A Clearer Perspective

Last night my husband and I went to see "A Christmas Carol" in 3-D at our local IMax theater.  I love the story anyway, and it was fun seeing it in 3-D and on an IMax screen.  Without the 3-D glasses, the screen was pretty fuzzy and looked out of focus, but the glasses really brought the scene to life - it felt like we could reach out and touch the characters.  The glasses gave me the proper perspective to enjoy the movie as it was intended, and the result was amazing!

When I first started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, my view of the program was pretty fuzzy and slightly out of focus.  I viewed this as a diet and figured that it would probably take the same route as every other diet I'd ever been on.  I thought it was pretty restrictive (which is it!) and I wasn't particularly excited about having whole food groups removed from my eating plan.  I viewed the program as a "quick fix".  Since I knew it was the same program Johns Hopkins uses, I realized it wasn't a fad or crash diet, but I really didn't think it was sustainable over a long period of time.  Still, I felt relieved that it freed me from having to think a lot about what I was going to eat, and I was happy to not have to count calories, carbs or points.

Somewhere along the way, however, it felt like I picked up a pair of 3-D glasses, because I began to view this program from an entirely new perspective.  For starters, instead of viewing the program as restrictive, I saw it as a secure vehicle that would safely get me to my goal as quickly as possible.  By keeping it really simple, the program was truly "goof proof" - all I had to do was follow the simple guidelines and I couldn't help but lose weight.  Because I saw a dramatic improvement in my blood glucose numbers (down to normal my very first week), I also realized that this program was about a lot more than just getting me thin - it was also getting me healthy.  Instead of thinking of this as a diet or a weight loss program, I began to view it as a wellness program.

I also realized that reaching my goal wasn't the end of my journey, but an important step on an ongoing journey.  That was a very different perspective indeed!  I had never even gotten close to my goal on any other program I'd tried, so I'd never thought about what would be on the other side of goal until I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast. 

The last change of perspective came when I shifted my focus from moving away from my obesity to creating health in my life.  Creating something is a lot more exciting and definitely more fun than solving a problem, and creating is an ongoing journey, while problem solving is self-limiting. 

When my focus was still fuzzy, it wasn't always easy to stay on plan because I wasn't exactly sure where I was going.  Looking back, I'm so glad I made the choice to just do it, even when I wasn't sure it would work and even when I wasn't having much fun.  Getting a different - and much clearer - perspective made the choice to stay on plan a lot easier, and keeping that new perspective makes maintenance a lot easier, too.

Every day we have to choose what we're going to focus on, then choose how we're going to respond.  If you feel like your own vision is still a bit fuzzy, hang in there, because in time you'll get your own pair of 3-D glasses and you'll view this program with a whole new perspective.  In the meantime, choose wisely :-).