by hope, and then by the calm assurance that I WOULD reach my goal.
Doubts can suck a lot of emotional energy from us, and if we dwell on them, the negativity they breed can really drag us down. When it comes to pursuing optimal health in our lives, we don't have room for negativity. We can't control when doubts pop up, but we can choose to chase them away!
The good news is that this program works whether we believe it will or not, as long as we're following the program, the weight comes off - one on-plan day at a time!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Still Learning
I hope your Thursday is off to a great start!
I am coming to the end of my third week of my new and improved routine - going to bed earlier (at least most nights!), getting up earlier, and getting to the health club three times a week (and getting in exercise on most other days). They say it takes 21 days to create a new habit or break an old habit, and I'm definitely getting there. I'm hesitate to declare victory yet, because I know it will be a while before this new routine is really an established habit. Still, it feels good to be into a healthier routine.
The good feeling, I think, comes from more than the exercise itself. I'm not discounting that, of course, and I am feeling GREAT (and thankful to no longer be sore the day after exercising). My energy level is up and I'll be anxious to retake my measurements in another couple of weeks, because I know I'll see a loss. There is also a good feeling mentally and emotionally from knowing that I'm doing the right thing for my body. Pushing through all of the barriers I can throw up is very empowering, and making myself do something that I'm not naturally inclined to do is good for me :-).
I am realizing more and more every day that reaching my weight loss goal wasn't the end of my journey, but just the beginning of the rest of my healthy life. I'm still learning and still fine-tuning things, trying to make healthy choices the vast majority of the time. I know that the longer I make healthy choices, the more they will become hard-wired into my brain, and I look forward to the day they are second nature to me.
Right now, practicing some of these habits is akin to learning a foreign language. I'm getting more adept as time goes on, but healthy habits aren't yet part of my "native tongue." But I'm committed to staying with them and I refuse to give up the ground I've gained. Making healthy food choices and making myself get to the health club isn't always what I feel like doing, but I love how I feel - physically and mentally - when I do it. So I do it!
Are the healthy habits you're developing starting to feel more natural yet? If not, that's OK - they will in time! Just hang in there and keep practicing, one committed day at a time :-)
I am coming to the end of my third week of my new and improved routine - going to bed earlier (at least most nights!), getting up earlier, and getting to the health club three times a week (and getting in exercise on most other days). They say it takes 21 days to create a new habit or break an old habit, and I'm definitely getting there. I'm hesitate to declare victory yet, because I know it will be a while before this new routine is really an established habit. Still, it feels good to be into a healthier routine.
The good feeling, I think, comes from more than the exercise itself. I'm not discounting that, of course, and I am feeling GREAT (and thankful to no longer be sore the day after exercising). My energy level is up and I'll be anxious to retake my measurements in another couple of weeks, because I know I'll see a loss. There is also a good feeling mentally and emotionally from knowing that I'm doing the right thing for my body. Pushing through all of the barriers I can throw up is very empowering, and making myself do something that I'm not naturally inclined to do is good for me :-).
I am realizing more and more every day that reaching my weight loss goal wasn't the end of my journey, but just the beginning of the rest of my healthy life. I'm still learning and still fine-tuning things, trying to make healthy choices the vast majority of the time. I know that the longer I make healthy choices, the more they will become hard-wired into my brain, and I look forward to the day they are second nature to me.
Right now, practicing some of these habits is akin to learning a foreign language. I'm getting more adept as time goes on, but healthy habits aren't yet part of my "native tongue." But I'm committed to staying with them and I refuse to give up the ground I've gained. Making healthy food choices and making myself get to the health club isn't always what I feel like doing, but I love how I feel - physically and mentally - when I do it. So I do it!
Are the healthy habits you're developing starting to feel more natural yet? If not, that's OK - they will in time! Just hang in there and keep practicing, one committed day at a time :-)
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Windshield or Rearview Mirror?
Happy Wednesday!
I have a question for you today: is this a windshield day for you, or it is a rearview mirror day?
Translation: are you focused today on where you're going, or are you spending your time looking back?
I think this is a question worth asking, because the answer can strongly influence how successful you'll ultimately be in getting to and staying at your goal.
If this is a windshield day for you, then you're focused ahead on where you're going. Just like when you drive, 99% of the time you're focused on the road in front of you (at least I hope you are!). You periodically take a quick glance in the rearview mirror and take a look at your outside mirrors, but you only avert your eyes from the road for a fraction of a second. Averting your eyes any longer than that risks crashing.
A rearview mirror perspective happens when our focus is on what's behind us. Maybe we're focused on all of the things that occurred that caused us to gain weight to begin with. Maybe we're focused on our past failures and thinking about how we could have been at our goal by now if only we'd stayed on plan. Whatever is in your rearview mirror is in the past, and focusing on it won't get you where you want to be - it will only keep you stuck in a place you don't want to be.
It can be hard learning to focus forward when we've spent so many years staring into that rearview mirror, but practice definitely makes perfect :-). Having a windshield day begins with identifying what you want - what you REALLY want - and then committing to focus on that. When you find your gaze shifting back to the rearview mirror (and you will, especially at first), consciously shift your focus to looking forward again. You can do this by writing down your goal - be specific and don't be afraid to dream - and posting it where you'll see it often. When you find your mind drifting back to the past, take a deep breath and let it go! Take a minute to re-read your written goal and think for a minute about it. Envision yourself actually seeing those goals come to reality. Then move forward!
So what kind of a day are you having today? I'm hoping that you're going to get out the Windex and polish that windshield so that there's nothing obscuring your vision as you move forward!
Have a great Wednesday!
I have a question for you today: is this a windshield day for you, or it is a rearview mirror day?
Translation: are you focused today on where you're going, or are you spending your time looking back?
I think this is a question worth asking, because the answer can strongly influence how successful you'll ultimately be in getting to and staying at your goal.
If this is a windshield day for you, then you're focused ahead on where you're going. Just like when you drive, 99% of the time you're focused on the road in front of you (at least I hope you are!). You periodically take a quick glance in the rearview mirror and take a look at your outside mirrors, but you only avert your eyes from the road for a fraction of a second. Averting your eyes any longer than that risks crashing.
A rearview mirror perspective happens when our focus is on what's behind us. Maybe we're focused on all of the things that occurred that caused us to gain weight to begin with. Maybe we're focused on our past failures and thinking about how we could have been at our goal by now if only we'd stayed on plan. Whatever is in your rearview mirror is in the past, and focusing on it won't get you where you want to be - it will only keep you stuck in a place you don't want to be.
It can be hard learning to focus forward when we've spent so many years staring into that rearview mirror, but practice definitely makes perfect :-). Having a windshield day begins with identifying what you want - what you REALLY want - and then committing to focus on that. When you find your gaze shifting back to the rearview mirror (and you will, especially at first), consciously shift your focus to looking forward again. You can do this by writing down your goal - be specific and don't be afraid to dream - and posting it where you'll see it often. When you find your mind drifting back to the past, take a deep breath and let it go! Take a minute to re-read your written goal and think for a minute about it. Envision yourself actually seeing those goals come to reality. Then move forward!
So what kind of a day are you having today? I'm hoping that you're going to get out the Windex and polish that windshield so that there's nothing obscuring your vision as you move forward!
Have a great Wednesday!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Your Right to Be Healthy
Good morning, everyone! Yesterday morning while I was on the treadmill at the health club, I watched one of the daytime talk show programs on TV. I never watched this program before, but the topic was very interesting and also pretty upsetting. The guests were two women, each over 400 pounds, whose husbands wanted them to GAIN more weight because the men said that they love "curvy" women. One of the husbands actually wanted his wife to be over 500 pounds and said he didn't think he'd be attracted to her if she got down to a size 12. As I watched this program, I got really mad - which actually made me walk even faster on the treadmill, so I made it work for me :-).
What made me angry was the men thinking only of what THEY wanted, without any regard for what their wives wanted, let alone any concern for their health. Apparently these men never got the message that life wasn't all about them. Ugh! I know that these couples have issues that couldn't begin to be addressed, let alone resolved, on a daytime talk show, but it did reinforce one thing that I firmly believe.
We HAVE to take full responsibility for our own health. If we are surrounded by people who support us, that's a blessing that should not be taken for granted. But, even if everyone in our life is a naysayer and saboteur at heart, ultimately WE have to take responsibility for our health. I say that knowing that it is easier said than done, especially if the negative words are coming out of the mouth of a spouse, parent or close friend.
You have a right to be healthy, and nobody has the right to deny you that - nobody. The key to standing firm regardless is to be focused on what you really want. If you don't know what you want, other people may well make the decision for you, and they may or may not truly have your best interest at heart. But if you have a clear picture in your mind of where you're going and you're determined to keep you eyes on the goal, negativity will pretty much roll off of you - and you'll reach your goal, one day at a time.
What made me angry was the men thinking only of what THEY wanted, without any regard for what their wives wanted, let alone any concern for their health. Apparently these men never got the message that life wasn't all about them. Ugh! I know that these couples have issues that couldn't begin to be addressed, let alone resolved, on a daytime talk show, but it did reinforce one thing that I firmly believe.
We HAVE to take full responsibility for our own health. If we are surrounded by people who support us, that's a blessing that should not be taken for granted. But, even if everyone in our life is a naysayer and saboteur at heart, ultimately WE have to take responsibility for our health. I say that knowing that it is easier said than done, especially if the negative words are coming out of the mouth of a spouse, parent or close friend.
You have a right to be healthy, and nobody has the right to deny you that - nobody. The key to standing firm regardless is to be focused on what you really want. If you don't know what you want, other people may well make the decision for you, and they may or may not truly have your best interest at heart. But if you have a clear picture in your mind of where you're going and you're determined to keep you eyes on the goal, negativity will pretty much roll off of you - and you'll reach your goal, one day at a time.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Getting Back Into the Groove
Can you believe this is the last full week in August, with Labor Day two short weeks away? Most of you are back from your summer vacations, and some of you are already back in the swing of things with school schedules. After the busy days of summer, settling back into a more regular routine can feel good.
This is the time of year when settling into a more regular routine can also mean refocusing on weight loss and a healthy lifestyle. Best intentions often fall by the wayside with summer vacations, but late August is the perfect time to take a deep breath and get going again.
If you've done well all summer and made it through the BBQ's unscathed, give yourself a big pat on the back! Staying on plan means that you've not been willing to settle for immediate gratification, and it also means that you're that much closer to your goal :-).
If you are one of the many who found themselves faltering from time to time over the summer, this is a great time to start again in earnest! The holidays are four months away (Christmas Eve is four months from today!!), and you can make a LOT of progress between now and then! Imagine yourself feeling confident for all of those holiday photos - it can happen!
Don't beat yourself up over what you did or didn't do this summer, and don't waste time bemoaning where you COULD have been if you'd stayed on plan. It doesn't matter now - it's in the past. The only thing that matters is what you decide to do TODAY. If you decide today that you're going to stay on plan, you will take that first important step towards your goal. Go for it!
Have a great Monday! Who's committed to an on-plan day today?
This is the time of year when settling into a more regular routine can also mean refocusing on weight loss and a healthy lifestyle. Best intentions often fall by the wayside with summer vacations, but late August is the perfect time to take a deep breath and get going again.
If you've done well all summer and made it through the BBQ's unscathed, give yourself a big pat on the back! Staying on plan means that you've not been willing to settle for immediate gratification, and it also means that you're that much closer to your goal :-).
If you are one of the many who found themselves faltering from time to time over the summer, this is a great time to start again in earnest! The holidays are four months away (Christmas Eve is four months from today!!), and you can make a LOT of progress between now and then! Imagine yourself feeling confident for all of those holiday photos - it can happen!
Don't beat yourself up over what you did or didn't do this summer, and don't waste time bemoaning where you COULD have been if you'd stayed on plan. It doesn't matter now - it's in the past. The only thing that matters is what you decide to do TODAY. If you decide today that you're going to stay on plan, you will take that first important step towards your goal. Go for it!
Have a great Monday! Who's committed to an on-plan day today?
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Leaving a Legacy
Happy Sunday morning! We're heading to the chapel service at our church camp this morning, about 1-1/2 hrs. from where we live, then we'll catch lunch at a local restaurant in the area before heading home - should be a fun day!
Yesterday I heard a song on my car radio that really made me stop and think. The song asked the question, "What will be your legacy?" One of the lines in the song said, "You have one chance to write your story."
Even though I'm now 57 years old, I don't spend much time thinking about my legacy. Lord willing, I hope to live another 30 or 40 years, so I'm focused on what's going on in my life right now. However, the thought does cross my mind from time to time, especially as I look at my four small grandchildren. What DO I want my legacy to be?
First and foremost, I want to pass on a legacy of faith. My relationship with Jesus Christ is the most important thing in my life and I pray that each of my grandchildren will choose to follow Jesus.
There are many, many other things that I hope will someday be part of my legacy, too - love, family, laughter, integrity - the list goes on and on! One thing that has been added to my list is health. I want to be an example to my family, now and for future generations, of how to live a healthy life. I want them to understand how important it is to take care of their bodies, how to make healthy choices. Diabetes has been a part of my family's medical legacy for a long time, and I don't want that legacy to continue. This program reversed my diabetes and I pray that this disease, which is so closely tied to lifestyle, will disappear from future generations. That would be a wonderful legacy to leave behind!
As the song says, we have one chance to write our story, and we're writing it right now - there is no do-over. The things we do today matter - it all matters, not just for us, but for those we love. One day builds on another, so make today count and make a healthy lifestyle part of your own legacy.
Who's committed to an on-plan day today?
Yesterday I heard a song on my car radio that really made me stop and think. The song asked the question, "What will be your legacy?" One of the lines in the song said, "You have one chance to write your story."
Even though I'm now 57 years old, I don't spend much time thinking about my legacy. Lord willing, I hope to live another 30 or 40 years, so I'm focused on what's going on in my life right now. However, the thought does cross my mind from time to time, especially as I look at my four small grandchildren. What DO I want my legacy to be?
First and foremost, I want to pass on a legacy of faith. My relationship with Jesus Christ is the most important thing in my life and I pray that each of my grandchildren will choose to follow Jesus.
There are many, many other things that I hope will someday be part of my legacy, too - love, family, laughter, integrity - the list goes on and on! One thing that has been added to my list is health. I want to be an example to my family, now and for future generations, of how to live a healthy life. I want them to understand how important it is to take care of their bodies, how to make healthy choices. Diabetes has been a part of my family's medical legacy for a long time, and I don't want that legacy to continue. This program reversed my diabetes and I pray that this disease, which is so closely tied to lifestyle, will disappear from future generations. That would be a wonderful legacy to leave behind!
As the song says, we have one chance to write our story, and we're writing it right now - there is no do-over. The things we do today matter - it all matters, not just for us, but for those we love. One day builds on another, so make today count and make a healthy lifestyle part of your own legacy.
Who's committed to an on-plan day today?
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Surviving Saturday Nights (and Beyond)
I hope you're having a great Saturday! August, and the summer, is winding down, so I'm trying to savor every moment possible while it lasts. For me, that means that after I work out this morning I'm heading to our local farmer's market to pick up some fresh produce and just enjoy walking around for a while. We're getting together this afternoon with some friends and will either go for a long walk or go for a bike ride with them before we have dinner. My friend is on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1 right now, so I know the dinner will be a lean & green :-).
Hanging around people who are pursuing a healthy lifestyle makes it a lot easier for my husband and I to make healthy choices, too. The couple we're getting together with lives a very active lifestyle, and with her closing in on her own weight loss goal (she's lost over 30 pounds so far), they're more active than ever.
There was an opinion piece in our local newspaper this week entitled, "Face Reality: America is Obese." The writer made this statement: "Human beings in a very fundamental sense behave like flocks of geese or herds of wildebeests. They do things in droves, and whether you gain or lose weight, or start or stop smoking, depends very much on what the people around you are doing."
There really is strength in numbers, and that strength can either be positive or negative. For many of us, weekends, especially Saturday nights, are times to get together with family member and friends. Most of those get-togethers will probably revolve around food, and that's where it gets tricky. Many people who do great and stay on plan all week find it next to impossible to navigate around all of the food obstacles that come their way each weekend. If the people we spend time with aren't focused on living healthy themselves, it can be difficult for those of us who are trying to make positive changes. If the people we spend time with also try to sabotage us, it can be almost impossible.
ALMOST impossible, but not impossible :-). If you're able to move your particular crowd towards a healthier lifestyle, that will not only be good for you, but it will be good for them, too. Suggesting a restaurant with healthy options instead of the usual pizza joint would be a good start, and hopefully your group would be supportive. Or offer to grill at home, and accompany the grilled meat with a lovely salad.
Whether or not you can redirect our family members and friends (and I know some will be next to immovable), it's important that you decide what's really important to you. As you take charge of your own health, don't feel like you need to apologize for making healthy choices. This is YOUR health we're talking about, after all :-). Set yourself up for success, not failure, and don't put yourself into a situation where it might be next to impossible to stay on plan (I won't list some of the potential restaurant landmines, but you all know what they are!). This is such a short time in your life that's been set aside to get to a healthy weight, so don't let anything or anyone get between you and your goal. I promise you, even though this might not be easy now, once you're at goal, you will never regret it!
Hanging around people who are pursuing a healthy lifestyle makes it a lot easier for my husband and I to make healthy choices, too. The couple we're getting together with lives a very active lifestyle, and with her closing in on her own weight loss goal (she's lost over 30 pounds so far), they're more active than ever.
There was an opinion piece in our local newspaper this week entitled, "Face Reality: America is Obese." The writer made this statement: "Human beings in a very fundamental sense behave like flocks of geese or herds of wildebeests. They do things in droves, and whether you gain or lose weight, or start or stop smoking, depends very much on what the people around you are doing."
There really is strength in numbers, and that strength can either be positive or negative. For many of us, weekends, especially Saturday nights, are times to get together with family member and friends. Most of those get-togethers will probably revolve around food, and that's where it gets tricky. Many people who do great and stay on plan all week find it next to impossible to navigate around all of the food obstacles that come their way each weekend. If the people we spend time with aren't focused on living healthy themselves, it can be difficult for those of us who are trying to make positive changes. If the people we spend time with also try to sabotage us, it can be almost impossible.
ALMOST impossible, but not impossible :-). If you're able to move your particular crowd towards a healthier lifestyle, that will not only be good for you, but it will be good for them, too. Suggesting a restaurant with healthy options instead of the usual pizza joint would be a good start, and hopefully your group would be supportive. Or offer to grill at home, and accompany the grilled meat with a lovely salad.
Whether or not you can redirect our family members and friends (and I know some will be next to immovable), it's important that you decide what's really important to you. As you take charge of your own health, don't feel like you need to apologize for making healthy choices. This is YOUR health we're talking about, after all :-). Set yourself up for success, not failure, and don't put yourself into a situation where it might be next to impossible to stay on plan (I won't list some of the potential restaurant landmines, but you all know what they are!). This is such a short time in your life that's been set aside to get to a healthy weight, so don't let anything or anyone get between you and your goal. I promise you, even though this might not be easy now, once you're at goal, you will never regret it!
Friday, August 21, 2009
I Think I Can . . . I KNOW I Can!
One of the fun parts of being a grandparent (and there are MANY fun parts!) is having an opportunity to revisit childhood stories and songs. We spent yesterday evening helping out with our 2-1/2 year old twin grandchildren, Zachary and Olivia. Our son-in-law has been working in Chicago all week, so our daughter has appreciated having a couple extra sets of hands to help with bedtime. We sang a lot of songs that took me back to my own childhood and the childhood of my own three children, then read books.
One of their books is the classic, "The Little Engine That Could," which tells the story of the brave little train engine that took up the challenge to pull the toy train over the mountain to the children who were waiting in the village. It was hard, but the little engine had the consummate "can do" attitude and kept saying "I think I can, I think I can" all the way up the mountain. The moral of the story, of course, is to teach children the importance of persistence and having a positive attitude even in the face of a difficult situation.
"The Little Engine That Could" might be a good book for ALL of us to re-read from time to time, because we all need to be reminded to be persistent and remain positive, even when it's hard and even when we're not having a good time.
There are times when being on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1 is exciting and we're absolutely love doing this program (c'mon, admit it!). Persistence and a positive attitude are easy to come by during those times, and we wish that every day we're on plan could be like that. Unfortunately, there are those OTHER days, and sooner or later we all have one (or two, or three . . . ). On those days, taking a chapter (pun intended!) from "The Little Engine That Could" might be in order :-). Bottom line is that there are lots of things we can't control, but we always choose our attitude.
The funny thing is that once we choose our attitude, our attitude often then makes the difference between whether we succeed or not. If we choose an "I think I can" attitude, before long we start to say, "I KNOW I can!" The positive attitude we choose generates energy that can carry us a long way, even on a challenging day. Choosing to be persistent in pursuing our goal, even on days we don't feel like, also has a wonderful way of invigorating us. I know that when I push through and stay on track, even when I don't want to, I never regret it!
So who's choosing an "I think I can" attitude today? Don't worry about tomorrow, or the day after that - just commit to staying on plan today and then choose your "can do" attitude. You'll reach your goal, I promise!
Blessings!
One of their books is the classic, "The Little Engine That Could," which tells the story of the brave little train engine that took up the challenge to pull the toy train over the mountain to the children who were waiting in the village. It was hard, but the little engine had the consummate "can do" attitude and kept saying "I think I can, I think I can" all the way up the mountain. The moral of the story, of course, is to teach children the importance of persistence and having a positive attitude even in the face of a difficult situation.
"The Little Engine That Could" might be a good book for ALL of us to re-read from time to time, because we all need to be reminded to be persistent and remain positive, even when it's hard and even when we're not having a good time.
There are times when being on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1 is exciting and we're absolutely love doing this program (c'mon, admit it!). Persistence and a positive attitude are easy to come by during those times, and we wish that every day we're on plan could be like that. Unfortunately, there are those OTHER days, and sooner or later we all have one (or two, or three . . . ). On those days, taking a chapter (pun intended!) from "The Little Engine That Could" might be in order :-). Bottom line is that there are lots of things we can't control, but we always choose our attitude.
The funny thing is that once we choose our attitude, our attitude often then makes the difference between whether we succeed or not. If we choose an "I think I can" attitude, before long we start to say, "I KNOW I can!" The positive attitude we choose generates energy that can carry us a long way, even on a challenging day. Choosing to be persistent in pursuing our goal, even on days we don't feel like, also has a wonderful way of invigorating us. I know that when I push through and stay on track, even when I don't want to, I never regret it!
So who's choosing an "I think I can" attitude today? Don't worry about tomorrow, or the day after that - just commit to staying on plan today and then choose your "can do" attitude. You'll reach your goal, I promise!
Blessings!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Another Concept (or Two) Bites the Dust
There are a number of concepts we have to release when we're on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1, at least if we want to be successful and reach our goal. This program, which is medically based and clinically proven, instructs us to do things that seem SO different and contrary to what we may have always believed about how to lose weight.
First of all, we're told to eat six times a day on this plan. For many of us (I know it was true of me), we've tried to lose weight in the past by NOT eating. I know that I often try to go as long as possible each day before eating, in part because I thought that somehow I was "saving" calories for later in the day by doing that, and in part because sometimes once I started eating, I couldn't stop. What I now understand is that skipping meals and going hours before eating wasn't doing my metabolism any favors, and it resulted in wild fluctuations in my blood sugar, including those awful drops when I'd gone too long without eating.
After years of diets that manipulated nutrients in an attempt to help people lose weight (low fat, low carb, high protein, not mixing carbs and protein, etc.), Take Shape for Life/Medifast is a plan that provides the right balance of fats, carbs and protein. It's low calorie because that is ultimately the only way we ever lose weight - by consuming less calories than we burn, but it has the balance of nutrients our bodies need to be healthy. That's why those of us losing weight on 5&1 look healthy, and we continue to look healthy when we reach our goal. Even though our calories are dramatically reduced, we are nutritionally supported every step of the way.
We're also told to cut back on exercise when we start the program, and to keep our exercise limited to 45 minutes while we're on the plan to ensure that we don't end up putting our bodies into a starvation mode by burning too many calories. For some of us, this is the best part of the plan :-), but others struggle and are just sure this can't be right. The idea that we have to exercise the weight off has been around for such a long time that we struggle to believe that it's not true.
I was interested to read an article in "Time" magazine a few days ago which, surprise of all surprises, explained why exercise won't make us thin. The article noted that:
"More than 45 million Americans now belong to a health club, up from 23 million in 1993. We spend some $19 billion a year on gym memberships. Of course, some people join and never go. Still, as one major study — the Minnesota Heart Survey — found, more of us at least say we exercise regularly. The survey ran from 1980, when only 47% of respondents said they engaged in regular exercise, to 2000, when the figure had grown to 57%.
"And yet obesity figures have risen dramatically in the same period: a third of Americans are obese, and another third count as overweight by the Federal Government's definition.
"The basic problem is that while it's true that exercise burns calories and that you must burn calories to lose weight, exercise has another effect: it can stimulate hunger. That causes us to eat more, which in turn can negate the weight-loss benefits we just accrued. Exercise, in other words, isn't necessarily helping us lose weight. It may even be making it harder."
So another concept bites the dust! In place of all of our concepts, none of which were really working for us (if they were, we wouldn't be on 5&1, right?), we have a balanced program that's designed to get us healthy and keep us healthy for the rest of our lives. Sounds good to me!
How does that sound to you? Are you committed to an on-plan day today?
First of all, we're told to eat six times a day on this plan. For many of us (I know it was true of me), we've tried to lose weight in the past by NOT eating. I know that I often try to go as long as possible each day before eating, in part because I thought that somehow I was "saving" calories for later in the day by doing that, and in part because sometimes once I started eating, I couldn't stop. What I now understand is that skipping meals and going hours before eating wasn't doing my metabolism any favors, and it resulted in wild fluctuations in my blood sugar, including those awful drops when I'd gone too long without eating.
After years of diets that manipulated nutrients in an attempt to help people lose weight (low fat, low carb, high protein, not mixing carbs and protein, etc.), Take Shape for Life/Medifast is a plan that provides the right balance of fats, carbs and protein. It's low calorie because that is ultimately the only way we ever lose weight - by consuming less calories than we burn, but it has the balance of nutrients our bodies need to be healthy. That's why those of us losing weight on 5&1 look healthy, and we continue to look healthy when we reach our goal. Even though our calories are dramatically reduced, we are nutritionally supported every step of the way.
We're also told to cut back on exercise when we start the program, and to keep our exercise limited to 45 minutes while we're on the plan to ensure that we don't end up putting our bodies into a starvation mode by burning too many calories. For some of us, this is the best part of the plan :-), but others struggle and are just sure this can't be right. The idea that we have to exercise the weight off has been around for such a long time that we struggle to believe that it's not true.
I was interested to read an article in "Time" magazine a few days ago which, surprise of all surprises, explained why exercise won't make us thin. The article noted that:
"More than 45 million Americans now belong to a health club, up from 23 million in 1993. We spend some $19 billion a year on gym memberships. Of course, some people join and never go. Still, as one major study — the Minnesota Heart Survey — found, more of us at least say we exercise regularly. The survey ran from 1980, when only 47% of respondents said they engaged in regular exercise, to 2000, when the figure had grown to 57%.
"And yet obesity figures have risen dramatically in the same period: a third of Americans are obese, and another third count as overweight by the Federal Government's definition.
"The basic problem is that while it's true that exercise burns calories and that you must burn calories to lose weight, exercise has another effect: it can stimulate hunger. That causes us to eat more, which in turn can negate the weight-loss benefits we just accrued. Exercise, in other words, isn't necessarily helping us lose weight. It may even be making it harder."
So another concept bites the dust! In place of all of our concepts, none of which were really working for us (if they were, we wouldn't be on 5&1, right?), we have a balanced program that's designed to get us healthy and keep us healthy for the rest of our lives. Sounds good to me!
How does that sound to you? Are you committed to an on-plan day today?
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
It's Hard Being a Crockpot in a Microwave Society
Happy Wednesday! For everyone who has a Monday-Friday work schedule, today is hump day - by the end of the day, you'll be closing in on the weekend!
It's hard to wait for things we want, whether it's a weekend off work or saving for something we want to buy or reaching our weight loss goal. This past Sunday, my pastor talked about our "real time" society. If it takes five seconds for a window to pop up on our computer screen, we feel frustrated. We don't like waiting in lines but expect instant service. We throw something in the microwave and it's ready in 3 minutes and we come to expect everything to be instantly ready for us when we want it.
The problem is that some things just can't be hurried . . . and learning new, healthy habits that will bring us to our weight loss goal fits this category. In our microwave society, some things are just not microwave material. These "crockpot" things require time, and there just isn't any way to speed them up and still get the results we want.
Learning new habits happens one day at a time, and each day that we're practicing these healthy habits not only brings us one day closer to our weight loss goal, but it's also another day of imprinting those habits in our lives. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: this is not a diet, it's a new, healthy way of living. The first step is getting to your goal weight, but that's not the end - it's the beginning of your new, healthy life. It doesn't come in a microwave instant, but it DOES come, and it's worth waiting for.
There were some long days for me when I was on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1, and it certainly wasn't always fun. However, I look back on those 11 months of staying on plan and reaching my weight loss goal and it seems like it went by in a second. Eleven months is a snap of a finger over the course of a lifetime, just a second out of my life that changed my life forever.
That will happen for you, too - one day and one meal at a time. It may take you a couple of months to reach your goal, or it may take a year. What difference does it make in the long run how long it takes, if you end up at your goal weight, in your goal size, feeling better than you have in years (maybe better than you've felt for your entire adult life), and knowing you're healthy? Keep your eyes on your goal and don't worry about how far away that goal is. One day and one step at a time will get you there, and you'll get there faster than you think!
Who's committed to an on-plan day today?
It's hard to wait for things we want, whether it's a weekend off work or saving for something we want to buy or reaching our weight loss goal. This past Sunday, my pastor talked about our "real time" society. If it takes five seconds for a window to pop up on our computer screen, we feel frustrated. We don't like waiting in lines but expect instant service. We throw something in the microwave and it's ready in 3 minutes and we come to expect everything to be instantly ready for us when we want it.
The problem is that some things just can't be hurried . . . and learning new, healthy habits that will bring us to our weight loss goal fits this category. In our microwave society, some things are just not microwave material. These "crockpot" things require time, and there just isn't any way to speed them up and still get the results we want.
Learning new habits happens one day at a time, and each day that we're practicing these healthy habits not only brings us one day closer to our weight loss goal, but it's also another day of imprinting those habits in our lives. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: this is not a diet, it's a new, healthy way of living. The first step is getting to your goal weight, but that's not the end - it's the beginning of your new, healthy life. It doesn't come in a microwave instant, but it DOES come, and it's worth waiting for.
There were some long days for me when I was on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1, and it certainly wasn't always fun. However, I look back on those 11 months of staying on plan and reaching my weight loss goal and it seems like it went by in a second. Eleven months is a snap of a finger over the course of a lifetime, just a second out of my life that changed my life forever.
That will happen for you, too - one day and one meal at a time. It may take you a couple of months to reach your goal, or it may take a year. What difference does it make in the long run how long it takes, if you end up at your goal weight, in your goal size, feeling better than you have in years (maybe better than you've felt for your entire adult life), and knowing you're healthy? Keep your eyes on your goal and don't worry about how far away that goal is. One day and one step at a time will get you there, and you'll get there faster than you think!
Who's committed to an on-plan day today?
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Toxic Perfectionism
I'm heading out the door in a couple of minutes for the health club :-). After a way-too-long hiatus, it feel SO good to be back in a regular exercise routine. Now that I'm not so sore anymore, I am very motivated to keep going so I don't have to restart again. Last week was a pretty painful week!
I didn't do it perfectly last week, despite my very good intentions, but I decided to focus on what I did right rather than beat myself up for what I didn't do. My goal was to exercise 6 out of 7 days and I actually did it for 4. Not great, but definitely an improvement over past weeks!
Generally I am an "all or nothing" kind of person. If I can't give something 100%, I don't even want to try, and if I try to give 100% and fall short, I focus on where I slipped up rather than celebrating the success I had. Can anybody identify with this?
This is really a toxic form of perfectionism and it can absolutely paralyze us and keep us from even starting. We look at all of the potential obstacles and unless we know ahead of time exactly how we're going to overcome each one, we give up because the fear of failure overwhelms us.
While I stayed on the Take Shape for Life/Medifast plan and stayed in the fat-burning state the entire 11 months it took me to lose 120 pounds, my path thus far in maintenance has been less straightforward. I've shared with you that, to quote a friend of mine, "maintenance isn't for sissies." :-) For a recovering perfectionist like myself, doing maintenance less than 100% "right" could trigger a serious backslide - you know, the old "if I'm not going to be good then I might as well be really, really bad" mentality. However, please note that I am now a RECOVERING perfectionist!
What this means is that I am learning that the most important thing is to keep moving forward. When I fall down (notice I didn't say "if"), I no longer waste time beating myself up. I try to figure out what happened, because I want to learn from my mistake, but then I just refocus on what I want and keep on going. This has helped me stay in my goal range for the past 15 months (and in my goal size). When I've found myself hovering dangerously close to the top of my goal range, I've had to figure out what happened and then take steps to reign things in.
For those of you who are still on your weight loss journey, I want to encourage you to do two things. First of all, I really encourage you to stay on plan, because that is by far the fastest and surest way to reach your goal. Secondly, if you do find that you've gotten off plan, don't waste any time beating yourself up - just pick yourself up and keep moving forward! Do spend some time (but not TOO much!) and try to determine what happened and why, but then move on. Even if you don't do this perfectly, as long as you don't allow missteps to keep you from moving forward, you'll reach your goal!
So who's committed to an on-plan day today?
I didn't do it perfectly last week, despite my very good intentions, but I decided to focus on what I did right rather than beat myself up for what I didn't do. My goal was to exercise 6 out of 7 days and I actually did it for 4. Not great, but definitely an improvement over past weeks!
Generally I am an "all or nothing" kind of person. If I can't give something 100%, I don't even want to try, and if I try to give 100% and fall short, I focus on where I slipped up rather than celebrating the success I had. Can anybody identify with this?
This is really a toxic form of perfectionism and it can absolutely paralyze us and keep us from even starting. We look at all of the potential obstacles and unless we know ahead of time exactly how we're going to overcome each one, we give up because the fear of failure overwhelms us.
While I stayed on the Take Shape for Life/Medifast plan and stayed in the fat-burning state the entire 11 months it took me to lose 120 pounds, my path thus far in maintenance has been less straightforward. I've shared with you that, to quote a friend of mine, "maintenance isn't for sissies." :-) For a recovering perfectionist like myself, doing maintenance less than 100% "right" could trigger a serious backslide - you know, the old "if I'm not going to be good then I might as well be really, really bad" mentality. However, please note that I am now a RECOVERING perfectionist!
What this means is that I am learning that the most important thing is to keep moving forward. When I fall down (notice I didn't say "if"), I no longer waste time beating myself up. I try to figure out what happened, because I want to learn from my mistake, but then I just refocus on what I want and keep on going. This has helped me stay in my goal range for the past 15 months (and in my goal size). When I've found myself hovering dangerously close to the top of my goal range, I've had to figure out what happened and then take steps to reign things in.
For those of you who are still on your weight loss journey, I want to encourage you to do two things. First of all, I really encourage you to stay on plan, because that is by far the fastest and surest way to reach your goal. Secondly, if you do find that you've gotten off plan, don't waste any time beating yourself up - just pick yourself up and keep moving forward! Do spend some time (but not TOO much!) and try to determine what happened and why, but then move on. Even if you don't do this perfectly, as long as you don't allow missteps to keep you from moving forward, you'll reach your goal!
So who's committed to an on-plan day today?
Monday, August 17, 2009
It's All About Attitude
Happy Monday morning everyone! Are you excited about the start of another week? Are you excited about another day to be on plan? Do you think I'm delusional for asking these questions on a Monday morning? :-)
I'm asking if you're excited because I have learned that our attitude can make all the difference in how we approach our day and the things we have to do. I remember watching a program several years ago (I can't remember what it was called) where someone spoke in a monotone about all the things they had to do that day. They then repeated the exact same sequence of events, but each one was punctuated with excitement and an "I get to do this!" attitude - what a difference! The sequence of events didn't change, but the attitude did. The second time the person went through the list, the excitement built with each new thing on the list.
We can either view our day as one filled with obligations or one filled with opportunity. That is certainly true of facing another day of being on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1! Trust me, I did NOT wake up joyful every morning that I got to face 5 Medifast meals for the day, but what a difference it made when I DID get up with a positive attitude about the journey I was on.
Today is an opportunity to get one step closer to your goal, and that's exciting! Today is one step further away from where you started, and that's VERY exciting! Today is another day of honing the skills and the habits that will KEEP you at your goal weight. Today is one day closer to being able to eat (in moderation, of course) some of the things that you enjoy that aren't on the weight loss portion of this plan - how exciting is that?
Today can be exciting and filled with opportunity IF you focus on where you're heading. Your goal is straight ahead - can you see it? Can you visualize yourself at your goal, feeling and looking fabulous? It doesn't matter if you just started on the plan and have a long way to go, or if you've been on plan for a while and are closing in on your goal - you WILL get there, one day and one meal at a time. There is no "hope so" about it. If you are committed to making the choices each day that you need to make, you'll get to your goal. So be encouraged and excited today, because you're making progress, whether it feels like it or not.
Who's committed to an on-plan day today?
I'm asking if you're excited because I have learned that our attitude can make all the difference in how we approach our day and the things we have to do. I remember watching a program several years ago (I can't remember what it was called) where someone spoke in a monotone about all the things they had to do that day. They then repeated the exact same sequence of events, but each one was punctuated with excitement and an "I get to do this!" attitude - what a difference! The sequence of events didn't change, but the attitude did. The second time the person went through the list, the excitement built with each new thing on the list.
We can either view our day as one filled with obligations or one filled with opportunity. That is certainly true of facing another day of being on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1! Trust me, I did NOT wake up joyful every morning that I got to face 5 Medifast meals for the day, but what a difference it made when I DID get up with a positive attitude about the journey I was on.
Today is an opportunity to get one step closer to your goal, and that's exciting! Today is one step further away from where you started, and that's VERY exciting! Today is another day of honing the skills and the habits that will KEEP you at your goal weight. Today is one day closer to being able to eat (in moderation, of course) some of the things that you enjoy that aren't on the weight loss portion of this plan - how exciting is that?
Today can be exciting and filled with opportunity IF you focus on where you're heading. Your goal is straight ahead - can you see it? Can you visualize yourself at your goal, feeling and looking fabulous? It doesn't matter if you just started on the plan and have a long way to go, or if you've been on plan for a while and are closing in on your goal - you WILL get there, one day and one meal at a time. There is no "hope so" about it. If you are committed to making the choices each day that you need to make, you'll get to your goal. So be encouraged and excited today, because you're making progress, whether it feels like it or not.
Who's committed to an on-plan day today?
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Getting Healthy
Good morning everyone! I hope you're having a great Saturday!
It's amazing what you can find on the internet - lots of information, good and bad, and lots and LOTS of opinions. A couple of days ago, an article about the H1N1 virus (formerly called swine flu) caught my attention.
"According to the Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, obesity may play a role in the severity of H1N1 infections. The report said that the CDC was "surprised by the frequency of obesity among the severe cases that we have been tracking and do think that this is an important result.”
Among 30 H1N1 cases admitted to California hospitals in April and May, 37% had underlying lung problems, and 20% took medications or had other conditions that suppress the immune system. Four patients had diabetes mellitus—another condition that predisposes to complications—and four were obese. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hospitalized patients with novel influenza A (H1N1) virus infection—California, April-May, 2009. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. May 18, 2009/58[Early Release];1-5)
Prior to this analysis, CDC had not considered obesity to be an independent risk factor for complications of H1N1 infection, but the organization is now considering whether obese individuals should be treated differently when they acquire H1N1, or whether immunization protocols should differ for obese persons."
In reading some of the comments that people left about this study, one comment really stood out. It was from a woman who described herself as 5' 4" and 280 pounds, with a BMI of around 50. She blasted the report and talked about how healthy she was, stating she was never sick and had lots of energy. She then went on to talk about her 135 pound husband who seemed to catch everything that went around and had no energy, concluding that she was much healthier than he.
So here are my thoughts for today :-). First of all, there certainly needs to be a lot more research done into H1N1 to determine why some people seem to be more impacted than others (pregnant women are another group that seems to have a higher rate of complications). However, the observation that obesity can play a factor in the complication rate should not be ignored.
Obesity has a well-known set of health risks, but there may well be other hidden risks that aren't fully realized, such as the complications with H1N1. The truth is that we don't really know exactly what obesity may be doing to us, since much of it's dastardly work is silent.
Because the damage is so often silent, a person with a BMI of 50 can believe that they are healthy - more healthy than a thin person, completely unaware of what's happening internally. (Do a Google search of "abdominal adiposity" for eye-opening information about what fat does to our insides.) The truth is that being overweight puts us at MUCH higher risk for a variety of health issues (and that's on top of the damage it does to our self-esteem). Certainly there are obese people who manage to escape the health issues of obesity, and there are life-long smokers who live to be 100 and never have lung cancer or breathing issues, too - but these are the outliers, not the norm. I don't know about you, but I wasn't willing to bet my life on the slim chance of being one of the outliers.
Lastly, getting back to the woman with the BMI of 50, she talked about her 135 pound husband being sickly and lacking energy. There is a big difference between being thin and being healthy! A person can be at a normal weight and be very unhealthy if they don't eat right and don't take care of themselves.
That's why this program isn't about getting thin, it's about getting healthy! We are losing weight as we eat healthy, nutritionally complete meals, and we are learning how to do this for the rest of our lives. I've heard Dr. Andersen say that this program is NOT about getting thin fast - he said that if you really want to do that, he highly recommends crack cocaine; you'll lose weight really fast, you'll get your house clean, but then you die.
This is about returning to a healthy weight - and for some, perhaps for the first time in your life. You'll get there quickly - I believe this program is THE fastest way to lose weight safely - but you'll also get healthy in the process. Getting to a healthy weight and doing it in a healthy way greatly increases the likelihood that we will live longer and healthier, with a much better quality of life. That's what motivated me to stay on plan, and I hope that's what's motivating you today, too!
Who's committed to an on-plan Saturday?
It's amazing what you can find on the internet - lots of information, good and bad, and lots and LOTS of opinions. A couple of days ago, an article about the H1N1 virus (formerly called swine flu) caught my attention.
"According to the Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, obesity may play a role in the severity of H1N1 infections. The report said that the CDC was "surprised by the frequency of obesity among the severe cases that we have been tracking and do think that this is an important result.”
Among 30 H1N1 cases admitted to California hospitals in April and May, 37% had underlying lung problems, and 20% took medications or had other conditions that suppress the immune system. Four patients had diabetes mellitus—another condition that predisposes to complications—and four were obese. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hospitalized patients with novel influenza A (H1N1) virus infection—California, April-May, 2009. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. May 18, 2009/58[Early Release];1-5)
Prior to this analysis, CDC had not considered obesity to be an independent risk factor for complications of H1N1 infection, but the organization is now considering whether obese individuals should be treated differently when they acquire H1N1, or whether immunization protocols should differ for obese persons."
In reading some of the comments that people left about this study, one comment really stood out. It was from a woman who described herself as 5' 4" and 280 pounds, with a BMI of around 50. She blasted the report and talked about how healthy she was, stating she was never sick and had lots of energy. She then went on to talk about her 135 pound husband who seemed to catch everything that went around and had no energy, concluding that she was much healthier than he.
So here are my thoughts for today :-). First of all, there certainly needs to be a lot more research done into H1N1 to determine why some people seem to be more impacted than others (pregnant women are another group that seems to have a higher rate of complications). However, the observation that obesity can play a factor in the complication rate should not be ignored.
Obesity has a well-known set of health risks, but there may well be other hidden risks that aren't fully realized, such as the complications with H1N1. The truth is that we don't really know exactly what obesity may be doing to us, since much of it's dastardly work is silent.
Because the damage is so often silent, a person with a BMI of 50 can believe that they are healthy - more healthy than a thin person, completely unaware of what's happening internally. (Do a Google search of "abdominal adiposity" for eye-opening information about what fat does to our insides.) The truth is that being overweight puts us at MUCH higher risk for a variety of health issues (and that's on top of the damage it does to our self-esteem). Certainly there are obese people who manage to escape the health issues of obesity, and there are life-long smokers who live to be 100 and never have lung cancer or breathing issues, too - but these are the outliers, not the norm. I don't know about you, but I wasn't willing to bet my life on the slim chance of being one of the outliers.
Lastly, getting back to the woman with the BMI of 50, she talked about her 135 pound husband being sickly and lacking energy. There is a big difference between being thin and being healthy! A person can be at a normal weight and be very unhealthy if they don't eat right and don't take care of themselves.
That's why this program isn't about getting thin, it's about getting healthy! We are losing weight as we eat healthy, nutritionally complete meals, and we are learning how to do this for the rest of our lives. I've heard Dr. Andersen say that this program is NOT about getting thin fast - he said that if you really want to do that, he highly recommends crack cocaine; you'll lose weight really fast, you'll get your house clean, but then you die.
This is about returning to a healthy weight - and for some, perhaps for the first time in your life. You'll get there quickly - I believe this program is THE fastest way to lose weight safely - but you'll also get healthy in the process. Getting to a healthy weight and doing it in a healthy way greatly increases the likelihood that we will live longer and healthier, with a much better quality of life. That's what motivated me to stay on plan, and I hope that's what's motivating you today, too!
Who's committed to an on-plan Saturday?
Friday, August 14, 2009
Tyranny of the Urgent
Hi everyone, and welcome to Friday :-). It's been a busy week on the home front as I've been focused on catching up after being gone last week as well as trying to get into a new and healthier routine. I'm pretty happy to report that I've gotten up early every morning this week and started my day by spending time reading my Bible and praying - preparing myself spiritually for the rest of my day. Following my morning devotions, I've exercised for at least an hour (good news is that I'm not feeling so sore now - yeah!!).
It's amazing how putting some structure into the start of my day has positively impacted the rest of my day, and I've realized all over again how much I need structure in my life. Getting exercise in has given me more energy throughout the rest of my day, making me wonder why this ever dropped off my schedule.
When things get busy, the things that we most need to do - the things that make such a difference in the rest of our day - are often the first things that get dropped. Busy day? There goes exercise. Packed schedule? Healthy eating is out the window.
Why do we make taking care of ourselves such a low priority? I'm talking to myself here :-). What's really ironic is that when things are the busiest, that's when we most need to take care of ourselves. When we're really busy and under stress, eating healthy and getting regular exercise (and enough sleep) will help to strengthen our immune systems and help us to stay healthy and have the energy we need to keep up the busy schedule. Instead, we tend to run on empty, then wonder why we are dragging and feel crummy.
Several years ago, I read a booklet entitled, "The Tyranny of the Urgent." The booklet talked about how often the urgent things get in the way of us doing the things that are really important. The problem is that there is almost always something urgent to attend to, and it can be next to impossible to get past the urgent things so we can focus on what's really important.
That is one of the reasons why it's important to know WHY we want to lose weight and get healthy. We have to have a big WHY, and we need to keep that in our sights at all times. Our work week is filled with urgent things, and we often go into a weekend jam-packed with an entire different list of urgent things begging for attention.
As you finish up this work week, and as you get ready for another summer weekend, my encouragement to you is to take a good, long look at your big WHY, then organize your schedule to make sure that what's important to you doesn't get pushed aside by all of the urgent stuff. It's not always easy, but it's worth it!
Who's committed to an on-plan day today?
It's amazing how putting some structure into the start of my day has positively impacted the rest of my day, and I've realized all over again how much I need structure in my life. Getting exercise in has given me more energy throughout the rest of my day, making me wonder why this ever dropped off my schedule.
When things get busy, the things that we most need to do - the things that make such a difference in the rest of our day - are often the first things that get dropped. Busy day? There goes exercise. Packed schedule? Healthy eating is out the window.
Why do we make taking care of ourselves such a low priority? I'm talking to myself here :-). What's really ironic is that when things are the busiest, that's when we most need to take care of ourselves. When we're really busy and under stress, eating healthy and getting regular exercise (and enough sleep) will help to strengthen our immune systems and help us to stay healthy and have the energy we need to keep up the busy schedule. Instead, we tend to run on empty, then wonder why we are dragging and feel crummy.
Several years ago, I read a booklet entitled, "The Tyranny of the Urgent." The booklet talked about how often the urgent things get in the way of us doing the things that are really important. The problem is that there is almost always something urgent to attend to, and it can be next to impossible to get past the urgent things so we can focus on what's really important.
That is one of the reasons why it's important to know WHY we want to lose weight and get healthy. We have to have a big WHY, and we need to keep that in our sights at all times. Our work week is filled with urgent things, and we often go into a weekend jam-packed with an entire different list of urgent things begging for attention.
As you finish up this work week, and as you get ready for another summer weekend, my encouragement to you is to take a good, long look at your big WHY, then organize your schedule to make sure that what's important to you doesn't get pushed aside by all of the urgent stuff. It's not always easy, but it's worth it!
Who's committed to an on-plan day today?
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Not a Diet!
Happy Thursday!
Moving from a "dieting" mindset to a "getting (and staying) healthy" mindset is a real departure from the way most everyone else in this country thinks when it comes to weight loss. That point was brought home again last week when I read an article on the internet about Sherri Shepherd, who is one of the hosts on "The View."
Sherri modeled a swim suit on last Thursday's program to show off the results of several months of a strict diet and exercise regime. She didn't say how many pounds she lost, but she did say that she lost 5 inches from her waist and 10 inches overall. The article ended by stating that "producers for the show rewarded her hard work with a platter of ribs, corn bread, collard greens, M&Ms and other goodies."
Yikes!! That, my friends, is unfortunately the mindset of most of America when it comes to losing weight, and that is exactly why 85% of individuals who lose weight gain it all back - plus often more - within two years. A dieting mindset views reaching goal as the end of the road, and most people go right back to their "normal" eating and start "enjoying all the food they missed" while they were on their diet. There really isn't any intention to permanently change habits, because the diet mindset views the diet as a temporary thing.
This program is different. The intent of Take Shape for Life/Medifast is to first get us to a healthy weight, certainly, but that is just the first step of a life-long journey of health. Take Shape for Life/Medifast teaches us to eat small meals throughout the day; we learn to eat breakfast, we begin to incorporate exercise into our lives, we have the support of others, and we learn to plan our day while making sure we have the food we need. All of these things together give us the tools we need to maintain a healthy weight for the rest of our lives.
The things we're learning now will enable us to get off the miserable cycle of yo-yo dieting once and for all, and to get on with the rest of our healthy lives. We have to adopt a different mindset to do that, but, 15 months since reaching my goal, I can assure you that it's worth it!
Who's committed to an on-plan day today?
Moving from a "dieting" mindset to a "getting (and staying) healthy" mindset is a real departure from the way most everyone else in this country thinks when it comes to weight loss. That point was brought home again last week when I read an article on the internet about Sherri Shepherd, who is one of the hosts on "The View."
Sherri modeled a swim suit on last Thursday's program to show off the results of several months of a strict diet and exercise regime. She didn't say how many pounds she lost, but she did say that she lost 5 inches from her waist and 10 inches overall. The article ended by stating that "producers for the show rewarded her hard work with a platter of ribs, corn bread, collard greens, M&Ms and other goodies."
Yikes!! That, my friends, is unfortunately the mindset of most of America when it comes to losing weight, and that is exactly why 85% of individuals who lose weight gain it all back - plus often more - within two years. A dieting mindset views reaching goal as the end of the road, and most people go right back to their "normal" eating and start "enjoying all the food they missed" while they were on their diet. There really isn't any intention to permanently change habits, because the diet mindset views the diet as a temporary thing.
This program is different. The intent of Take Shape for Life/Medifast is to first get us to a healthy weight, certainly, but that is just the first step of a life-long journey of health. Take Shape for Life/Medifast teaches us to eat small meals throughout the day; we learn to eat breakfast, we begin to incorporate exercise into our lives, we have the support of others, and we learn to plan our day while making sure we have the food we need. All of these things together give us the tools we need to maintain a healthy weight for the rest of our lives.
The things we're learning now will enable us to get off the miserable cycle of yo-yo dieting once and for all, and to get on with the rest of our healthy lives. We have to adopt a different mindset to do that, but, 15 months since reaching my goal, I can assure you that it's worth it!
Who's committed to an on-plan day today?
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
A Zillion Excuses, and One Reason
I'm heading out to the health club shortly, and wow - this is really about doing what I know I need to do today rather than what I feel like doing! When I worked out there on Monday, it was the first time I'd been there in several months. While it felt wonderful to be back, I kept thinking about how much I was going to hurt afterward :-). In fact, my health club has a sign posted that says, "Pain is the sign of weakness leaving your body." As I moved from weight machine to weight machine, I kept thinking about how much weakness would soon be leaving my body!
I woke up yesterday morning feeling sore pretty much all over my body, which is what I expected. It would have been easy to have given myself permission to take the day off of exercise, but I didn't. I've committed to incorporating regular exercise into my life, so I laced up my shoes, grabbed my iPod and headphones and headed out for an almost hour-long brisk walk. The sun was shining and I spent the hour listening to some wonderful contemporary Christian music (I even sang along part of the time!) - it was a wonderful walk and I was so glad I pushed myself out the door.
There are always a zillion reasons why we can't do something, whether it's staying on plan or exercising or any other positive change we're trying to make in our lives. For me, it's easy to skip exercise if the weather is too hot, too cold, too windy, or rainy; if I'm tired, if I'm busy . . . you get the picture! For some of you who are struggling to stay on plan right now, there is always a party, a get-together, family coming over; there's too much stress or you just don't have time or ?? Like I said, we are all masters of coming up with a million and one reasons - which are really excuses - why we can't do the things that we know we really should be doing. When we don't do the things we know we should do, we end up feeling guilty and frustrated at ourselves. Unfortunately, all too often we keep going back to those million and one excuses and don't make the progress we want to make.
Yep, there are always a zillion and one reasons why we don't do the things we know we should, but there's really only one thing that will nullify all those excuses and get us moving in the direction we want to go. We have to want our goal - really, really want it. Our goal has to be bigger than our excuses.
Last month I wrote about breaking through a pine board with my hand at the convention I went to. That board represents all of the barriers we put up between ourselves and what we really want. When what we want is big enough and important enough, we'll focus on that and not on the obstacles, and once we focus on our goal, we'll be able to break through those zillion and one excuses.
Since I'm really wanting to increase my flexibility and strength, and since I want to increase my percentage of muscle and reduce my percentage of fat (which is MUCH less after losing 126 pounds on this program!), I have to incorporate cardio and strength-training into my life. Every morning I have to make a decision as to whether I'm going to focus on what I really want or focus on the zillion and one obstacles and excuses that stand between me and my goal. Making major changes isn't easy, but staying on 5&1 without cheating for 11 months and losing 126 pounds taught me two things (actually, a lot more than two, but I won't take the time to list them all now!). First, I learned that it IS possible to make a major change at any point in life. Second, making the change isn't easy, but it is SO worth it!
So I'm grabbing my gym bag and my water bottle, I've got my iPod and headphones, and I'm heading out the door! I'm committed to living strong and healthy, and that will happen one day and one good choice at a time. How about you? Are you committed to an on-plan day today?
I woke up yesterday morning feeling sore pretty much all over my body, which is what I expected. It would have been easy to have given myself permission to take the day off of exercise, but I didn't. I've committed to incorporating regular exercise into my life, so I laced up my shoes, grabbed my iPod and headphones and headed out for an almost hour-long brisk walk. The sun was shining and I spent the hour listening to some wonderful contemporary Christian music (I even sang along part of the time!) - it was a wonderful walk and I was so glad I pushed myself out the door.
There are always a zillion reasons why we can't do something, whether it's staying on plan or exercising or any other positive change we're trying to make in our lives. For me, it's easy to skip exercise if the weather is too hot, too cold, too windy, or rainy; if I'm tired, if I'm busy . . . you get the picture! For some of you who are struggling to stay on plan right now, there is always a party, a get-together, family coming over; there's too much stress or you just don't have time or ?? Like I said, we are all masters of coming up with a million and one reasons - which are really excuses - why we can't do the things that we know we really should be doing. When we don't do the things we know we should do, we end up feeling guilty and frustrated at ourselves. Unfortunately, all too often we keep going back to those million and one excuses and don't make the progress we want to make.
Yep, there are always a zillion and one reasons why we don't do the things we know we should, but there's really only one thing that will nullify all those excuses and get us moving in the direction we want to go. We have to want our goal - really, really want it. Our goal has to be bigger than our excuses.
Last month I wrote about breaking through a pine board with my hand at the convention I went to. That board represents all of the barriers we put up between ourselves and what we really want. When what we want is big enough and important enough, we'll focus on that and not on the obstacles, and once we focus on our goal, we'll be able to break through those zillion and one excuses.
Since I'm really wanting to increase my flexibility and strength, and since I want to increase my percentage of muscle and reduce my percentage of fat (which is MUCH less after losing 126 pounds on this program!), I have to incorporate cardio and strength-training into my life. Every morning I have to make a decision as to whether I'm going to focus on what I really want or focus on the zillion and one obstacles and excuses that stand between me and my goal. Making major changes isn't easy, but staying on 5&1 without cheating for 11 months and losing 126 pounds taught me two things (actually, a lot more than two, but I won't take the time to list them all now!). First, I learned that it IS possible to make a major change at any point in life. Second, making the change isn't easy, but it is SO worth it!
So I'm grabbing my gym bag and my water bottle, I've got my iPod and headphones, and I'm heading out the door! I'm committed to living strong and healthy, and that will happen one day and one good choice at a time. How about you? Are you committed to an on-plan day today?
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
More Choices . . .
Happy Tuesday everyone!
One of the things I did while on vacation was begin working my way through "Dr. A's Habits of Health" and the just-released companion guide, "Living a Longer, Healthier Life." One of the exercises I did from the companion guide was listing 10 daily choices that support my health right now and also listing 10 daily choices that don't support my health. If you've never taken the time to do an assessment like this, I highly recommend it!
When I made a list of the daily choices that don't support my health, two of the things I listed were staying up too late (I am a self-confessed night owl) and not incorporating regular strength-building exercise into my life. Once I wrote them down, I realized that there was a direct connection between the two.
Because I am now self-employed, I often find myself staying up WAY too late. It's not uncommon for me to be up well past midnight, checking e-mails, surfing the internet, writing a blog :-), or sometimes watching TV (TLC, HGTV and Food Network are my late-night favorites). Because I stay up really late, I end up sleeping until past 8:30 in the morning. Sleeping that late means I often don't have time to get to the health club and work out before my work day begins. Despite good intentions, getting there later in the day rarely happens, so days (and days and days) go by without any exercise other than perhaps a walk.
Once I saw my list and saw the connection between staying up late and not exercising, I realized that I needed to make a change. As much as I like being a night owl, I realized it wasn't really serving my best interests any more. Because I've made the primary choice to pursue optimal health in my own life, I've realized the need to make secondary choices to support that. I've decided to set my bedtime at 11 and set my alarm for 7 AM, which will give me time to do the things that are important to me (spending time reading my Bible and praying, followed by exercising) before jumping into the rest of my day.
Monday morning was my first day of my new routine, and it felt good! I wasn't that excited about getting up at 7, but I knew that I needed to get up then if I wanted to get everything done before a 10:30 appointment that I had. Do you know what? I did it and it felt GREAT! I walked out of the health club after a good workout with a wonderful sense of satisfaction that I'd truly organized my morning around the things that were important to me.
The rest of yesterday was crazy-busy and had I not gotten up when I did and gotten my morning routine started at 7, things would have fallen by the wayside - I KNOW that wouldn't have gotten in any exercise.
Every day we face choices that will either support our goals for a healthier us or will take us away from those goals. Those secondary choices aren't always what we really WANT to do, but because they support our primary goals, we do them anyway. For those on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1, that means foregoing certain foods right now; you may not feel like not eating those things, but you do it anyway because staying on plan supports what you REALLY want - a thin and healthy body. Or it may mean that you exercise, even when you don't feel like it, because it's part of moving you towards the healthy body you want. Or, in my case, it means turning off TV and shutting down the computer and going to bed, so I can get up on time to start my day off right.
It's going to take time for my new routine to truly become a habit, and I'm guessing that I'll have to fight the temptation to stay up too late, but if I stay focused on what I REALLY want, those are choices (and sacrifices) that I'm willing to make.
What daily choices are you making right now that support your health? What daily choices aren't supporting your health? Once you identify your choices - the good AND the not-so-good - you've taken another important step towards a healthier you!
One healthy choice I hope all of you are making today is the choice to stay on plan :-). Who's committed to an on-plan day today?
One of the things I did while on vacation was begin working my way through "Dr. A's Habits of Health" and the just-released companion guide, "Living a Longer, Healthier Life." One of the exercises I did from the companion guide was listing 10 daily choices that support my health right now and also listing 10 daily choices that don't support my health. If you've never taken the time to do an assessment like this, I highly recommend it!
When I made a list of the daily choices that don't support my health, two of the things I listed were staying up too late (I am a self-confessed night owl) and not incorporating regular strength-building exercise into my life. Once I wrote them down, I realized that there was a direct connection between the two.
Because I am now self-employed, I often find myself staying up WAY too late. It's not uncommon for me to be up well past midnight, checking e-mails, surfing the internet, writing a blog :-), or sometimes watching TV (TLC, HGTV and Food Network are my late-night favorites). Because I stay up really late, I end up sleeping until past 8:30 in the morning. Sleeping that late means I often don't have time to get to the health club and work out before my work day begins. Despite good intentions, getting there later in the day rarely happens, so days (and days and days) go by without any exercise other than perhaps a walk.
Once I saw my list and saw the connection between staying up late and not exercising, I realized that I needed to make a change. As much as I like being a night owl, I realized it wasn't really serving my best interests any more. Because I've made the primary choice to pursue optimal health in my own life, I've realized the need to make secondary choices to support that. I've decided to set my bedtime at 11 and set my alarm for 7 AM, which will give me time to do the things that are important to me (spending time reading my Bible and praying, followed by exercising) before jumping into the rest of my day.
Monday morning was my first day of my new routine, and it felt good! I wasn't that excited about getting up at 7, but I knew that I needed to get up then if I wanted to get everything done before a 10:30 appointment that I had. Do you know what? I did it and it felt GREAT! I walked out of the health club after a good workout with a wonderful sense of satisfaction that I'd truly organized my morning around the things that were important to me.
The rest of yesterday was crazy-busy and had I not gotten up when I did and gotten my morning routine started at 7, things would have fallen by the wayside - I KNOW that wouldn't have gotten in any exercise.
Every day we face choices that will either support our goals for a healthier us or will take us away from those goals. Those secondary choices aren't always what we really WANT to do, but because they support our primary goals, we do them anyway. For those on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1, that means foregoing certain foods right now; you may not feel like not eating those things, but you do it anyway because staying on plan supports what you REALLY want - a thin and healthy body. Or it may mean that you exercise, even when you don't feel like it, because it's part of moving you towards the healthy body you want. Or, in my case, it means turning off TV and shutting down the computer and going to bed, so I can get up on time to start my day off right.
It's going to take time for my new routine to truly become a habit, and I'm guessing that I'll have to fight the temptation to stay up too late, but if I stay focused on what I REALLY want, those are choices (and sacrifices) that I'm willing to make.
What daily choices are you making right now that support your health? What daily choices aren't supporting your health? Once you identify your choices - the good AND the not-so-good - you've taken another important step towards a healthier you!
One healthy choice I hope all of you are making today is the choice to stay on plan :-). Who's committed to an on-plan day today?
Monday, August 10, 2009
Good Choice/Bad Choice
Hi everyone! I'm back after a great week away at our (rented) lake cottage. It was a good mix of rest, relaxation, family time, and time to do some short and long-range planning for our business.
I came home on Saturday weighing a pound less than when I left for the cottage - there haven't been too many vacations in my life where I could say that! For most of the week, we stuck to grilled meat and fresh fruit and veggies (I'm in maintenance, so fruit is definitely on the list!), took some long walks and used MF foods (mostly bars and the new puffs and pretzels) for our snacks. This kept both the grocery budget and the calorie/carb count WAY down :-).
The funny thing was that after getting home on Saturday, when I went to the grocery store to pick up what we needed for the week, I wanted some kind of a dessert in the worst way. I say "the worst way" because I wasn't thinking, "a piece of ***** sounds good," or "I'd enjoy having *****;" this was more of a "I NEED *****" type of want. I actually wandered the store and picked up several different items, intending to buy something, take it home, and then devour it. But I didn't.
First of all, I read the nutrition label on the back of each item and couldn't quite bring myself to eating that many empty calories, carbs and fat grams. Secondly, and more importantly, I (finally!) recognized that the drive to get something, the "I need ****" was being fueled by something other than normal hunger. Coming home from vacation, dealing with unpacking and settling back into a normal routine, anticipating a busy upcoming week all resurrected that old food demon that looks to food for stress relief. Yikes!
Even when I realized what was driving my desire for some type of dessert, I didn't immediately recuperate - I still wanted to get something and faced the "do I want to make a good choice or a bad choice?" dilemma.
Both of my daughters use the "good choice/bad choice" question with their children as part of their disciplinary toolbox, as a way of encouraging their children (ages 6, 4-1/2, and 2-1/2 year old twins) to think through what they're about to do and the possible consequences, and then (hopefully) make the right choice. A few months ago, my 4-1/2 year old granddaughter was asked that question when she was on the brink of making a bad choice, and it triggered a meltdown for her where she screamed (for more than a few minutes), "I don't WANT to make a good choice!"
That's how I felt Saturday night. I didn't WANT to make a good choice! I wanted to buy whatever I wanted and eat the entire thing, and I actually battled those feelings for a few minutes as I finished my grocery shopping. The good news is that the "good choice" won :-). What's really interesting to me is that the minute I walked out of the store with my groceries, I felt a rush of relief. I had battled and won - thank you, Lord! It was a real sense of victory that I had, indeed, made the right choice, and I was glad that I had.
I know now that if I had made a different choice, I would have eaten something for the wrong reasons and would NOT have felt good about it later. Even in maintenance, where all food is really "back on the table," I still have to pay attention not only to what I eat, but why I'm eating it to begin with. When I suddenly feel an overwhelming urge to eat something now (and the something isn't a meal because I'm truly hungry), that's my cue to take a deep breath and take a step back to assess what's really going on.
One of the things I learned while on the Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1 journey is that food doesn't fix anything, except, of course, true physical hunger. Food is incapable of fixing any of the emotional needs we have. we are throwing food down a pit without a bottom when we try, because food will never satisfy those needs. We buy into the lie that eating something will make us feel better, only to be filled with remorse and frustration and even disgust as we're wiping the last crumbs from our face. For me, as I have shared before, part of my own weight loss journey was learning to really turn to the Lord, my TRUE Source of comfort, when I was faced with the stuff of life. Breaking those ties to emotional eating has brought such freedom to my heart and my life. I know that had I not learned to walk away from that bondage, I would not have reached my goal and definitely would not be maintaining in my goal range 15 months later.
So today is back to business for me, and since it's a Monday, it's probably back to business for you, too! Who's committed to an on-plan day today?
I came home on Saturday weighing a pound less than when I left for the cottage - there haven't been too many vacations in my life where I could say that! For most of the week, we stuck to grilled meat and fresh fruit and veggies (I'm in maintenance, so fruit is definitely on the list!), took some long walks and used MF foods (mostly bars and the new puffs and pretzels) for our snacks. This kept both the grocery budget and the calorie/carb count WAY down :-).
The funny thing was that after getting home on Saturday, when I went to the grocery store to pick up what we needed for the week, I wanted some kind of a dessert in the worst way. I say "the worst way" because I wasn't thinking, "a piece of ***** sounds good," or "I'd enjoy having *****;" this was more of a "I NEED *****" type of want. I actually wandered the store and picked up several different items, intending to buy something, take it home, and then devour it. But I didn't.
First of all, I read the nutrition label on the back of each item and couldn't quite bring myself to eating that many empty calories, carbs and fat grams. Secondly, and more importantly, I (finally!) recognized that the drive to get something, the "I need ****" was being fueled by something other than normal hunger. Coming home from vacation, dealing with unpacking and settling back into a normal routine, anticipating a busy upcoming week all resurrected that old food demon that looks to food for stress relief. Yikes!
Even when I realized what was driving my desire for some type of dessert, I didn't immediately recuperate - I still wanted to get something and faced the "do I want to make a good choice or a bad choice?" dilemma.
Both of my daughters use the "good choice/bad choice" question with their children as part of their disciplinary toolbox, as a way of encouraging their children (ages 6, 4-1/2, and 2-1/2 year old twins) to think through what they're about to do and the possible consequences, and then (hopefully) make the right choice. A few months ago, my 4-1/2 year old granddaughter was asked that question when she was on the brink of making a bad choice, and it triggered a meltdown for her where she screamed (for more than a few minutes), "I don't WANT to make a good choice!"
That's how I felt Saturday night. I didn't WANT to make a good choice! I wanted to buy whatever I wanted and eat the entire thing, and I actually battled those feelings for a few minutes as I finished my grocery shopping. The good news is that the "good choice" won :-). What's really interesting to me is that the minute I walked out of the store with my groceries, I felt a rush of relief. I had battled and won - thank you, Lord! It was a real sense of victory that I had, indeed, made the right choice, and I was glad that I had.
I know now that if I had made a different choice, I would have eaten something for the wrong reasons and would NOT have felt good about it later. Even in maintenance, where all food is really "back on the table," I still have to pay attention not only to what I eat, but why I'm eating it to begin with. When I suddenly feel an overwhelming urge to eat something now (and the something isn't a meal because I'm truly hungry), that's my cue to take a deep breath and take a step back to assess what's really going on.
One of the things I learned while on the Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1 journey is that food doesn't fix anything, except, of course, true physical hunger. Food is incapable of fixing any of the emotional needs we have. we are throwing food down a pit without a bottom when we try, because food will never satisfy those needs. We buy into the lie that eating something will make us feel better, only to be filled with remorse and frustration and even disgust as we're wiping the last crumbs from our face. For me, as I have shared before, part of my own weight loss journey was learning to really turn to the Lord, my TRUE Source of comfort, when I was faced with the stuff of life. Breaking those ties to emotional eating has brought such freedom to my heart and my life. I know that had I not learned to walk away from that bondage, I would not have reached my goal and definitely would not be maintaining in my goal range 15 months later.
So today is back to business for me, and since it's a Monday, it's probably back to business for you, too! Who's committed to an on-plan day today?
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