Falling Leaves

I can hardly believe this is the last day of April!  In my part of the country, this month has taken us from the last of wintery weather to spring with trees, shrubs and tulips all beginning to bloom.  It's funny, but in the midst of all of the new growth I'm seeing all around me, here and there I'm seeing dead leaves on the ground.

Most of the leaves dropped last fall and were raked up and disposed of long ago.  However, a few leaves clung tenaciously to the trees all winter, despite cold winds and lots of snow.  A hard winter could not dislodge the leaves, so they stayed put until a week or so ago when new leaves began to emerge, finally pushing those dead leaves off the tree.  

Those dead leaves are like some of our most deeply-ingrained bad habits.  There are some habits that we can shake off fairly easily, but then there are those OTHER habits . . . habits that can't just be shaken off.  For many of us here, we've tried to drop some bad eating habits, only to find them clinging fiercely to us until we think we're stuck with them forever.

The good news is that we CAN get rid of the bad habits - AS we replace them with healthy new habits.  Replacing an old, unhealthy habit with a new, healthy one is the only way to make a permanent change.  And how do we develop new, healthy habits?  Practice :-)

Each day that we make a healthy choice instead of our former unhealthy choice, we are doing two important things at the same time:  we are strengthening the new habit and weakening the old habit.  Making this change takes time - a minimum of three weeks is needed before new habits begin to take hold (and old ones begin to loosen their grip).  Solidifying those new habits will take more time yet, and maintaining them will require ongoing diligence - but it's worth it!!

We can't just eliminate a bad habit - we need to replace it with a new, healthy habit. When we eliminate a bad habit, the void will quickly be filled by something else (often another bad habit!) unless we are very intentional about filling the void with something positive, something that will keep us moving in the direction we want to go.

Eliminating bad habits and incorporating healthy habits are reflected in the choices we make today.  Choose wisely :-)

Long-Term Vision vs. Short-Term Pain

Last month our local newspaper ran an editorial column about some of the changes our new governor has proposed in his attempt to address the challenges my state (Michigan) faces.  The editorial was entitled, "Long-Term Vision Can Justify Short-Term Pain."  The editorial was fairly balanced (in my opinion!), but I was honestly more intrigued by the title of the editorial than I was by the article itself.

None of us like to be uncomfortable and we go to great lengths to retain a measure of comfort.  As a result, it's very difficult to stretch beyond our comfort zone, even if our comfort zone isn't the best place for us to be. It's rather ironic that we will sometimes choose to stay in a place we don't want to be because it's more comfortable than stretching outside of that zone to make the changes required to be in a different place.

Because we find comfort in what's familiar, it can very difficult to endure the discomfort that change brings (even good change) unless we have a clear vision of the long-term goal.  It's that clear vision that will keep us going and help us to realize that the short-term discomfort will be worth it in the end.

Please know that I did NOT have a clear vision of a long-term goal when I started this program.  First of all, I didn't expect it to work and carefully read the money-back guarantee before I placed my first order because I fully expected that I would be sending everything back.  When I lost 18 pounds my first month, I was encouraged but assumed the loss was a fluke and not sustainable, so I cautiously placed a second order.  I still didn't have a long-term goal in mind and was very much taking it one day at a time.  

However, by the end of the second month on this program and having lost 30 pounds, I began to get a vision of actually reaching my goal.  I began to envision my life at a healthy weight and began to dream of a life that didn't revolve around dieting.  I began to imagine what it would be like to not wake up every morning wishing I was thin, of looking in the mirror and not hating my reflection.  As my long-term vision of life at goal became clear, that vision made the short-term sacrifices not only endurable but actually worth it.

I wanted to reach my goal and each pound I lost brought me one pound closer to where I wanted to be.  I was certainly aware of the fact that there were a lot of things I was choosing to not eat, and it's not that those foods weren't tempting - they were!  And it's not that it was easy to not give in - it wasn't easy and at times it was incredibly difficult.  But I wanted something desperately and I wanted it enough to endure the short-term discomfort required to get there.  Almost three years after reaching goal, I have NO regrets - not one!

What is your long-range vision?  Where do you want to be?  If you are moving towards something you really want, it will be MUCH easier to stay on plan and not be swayed by the temptations that surround you. Sure there may be some temporary discomfort in turning down a favorite food, and there may even be some discomfort involved in eating a bit differently than others around you, but that discomfort won't dissuade you if you're focused on where you're going.

Only you can decide if your long-term vision is truly worth the short-term pain, so I encourage you to dream big!  Once you have your long-term vision in mind, choose wisely :-)

Lace Up Those Running Shoes!

My daughter is a runner and is preparing to run a half-marathon next month.  Because she is preparing for a half-marathon, she is focused on endurance and knows she needs to pace herself so she can go the distance.  Preparing for a marathon is very different from preparing for a 100-yard sprint, and running a marathon is very different from running a sprint, too.

The difference between preparing for and running a marathon versus a sprint certainly applies to the journey we're on, because we've embarked on a marathon.  We really have to prepare ourselves to stay consistent over the long haul, because no matter how long it will take for us to reach our goal, reaching our goal is only the first phase of this program.  Maintaining at a healthy weight is the rest of the program - one marathon after another.

I'm not a runner (I have a bad knee), but I've watched bits and pieces of a few marathons over the years.  As I think back to the marathons, one thing I remember is that most of the runners aren't smiling while they're running.  Some of them look like they're concentrating, and others are actually grimacing.  The exhilaration of taking off at the starting line eventually fades and the marathoner is faced with the task of just putting one foot in front of the other.  At some point along the way, it's not particularly fun any more.  But running a marathon isn't necessarily about having fun along the way (although some runners really do enjoy the journey).  Running in a marathon is about finishing it and having the satisfaction of knowing that the runner accomplished something difficult.  There might not be a lot of smiling going on during the marathon, but there are lots of smiles and lots of celebrations at the finish line.

Sometimes we have unrealistic expectations about the weight loss marathon we're on and we expect it to be fun and exciting the entire time.  That might be true if it was a 50 yard dash, but it's not a dash - this is the marathon of our lives.  The reality is that we will alternate between exhilaration and exhaustion, between feeling like this is the best thing we've ever done to hating the thought of doing this one more day.  In the end, we will experience a full spectrum of emotions on this journey, but as long as we keep putting one foot in front of another, we will cross the finish line.  And when we cross the finish line and reach goal, there will be smiles and lots of celebration.  

And after the celebration we'll begin the next marathon - maintenance :-).

So, are your running shoes laced up this morning?  It's another marathon day - are you committed to staying the course today?  Your commitment will be reflected in the choices you make . . . choose wisely :-)

Can'ts and Cans

There's no denying that sometimes it's just hard to stay on plan.  So many social events revolve around food . . . many of us have emotional attachments to food and spent years running to food whenever there was any emotional blip, good or bad, in our lives.  We're busy, some of us may have people in our lives who aren't supportive . . . there are dozens of reasons for not staying on plan.

I read a quote recently that I thought really addressed this issue.  "Some men have thousands of reasons why they can't do what they want to do, when all they need is one reason why they can." ~ Willis Whitney 

I love this quote because it cuts through the reasons why not.  Those reasons will ALWAYS be there, and when one issue is resolved it seems like two or three pop up in its place.   

If we decide that we can't stay on plan for this reason or that, we're right - we can't and we won't.  If we give ourselves and "out", human nature's tendency is to always take the "out."

Instead of focusing on the obstacles and all the reasons why we can't, if we want to be successful we have to shift our focus to what we really want and find the one reason why we can.  Once we know what we want and why we want it, the million-and-one reasons why we can't won't matter any more.

Once a person makes the fundamental decision to get to a healthy weight, it's amazing to see how those obstacles don't matter any more. After years of struggling and multiple failed attempts at losing weight, I was finally successful on this program because I had reached a point where I wanted to get to a healthy weight - and get healthy.  We went on vacation, traveled, went through the holidays (I hosted the family dinners and had 26 people for Thanksgiving and 23 for Christmas), did a fair amount of entertaining, went on a cruise and also dealt with the death of a close family member.  My life didn't go on hold for the 11 months it took to reach my goal, but all of the things that once would have been obstacles didn't matter any more because I had my reason for why I could do the program. 

I'm not unique in this (not by any means!) because I've seen the same thing over and over again over the past three years in my work as a health coach.  When an individual finds the reason and it's what they really want, everything changes.

Do you have a million reasons why you can't, or have you focused on the one reason why you can?  If you're focused on why you can, then you'll make the choices you need.  It comes down to what we choose to focus on.  Choose wisely :-)

Short-Term Fix or Long-Term Solution?

Whether or not you plan to get up early and watch the Royal Wedding this week (I don't plan to), it's hard to escape the coverage of every aspect of this event.  It was no surprise that I even ran across a couple of articles that discussed the diet that Kate and others in the wedding party supposedly used to drop a few pounds before the big day.

I always cringe a bit when I see an article posted about the "dieting secrets" of famous people or Hollywood stars because I am sure that most of the "secrets" are just a collection of fad, even dangerous, diets, and because I know that somebody somewhere will decide to give it a try.

Whether it's a soon-to-be princess, a Hollywood star or just an average person, people are looking for a way to lose weight, and many are focused on the results and not the process.  When a person is focused only on the results, and when those results are short-term, they can do some pretty foolish things.  I read an article a while back about a Hollywood star who wanted to lose twenty pounds quickly for a movie role.  She said, "I lived on water, cayenne pepper and maple syrup for 14 days. It was tough; everyone was eating and I was dying."  Can you guess what she did after she lost the weight?   "After that I ate waffles, fried chicken, cheeseburgers, french fries, everything I could find. That was the best time of my life. I've gained twelve pounds."

Here's what happened:  she went on a dangerous crash diet, endangering her health, in order to drop some weight very quickly.  She lost muscle as part of her weight loss, then went back to very unhealthy eating and gained twelve pounds of fat.  What she did was increase her percentage of fat, decrease her percentage of muscle, slowing down her metabolism and making it more difficult to lose weight the next time.

For us to be successful for the long term, we obviously need a very different strategy :-).  When I finally acknowledged that I had to lose weight for my health, I wasn't looking for another fad diet (I'd done plenty of those).  I didn't want to make myself more ill in the process of trying to lose weight, and I wanted a program that would help me to safely lose weight AND help me keep it off.  That is exactly what Take Shape for Life/Medifast is designed to do, and that's exactly what this program did for me!  Thirty years of successfully helping people lose weight, with the safety and efficacy proven through multiple independent clinical studies, reassured me that this program was solid.

I don't know if you started this program because you were looking for a short-term, quick fix, or if you started because you were ready to make a permanent change in your weight and your health.  Regardless of what prompted you to start, you made a wise choice when you chose Take Shape for Life/Medifast!  Even if you were looking for a quick fix to get you into your swimsuit in a few weeks, please know that by embracing this program and following the protocols, you can not only safely get the weight off quickly, but you can keep it off.  Better than that, you have begun a journey that will help you stay healthier for the rest of your life!

That journey continues today, with the choices that you'll make.  Choose wisely :-)

What's It Worth to You?

A recent article posted on the internet was alarming - and also very sad. According to a new survey of British undergraduates, almost one-third of young women would trade at least a year of their lives to have a perfect body.  The survey found that 16 percent of young women queried said they'd trade a year of life for their ideal body weight and shape.  Ten percent were willing to trade two to five years, and 2 percent were willing to trade up to 10 years of life away.  One percent said they would give up 21 years or more.  The article stated that the new research was based on a relatively small sample, so the results may not be representative of women in general.

I don't know about that . . . I remember how desperate I was just four years ago, wanting to lose weight and feeling hopeless to do so.  If someone would have offered me the opportunity to trade one year of my life in order to be at a healthy weight for the rest of my life, I think I would have seriously considered taking them up on their offer.  I wasn't even looking for a perfect body or a perfect shape, I just wanted to get back to a healthy weight and a smaller size. 

As it turned out, in a way I DID trade almost a year of my life to get to a healthy weight - it took me two days short of 11 months to reach my goal (my 3-year anniversary is coming up in less than a month!).  While the young women in the survey were willing to give up a year of living in exchange for an ideal body weight, I invested a year of my life to get healthy.  I didn't give up a thing, other than a few foods that I didn't eat for a while.  In the process, I got more than my life back because, with God's help, I ended up creating a new life for myself - one I couldn't have imagined.

The almost-year that I invested in getting healthy also resulted in many others also getting healthy, as my transformation inspired people around me to get healthy themselves.  My husband, my parents, my son, my son-in-law, many of my friends . . . then the friends and relatives of my friends . . . literally hundreds of people have gone on this program, lost weight and gotten healthy as a result of the decision I made to get to a healthy weight.  That amazes and humbles me beyond description!

The undergraduates in the British survey were willing to give up a year or more of their lives.  My question for you today is:  what are you willing to give up - temporarily - to get to a healthy weight?  You don't have to give up your life, just be willing to follow the protocols of our proven Take Shape for Life/Medifast program for a few months.  Is getting healthy worth that to you?  I hope your answer is "yes!"  If so, then your journey begins, or continues, with the choices you make today.  Choose wisely :-)

It's Saturday, but Sunday's Coming!

On this day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, I can’t help but wonder what Jesus’ disciples were feeling that Saturday morning.  Their beloved leader and teacher was dead and buried, and all of their hopes and dreams died with him.  They had left their fishing nets, their families – everything – to follow Him, and now He was dead.  I don’t think words can even begin to describe the depths of their despair and sense of hopelessness.  They didn’t know that Sunday was coming, and that with the sunrise their entire lives, and the world, would change forever.  Their reality on that Saturday was one of no future, and they may have wondered if they would be the next ones nailed to a cross.

But Sunday DID come, and they heard the words they never expected:  “He is not here, He is risen as He said!”  What a difference 24 hours made in their lives!  Jesus was alive – and is alive forevermore! 

We all have Saturdays – days when it feels like there is no hope and we can’t envision a brighter tomorrow.   We can find ourselves trapped in circumstances and it feels like there’s no way out and we lose hope. We may be discouraged by the economy, family situations, health issues, or even a frustratingly slow scale.

Hang in there!  It may be Saturday, but Sunday IS coming! 

Today's Forecast

One of the first things I do every morning is check the weather forecast.  Especially this time of year, when temperatures can wildly fluctuate from the 70's one day to below freezing, I don't know what to wear until I know what the forecast is.  Today is starting out in the upper 30's, but temps are predicted to get into the low 50's, so I'll dress in layers and be ready for whatever the day holds.

I have another forecast for you this morning, and it doesn't matter if you live in Alaska or Florida, California or New York.  It's the same forecast.  It's the forecast for your chance of success on this program.

Regardless of where you live, regardless of how long you've been on the program or how much you currently weigh, no matter how much weight you have to lose or how long you've been overweight, I have the forecast for your success on this program.  Ready?

Your chance of success on this program is 100% . . . if you decide to be successful.  I know your chance of success is 100% because Take Shape for Life/Medifast works.  It's been around for over 30 years and has been recommended by more than 20,000 doctors.  People who follow the protocols of this program lose weight and reach their goal.  You are on a program that has been proven safe and effective and the are innumerable success stories from people who never thought they could lose weight, including myself.  You can have full confidence that as long as you follow the program, you will reach your goal.

The caveat for this forecast, of course, is that you have to decide.  Ultimately, the success of this program depends on whether or not you've made the fundamental choice to be successful.  Once we've made the fundamental choice to be successful and get to a healthy weight, we figure out what we need to do to make it happen.  I'm not saying that it's always easy, because it's not, but it's possible.  If we haven't made the fundamental choice to get to a healthy weight, we will allow circumstances to determine whether or not we're going to stay on plan.  Traveling, stress, celebrations and social events - there are always events that can and will get us off plan if we haven't made the fundamental choice to get healthy.  If we haven't made that choice, then the forecast for success is 50/50 at best, because life is always happening and there are always things that threaten to interfere with our program.

The forecast for success is 100% dependent on the choices we make.  Choose wisely :-)

Looking back and Celebrating Today

One of the things we did last week on our trip was visit the Grand Canyon.  I've been there twice before, once while I was in college and then four years ago with my daughter.  My husband had never been to the Grand Canyon before, so it was a joy to share that experience with him.

It was also a bit surreal being back at the Grand Canyon again because it was just over four years ago when I was there that I realized I HAD to do something about my weight.  My daughter and I had gone to Arizona for a few days in early March of 2007 to visit my nephew and escape the Michigan winter, but the fun was somewhat muted by my morbid obesity.  Flying was uncomfortable (and I was barely able to fasten my seatbelt - I really needed an extender but was too embarrassed to ask for one), my size 24W jeans were skin-tight, making it difficult to even lift my leg high enough to get into our rental SUV, and the walking we did wore me out.  My daughter and I took the train from Williams, AZ to the Grand Canyon and when we arrived we had to climb several sets of steps to get to the rim of the canyon.  I had to stop several times to catch my breath as I climbed those steps, making me acutely aware of how out of shape I was.  My husband and I were at an age where we hoped to start traveling, but that day four years ago at the Grand Canyon I realized that there would be things I wouldn't be able to do, there would be places I wouldn't be able to see, unless I could figure out how to stop eating and get my weight under control.  My daughter asked to take my picture that day and I really hesitated because I hated having my picture taken, but I reasoned that I really did need to have a picture of myself at the Grand Canyon, so I agreed to pose.  At the time, I remember thinking that since I was at the Grand Canyon, there would be something bigger than me in the picture.

I came home from that trip four years ago resolved to lose weight.  I tried on my own for three months, but made no progress from the time we got home until mid-June.  It was then that I decided to try Take Shape for Life/Medifast for a month . . . and everything changed!

The difference between being at the Grand Canyon four years ago and this time was striking.  I felt great, had lots of energy, and I didn't have to stop to climb those same set of stairs to get to the rim!  We went to the same spot where my "before" picture was taken to take an "after" picture.  There was no hesitation as I posed for the camera this time, only joy at how far God has brought me!  

I've attached my Grand Canyon before/after picture.  One of the things I love is that this isn't an "after" picture taken immediately after reaching goal - this is a picture of me almost three years after reaching goal - still healthy, having fun, and doing the traveling we had once dreamed about.

It all began with a choice to try this program, and that choice was followed by daily choices to stay on plan.  It wasn't always easy as life continued to happen while I was on plan, temptations were everywhere and I certainly didn't acquire a new self-discipline skill set.  What I did do was focus on what I wanted instead of what I was temporarily giving up, then I acknowledged my inability to do this on my own and looked to God every day (many times a day!) for the strength I needed to make the choices I needed to make.  One day, one choice, one prayer at a time - what a difference!

You may feel overwhelmed by the prospect of getting to a healthy weight and it may be many months before you get there.  Just focus on what you want and take it one day and one choice at a time . . . and choose wisely :-)

Live a Little?

I am home and finally settling back into a more normal routine (busy, but normal!) after 19 days on the road.  We had a wonderful trip and enjoyed exploring parts of New Orleans, San Antonio, Phoenix, Sedona and the Grand Canyon - we packed a lot into 19 days!

The night before we flew to New Orleans, we had dinner in Chicago with my brother and his wife.  My brother had a coupon for a discount on the restaurant's fried fish dinner and seemed surprised when both my husband and I passed on the fried fish.  We opted for grilled meat and requested a tossed salad in place of the cole slaw.  My brother shook his head and commented that we sure were strict with our "diet;" we said that this wasn't a diet - we just chose to eat healthy.  He then said, "But sometimes you have to live a little."

I didn't have a good response at that point and just assured my brother that we were quite content with our choices.  Since that time, however, I've had some time to think about his comment that we need to "live a little."

I don't want to live a little . . . I want to live a LOT!  My brother urged us to live a little on the eve of us leaving for a trip that included New Orleans, San Antonio, Phoenix, Sedona and the Grand Canyon.  From our perspective, we were and ARE living much more than a little!  We could not have done all that we did and experienced all we experienced had we not gotten ourselves healthy (together my husband and I lost a total of 176 pounds and have been maintaining our weight loss for just about 3 years).

"Living a little" is often relegated to eating, and it usually means eating food that isn't very healthy.  To be sure, there are times when we choose to eat something that falls far short of a Medifast lean & green meal, and we did exactly that for a couple of meals in New Orleans and San Antonio.  Part of the reason we chose to make healthy choices at the restaurant in Chicago was because we knew we would be enjoying local cuisine at those other locales.  When we make those other choices, it's on rare occasion and for something really special.  When we do that, we aren't "living a little," we're living a LOT!

Because we've gotten healthy, we no longer worry about whether or not we'll fit into an airline seat.  We can now walk for miles (as we did through the French Quarter of New Orleans, along the River Walk in San Antonio, and in Sedona and the Grand Canyon).  We no longer shudder when a camera is pointed in our direction.  Getting healthy also resulted in us being able to help others get healthy, and we now do this as our full-time jobs (which enabled us to be on the road for 19 days).

Living a little?  I don't think so!  A friend of mine who lost 135 pounds on the Take Shape for Life/Medifast program (and has been maintaining her weight loss for 8 years) recently said that "Most people say they get their life back, but now I have a life I've never experienced before!"  Her comment really sums up my own feelings, and that's what I want for each of you!

Do you want to live a little or a lot?  If you want to live a LOT, it begins with the choices you make today.  There will be some short-term sacrifices for sure, but don't focus on what you've giving up, focus on the life you can create for yourself.  This program isn't about deprivation, it's about truly creating a healthy life that can be richer and more full than you can imagine.  You will create this new life one day and one choice at a time . . . choose wisely :-)