It seems impossible that we're only two days away from Christmas, and just over a week away from ringing in a new year! With much to do over the next couple of days and with our 4-year old twins spending the night (for the first time with us!) next week, I'll be taking a break from writing my blog until the first of the year.
Regardless of where the scale says you are right now, most of you weigh less and are healthier now than you were just a few months ago. You may not be where you want to be, but you also aren't where you were - celebrate that!
Over these next couple of days, don't allow the busyness to distract you from what you really want - a healthier you! If you've made the decision to stay on plan through the holidays, good for you - you'll never regret it. If you've made the decision to wait and get back on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1 after the holidays, set a firm restart date and write down all of the reasons you want to get to a healthy weight, then stick to that restart date. It can be challenging starting again, and it's never as easy the second (or third) time around because you know the drill, but focus on what you want and go for it!
Most of all, over these next couple of days, don't allow the busyness of the season to detract from the REAL Reason for the Season :-). "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." ~ John 3:16. God gave us His very best gift, Jesus Christ. My prayer is that there will be no unopened gifts for you this Christmas.
Have a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year . . . and, of course, choose wisely :-)
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Christmas Future
In Dicken's classic story, A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. The visits changed his life - and they changed his future. I love this story because it is ultimately a story of redemption and hope.
With Christmas just three days away, some of us may feel like we're being visited by ghosts of our own Christmas past. Some of those memories may be very sweet and precious to us, while other memories may be painful.
The ghost of Christmas present may also be haunting us right now. We may be feeling the pressure of things on our "to do" list, or we may be feeling a whirl of emotions as we anticipate being together with family members.
Emotions tend to run high this time of year and there can be great temptation to deal with those feelings with food. When you're tempted to do that over these next few days, I am encouraging you to think about the ghost of Christmas future. When you think ahead to next Christmas and the one after that, where do you want to be? A year from now, would you like to be celebrating Christmas at your goal weight, looking and feeling fabulous? Do you want to be healthier a year from now than you are right now?
Ebenezer Scrooge changed his Christmas future by making the decision to change. He had a glimpse of a future that scared him, so he made different choices that resulted in a different, joy-filled future.
We can't change our past - it is what it is. But we can change our future. If you don't want to be struggling with your weight next Christmas, if you want next year's holiday photos to reflect a more healthy you, you can have that. It won't happen on it's own, but it WILL happen if you make the decision to have a different future and then make the choices needed to support that decision.
What will your Christmas future be? It's up to the choices you make . . . choose wisely :-)
With Christmas just three days away, some of us may feel like we're being visited by ghosts of our own Christmas past. Some of those memories may be very sweet and precious to us, while other memories may be painful.
The ghost of Christmas present may also be haunting us right now. We may be feeling the pressure of things on our "to do" list, or we may be feeling a whirl of emotions as we anticipate being together with family members.
Emotions tend to run high this time of year and there can be great temptation to deal with those feelings with food. When you're tempted to do that over these next few days, I am encouraging you to think about the ghost of Christmas future. When you think ahead to next Christmas and the one after that, where do you want to be? A year from now, would you like to be celebrating Christmas at your goal weight, looking and feeling fabulous? Do you want to be healthier a year from now than you are right now?
Ebenezer Scrooge changed his Christmas future by making the decision to change. He had a glimpse of a future that scared him, so he made different choices that resulted in a different, joy-filled future.
We can't change our past - it is what it is. But we can change our future. If you don't want to be struggling with your weight next Christmas, if you want next year's holiday photos to reflect a more healthy you, you can have that. It won't happen on it's own, but it WILL happen if you make the decision to have a different future and then make the choices needed to support that decision.
What will your Christmas future be? It's up to the choices you make . . . choose wisely :-)
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Starting - and Maintaining - a Bonfire
Where does your motivation come from? Do you look for other people to get you motivated and keep you motivated, or does your motivation come from somewhere deep inside of you? I read a quote from Steven Covey this morning that addresses this question: "Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tried to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly."
I think we've all had the experience of someone else trying to light a fire under us - whether it was our boss or our mother :-). It was pretty hard to keep that fire going, wasn't it? The same is true when we try to light a fire under someone else (one of the reasons being a mother is so challenging!).
If this quote is true, then it's also reasonable to conclude that we can't look to someone else to provide motivation for us. It doesn't matter if it's someone else trying to light a fire under us or if we're looking to someone else to do it for us, external motivation doesn't last. This is particularly true when it comes to making long-term changes in our lives.
For long-term, permanent weight management, we have to find the motivation from within. Doing this because our spouse, our friends, or even our doctor wants us to lose weight ultimately won't work. We have to WANT to get to a healthy weight and we have to make the fundamental choice to get healthy.
The motivation we need to be successful isn't a "let's go get 'em" type of feeling, because that doesn't last, either. The motivation we need isn't a burst of inspiration that sustains itself over time, because inspiration definitely comes and goes. The motivation we need is born out a decision that we make to get to a healthy weight. It's a decision, not a feeling. Because it's a decision, it will carry us through those days when we don't feel like doing this - and there are definitely those "don't feel like it" days. Once we make the fundamental choice to get healthy, once we create in our mind a vision for what living at a healthy weight will look like for us, we will continue to make the secondary choices we need to keep us moving forward. That doesn't mean that we will never mess up - some will choose to stay on plan 100% of the time and some won't - but we know where we're going and we'll keep putting one foot in front of the other, one meal at a time.
When that kind of motivation burns within us, it's a fire that cannot be doused and it will burn hot and bright. Even on days when we don't feel like doing this, there is a deep satisfaction that comes from doing it anyway because that choice moves us a day closer to our goal. There were days when I was sick of staying on plan, but I went to bed those nights thankful that I'd made the choice to do it anyway.
Motivation from within will get the fire started and the choices you make will keep the fire burning. Choose wisely :-)
I think we've all had the experience of someone else trying to light a fire under us - whether it was our boss or our mother :-). It was pretty hard to keep that fire going, wasn't it? The same is true when we try to light a fire under someone else (one of the reasons being a mother is so challenging!).
If this quote is true, then it's also reasonable to conclude that we can't look to someone else to provide motivation for us. It doesn't matter if it's someone else trying to light a fire under us or if we're looking to someone else to do it for us, external motivation doesn't last. This is particularly true when it comes to making long-term changes in our lives.
For long-term, permanent weight management, we have to find the motivation from within. Doing this because our spouse, our friends, or even our doctor wants us to lose weight ultimately won't work. We have to WANT to get to a healthy weight and we have to make the fundamental choice to get healthy.
The motivation we need to be successful isn't a "let's go get 'em" type of feeling, because that doesn't last, either. The motivation we need isn't a burst of inspiration that sustains itself over time, because inspiration definitely comes and goes. The motivation we need is born out a decision that we make to get to a healthy weight. It's a decision, not a feeling. Because it's a decision, it will carry us through those days when we don't feel like doing this - and there are definitely those "don't feel like it" days. Once we make the fundamental choice to get healthy, once we create in our mind a vision for what living at a healthy weight will look like for us, we will continue to make the secondary choices we need to keep us moving forward. That doesn't mean that we will never mess up - some will choose to stay on plan 100% of the time and some won't - but we know where we're going and we'll keep putting one foot in front of the other, one meal at a time.
When that kind of motivation burns within us, it's a fire that cannot be doused and it will burn hot and bright. Even on days when we don't feel like doing this, there is a deep satisfaction that comes from doing it anyway because that choice moves us a day closer to our goal. There were days when I was sick of staying on plan, but I went to bed those nights thankful that I'd made the choice to do it anyway.
Motivation from within will get the fire started and the choices you make will keep the fire burning. Choose wisely :-)
Monday, December 20, 2010
The Battle
Yesterday afternoon we saw the new Chronicles of Narnia movie, Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I love the Narnia series and really enjoyed the movie. I won't give anything away (don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen the movie yet and aren't familiar with the story), but one theme was very interesting to me and had great application for all of us.
The characters are on a grand adventure and, like any grand adventure, there are dangers along the way. For the characters in Voyage of the Dawn Treader, most of the dangers are from within, not without. Early on they are told "to defeat the darkness out there, you must defeat the darkness inside yourself." And so the Dawn Treader becomes a voyage of self-discovery, in which characters are challenged, tempted and tried before finding the wherewithal inside—and outside—themselves to triumph.
Each character is faced with their own dangers from within, temptations that threaten to defeat them. Each character's temptation is different, and each character had to come to terms with this internal struggle.
For me, the struggle on this program was much more of an internal struggle than a struggle with external things. It was an ongoing challenge to not only defeat the internal voices that told me I couldn't do this, but to also battle the desires for immediate gratification. There were also times of discouragement when the scale wasn't moving and it was hard to stay the course.
Right now there are a lot of external temptations to be sure. For many of us, it's hard to think about the holidays without thinking about all of the traditional food that accompanies them. However, even during this time with external temptations, the greatest battle we face is the internal one.
Do we want to reach a healthy weight? Do we believe we can? Are we willing to make the choices necessary to reach our goal or will we choose to give in to the temptations?
It's a real battle and we need to acknowledge that, but it's a battle that's worth waging - and it's a battle that can be won. We will win this battle one choice at a time . . . choose wisely :-)
The characters are on a grand adventure and, like any grand adventure, there are dangers along the way. For the characters in Voyage of the Dawn Treader, most of the dangers are from within, not without. Early on they are told "to defeat the darkness out there, you must defeat the darkness inside yourself." And so the Dawn Treader becomes a voyage of self-discovery, in which characters are challenged, tempted and tried before finding the wherewithal inside—and outside—themselves to triumph.
Each character is faced with their own dangers from within, temptations that threaten to defeat them. Each character's temptation is different, and each character had to come to terms with this internal struggle.
For me, the struggle on this program was much more of an internal struggle than a struggle with external things. It was an ongoing challenge to not only defeat the internal voices that told me I couldn't do this, but to also battle the desires for immediate gratification. There were also times of discouragement when the scale wasn't moving and it was hard to stay the course.
Right now there are a lot of external temptations to be sure. For many of us, it's hard to think about the holidays without thinking about all of the traditional food that accompanies them. However, even during this time with external temptations, the greatest battle we face is the internal one.
Do we want to reach a healthy weight? Do we believe we can? Are we willing to make the choices necessary to reach our goal or will we choose to give in to the temptations?
It's a real battle and we need to acknowledge that, but it's a battle that's worth waging - and it's a battle that can be won. We will win this battle one choice at a time . . . choose wisely :-)
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Having It All
I had the opportunity a few days ago to watch a vintage TV commercial from the late 1970's or early 1980's. The ad was for a cologne and it featured a woman who proudly proclaimed she could bring home the bacon, cook it up in a pan, and never let her husband forget that he was a man - singing all of this as she skillfully (and cheerfully) moved from a corporate look to wearing an apron to wearing something sexy to remind her husband . . . oh, never mind! :-) The implication was that a woman really could have it all, at least if she wore the right cologne.
A couple of decades later and I think most of us have figured out that we really can't have it all, at least not at the same time. Some of us have spent a lot of time and driven ourselves and our families half-crazy trying to have it all - all at the same time - and ended up tired, frustrated and disappointed in the process. We then conclude that we must be doing something wrong because we're sure that if we just did things right, we could somehow pull it off.
The reality is that when we choose one thing, by implication we are also NOT choosing something else. That's true in life and it is most certainly true when it comes to our weight and our health. Unless we are blessed with a killer metabolism (and the fact that you're reading this means you probably don't have one!), we have to choose between eating everything we want, when we want it and in the quantity we want, and getting to and maintaining a healthy weight. This time of year we may want to eat everything at the holiday parties and throw caution to the wind, but we can't do that AND keep moving toward a healthy weight at the same time.
It's not always fun living with the reality of having to choose. I want to eat all of my favorite holiday goodies, but I know I can't do that and continue to zip my size 6's . . . there's nothing like white sugar and white flour mixed with lots of butter to pile pounds on me pretty quickly! I think part of that is due to the fact that I just don't metabolize that stuff very well and I think the other part is that once I start eating that kind of thing, my brain disengages and portion control tends to go out the window.
I have a whole collection of great holiday recipes - cookies, breads, etc. that I haven't baked since December of 2006. I was on 5&1 in December of 2007 and have been in maintenance since then. I was looking through the recipes a few days ago and really had some conflicting emotions. On the one hand, I remembered many of these recipes with a lot of fondness - they are great recipes and I enjoyed making them and eating them. On the other hand, there was a bit of sadness because I'm not sure that I'll ever make some of them again. We generally have a couple of desserts on Christmas day, so there isn't any need for me to bake up a storm and serve a lot of extra things. My entire family eats a lot healthier now and we're much more careful about what we eat; if I baked a lot of extra things, they would either end up getting thrown away or worse, I'd end up eating them.
As much as I enjoyed baking and eating all of those things, I hated weighing 260+ pounds and being diabetic. I loved baking and eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, but I hated how I looked and felt. So I have to choose what I want because I can't have both the food and my health.
Ultimately we will choose what is most important to us. Our challenge is to not lose sight of what we really want. This time of year it's easy to forget and succumb to immediate gratification, so take a minute to remind yourself of what you really want, then choose wisely :-)
A couple of decades later and I think most of us have figured out that we really can't have it all, at least not at the same time. Some of us have spent a lot of time and driven ourselves and our families half-crazy trying to have it all - all at the same time - and ended up tired, frustrated and disappointed in the process. We then conclude that we must be doing something wrong because we're sure that if we just did things right, we could somehow pull it off.
The reality is that when we choose one thing, by implication we are also NOT choosing something else. That's true in life and it is most certainly true when it comes to our weight and our health. Unless we are blessed with a killer metabolism (and the fact that you're reading this means you probably don't have one!), we have to choose between eating everything we want, when we want it and in the quantity we want, and getting to and maintaining a healthy weight. This time of year we may want to eat everything at the holiday parties and throw caution to the wind, but we can't do that AND keep moving toward a healthy weight at the same time.
It's not always fun living with the reality of having to choose. I want to eat all of my favorite holiday goodies, but I know I can't do that and continue to zip my size 6's . . . there's nothing like white sugar and white flour mixed with lots of butter to pile pounds on me pretty quickly! I think part of that is due to the fact that I just don't metabolize that stuff very well and I think the other part is that once I start eating that kind of thing, my brain disengages and portion control tends to go out the window.
I have a whole collection of great holiday recipes - cookies, breads, etc. that I haven't baked since December of 2006. I was on 5&1 in December of 2007 and have been in maintenance since then. I was looking through the recipes a few days ago and really had some conflicting emotions. On the one hand, I remembered many of these recipes with a lot of fondness - they are great recipes and I enjoyed making them and eating them. On the other hand, there was a bit of sadness because I'm not sure that I'll ever make some of them again. We generally have a couple of desserts on Christmas day, so there isn't any need for me to bake up a storm and serve a lot of extra things. My entire family eats a lot healthier now and we're much more careful about what we eat; if I baked a lot of extra things, they would either end up getting thrown away or worse, I'd end up eating them.
As much as I enjoyed baking and eating all of those things, I hated weighing 260+ pounds and being diabetic. I loved baking and eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, but I hated how I looked and felt. So I have to choose what I want because I can't have both the food and my health.
Ultimately we will choose what is most important to us. Our challenge is to not lose sight of what we really want. This time of year it's easy to forget and succumb to immediate gratification, so take a minute to remind yourself of what you really want, then choose wisely :-)
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Choosing to Believe
"If you were to take the most talented athlete in the world and put him or her in a room of liars and verbal abusers for two hours a day, you'd see the athlete's performance sharply decline. The level of talent remains the same, the training continues, but the ability to win vanishes. Why? Because no one can listen to constant discouragement and be encouraged. No one can have confidence undermined and still be confident. No one can doubt his or her ability and still use it effectively. What we believe matters a lot."
This quote was part of a devotional I read this morning and I thought it had wide application for many areas of our lives, including this weight loss journey. As I've shared before, the food part of this program is simple - it's the head and heart part that's the challenge. What we believe about our ability to be successful in losing weight matters. The kind of feedback and support - or lack of support - from others also matters.
We have to choose who and what we're going to listen to because there will always - ALWAYS - be thoughts and words that discourage. Our struggles in the past can cause us to doubt our ability to be successful now or in the future. For some of us, there are people in our lives who are natural-born naysayers and who seem to think it is their calling to say a discouraging word at every opportunity. If we believe the negative thoughts we have and listen to the negative comments of others, this journey is going to be even more of a challenge.
When I was on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1, I had a lot of negative thoughts that ran through my head that caused me to doubt this program would work. All of my past failure seemed to have a megaphone that shouted "give up, it will never work." No one could have been more skeptical than I when I started on this program. Thankfully I didn't have any nay-sayers in my life - my husband was supportive from the very beginning - but I believed a lot of lies about myself and my ability to change.
My belief about what I could and couldn't do began to change because of two things. First of all, while I "believed" I couldn't stay on plan for a month or a year, I knew that I could stay on plan for a day, so I took it one day (and sometimes one meal) at a time. As each day on plan was added to the one before, the days turned into a week, then into a month, and what I believed about what I could and couldn't do began to change. I realized that I had been believing a lie and I had allowed that lie to keep me stuck in a very unhealthy pattern.
Secondly, I surrounded myself with encouraging people. The daily support and encouragement I received from others who believed I could do this was amazing! I also drew a lot of inspiration and encouragement from reading about people who had reached their goal and I spent a lot of time looking at their success photos and reading their stories. Realizing that others were successfully losing weight helped me believe that I could be successful, too.
Right now you may not believe you can be successful, but do you believe you can stay on plan for a day? Do you believe that you can make your next meal a Medifast meal? Start there, and by taking one tiny step at a time, you will not only change what you believe about your ability to lose weight on this program, but you will also change your life.
If you have nay-sayers in your life, find a way to mute their negativity. You may or may not be able to avoid them, but by surrounding yourself with others who will encourage you, you can begin to get the support you need to continue moving forward. You have the right to have the support you need!
The choices we make today go far beyond what we're going to put in our mouths. We also have to choose what we allow to resonate in our hearts and minds, and we have to choose what we're going to believe. Choose wisely :-)
This quote was part of a devotional I read this morning and I thought it had wide application for many areas of our lives, including this weight loss journey. As I've shared before, the food part of this program is simple - it's the head and heart part that's the challenge. What we believe about our ability to be successful in losing weight matters. The kind of feedback and support - or lack of support - from others also matters.
We have to choose who and what we're going to listen to because there will always - ALWAYS - be thoughts and words that discourage. Our struggles in the past can cause us to doubt our ability to be successful now or in the future. For some of us, there are people in our lives who are natural-born naysayers and who seem to think it is their calling to say a discouraging word at every opportunity. If we believe the negative thoughts we have and listen to the negative comments of others, this journey is going to be even more of a challenge.
When I was on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1, I had a lot of negative thoughts that ran through my head that caused me to doubt this program would work. All of my past failure seemed to have a megaphone that shouted "give up, it will never work." No one could have been more skeptical than I when I started on this program. Thankfully I didn't have any nay-sayers in my life - my husband was supportive from the very beginning - but I believed a lot of lies about myself and my ability to change.
My belief about what I could and couldn't do began to change because of two things. First of all, while I "believed" I couldn't stay on plan for a month or a year, I knew that I could stay on plan for a day, so I took it one day (and sometimes one meal) at a time. As each day on plan was added to the one before, the days turned into a week, then into a month, and what I believed about what I could and couldn't do began to change. I realized that I had been believing a lie and I had allowed that lie to keep me stuck in a very unhealthy pattern.
Secondly, I surrounded myself with encouraging people. The daily support and encouragement I received from others who believed I could do this was amazing! I also drew a lot of inspiration and encouragement from reading about people who had reached their goal and I spent a lot of time looking at their success photos and reading their stories. Realizing that others were successfully losing weight helped me believe that I could be successful, too.
Right now you may not believe you can be successful, but do you believe you can stay on plan for a day? Do you believe that you can make your next meal a Medifast meal? Start there, and by taking one tiny step at a time, you will not only change what you believe about your ability to lose weight on this program, but you will also change your life.
If you have nay-sayers in your life, find a way to mute their negativity. You may or may not be able to avoid them, but by surrounding yourself with others who will encourage you, you can begin to get the support you need to continue moving forward. You have the right to have the support you need!
The choices we make today go far beyond what we're going to put in our mouths. We also have to choose what we allow to resonate in our hearts and minds, and we have to choose what we're going to believe. Choose wisely :-)
Friday, December 17, 2010
Valuable Stepping Stones
My husband has a sign in our office that says, "The lesson is in the struggle, not in the victory." He has this sign as a reminder that there is value in the struggle, and even in the failures we experience along the way to what is ultimately victory.
We are a success-oriented, success-celebrating society, and most of us have spent our lives viewing failure as something to be avoided at all costs. That thinking has been difficult for many (or most) of us who have struggled with our weight for years. It's hard to be a walking example of weight loss failure in a society that rejects failure.
When we start on this program, we all experience immediate success as we see weight begin to drop, and that early success propels many of us on all the way to our goal. However, that early success doesn't keep everyone motivated and many find themselves struggling sooner or later.
I want to encourage all of the strugglers today. Your struggles, and even your failures, are valuable stepping-stones on the way to ultimate success. Every struggle and every failure teaches us what doesn't work and gives us the opportunity to fine-tune what we're doing - if we're paying attention along the way :-). I once heard a speaker say that "the hallmark of achievers is that they have failed their way to success - every failure teaches us what doesn't work."
The key, of course, is to pay attention and use those struggles and failures as opportunities to learn. We may trip and fall a dozen times, but if we get up again and learn from the experience, we'll be stronger in the end. The victory will also be that much sweeter - and there WILL eventually be victory.
When we fail - and we all do, one way or another, sooner or later - we are faced with a choice. We can either beat ourselves up and allow the failure to define us, or we can choose to learn from the failure and use that failure to propel us to future success. The choice is ours, so choose wisely :-).
We are a success-oriented, success-celebrating society, and most of us have spent our lives viewing failure as something to be avoided at all costs. That thinking has been difficult for many (or most) of us who have struggled with our weight for years. It's hard to be a walking example of weight loss failure in a society that rejects failure.
When we start on this program, we all experience immediate success as we see weight begin to drop, and that early success propels many of us on all the way to our goal. However, that early success doesn't keep everyone motivated and many find themselves struggling sooner or later.
I want to encourage all of the strugglers today. Your struggles, and even your failures, are valuable stepping-stones on the way to ultimate success. Every struggle and every failure teaches us what doesn't work and gives us the opportunity to fine-tune what we're doing - if we're paying attention along the way :-). I once heard a speaker say that "the hallmark of achievers is that they have failed their way to success - every failure teaches us what doesn't work."
The key, of course, is to pay attention and use those struggles and failures as opportunities to learn. We may trip and fall a dozen times, but if we get up again and learn from the experience, we'll be stronger in the end. The victory will also be that much sweeter - and there WILL eventually be victory.
When we fail - and we all do, one way or another, sooner or later - we are faced with a choice. We can either beat ourselves up and allow the failure to define us, or we can choose to learn from the failure and use that failure to propel us to future success. The choice is ours, so choose wisely :-).
Thursday, December 16, 2010
The Ripple Effect
It's amazing to see how much things change for individuals on this program. We often start our of sheer desperation to do "something" and may feel that this is our last resort, after we've tried just about everything else. That was certainly true for me - I saw this as my last option to try before pursuing weight loss surgery. No one was more surprised than I to find out that this program actually worked (did it ever!!), and even more surprising was the transition from being in such need myself to being able to reach out and help someone else. I've seen the same thing happen over and over again with others. It's such a wonderful thing to be able to pay it forward!
Yesterday I had the opportunity to talk with a friend who is now able to pay it forward in a way she couldn't have imagined. This friend is almost at her goal, having lost over 70 pounds since last March, and she looks and feels amazing. What she couldn't have imagined at the beginning of her journey was the way her weight loss would now enable her to help someone else.
My friend's older sister has struggled with kidney disease for over 30 years. Her kidneys functioned at a very low level, but the level was just high enough so that she didn't need dialysis. All of that changed last summer when her sister got sick and the illness resulted in a kidney infection that further damaged her kidneys, to the point that her sister now needs a kidney transplant. Because my friend lost weight and got healthy herself, she is now in a position to be able to donate one of her kidneys to her sister.
When my friend started her weight loss journey last March, she had no idea that her sister would need a kidney within a few months. All she knew was that she wanted to lose weight and get healthy. She is thrilled to know that her decision last March has not only changed her life, but is giving her the opportunity to save her sister's life. Had my friend not gone on our program, she would now be helplessly watching her sister's struggle, unable to do anything because she would not have qualified as a kidney donor.
We never know how our own journey will impact someone else. Most of us won't have such a direct, life-saving impact on another life, but we will impact others - I guarantee it. My own weight loss journey resulted in my husband losing 50 pounds, my son losing 60, my son-in-law losing 65, my dad losing 30, my mom losing 40, one of my best friends losing 70 (which then inspired her son and daughter-in-law, then her daughter-in-law's mother . . . ), then other friends of mine and their friends and family members; the ripple effect continues to this day. People have gotten off of medications, my mom is almost completely off her insulin, friends who were couch potatoes are now running marathons - it's such a wonderful thing!
As we approach Christmas and are surrounded by so many high calorie/low nutrition foods, it may be tempting to think that the choices we may don't really matter. We couldn't be more mistaken. The choices we make DO matter, not only for us, but for the people we know and love. Choose wisely :-)
Yesterday I had the opportunity to talk with a friend who is now able to pay it forward in a way she couldn't have imagined. This friend is almost at her goal, having lost over 70 pounds since last March, and she looks and feels amazing. What she couldn't have imagined at the beginning of her journey was the way her weight loss would now enable her to help someone else.
My friend's older sister has struggled with kidney disease for over 30 years. Her kidneys functioned at a very low level, but the level was just high enough so that she didn't need dialysis. All of that changed last summer when her sister got sick and the illness resulted in a kidney infection that further damaged her kidneys, to the point that her sister now needs a kidney transplant. Because my friend lost weight and got healthy herself, she is now in a position to be able to donate one of her kidneys to her sister.
When my friend started her weight loss journey last March, she had no idea that her sister would need a kidney within a few months. All she knew was that she wanted to lose weight and get healthy. She is thrilled to know that her decision last March has not only changed her life, but is giving her the opportunity to save her sister's life. Had my friend not gone on our program, she would now be helplessly watching her sister's struggle, unable to do anything because she would not have qualified as a kidney donor.
We never know how our own journey will impact someone else. Most of us won't have such a direct, life-saving impact on another life, but we will impact others - I guarantee it. My own weight loss journey resulted in my husband losing 50 pounds, my son losing 60, my son-in-law losing 65, my dad losing 30, my mom losing 40, one of my best friends losing 70 (which then inspired her son and daughter-in-law, then her daughter-in-law's mother . . . ), then other friends of mine and their friends and family members; the ripple effect continues to this day. People have gotten off of medications, my mom is almost completely off her insulin, friends who were couch potatoes are now running marathons - it's such a wonderful thing!
As we approach Christmas and are surrounded by so many high calorie/low nutrition foods, it may be tempting to think that the choices we may don't really matter. We couldn't be more mistaken. The choices we make DO matter, not only for us, but for the people we know and love. Choose wisely :-)
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Staying at Our Best
During this busy time of year, I thought I'd repost a blog I wrote last year about this time. I hope it will be helpful for you today!
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I never know where the next blog idea will come from, but I am always on the lookout for things that inspire me or get me to thinking. I clicked on a website yesterday and read their "thought for the day" and immediately knew I'd write about it. Here's the quote: "A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools." Isn't that a great quote?
Think about it. Imagine the best auto mechanic you know (they are worth their weight in gold, by the way!). If you've spent any time around a mechanic, you know that they are very particular about their tools. They carefully choose their tools and they make sure their tools are taken care of, because if they don't have their tools in proper working order, their business will suffer or even fail. Without their tools, they can't function.
During this time of year, we all have a tendency to say that we're too busy to take care of ourselves. We may think that we don't have time to eat right, don't have time to exercise, we don't have time to get enough sleep. When we don't care of ourselves, we end up functioning at less than our best. We don't feel good - we're tired, we're sluggish, and we may be dealing with blood sugar swings because we're not eating the right things at the right time.
The good news is that we can keep ourselves at our best by staying on plan and continuing to do the things we know we need to do. This time of year, we don't have time to NOT be our best.
To stay at our best, we have to make choices every day - some easy, some not. Choose wisely :-)
****
I never know where the next blog idea will come from, but I am always on the lookout for things that inspire me or get me to thinking. I clicked on a website yesterday and read their "thought for the day" and immediately knew I'd write about it. Here's the quote: "A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools." Isn't that a great quote?
Think about it. Imagine the best auto mechanic you know (they are worth their weight in gold, by the way!). If you've spent any time around a mechanic, you know that they are very particular about their tools. They carefully choose their tools and they make sure their tools are taken care of, because if they don't have their tools in proper working order, their business will suffer or even fail. Without their tools, they can't function.
During this time of year, we all have a tendency to say that we're too busy to take care of ourselves. We may think that we don't have time to eat right, don't have time to exercise, we don't have time to get enough sleep. When we don't care of ourselves, we end up functioning at less than our best. We don't feel good - we're tired, we're sluggish, and we may be dealing with blood sugar swings because we're not eating the right things at the right time.
The good news is that we can keep ourselves at our best by staying on plan and continuing to do the things we know we need to do. This time of year, we don't have time to NOT be our best.
To stay at our best, we have to make choices every day - some easy, some not. Choose wisely :-)
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Time to Move
With the end of the year fast approaching, many of us are starting to look ahead to 2011 and are beginning to set goals for the year. There are still things to finish up for this year (including getting ready for Christmas), but our thoughts momentarily lift from the here and now to what's next.
One of my friends has chosen her "word for the year" for 2011, and her word is MOVE. Encompassed in this word is her intent to move her body, move her mind, move forward on goals, move into and beyond her dreams, move out things not working, move relationships closer, move projects to completion, move closer to God and move to a warmer climate.
I've never thought in terms of a "word for the year," but if I was going to pick a word, I like my friend's idea of picking MOVE. What a year it would be if I - if all of us - could really move forward in so many areas of our life!
For many years, despite the resolutions I faithfully made on January 1, I'd find myself in much of the same place on December 31, especially with my weight. I had good intentions and I certainly had the desire, but I didn't infuse those intentions and desires with action. MOVE implies action.
I like my friend's intent to not only move her body, but to also move her mind. So much of our success - or failure - occurs in the space between our ears. If we think we really can't do it, we will most likely fail, and we may not even get started for fear of the inevitable failure. Moving our mind is a critical step for us to truly change. On this program, we have to move our mind from thinking of this as a diet to embracing this program as a new, healthy lifestyle. We have to change how we think and emotionally relate to food.
What about moving forward on goals? Do you have goals for 2011? Did you meet the goals you set for yourself in 2010? Moving forward on goals requires not only making the decision to do so, but also putting into place specific action steps. The Take Shape for Life program provides very simple action steps - eat 5 Medifast meals and a lean & green - and these action steps are guaranteed to get you to your goal weight. What other goals do you have? Are you ready and willing to take the steps to get there?
I like my friend's idea of moving out what's not working. It's been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If what we've been doing isn't working, it's time to move it out! What needs to change to get the results you want? If you aren't seeing the results you want on this program and your experience can best defined as the Frank Sinatra approach ("doing it my way"), it may be time to move it out and try a different approach (may I suggest just following the program as written?).
Last, I love my friend's intent to move closer to God. As I shared in my blog a few days ago, it is my belief that all of us have spaces in our lives that only God can fill (one theologian described this as a God-shaped vacuum). Trying to fill these spaces with other things leads to frustration and disappointment and can keep us stuck in an unhealthy, endless cycle of trying to fill the spaces (with food or something else), being disappointed, then trying to fill the spaces again.
I know that some of you may be doing all you can to just get through the next few days until Christmas, but I encourage you to take a few minutes to think about what and how you want to move in 2011. Moving, like so many other things in our lives, is our choice. Choose wisely :-)
One of my friends has chosen her "word for the year" for 2011, and her word is MOVE. Encompassed in this word is her intent to move her body, move her mind, move forward on goals, move into and beyond her dreams, move out things not working, move relationships closer, move projects to completion, move closer to God and move to a warmer climate.
I've never thought in terms of a "word for the year," but if I was going to pick a word, I like my friend's idea of picking MOVE. What a year it would be if I - if all of us - could really move forward in so many areas of our life!
For many years, despite the resolutions I faithfully made on January 1, I'd find myself in much of the same place on December 31, especially with my weight. I had good intentions and I certainly had the desire, but I didn't infuse those intentions and desires with action. MOVE implies action.
I like my friend's intent to not only move her body, but to also move her mind. So much of our success - or failure - occurs in the space between our ears. If we think we really can't do it, we will most likely fail, and we may not even get started for fear of the inevitable failure. Moving our mind is a critical step for us to truly change. On this program, we have to move our mind from thinking of this as a diet to embracing this program as a new, healthy lifestyle. We have to change how we think and emotionally relate to food.
What about moving forward on goals? Do you have goals for 2011? Did you meet the goals you set for yourself in 2010? Moving forward on goals requires not only making the decision to do so, but also putting into place specific action steps. The Take Shape for Life program provides very simple action steps - eat 5 Medifast meals and a lean & green - and these action steps are guaranteed to get you to your goal weight. What other goals do you have? Are you ready and willing to take the steps to get there?
I like my friend's idea of moving out what's not working. It's been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If what we've been doing isn't working, it's time to move it out! What needs to change to get the results you want? If you aren't seeing the results you want on this program and your experience can best defined as the Frank Sinatra approach ("doing it my way"), it may be time to move it out and try a different approach (may I suggest just following the program as written?).
Last, I love my friend's intent to move closer to God. As I shared in my blog a few days ago, it is my belief that all of us have spaces in our lives that only God can fill (one theologian described this as a God-shaped vacuum). Trying to fill these spaces with other things leads to frustration and disappointment and can keep us stuck in an unhealthy, endless cycle of trying to fill the spaces (with food or something else), being disappointed, then trying to fill the spaces again.
I know that some of you may be doing all you can to just get through the next few days until Christmas, but I encourage you to take a few minutes to think about what and how you want to move in 2011. Moving, like so many other things in our lives, is our choice. Choose wisely :-)
Monday, December 13, 2010
It Really Is a Wonderful Life
One of the things I enjoy doing every Christmas season is watching Christmas movies. We probably have a dozen different Christmas movies, so my husband and I will reward ourselves at the end of a busy day by turning on our fireplace and watching one of the movies. "It's a Wonderful Life" is my favorite Christmas movie and it still makes my cry at the end as George Bailey realizes how rich his life really is. For those of you who are familiar with the movie, you know that George didn't realize how blessed his life was until he had the opportunity to see what life would have been like if he'd never been born.
After watching the movie a couple of nights ago, I did a little imagining of my own, only instead of imagining what life would be like if I'd never been born, I got to wondering what my life would look like today if I hadn't found Take Shape for Life/Medifast and lost 126 pounds. I certainly couldn't have imagined3 -1/2 years ago that my life would have changed as much as it has, and I got to imagining for a few minutes what it would look like if I was still 260 pounds.
It's wasn't a happy picture. For one, I know that if I was still 260 pounds (or more), I would now be a full-blown diabetic on medication. I was diabetic when I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, but not yet on medication. However, my numbers were on the rise and I knew that at my next doctor's visit she would insist that I go on one drug or another. I was already on medication for cholesterol and gastric reflux, and with my blood pressure on the rise, I imagine I would also be on medication for that by now. My knee was really painful and I often had problems walking very far, so I'm guessing that I would be even less mobile now. Because my weight was going up, I may well have been over 300 pounds by now. My energy would be low and I'd feel sluggish most of the time. I remember hating how I looked and felt, and I imagine that another 3-1/2 years of morbid obesity would have wreaked further havoc on my emotions and my self-esteem. The picture in my mind is pretty sad.
I would also still be at my job at the hospital, putting in lots of hours and most likely dealing with the challenges hospitals are facing as they try to balance their budget (i.e., small or no salary increase, or even reduction in hours or pay). My work day priorities and my pay would still be determined by someone else and I wouldn't have the flexibility I do now to focus on the things that matter the most to me.
Had I not found this program and lost my weight, my life would also be far less rich in friendships, as I have met so many wonderful people from all over the country who are part of the Take Shape for Life health coach community.
The "what if I hadn't lost weight" imagining didn't last very long - thankfully! It wasn't a very happy mind escape, but it WAS very sobering and humbling. I certainly had no idea that anything positive would happen when I started on the plan. Honestly, I thought the only thing I would really lose was close to $300 :-). I had no idea that I would not only lose the weight I needed to lose (and continue to keep it off), but that I'd also enjoy so many wonderful new things.
As I think about all that has happened, the word that comes to mind is "joy." My life has so much more joy these days, and I'm so thankful to God for all He has done in my life, including leading me to this program when He did.
As I imagined my life still obese, I realized that the difference today began with a choice to go on plan. Each day that I reinforced that original choice by staying on plan moved me one day closer to the life and health that I have today. It really is a wonderful life!
The choices you make today will either move you towards the life you want to live or will keep you in a place you don't want to be. Choose wisely :-)
After watching the movie a couple of nights ago, I did a little imagining of my own, only instead of imagining what life would be like if I'd never been born, I got to wondering what my life would look like today if I hadn't found Take Shape for Life/Medifast and lost 126 pounds. I certainly couldn't have imagined3 -1/2 years ago that my life would have changed as much as it has, and I got to imagining for a few minutes what it would look like if I was still 260 pounds.
It's wasn't a happy picture. For one, I know that if I was still 260 pounds (or more), I would now be a full-blown diabetic on medication. I was diabetic when I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, but not yet on medication. However, my numbers were on the rise and I knew that at my next doctor's visit she would insist that I go on one drug or another. I was already on medication for cholesterol and gastric reflux, and with my blood pressure on the rise, I imagine I would also be on medication for that by now. My knee was really painful and I often had problems walking very far, so I'm guessing that I would be even less mobile now. Because my weight was going up, I may well have been over 300 pounds by now. My energy would be low and I'd feel sluggish most of the time. I remember hating how I looked and felt, and I imagine that another 3-1/2 years of morbid obesity would have wreaked further havoc on my emotions and my self-esteem. The picture in my mind is pretty sad.
I would also still be at my job at the hospital, putting in lots of hours and most likely dealing with the challenges hospitals are facing as they try to balance their budget (i.e., small or no salary increase, or even reduction in hours or pay). My work day priorities and my pay would still be determined by someone else and I wouldn't have the flexibility I do now to focus on the things that matter the most to me.
Had I not found this program and lost my weight, my life would also be far less rich in friendships, as I have met so many wonderful people from all over the country who are part of the Take Shape for Life health coach community.
The "what if I hadn't lost weight" imagining didn't last very long - thankfully! It wasn't a very happy mind escape, but it WAS very sobering and humbling. I certainly had no idea that anything positive would happen when I started on the plan. Honestly, I thought the only thing I would really lose was close to $300 :-). I had no idea that I would not only lose the weight I needed to lose (and continue to keep it off), but that I'd also enjoy so many wonderful new things.
As I think about all that has happened, the word that comes to mind is "joy." My life has so much more joy these days, and I'm so thankful to God for all He has done in my life, including leading me to this program when He did.
As I imagined my life still obese, I realized that the difference today began with a choice to go on plan. Each day that I reinforced that original choice by staying on plan moved me one day closer to the life and health that I have today. It really is a wonderful life!
The choices you make today will either move you towards the life you want to live or will keep you in a place you don't want to be. Choose wisely :-)
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Enjoying Food or Enjoying Life?
For many of us pre-Take Shape for Life/Medifast, enjoying food was one of the major pleasures in our lives. Going on this program was hard because it meant giving up a major source of pleasure. My social life revolved around food - every time we got together with someone, it was to eat. There was good conversation and a lot of fun, but all of that took place over a meal or dessert or a variety of snacks.
What I realized after starting on this program was that while I had been enjoying food - lots of food, I wasn't enjoying a lot of other things. I didn't enjoy physical activity because pain in my knee and my back made even walking difficult at times. I didn't enjoy shopping for clothes because I hated the size I was in and, out of embarrassment, never shopped for clothes with my friends. I felt fatigued much of the time and was happiest when I was sitting someplace, particularly at a table with food in front of me. I didn't enjoy going to a beach and would never attend a pool party . . . the list of things I didn't/wouldn't/couldn't do was pretty long.
What was true for me then is still true for some people I know. They won't even try this program because they claim that they just enjoy food too much to give it up. What's sad is knowing that for some of them, their enjoyment of food and their resulting obesity is preventing them from enjoying so many other things - they're enjoying food, but not really fully enjoying life.
As I started this program and began to really embrace it, an amazing thing happened. While I wasn't enjoying food in the same old way (from a culinary perspective, eating five Medifast meals and a lean & green doesn't placate the pleasure centers in the brain like all of those high-sugar/high-fat and calorie-laden meals), I WAS enjoying other things. My knee and back started feeling better pretty quickly and I started to enjoy taking walks. My energy level went WAY up and I didn't feel like crawling into bed when I got home from work. We still got together with friends, but I found out that I could have a great time with them and NOT eat the same old food - a lean & green at a restaurant or having my own Medifast meal while they snacked on something else didn't impact my ability to have fun at all.
As I continued to lose weight, I realized that I was getting a whole new life for myself - one that wasn't defined by obesity or dependent on food to have a good time.
Three years ago, I stayed on plan through the holidays and lost 18 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year's. My memories of that holiday season aren't about the food I did or didn't eat - they are of time spent with family and friends. My enjoyment of the holiday season wasn't diminished in any way because I didn't eat this or that because my focus was on enjoying time with the people that I loved.
Since reaching my goal, I've been able to enjoy a wide variety of food again, but the lessons learned while on 5&1 have remained. Enjoying life is about so much more than what's on my plate.
Today are you choosing to enjoy life, or are you choosing to enjoy food? Choose wisely :-)
What I realized after starting on this program was that while I had been enjoying food - lots of food, I wasn't enjoying a lot of other things. I didn't enjoy physical activity because pain in my knee and my back made even walking difficult at times. I didn't enjoy shopping for clothes because I hated the size I was in and, out of embarrassment, never shopped for clothes with my friends. I felt fatigued much of the time and was happiest when I was sitting someplace, particularly at a table with food in front of me. I didn't enjoy going to a beach and would never attend a pool party . . . the list of things I didn't/wouldn't/couldn't do was pretty long.
What was true for me then is still true for some people I know. They won't even try this program because they claim that they just enjoy food too much to give it up. What's sad is knowing that for some of them, their enjoyment of food and their resulting obesity is preventing them from enjoying so many other things - they're enjoying food, but not really fully enjoying life.
As I started this program and began to really embrace it, an amazing thing happened. While I wasn't enjoying food in the same old way (from a culinary perspective, eating five Medifast meals and a lean & green doesn't placate the pleasure centers in the brain like all of those high-sugar/high-fat and calorie-laden meals), I WAS enjoying other things. My knee and back started feeling better pretty quickly and I started to enjoy taking walks. My energy level went WAY up and I didn't feel like crawling into bed when I got home from work. We still got together with friends, but I found out that I could have a great time with them and NOT eat the same old food - a lean & green at a restaurant or having my own Medifast meal while they snacked on something else didn't impact my ability to have fun at all.
As I continued to lose weight, I realized that I was getting a whole new life for myself - one that wasn't defined by obesity or dependent on food to have a good time.
Three years ago, I stayed on plan through the holidays and lost 18 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year's. My memories of that holiday season aren't about the food I did or didn't eat - they are of time spent with family and friends. My enjoyment of the holiday season wasn't diminished in any way because I didn't eat this or that because my focus was on enjoying time with the people that I loved.
Since reaching my goal, I've been able to enjoy a wide variety of food again, but the lessons learned while on 5&1 have remained. Enjoying life is about so much more than what's on my plate.
Today are you choosing to enjoy life, or are you choosing to enjoy food? Choose wisely :-)
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Seeing in 3-D
My husband and I enjoy watching movies and we have a pretty good collection of DVDs. Because going to see a movie in the theater has gotten pretty expensive, we usually wait until it's out on DVD to see it. We have a fairly large widescreen TV so we don't feel like we're missing much by waiting for the DVD release.
However, there have been a few movies lately that we've seen in the theater because they were shown in 3-D. The technology combined with the 3-D glasses provides another level of movie-watching experience that we can't duplicate at home. When we went to our first 3-D movie, I tried looking at it without the glasses just to see what the screen looked like. No surprise, without the 3-D glasses, the screen is pretty fuzzy and looks out of focus, but the glasses really bring the scene to life - it feels like we can reach out and touch the characters. It takes both the technology and the right focus via the glasses to enjoy the movie as it's intended.
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 :-).
However, there have been a few movies lately that we've seen in the theater because they were shown in 3-D. The technology combined with the 3-D glasses provides another level of movie-watching experience that we can't duplicate at home. When we went to our first 3-D movie, I tried looking at it without the glasses just to see what the screen looked like. No surprise, without the 3-D glasses, the screen is pretty fuzzy and looks out of focus, but the glasses really bring the scene to life - it feels like we can reach out and touch the characters. It takes both the technology and the right focus via the glasses to enjoy the movie as it's intended.
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 :-).
Friday, December 10, 2010
Feeding the Dogs
After reading yesterday's blog, a friend of mine e-mailed me and shared her own recent struggle to make the right food choice. She said she felt like she had an angel sitting on one shoulder and the devil on the other, with each whispering in her ear. I've had that same feeling and I'm guessing that a lot of you have, too. We know what we SHOULD do, and perhaps it's what we really WANT to do, but then there's this other voice that says, "just this once won't hurt . . . ". All of the sudden, the battle is on as two conflicting desires pull us in two different directions.
The battle that wages is about so much more than whether or not we're going to eat something at that particular moment. The battle that's waging is really the battle between getting healthy and staying overweight/obese.
The Take Shape for Life/Medifast program did a lot of wonderful things for me, and I'm continuing to reap so many of the benefits, but it did not cure my obesity. The plan enabled me to return to a healthy weight and put me on a path towards optimal health, but it did not cure my obesity. That beast is there, always there, ready, willing and able to rear its ugly head and take over my life if I choose to become mindless about what I eat and do.
Everyday that I make healthy choices is another day that develops the healthy habits I want to keep and develop for the rest of my life. However, I am aware that the beast is alive - just hungry and underfed at the moment :-). I'd like to think I could starve it to death, but that's not likely to happen.
I once heard a story about a man who talked about the internal struggle he was having and likened it to a fight between two dogs. Someone asked him which dog was winning and the man replied, "Whichever one I feed."
Everyday each and every one of us has to face the dog fight yet again. We're in a battle for our health, and one of the dogs in the fight is named obesity. This dog may be a little skeletal at the moment because it hasn't been fed in a while, but it's watching in the corner, waiting for an opportune moment.
So every day we plan, and we commit to NOT feeding that dog today! Every day I realize all over again that I CANNOT do this on my own and ask my Heavenly Father for a fresh measure of His grace and strength. And every day that I do that - and every day that each of us makes a commitment to making the sometimes hard choices - is another day that moves us a bit closer to a healthier you and me.
Which dog are you going to feed today? The choice is yours - choose wisely :-)
The battle that wages is about so much more than whether or not we're going to eat something at that particular moment. The battle that's waging is really the battle between getting healthy and staying overweight/obese.
The Take Shape for Life/Medifast program did a lot of wonderful things for me, and I'm continuing to reap so many of the benefits, but it did not cure my obesity. The plan enabled me to return to a healthy weight and put me on a path towards optimal health, but it did not cure my obesity. That beast is there, always there, ready, willing and able to rear its ugly head and take over my life if I choose to become mindless about what I eat and do.
Everyday that I make healthy choices is another day that develops the healthy habits I want to keep and develop for the rest of my life. However, I am aware that the beast is alive - just hungry and underfed at the moment :-). I'd like to think I could starve it to death, but that's not likely to happen.
I once heard a story about a man who talked about the internal struggle he was having and likened it to a fight between two dogs. Someone asked him which dog was winning and the man replied, "Whichever one I feed."
Everyday each and every one of us has to face the dog fight yet again. We're in a battle for our health, and one of the dogs in the fight is named obesity. This dog may be a little skeletal at the moment because it hasn't been fed in a while, but it's watching in the corner, waiting for an opportune moment.
So every day we plan, and we commit to NOT feeding that dog today! Every day I realize all over again that I CANNOT do this on my own and ask my Heavenly Father for a fresh measure of His grace and strength. And every day that I do that - and every day that each of us makes a commitment to making the sometimes hard choices - is another day that moves us a bit closer to a healthier you and me.
Which dog are you going to feed today? The choice is yours - choose wisely :-)
Thursday, December 9, 2010
I Just Couldn't Do It
Yesterday I wrote about my ongoing battle with my refusing-to-die fat girl taste buds, especially when it comes to sweets. I'm really glad I blogged about this yesterday, because what I wrote helped keep me out of trouble later on in the day.
After a networking lunch meeting that my husband and I attended (we always get a side salad with grilled chicken breast), he and I ran a few errands. His cell phone has been acting up so he decided to stop by the Sprint store to talk to one of the reps. The Sprint store is right next to Starbucks, and my husband just happened to have a coupon for a free specialty drink of any kind. He gave me the coupon and I headed next door for coffee. Since the coupon was good for a free specialty drink of any kind, and any size, I started looking over the list of their coffee drinks. Since it's Christmas time, Starbucks has several holiday drinks right now and they all sounded good to me. I reasoned that just this once it wouldn't hurt to get one of the drinks and began the task of deciding which one I wanted.
When I'd made my selection and was ready to order, I felt myself hesitating for a moment as I remembered what I'd blogged about just a few hours earlier about making secondary choices that support what we really want. The question was, was I willing to make that secondary choice or was I going to go for immediate gratification - especially since I had a coupon for a FREE drink of my choice? Rationalization began and I figured that it really wouldn't be THAT bad, really . . . but I decided to ask the young man helping me if he knew how many calories were in the beverage I'd selected. He pulled the nutrition information and told me that the beverage had around 400 calories. Yikes!
That's all I needed to hear for reason to prevail. Four hundred calories for one beverage . . . something that had very little nutrition and enough sugar to guarantee a nice sugar high followed by a crash. I couldn't do it. I smiled at the clerk and told him that I'd lost 126 pounds and couldn't justify spending that many calories on a beverage, so I spent my free coupon on my usual Starbucks treat - a venti Americano with sugar-free syrup. It was a great - and guilt-free - treat :-)
Once upon a time, I would have felt the need to get the most "bang for my buck" and would have ordered one of the high-priced, high-calorie beverages with my free coupon. What I understood again yesterday was that even with the free coupon, drinking a 400-calorie coffee beverage would have been way too costly for me in so many other ways.
I write these blogs not only to help those who read them, but also to help keep me focused. What I also understand is that I can't be encouraging others to choose wisely if I'm not doing so myself - to not walk the talk is living out of integrity. Coming here on a daily basis is a daily reminder to me of my need to make daily choices, some of which are easy and some of which aren't. Yesterday the choice was frankly a bit of a struggle, but it was a good feeling walking out of Starbucks knowing I'd made the right choice.
One thing I've learned for sure over the past three years: I'm never sorry when I've made the right choice, but I've always regretted making a poor choice. I'm guessing the same is true for you, too! For today, let's all choose wisely :-)
After a networking lunch meeting that my husband and I attended (we always get a side salad with grilled chicken breast), he and I ran a few errands. His cell phone has been acting up so he decided to stop by the Sprint store to talk to one of the reps. The Sprint store is right next to Starbucks, and my husband just happened to have a coupon for a free specialty drink of any kind. He gave me the coupon and I headed next door for coffee. Since the coupon was good for a free specialty drink of any kind, and any size, I started looking over the list of their coffee drinks. Since it's Christmas time, Starbucks has several holiday drinks right now and they all sounded good to me. I reasoned that just this once it wouldn't hurt to get one of the drinks and began the task of deciding which one I wanted.
When I'd made my selection and was ready to order, I felt myself hesitating for a moment as I remembered what I'd blogged about just a few hours earlier about making secondary choices that support what we really want. The question was, was I willing to make that secondary choice or was I going to go for immediate gratification - especially since I had a coupon for a FREE drink of my choice? Rationalization began and I figured that it really wouldn't be THAT bad, really . . . but I decided to ask the young man helping me if he knew how many calories were in the beverage I'd selected. He pulled the nutrition information and told me that the beverage had around 400 calories. Yikes!
That's all I needed to hear for reason to prevail. Four hundred calories for one beverage . . . something that had very little nutrition and enough sugar to guarantee a nice sugar high followed by a crash. I couldn't do it. I smiled at the clerk and told him that I'd lost 126 pounds and couldn't justify spending that many calories on a beverage, so I spent my free coupon on my usual Starbucks treat - a venti Americano with sugar-free syrup. It was a great - and guilt-free - treat :-)
Once upon a time, I would have felt the need to get the most "bang for my buck" and would have ordered one of the high-priced, high-calorie beverages with my free coupon. What I understood again yesterday was that even with the free coupon, drinking a 400-calorie coffee beverage would have been way too costly for me in so many other ways.
I write these blogs not only to help those who read them, but also to help keep me focused. What I also understand is that I can't be encouraging others to choose wisely if I'm not doing so myself - to not walk the talk is living out of integrity. Coming here on a daily basis is a daily reminder to me of my need to make daily choices, some of which are easy and some of which aren't. Yesterday the choice was frankly a bit of a struggle, but it was a good feeling walking out of Starbucks knowing I'd made the right choice.
One thing I've learned for sure over the past three years: I'm never sorry when I've made the right choice, but I've always regretted making a poor choice. I'm guessing the same is true for you, too! For today, let's all choose wisely :-)
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Deciding What I Love
What do you REALLY love, and what are you willing to give up for it? This is a question I'm asking myself right now - I'm posting this so you can ask yourself the same question.
Sweets are my downfall. If it has sugar in it, there is a 99.9% chance that I'll like it. If it has both sugar AND a high fat content, that percentage goes up. What I have learned since reaching my goal over 2.5 years ago is that although many things and many habits have changed, I still have a sugar addiction. It is very difficult, bordering on impossible, for me to eat sweets in moderation. Once I start, it's as if my brain completely disengages. This time of year becomes very challenging for me because the stuff of my addiction is everywhere (except my house!).
Some people report that once they lose the weight and reach their goal, sweets and other fattening things don't ever tempt them. Some say that those things don't even taste good to them anymore. Sigh . . . I wish I could say that, but the truth is that I still have a set of fully-developed fat-girl taste buds - everything still sounds and tastes as good to me as it ever did. I was raised with a lot of fried food and my taste buds still think that frying only improves the taste of anything.
When it comes to eating, I have cut myself a bit too much slack lately - been a little less mindful of both the kind of food I've eaten as well as the quantity. I still eat six small meals a day and 2-3 of them are usually Medifast meals, but some of those other meals have included things that aren't in my long-term best interest. When this happens, I notice pretty quickly that I feel more sluggish and that I start to crave more of the stuff.
Because I am committed to staying at a healthy weight AND being healthy (having once been diabetic, I am well-aware of the dangers of regaining my weight), I have to ask myself once again the same important question: what do I REALLY love?
It comes down to what's most important to me. We all have to make primary choices, then make secondary choices to support our primary choice, even if we don't necessarily like the secondary choice. For example, if someone makes the decision to become a concert pianist (primary choice), they will make secondary choices (practice 4 hours a day, not engage in some sports to avoid possible injury to their hands, etc.) to support that primary choice. We don't always LIKE the secondary choices, but we do them because they support our primary choice.
When it all boils down, my primary choice is to be thin and healthy, so I am making some secondary choices that support that. I will exercise, whether I feel like it or not; I will make healthy choices in what I eat, whether I feel like it or not; I will continue to eat 5-6 small meals a day (2-3 of them Medifast meals), whether I feel like it or not.
For me, it's important to stay focused on what I'm gaining, not on what I'm giving up. I kept that focus while I lost my weight, and it's important for me to keep that same focus now. If I focus on feeling deprived, that has the potential to lead to failure. However, if I stay focused on what I'm gaining - and there is SO much to gain by making healthy choices - then I will embrace those healthy choices and celebrate the victories.
All of this has very little to do with willpower and a lot to do with deciding what is REALLY important to me at this point in my life. I LOVE the life I have, and I'm so thankful to God for leading me to Take Shape for Life/Medifast. This program has changed my life - literally gave me back my life. I am making the choice to maintain my weight loss and my health for the rest of my life!
For you and for me, it's a choice we have to make every day. Choose wisely :-)
Sweets are my downfall. If it has sugar in it, there is a 99.9% chance that I'll like it. If it has both sugar AND a high fat content, that percentage goes up. What I have learned since reaching my goal over 2.5 years ago is that although many things and many habits have changed, I still have a sugar addiction. It is very difficult, bordering on impossible, for me to eat sweets in moderation. Once I start, it's as if my brain completely disengages. This time of year becomes very challenging for me because the stuff of my addiction is everywhere (except my house!).
Some people report that once they lose the weight and reach their goal, sweets and other fattening things don't ever tempt them. Some say that those things don't even taste good to them anymore. Sigh . . . I wish I could say that, but the truth is that I still have a set of fully-developed fat-girl taste buds - everything still sounds and tastes as good to me as it ever did. I was raised with a lot of fried food and my taste buds still think that frying only improves the taste of anything.
When it comes to eating, I have cut myself a bit too much slack lately - been a little less mindful of both the kind of food I've eaten as well as the quantity. I still eat six small meals a day and 2-3 of them are usually Medifast meals, but some of those other meals have included things that aren't in my long-term best interest. When this happens, I notice pretty quickly that I feel more sluggish and that I start to crave more of the stuff.
Because I am committed to staying at a healthy weight AND being healthy (having once been diabetic, I am well-aware of the dangers of regaining my weight), I have to ask myself once again the same important question: what do I REALLY love?
It comes down to what's most important to me. We all have to make primary choices, then make secondary choices to support our primary choice, even if we don't necessarily like the secondary choice. For example, if someone makes the decision to become a concert pianist (primary choice), they will make secondary choices (practice 4 hours a day, not engage in some sports to avoid possible injury to their hands, etc.) to support that primary choice. We don't always LIKE the secondary choices, but we do them because they support our primary choice.
When it all boils down, my primary choice is to be thin and healthy, so I am making some secondary choices that support that. I will exercise, whether I feel like it or not; I will make healthy choices in what I eat, whether I feel like it or not; I will continue to eat 5-6 small meals a day (2-3 of them Medifast meals), whether I feel like it or not.
For me, it's important to stay focused on what I'm gaining, not on what I'm giving up. I kept that focus while I lost my weight, and it's important for me to keep that same focus now. If I focus on feeling deprived, that has the potential to lead to failure. However, if I stay focused on what I'm gaining - and there is SO much to gain by making healthy choices - then I will embrace those healthy choices and celebrate the victories.
All of this has very little to do with willpower and a lot to do with deciding what is REALLY important to me at this point in my life. I LOVE the life I have, and I'm so thankful to God for leading me to Take Shape for Life/Medifast. This program has changed my life - literally gave me back my life. I am making the choice to maintain my weight loss and my health for the rest of my life!
For you and for me, it's a choice we have to make every day. Choose wisely :-)
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Filling the Gaps
Part of my weight loss journey three years ago was addressing the things that led to the overeating that resulted in my weight ballooning to 268 pounds. I understood that I didn't get to that weight just because I enjoyed a good meal or because I'm a great cook - I was a self-confessed emotional eater. As I've shared before, an unexpected outcome of going on this program was my coming to grips with turning to food and other things as a coping mechanism for dealing with stress, anger, boredom, etc.
This is a time of year when those of us who are recovering emotional eaters can be especially challenged. The holidays tend to be emotional times anyway - good and bad - as they not only bring back memories from past holidays, but the busyness of the season creates its own level of stress. When our emotions are running on high and then a lot of holiday food shows up, it can be hard to stay on plan.
I've been doing my own study of Beth Moore's "Breaking Free" Bible study. Her study is focused on helping women truly break free from the things that keep us trapped in unhealthy behavior. After I complete the lessons for each week, I download the video lesson she teaches. This past week, the video I watched was amazing and was just what I needed. I'm sharing this not only as a reminder to myself of what I learned, but hopefully this will resonate with someone else, too.
Beth shared the story of Jesus talking with a Samaritan woman at a well, a woman who had tried to fill the holes in her life with relationships (she'd been married 5 times and was living with a man). Jesus recognized that she was thirsty for more than the water in the well and He offered her living water so that she would never thirst again (He, of course, was referring to Himself as the Living Water). Beth took a large glass container and began to put all kinds of things in the container - a couple of small dolls to represent relationships, chocolate, money, jewelry, etc. - different things that people use to fill the holes in our lives. She filled the container full, stuffing in as many things as she could, but it was clear there were still gaps in the container. Beth explained that we could never put enough stuff into our lives to fill every gap, and she said that we all have gaps that we want to fill.
Beth then took a container of water and poured it into the container and I watched as the water filled every empty spot - every gap was filled. For me, this was a powerful reminder that only God can fill the gaps in my heart. For years, even though I knew stuff, including food, couldn't fill the gaps, I still tried. I couldn't eat enough, couldn't shop enough, to fill the gaps. I want to point out that my life was good - a solid, happy marriage, healthy kids, a good job, nice home, wonderful friends and family - but there were still emotional gaps, the kind that we all have. When I was under stress or upset about something or even bored, those gaps became gaping holes. No amount of chocolate or anything else could fill those holes.
Part of my weight loss journey was learning to turn in an entirely new way to the Lord, and He filled every gap in my heart. When that happened, food was able to take its rightful place in my life as a source of nourishment for my body, not my heart. Watching Beth pour water into that container was a powerful visual for me and a good reminder once again during this time of year to not reach for food when the pressure of the season weighs me down.
We all have gaps in our lives and we choose how we're going to try and fill those gaps. Choose wisely :-)
This is a time of year when those of us who are recovering emotional eaters can be especially challenged. The holidays tend to be emotional times anyway - good and bad - as they not only bring back memories from past holidays, but the busyness of the season creates its own level of stress. When our emotions are running on high and then a lot of holiday food shows up, it can be hard to stay on plan.
I've been doing my own study of Beth Moore's "Breaking Free" Bible study. Her study is focused on helping women truly break free from the things that keep us trapped in unhealthy behavior. After I complete the lessons for each week, I download the video lesson she teaches. This past week, the video I watched was amazing and was just what I needed. I'm sharing this not only as a reminder to myself of what I learned, but hopefully this will resonate with someone else, too.
Beth shared the story of Jesus talking with a Samaritan woman at a well, a woman who had tried to fill the holes in her life with relationships (she'd been married 5 times and was living with a man). Jesus recognized that she was thirsty for more than the water in the well and He offered her living water so that she would never thirst again (He, of course, was referring to Himself as the Living Water). Beth took a large glass container and began to put all kinds of things in the container - a couple of small dolls to represent relationships, chocolate, money, jewelry, etc. - different things that people use to fill the holes in our lives. She filled the container full, stuffing in as many things as she could, but it was clear there were still gaps in the container. Beth explained that we could never put enough stuff into our lives to fill every gap, and she said that we all have gaps that we want to fill.
Beth then took a container of water and poured it into the container and I watched as the water filled every empty spot - every gap was filled. For me, this was a powerful reminder that only God can fill the gaps in my heart. For years, even though I knew stuff, including food, couldn't fill the gaps, I still tried. I couldn't eat enough, couldn't shop enough, to fill the gaps. I want to point out that my life was good - a solid, happy marriage, healthy kids, a good job, nice home, wonderful friends and family - but there were still emotional gaps, the kind that we all have. When I was under stress or upset about something or even bored, those gaps became gaping holes. No amount of chocolate or anything else could fill those holes.
Part of my weight loss journey was learning to turn in an entirely new way to the Lord, and He filled every gap in my heart. When that happened, food was able to take its rightful place in my life as a source of nourishment for my body, not my heart. Watching Beth pour water into that container was a powerful visual for me and a good reminder once again during this time of year to not reach for food when the pressure of the season weighs me down.
We all have gaps in our lives and we choose how we're going to try and fill those gaps. Choose wisely :-)
Monday, December 6, 2010
Tons or Ounces?
Life isn't easy. Every day we are faced with dozens of choices and many of those choices are difficult. This time of year, for those of us committed to either getting to or maintaining a healthy weight, the difficulty in making the right choices is increased a hundred-fold, and sometimes we may wonder if the struggle is worth the pain we're feeling. I recently read a quote from Jim Rohn that addresses this question: "We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons."
Having experienced both the pain of discipline and the pain of regret (LOTS of regret . . . ), I can tell you from first-hand experience that I'd much rather carry the weight of discipline! In the moment, it's always easier to make the wrong choice because the wrong choice invariably is the one based on immediate gratification. We get a quick rush of good feelings or perhaps even euphoria when we go for the instant gratification. The problem is that the rush is almost always quickly followed by lots of regret and self-recrimination. The good feelings we had as we were eating the off-plan food are gone almost as soon as the last bite is swallowed and in their place are thoughts of "I just blew it . . . I can't believe I ate all of that . . . I'm so weak . . . I'll never reach my goal . . . it's hopeless . . . " My experience is that the regret always outweighs the brief satisfaction I had, and it lasts MUCH longer. In the past, that regret usually led to another round of going for immediate gratification to make me feel better temporarily, followed by another round of regret. Blech!
There is certainly pain in discipline, but it's short-lived. At the point of making the decision, there can be a real struggle in saying "no" to something we really want. For me, there have been times when it felt like it took everything in me to walk away from the temptation. But when I DID walk away . . . when I DO walk away . . . the pain of saying "no" is immediately replaced with a rush of relief and joy that I didn't give in. When I was on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1 and successfully faced up to a food temptation, the relief and joy that followed was a reminder to me that I would have felt awful if I'd given in. The next time a temptation came up (and temptations were everywhere, especially during the holiday season), I remembered how wonderful I felt when I'd walked away and that helped to give me the strength I needed to do so again. As I've shared in the past, I also recognized my own weakness and drew heavily on my Heavenly Father for the strength I needed to walk away.
Tons or ounces . . . what do you want to carry today? The choice is yours . . . choose wisely :-)
Having experienced both the pain of discipline and the pain of regret (LOTS of regret . . . ), I can tell you from first-hand experience that I'd much rather carry the weight of discipline! In the moment, it's always easier to make the wrong choice because the wrong choice invariably is the one based on immediate gratification. We get a quick rush of good feelings or perhaps even euphoria when we go for the instant gratification. The problem is that the rush is almost always quickly followed by lots of regret and self-recrimination. The good feelings we had as we were eating the off-plan food are gone almost as soon as the last bite is swallowed and in their place are thoughts of "I just blew it . . . I can't believe I ate all of that . . . I'm so weak . . . I'll never reach my goal . . . it's hopeless . . . " My experience is that the regret always outweighs the brief satisfaction I had, and it lasts MUCH longer. In the past, that regret usually led to another round of going for immediate gratification to make me feel better temporarily, followed by another round of regret. Blech!
There is certainly pain in discipline, but it's short-lived. At the point of making the decision, there can be a real struggle in saying "no" to something we really want. For me, there have been times when it felt like it took everything in me to walk away from the temptation. But when I DID walk away . . . when I DO walk away . . . the pain of saying "no" is immediately replaced with a rush of relief and joy that I didn't give in. When I was on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1 and successfully faced up to a food temptation, the relief and joy that followed was a reminder to me that I would have felt awful if I'd given in. The next time a temptation came up (and temptations were everywhere, especially during the holiday season), I remembered how wonderful I felt when I'd walked away and that helped to give me the strength I needed to do so again. As I've shared in the past, I also recognized my own weakness and drew heavily on my Heavenly Father for the strength I needed to walk away.
Tons or ounces . . . what do you want to carry today? The choice is yours . . . choose wisely :-)
Sunday, December 5, 2010
It's the Most Wonderful, and Challenging, Time of the Year
Since we are now into December and the holiday season, I thought I'd share with you a blog I wrote three years ago yesterday. I was just over five months into my weight loss journey, and I approached the holidays with a lot of trepidation. Here's what I wrote:
It's only December 4, but this is going to be one tough month! December is always challenging, but in years past I always dealt with stress be eating more chocolate or Christmas cookies, and one stress I never dealt with was trying to AVOID all of the holiday goodies. But this is definitely a different year for me - time to gird my (shrinking) loins!
There is food all around me, and almost NONE of it is on plan. We hosted a Christmas party for our small group Bible study on Sunday night and I stuck with the shrimp cocktail (no cocktail sauce) and some raw veggies (both were part of my L&G for the day). Then I walked into work on Monday morning to find a large box of Godiva chocolates sitting my my desk (that was quickly taken to the kitchen and OUT of my sight!). Then a large package of gourmet popcorn was delivered to our office, and additional food gifts will continue to come for the next two weeks. Our office is holding a holiday luncheon for physician office billers on Thursday and we're catering in a full Italian meal - two different kinds of pasta, homemade breads, and truffles and cannoli for dessert - certainly nothing for me to eat! And the list just goes on and on, day in and day out for the next couple of weeks. I have a lot of holiday events to attend and/or host, and it will be a literal minefield for me to walk through every single time.
But what's true for me is probably true for many of you, too. I'm not complaining, just taking stock of all of the potential dangers and carefully planning my strategy to ensure that I don't end up thrown off plan. Part of the planning is making sure that I eat my Medifast meals on time and don't allow myself to get overly hungry. Part of the planning is making sure I have an emergency stash of MF food at my desk and in my purse so that I never have an excuse to stray.
Then there's the mental and emotional preparation! Here's what I'm telling myself right now:
Yes, I'm talking to myself a lot right now! lol But I am committed to losing weight and don't want anything to get in my way. It's not easy, but having made the decision to stay on plan, it really IS simple. If the food isn't on plan, I don't eat it! Who's with me?
Besides, the Reason for the Season isn't food, anyway, right?
That was my mindset three years ago, and with God's help, that's what helped me lose 18 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year's. Then, as now, it always comes down to a choice that we have to make. I have no regrets for the choice I made three years ago :-). If you want to get through the holidays without regrets, choose wisely!
It's only December 4, but this is going to be one tough month! December is always challenging, but in years past I always dealt with stress be eating more chocolate or Christmas cookies, and one stress I never dealt with was trying to AVOID all of the holiday goodies. But this is definitely a different year for me - time to gird my (shrinking) loins!
There is food all around me, and almost NONE of it is on plan. We hosted a Christmas party for our small group Bible study on Sunday night and I stuck with the shrimp cocktail (no cocktail sauce) and some raw veggies (both were part of my L&G for the day). Then I walked into work on Monday morning to find a large box of Godiva chocolates sitting my my desk (that was quickly taken to the kitchen and OUT of my sight!). Then a large package of gourmet popcorn was delivered to our office, and additional food gifts will continue to come for the next two weeks. Our office is holding a holiday luncheon for physician office billers on Thursday and we're catering in a full Italian meal - two different kinds of pasta, homemade breads, and truffles and cannoli for dessert - certainly nothing for me to eat! And the list just goes on and on, day in and day out for the next couple of weeks. I have a lot of holiday events to attend and/or host, and it will be a literal minefield for me to walk through every single time.
But what's true for me is probably true for many of you, too. I'm not complaining, just taking stock of all of the potential dangers and carefully planning my strategy to ensure that I don't end up thrown off plan. Part of the planning is making sure that I eat my Medifast meals on time and don't allow myself to get overly hungry. Part of the planning is making sure I have an emergency stash of MF food at my desk and in my purse so that I never have an excuse to stray.
Then there's the mental and emotional preparation! Here's what I'm telling myself right now:
- That non-plan food will not get me where I want to go, and it may result in me getting seriously off-track
- Everything I need nutritionally is provided through my 5/1, so there is absolutely no need for me to go off plan (and "just because I feel like it" doesn't count!)
- I already know how all of this food will taste because I've had it before, so I don't need to taste it
- These types of food will be around next year, and next year I will be able to have a small (as in VERY small) taste of the things I'm most wanting
- By refusing to give in now, I am strengthening my "no thank you" muscles; this will help me to maintain my weight loss later
- I don't want to spend one more day than necessary being overweight, and that piece of chocolate/cookie/etc. could cause me to spend another day overweight
- I haven't been out of the fat-burning state since I first got into it in late June and I do NOT want to go through that misery again just to have that chocolate/cookie/etc.
- If I get out of the fat-burning state, in addition to the misery that will accompany getting back in, it will take me approximately 3 days to get back in. That's 15 meals and $30 (@ $2/MF meal). Is that chocolate/cookie/etc. worth $30 to me?
Yes, I'm talking to myself a lot right now! lol But I am committed to losing weight and don't want anything to get in my way. It's not easy, but having made the decision to stay on plan, it really IS simple. If the food isn't on plan, I don't eat it! Who's with me?
Besides, the Reason for the Season isn't food, anyway, right?
That was my mindset three years ago, and with God's help, that's what helped me lose 18 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year's. Then, as now, it always comes down to a choice that we have to make. I have no regrets for the choice I made three years ago :-). If you want to get through the holidays without regrets, choose wisely!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Another NSV
Yesterday my husband and I took a chartered bus trip to Chicago (2-1/2 hour trip each way) for a day of shopping and sight-seeing. It was a fun way to spend a December Friday! My husband spent over 38 years working in retail jewelry where the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas was all about work and definitely no play, so the fact that we're now self-employed and he was able to spend a day in December just having fun made the trip extra-special.
The bus dropped us off near Michigan Avenue (the "Magnificent Mile") and we had 6-1/2 hours to do whatever we wanted. I grew up in Chicago and spent two summers and an entire year working in the downtown "Loop", so we headed to one of my favorite stores that was a little over a mile away (for those who are familiar with Chicago, the store is now Macy's and located in the historic Marshall Field's building on State Street). We spent quite a bit of time there and had a lovely lean & green meal in the Walnut Room at the top of the building. After lunch, we walked back to the Magnificent Mile for more shopping and browsing, then had dessert and coffee at a restaurant before heading back to the bus for the trip home. My BodyBugg recorded almost 13,000 steps yesterday and over 2,000 calories burned :-).
My husband and I brought several Medifast meals with us, so other than our lean & green and our dessert (we're in maintenance, remember??), we ate our MF food every 2-1/2 or 3 hours and kept ourselves fueled, with the nutrition we needed. When we got on the bus yesterday morning, a number of people were eating a fast-food breakfast, then munched on cookies on the way to Chicago. On our way home, the bus stopped at a fast-food restaurant and a lot of the individuals bought food there for the bus ride home. My husband and I chose to save our money (and calories) for a good meal and a bit of a splurge with dessert.
Several years ago I spent a day shopping in the Chicago Loop, but it was such a different story. I was at or near my top weight of 268, so walking all over downtown Chicago was exhausting. I remember wondering if I'd be able to take another step because my feet and back ached. I ended up taking a couple of cabs that day because I got to the point where I just couldn't walk any farther.
Life at a healthy weight is SO much better! I'm several years older than I was the last time I spent a day shopping in Chicago, but there is no comparison with the energy I had then versus the energy I have now! I was able to have a great day shopping and sight-seeing, do a lot of walking and had energy to spare when we got on the bus for the ride home. Yesterday's shopping trip was about a lot more than just Christmas shopping in my favorite city. It was another opportunity to celebrate the new life I have this side of goal. The NSVs (non-scale victories) still keep coming! The choices I began making 3-1/2 years ago when I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast are still reaping rewards for me. I'm not only still healthy and still wearing size 6's, but I'm able to enjoy doing fun things I wouldn't have had the energy to enjoy at 268 pounds.
The choices you're making today will reap rewards tomorrow and the day after that . . . choose wisely :-)
The bus dropped us off near Michigan Avenue (the "Magnificent Mile") and we had 6-1/2 hours to do whatever we wanted. I grew up in Chicago and spent two summers and an entire year working in the downtown "Loop", so we headed to one of my favorite stores that was a little over a mile away (for those who are familiar with Chicago, the store is now Macy's and located in the historic Marshall Field's building on State Street). We spent quite a bit of time there and had a lovely lean & green meal in the Walnut Room at the top of the building. After lunch, we walked back to the Magnificent Mile for more shopping and browsing, then had dessert and coffee at a restaurant before heading back to the bus for the trip home. My BodyBugg recorded almost 13,000 steps yesterday and over 2,000 calories burned :-).
My husband and I brought several Medifast meals with us, so other than our lean & green and our dessert (we're in maintenance, remember??), we ate our MF food every 2-1/2 or 3 hours and kept ourselves fueled, with the nutrition we needed. When we got on the bus yesterday morning, a number of people were eating a fast-food breakfast, then munched on cookies on the way to Chicago. On our way home, the bus stopped at a fast-food restaurant and a lot of the individuals bought food there for the bus ride home. My husband and I chose to save our money (and calories) for a good meal and a bit of a splurge with dessert.
Several years ago I spent a day shopping in the Chicago Loop, but it was such a different story. I was at or near my top weight of 268, so walking all over downtown Chicago was exhausting. I remember wondering if I'd be able to take another step because my feet and back ached. I ended up taking a couple of cabs that day because I got to the point where I just couldn't walk any farther.
Life at a healthy weight is SO much better! I'm several years older than I was the last time I spent a day shopping in Chicago, but there is no comparison with the energy I had then versus the energy I have now! I was able to have a great day shopping and sight-seeing, do a lot of walking and had energy to spare when we got on the bus for the ride home. Yesterday's shopping trip was about a lot more than just Christmas shopping in my favorite city. It was another opportunity to celebrate the new life I have this side of goal. The NSVs (non-scale victories) still keep coming! The choices I began making 3-1/2 years ago when I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast are still reaping rewards for me. I'm not only still healthy and still wearing size 6's, but I'm able to enjoy doing fun things I wouldn't have had the energy to enjoy at 268 pounds.
The choices you're making today will reap rewards tomorrow and the day after that . . . choose wisely :-)
Friday, December 3, 2010
Happy 80th Birthday, Dad!
I'm wishing my dad a very happy 80th birthday today! I am very blessed to have both of my parents living about 5 miles straight down the road from me (they moved to West Michigan from Chicago when my dad retired almost 18 years ago). My dad is probably the youngest 80 year old you'll ever meet, with the energy and enthusiasm that rivals someone a generation (or two) younger than he.
One thing that keeps my dad so youthful is that he is a life-long learner. Over the years, I've watched him grow and change, and that continues to this day. As my dad watched me lose weight, he started asking questions about how the plan worked. Because my mom has been diabetic for a long time and struggled to maintain stable glucose levels, my dad was particularly happy that my own glucose levels quickly went down and stayed down (and are still normal!). Right around the time I reached my goal (a little over 2-1/2 years ago!), my dad called me and told me that both he and my mom and decided to go on Take Shape for Life/Medifast. He has carried around a bit of extra weight for most of his adult life - not terrible, but he wasn't in a healthy BMI range, either. My mom has struggled with her weight for much of her adult life, at least since her early/mid 30's, and her excess weight was certainly a contributing factor to her own diabetes.
I knew that my dad was primarily starting the program as a way of encouraging and supporting my mom, but he went into it with commitment and enthusiasm. My dad never does anything half-heartedly, and that was certainly true of 5&1. He stayed on plan and really encouraged my mom, too, and within a couple of months he reached his goal. Amazingly, he now weighs less than he did when my parents got married over 58 years ago! He was able to reduce both his blood pressure and his cholesterol medication, which pleased him and impressed his physician. Because of my dad's decision to go on plan, my mom ended up losing 40 pounds herself and is now off of her day-time insulin (she was previously taking 4-7 units of insulin after every meal) and only needs a bit of insulin during the day when she gets into sweets or eats too many carbs. Two years ago, my dad was concerned that my mom would soon be in a wheelchair, but because he led the way in getting them on 5&1, my mom is in better health today at 80 than she was two or three years ago.
For my dad, this hasn't been a diet - it's become a new way of life. Even though he reached his goal over two years ago, he continues to eat 5-6 small meals a day and is maintaining his weight loss. I do have to confess that while he dutifully ate MF oatmeal while he was on 5&1, that was the first thing he replaced when he reach week 4 of Transition and was able to reintroduce whole grains, and I don't think he's had any since :-).
My dad reads my blog every day and is always sending me ideas for future blogs - things he's read in the newspaper, an article he found on line, or something from his morning devotional reading. Next to my husband, my dad is my biggest cheerleader (my mom is right there, too!). I am so blessed!
My dad is living proof that it's never too late to make healthy changes in your life. It always comes down to what we really want, and the choices we're willing to make to achieve our goal.
What choices are you going to make today? I hope you choose wisely :-)
Happy birthday, Dad!
One thing that keeps my dad so youthful is that he is a life-long learner. Over the years, I've watched him grow and change, and that continues to this day. As my dad watched me lose weight, he started asking questions about how the plan worked. Because my mom has been diabetic for a long time and struggled to maintain stable glucose levels, my dad was particularly happy that my own glucose levels quickly went down and stayed down (and are still normal!). Right around the time I reached my goal (a little over 2-1/2 years ago!), my dad called me and told me that both he and my mom and decided to go on Take Shape for Life/Medifast. He has carried around a bit of extra weight for most of his adult life - not terrible, but he wasn't in a healthy BMI range, either. My mom has struggled with her weight for much of her adult life, at least since her early/mid 30's, and her excess weight was certainly a contributing factor to her own diabetes.
I knew that my dad was primarily starting the program as a way of encouraging and supporting my mom, but he went into it with commitment and enthusiasm. My dad never does anything half-heartedly, and that was certainly true of 5&1. He stayed on plan and really encouraged my mom, too, and within a couple of months he reached his goal. Amazingly, he now weighs less than he did when my parents got married over 58 years ago! He was able to reduce both his blood pressure and his cholesterol medication, which pleased him and impressed his physician. Because of my dad's decision to go on plan, my mom ended up losing 40 pounds herself and is now off of her day-time insulin (she was previously taking 4-7 units of insulin after every meal) and only needs a bit of insulin during the day when she gets into sweets or eats too many carbs. Two years ago, my dad was concerned that my mom would soon be in a wheelchair, but because he led the way in getting them on 5&1, my mom is in better health today at 80 than she was two or three years ago.
For my dad, this hasn't been a diet - it's become a new way of life. Even though he reached his goal over two years ago, he continues to eat 5-6 small meals a day and is maintaining his weight loss. I do have to confess that while he dutifully ate MF oatmeal while he was on 5&1, that was the first thing he replaced when he reach week 4 of Transition and was able to reintroduce whole grains, and I don't think he's had any since :-).
My dad reads my blog every day and is always sending me ideas for future blogs - things he's read in the newspaper, an article he found on line, or something from his morning devotional reading. Next to my husband, my dad is my biggest cheerleader (my mom is right there, too!). I am so blessed!
My dad is living proof that it's never too late to make healthy changes in your life. It always comes down to what we really want, and the choices we're willing to make to achieve our goal.
What choices are you going to make today? I hope you choose wisely :-)
Happy birthday, Dad!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Beware of Slick Spots!
Yesterday brought our first snow fall of the season. One of the things that is absolutely predictable with the first snow of the winter is an absolute rash of fender benders, and yesterday's local news included stories of many accidents. Thankfully, most of these are just that - fender benders - with no serious injuries. Once everyone readjusts to driving on snowy (and sometimes icy) roads, things settle down pretty quickly. What amazes me is that it snows absolutely every winter, and anyone who has lived in Michigan for any length of time and driven in winter has developed the winter driving skill set they need to navigate the roads safely - at least that's the theory. In practice, however, it appears that some people relearn how to drive every single winter, and the rest of us try our best to avoid getting hit by one of them.
Why is it that we so quickly forget what we think we've learned? I am almost certain that by the time the snow melts for the last time every spring, most Michigan drivers are expert at dealing with winter roads. Then the weather turns warm, the roads become dry once again and many drivers get lax and are seemingly caught unaware when the snow inevitably falls the next winter.
The same is often true for those of us on 5&1. We think we've "got it" this time, and we do really well for a while. Then things come up and some find themselves off plan and quickly out of the 5&1 routine. When that happens, there can be a series of "5&1 fender benders" before these individuals are back on the road again.
Staying on plan, like winter driving, requires lots of repetition and attention. The more we do it, the more comfortable we are and the easier it gets. We can't afford to take our eyes off the road because there may be unexpected "slick spots", but if we hit a spot and start to skid, we know exactly what to do to bring things under control so we don't end up in a ditch. And landing in a ditch is no fun at all!
With Christmas looming, there are a lot of food "slick spots" waiting to put your 5&1 vehicle into a spinout, so my encouragement to you today is to keep your hands on the wheel, your eyes on the road, and keep doing what you're doing (staying on plan!). Every time you choose to stay on plan, you are becoming a more "expert driver" and will be better able to navigate past potential pitfalls. Every time you choose to stay on plan, you are one day closer to your destination - your goal weight.
Today, as every day, the choice is yours. Choose wisely :-)
Why is it that we so quickly forget what we think we've learned? I am almost certain that by the time the snow melts for the last time every spring, most Michigan drivers are expert at dealing with winter roads. Then the weather turns warm, the roads become dry once again and many drivers get lax and are seemingly caught unaware when the snow inevitably falls the next winter.
The same is often true for those of us on 5&1. We think we've "got it" this time, and we do really well for a while. Then things come up and some find themselves off plan and quickly out of the 5&1 routine. When that happens, there can be a series of "5&1 fender benders" before these individuals are back on the road again.
Staying on plan, like winter driving, requires lots of repetition and attention. The more we do it, the more comfortable we are and the easier it gets. We can't afford to take our eyes off the road because there may be unexpected "slick spots", but if we hit a spot and start to skid, we know exactly what to do to bring things under control so we don't end up in a ditch. And landing in a ditch is no fun at all!
With Christmas looming, there are a lot of food "slick spots" waiting to put your 5&1 vehicle into a spinout, so my encouragement to you today is to keep your hands on the wheel, your eyes on the road, and keep doing what you're doing (staying on plan!). Every time you choose to stay on plan, you are becoming a more "expert driver" and will be better able to navigate past potential pitfalls. Every time you choose to stay on plan, you are one day closer to your destination - your goal weight.
Today, as every day, the choice is yours. Choose wisely :-)
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Paying Attention to Detail
Welcome to December! I always start to hyper-ventilate just a bit on December 1, because it means the countdown is on until Christmas. Like almost everyone else, there is a lot going on this month and a lot of things to do. I am a list maker by nature, but December puts my list making into overdrive. List of things to do, gifts to buy, events to attend (including grandchildren's Christmas programs) - the lists go on and on. For me, it's the best way I know of to stay on top of all of the details and make sure that everything I want to do and get done happens.
Some of us are more detail-oriented by nature, but whether we come by it naturally or not, paying attention to detail makes a difference. I recently read a story about a man from Germany who planned to visit his fiance for Christmas but ended up in snowy Sidney, Montana instead of sunny Sydney, Australia. Ouch!
Not paying attention to details while on 5&1 can result in us not arriving at our destination, too, or getting there much later than we'd hoped. This time of year we have a lot of things vying for our attention, so it takes some extra effort to stay focused on what we're doing. An extra bite here and a small nibble there can quickly push us out of the fat-burning state, and if we're not paying attention, we may not even realize it. Since it takes a minimum of three days to get into the fat-burning state and since the Medifast meals cost approximately $10 a day ($2/meal x 5 meals), going off plan will cost us a minimum of $30, and that cost can go up if we don't get right back on plan.
Paying attention to details also means making sure you have some extra Medifast meals with you, just in case. This is a busy time of year, so make sure you don't end up in a situation where you're hungry and don't have access to a Medifast meal. Take the time to plan your meals each day - this small detail can make the difference, especially during this holiday season.
Plan carefully and pay attention to details and you'll get through this month just fine! The good news is that a month from now, while much of the country will be scratching their heads and looking at their protruding bellies and wondering what they're going to do, you'll be starting the new year weighing less than you do right now. All you have to do is make the choice today, so choose wisely :-)
Some of us are more detail-oriented by nature, but whether we come by it naturally or not, paying attention to detail makes a difference. I recently read a story about a man from Germany who planned to visit his fiance for Christmas but ended up in snowy Sidney, Montana instead of sunny Sydney, Australia. Ouch!
Not paying attention to details while on 5&1 can result in us not arriving at our destination, too, or getting there much later than we'd hoped. This time of year we have a lot of things vying for our attention, so it takes some extra effort to stay focused on what we're doing. An extra bite here and a small nibble there can quickly push us out of the fat-burning state, and if we're not paying attention, we may not even realize it. Since it takes a minimum of three days to get into the fat-burning state and since the Medifast meals cost approximately $10 a day ($2/meal x 5 meals), going off plan will cost us a minimum of $30, and that cost can go up if we don't get right back on plan.
Paying attention to details also means making sure you have some extra Medifast meals with you, just in case. This is a busy time of year, so make sure you don't end up in a situation where you're hungry and don't have access to a Medifast meal. Take the time to plan your meals each day - this small detail can make the difference, especially during this holiday season.
Plan carefully and pay attention to details and you'll get through this month just fine! The good news is that a month from now, while much of the country will be scratching their heads and looking at their protruding bellies and wondering what they're going to do, you'll be starting the new year weighing less than you do right now. All you have to do is make the choice today, so choose wisely :-)
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