The Power of Choices

The power of the daily choices we make was brought home to me yesterday as I talked with two friends of mine, both of whom have been on Take Shape for Life/Medifast for several months. They started the plan within a couple weeks of each other last fall, they are the same age and each had about the same amount of weight they wanted to lose. However, despite the many similarities when they started, they are in very different places today. One friend has lost over 100 pounds and is closing in on her goal and the other friend has lost around 30 pounds.

Same program, but different results. What's the difference? The daily choices that have been made. I share this not to in any way be critical - please hear my heart on this! I share this because it points out the difference that small choices made over time will make.

The friend who lost over 100 pounds went on a cruise, worked her job, dealt with family situations, celebrated the holidays, etc. and stayed on plan. It wasn't easy, but she began to see results, fixed her eyes on what she really wanted and decided to go for it. It's a day by day journey, to be sure, but she made the fundamental choice to get healthy. Once she made that choice, she figured out how to make this program work. When I talk to her and hear the joy in her voice as she shares her latest victory, she always affirms that any sacrifice she's made is more than worth it. She is now in a place she never thought she'd be, and she's gotten there one day and one choice at a time.

My other friend has had a lot going on in her life, including a fair amount of traveling, and these events and trips have often resulted in her going off plan. She's had a number of stops and restarts, and she's getting ready to restart once again.

Because I struggled with morbid obesity for over 20 years and was on and off (mostly off) a lot of different weight loss plans, I completely understand where my friend is at. For me, life kept getting in the way. There was always an event or other reason why it just wasn't a good time to "diet." My starts and stops kept me in a cycle of frustration and defeat, and I was filled with a lot of regrets and "should have, could have" thoughts. Underneath it all, the reality was that I hadn't yet made the fundamental choice to get to a healthy weight. I was interested in losing weight, but I wanted to do it on my own terms, and I wanted it to be easy and most certainly painless.

Once I made the fundamental choice to get to a healthy weight, life didn't come to a screeching halt so that I could do it in a protective bubble. Life just kept happening - celebrations, vacations, stress, holidays, grief - but because I had a clear vision in my mind of what it was that I really wanted, I was able to make the daily choices needed to reach my goal. I committed to following this program and figured out what I needed to do every day to stay on plan. As I've shared in the past, I didn't suddenly sprout a new iron will that enabled me to do this, quite the contrary. I finally acknowledged my inability to do this on my own and looked to my Heavenly Father for the strength I needed. And He was faithful to provide that strength.

Where do you want to be in 3, 6, 9 months? Where do you want to be a year from now? The choices you make today will either move you a step closer to where you want to be, or they will move you away from your goal. Choose wisely :-)