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 :-).