Tuesday, November 3, 2009

The Power of A Choice

I got together last night with a friend of mine, the same one I wrote about last week who'd lost 90 pounds and was able to sit on the floor at her grandchild's school.

What's interesting about my friendship with her is that I only met her a few months ago through a mutual friend of ours. That friend was a casual acquaintance of mine at the time, but our friendship was renewed when she ran into me at the grocery store. She was so stunned at my weight loss that she literally ran down the aisle of the grocery store pushing her cart and yelling, "What did you do? What did you do?" She placed her first order the next day and lost 70 pounds, reaching her goal. Then HER friend saw her and decided to try the program, too, losing 90 pounds in eight months. Now we are all good friends - and we're all at our goal after years of obesity. How amazing!

As I got together with my friend last night, I had to marvel at the ripple effect of my own weight loss. My friend made the comment that if our mutual friend hadn't run into me at the store, she would still be 90 pounds heavier and miserable. The three of us have lost 286 pounds, plus our husbands have all lost weight too - mine lost 50, one husband lost 40, and the third husband has lost 60 (so far).

The ripple effect is amazing, and it's also very humbling. I couldn't have imagined just 2-1/2 years ago that my decision to place a 4-week order would end up being a blessing not just to me, but to so many others as well. I think back to the times when I was tempted to quit the program and it's sobering to realize that had I done so, some of my friends would probably still be struggling with their weight. Seeing the pure joy on the face of a friend who's been able to drop a medication or get into a smaller size or sit on the floor with her grandchildren always makes my day. There were some challenging days on 5&1, but not only getting to my own goal weight but now seeing others reaching their own goal makes it all worth while.

There are times when I know that you don't wake up joyful at the thought of eating 5 Medifast meals - I had LOTS of those kinds of days :-). There are days when life is pressing in hard and you're tempted to throw the plan out the window and dive back into your favorite comfort foods. For all of those times, and for all of the other times when staying on plan isn't easy, I really encourage you to stay on plan anyway.

You have in your hands the tools to change your life, if you'll let them. And if you change your own life, I can promise you that you'll inspire others to do the same thing. And then they will inspire others . . . and the ripple effect will go on and on.

It starts with your choice today :-)

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