An important component on our weight loss journey is getting - and keeping - our head in the game. Along with keeping our head in the game is the challenge of managing the emotional changes that accompany our weight loss. The meal portion of the plan is simple - all we have to do is follow the 5&1 and the weight comes off! We don't even have to believe the program will work, we just have to do it. The mental and emotional part of the journey is far more daunting.
Several friends of mine have done really well on plan and have gotten within striking distance of goal. Interestingly, as goal loomed on the horizon for them, something happened to get them off plan. A couple of friends momentarily stepped off and then got right back on plan, while others have struggled to get back on plan after watching several unwanted pounds return.
What my friends experienced is something I've seen over and over again. When people are closing in on goal, there is a real danger that they will either experience complacency or they'll experience fear.
Complacency often settles in because by the time someone is within ten pounds of goal, particularly if they've lost a lot of weight - they feel SO much better about themselves, they're in smaller sizes and they look and feel pretty "normal." They may now be smaller than many of their friends, which makes it hard to stay on plan when all of their friends are eating other things. I know this was true of me when I was about ten pounds away from goal. I was in a size 10 by that time, the same size as many of my friends, yet they were eating things that were still off-plan for me. There were times when I just wanted to be done with the plan and say "good enough." I'd lost over 100 pounds, seen my blood sugar return to normal and I looked and felt pretty good! The problem was, even though I was in a size 10, I wasn't at a healthy BMI and I wasn't at my goal. Complacency definitely reared its ugly head and I had to refocus over and over again on what I really wanted, and what I really wanted was to be healthy, and I didn't want to settle.
The other emotion that often catches people by surprise is fear. We get really good at losing weight and being on 5&1 becomes a safe place for us. After years of battling weight, we finally found something that actually works and we want to stay in our cocoon forever. The thought of reaching our goal can be scary, as it means that what has become familiar is about to change as we begin to introduce food groups back into our diet. We can become afraid that we'll start gaining the weight back. I've seen people self-sabotage so that they stay in a gain-lose cycle because it feels safer than facing the unknown of being at their goal weight.
For those of us who have used our weight as a protective shield, closing in our goal means we aren't invisible to people any more. People are commenting about the weight we've lost and we're getting compliments, and that can become uncomfortable. For many women, having other men suddenly noticing us can be extremely unsettling. If we don't acknowledge the fear and find healthy ways to address it, we can find ourselves heading in the wrong direction once again.
A while back I read a good definition of fear: False Evidence Appearing Real. This definition was part of a devotional that I read about how we deal with the challenges in our lives. The devotional talked about the story from the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus walked on the water. One of his disciples, Peter, stepped out of the boat at Jesus' invitation and began to walk towards Him. As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he was fine, but when he looked at the waves around him, he immediately began to sink. The devotional said that "the circumstances of our lives, whether unusual crises or everyday difficulties, batter our senses into believing untruths. We cower at the authority of these winds and waves--these very concrete illusions--as though their authority is real. It isn't. We must do what is extremely difficult to do--ignore them."
When I faced many of those fears as I approached my goal, I had to choose to keep moving forward and trust that just as God was faithful to me each step of the way on my weight loss journey, He would also be faithful to me as I reached my goal and beyond. I knew I couldn't lose the weight on my own and I knew (and I still know!) that I would need to depend on the Lord and keep my eyes on Him to keep the weight off. As long as I do that, I can ignore the waves around me and keep on walking! And so can you :-)
As I approached the fourth year anniversary of reaching my goal (I'll celebrate that anniversary three months from today!), I still depend on the Lord to give me the strength I need to make the choices I need to make. Like you, this is a daily walk for me - one meal and one choice at a time. Choose wisely :-)
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Fat Tuesday
Today is Fat Tuesday. For those Christians who follow the Lenten season, this is the day when all of the fat and sugar would be eaten to get it out of the house in preparation for Ash Wednesday and the 40 days of Lent leading up to Easter.
While observing Fat Tuesday and the 40 days of Lent is not part of my own Christian tradition or practice, I do identify with the "Fat Tuesday" thinking of eating it up and "making it go away," because that was one of my "strategies" for years.
When we'd have sweets in the house (which was too often in those days), my focus was often just eating them up and getting them out of the house. My ability to eat them in moderation was nil, so I wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible. There was never any thought of just throwing the rest away, because that would be "wasting food."
What I realize now was that I was really the human garbage can. I didn't want to waste the food by throwing it away, so I ate it, whether I was hungry or not, whether I even wanted it or not. All those starving children in India or Africa or wherever . . . how could I waste food by putting it in the trash?
Does anybody identify with this, or am I alone in this type of thinking?
Part of my weight loss journey was learning to look at food as fuel, not an object of comfort, AND learning that it was OK to throw something away. My throwing the food away didn't impact those starving children at all (please note: my heart breaks when I see pictures of those children, so I am not making light of them).
I learned to respect myself enough to NOT be a human garbage can anymore. That's not an easy thing, because I grew up in a family where wasting anything, including food, was absolutely NOT done. Those childhood tapes still run in my head, so learning to make healthier choices required - and still requires - a conscious decision to make better decisions.
When I was working outside the home, I could almost count on a co-worker or two picking up some Fat Tuesday pastries from the store and bringing them in as a treat. I'm guessing that some of you may be facing the same temptation today.
Hang in there! Don't lose sight of what you really want! You've been doing great, so today is a day to recommit to staying on plan TODAY. Today can be your THIN Tuesday, not your Fat Tuesday :-). Like every day, the choice is yours . . . choose wisely :-)
While observing Fat Tuesday and the 40 days of Lent is not part of my own Christian tradition or practice, I do identify with the "Fat Tuesday" thinking of eating it up and "making it go away," because that was one of my "strategies" for years.
When we'd have sweets in the house (which was too often in those days), my focus was often just eating them up and getting them out of the house. My ability to eat them in moderation was nil, so I wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible. There was never any thought of just throwing the rest away, because that would be "wasting food."
What I realize now was that I was really the human garbage can. I didn't want to waste the food by throwing it away, so I ate it, whether I was hungry or not, whether I even wanted it or not. All those starving children in India or Africa or wherever . . . how could I waste food by putting it in the trash?
Does anybody identify with this, or am I alone in this type of thinking?
Part of my weight loss journey was learning to look at food as fuel, not an object of comfort, AND learning that it was OK to throw something away. My throwing the food away didn't impact those starving children at all (please note: my heart breaks when I see pictures of those children, so I am not making light of them).
I learned to respect myself enough to NOT be a human garbage can anymore. That's not an easy thing, because I grew up in a family where wasting anything, including food, was absolutely NOT done. Those childhood tapes still run in my head, so learning to make healthier choices required - and still requires - a conscious decision to make better decisions.
When I was working outside the home, I could almost count on a co-worker or two picking up some Fat Tuesday pastries from the store and bringing them in as a treat. I'm guessing that some of you may be facing the same temptation today.
Hang in there! Don't lose sight of what you really want! You've been doing great, so today is a day to recommit to staying on plan TODAY. Today can be your THIN Tuesday, not your Fat Tuesday :-). Like every day, the choice is yours . . . choose wisely :-)
Monday, February 20, 2012
Trying to Fix the Wrong Thing
People are desperate to find a solution that will allow them to finally win their battle with obesity, and more and more are turning to weight loss surgery. Others are looking to the pharmaceutical industry for an answer, hoping and praying for a pill that will enable them to lose weight. Time and time again, weight loss drugs fail to win FDA approval because clinical trials reveal major health risks, but the drug companies continue their quest to develop the magic pill that will cure obesity.
The problem with both weight loss surgery and diet drugs is that these methods are trying to fix the wrong thing. Weight loss surgery addresses the issue of obesity by reducing the size of the stomach, with the assumption that if the stomach is smaller, people will feel full with less food and less food will result in weight loss. Drugs are developed to suppress the appetite, with the expectation that if people aren't hungry, they won't eat and will lose weight.
Both of these approaches assume that the root of overeating is hunger - that if hunger can be better managed, either surgically or chemically, people will eat less and lose weight.
I can't speak for anyone else, but physical hunger had very little to do with my morbid obesity. In fact, when I started on this program, it had been a long time since I could remember actually being hungry. I ate for lots of reasons, but being physically hungry was often not one of the reasons. I was an emotional eater and would often eat until I was numb.
When we are using food to try and meet our emotional needs, we are trying to fill a bottomless pit. There isn't a surgery or an appetite suppressant that can fix our heart hunger, which is why a distressing number of individuals who've had weight loss surgery end up gaining much or all of their weight. The surgery fixed their physical hunger, but it couldn't touch their heart hunger.
If we are going to be successful long term, we have to change how we emotionally relate to food. For those of us who are long-term emotional eaters, we have to find new and healthier ways to deal with life. As I've shared so often here, my weight loss journey resulted in unexpected emotional and spiritual growth as I learned to go to the Lord instead of food. Only God could meet the needs of my heart, and as I gave Him my stress, my anger, my disappointment, I found a comfort and a peace that food was never able to offer.
Changing emotional eating patterns isn't easy, and it may be one of the most difficult things that some of us ever do. But it IS possible! It starts with recognizing the source of our hunger, then being willing to change how we respond and make a difference choice. Making changes happens one day, one meal, and one choice at a time. Choose wisely :-)
The problem with both weight loss surgery and diet drugs is that these methods are trying to fix the wrong thing. Weight loss surgery addresses the issue of obesity by reducing the size of the stomach, with the assumption that if the stomach is smaller, people will feel full with less food and less food will result in weight loss. Drugs are developed to suppress the appetite, with the expectation that if people aren't hungry, they won't eat and will lose weight.
Both of these approaches assume that the root of overeating is hunger - that if hunger can be better managed, either surgically or chemically, people will eat less and lose weight.
I can't speak for anyone else, but physical hunger had very little to do with my morbid obesity. In fact, when I started on this program, it had been a long time since I could remember actually being hungry. I ate for lots of reasons, but being physically hungry was often not one of the reasons. I was an emotional eater and would often eat until I was numb.
When we are using food to try and meet our emotional needs, we are trying to fill a bottomless pit. There isn't a surgery or an appetite suppressant that can fix our heart hunger, which is why a distressing number of individuals who've had weight loss surgery end up gaining much or all of their weight. The surgery fixed their physical hunger, but it couldn't touch their heart hunger.
If we are going to be successful long term, we have to change how we emotionally relate to food. For those of us who are long-term emotional eaters, we have to find new and healthier ways to deal with life. As I've shared so often here, my weight loss journey resulted in unexpected emotional and spiritual growth as I learned to go to the Lord instead of food. Only God could meet the needs of my heart, and as I gave Him my stress, my anger, my disappointment, I found a comfort and a peace that food was never able to offer.
Changing emotional eating patterns isn't easy, and it may be one of the most difficult things that some of us ever do. But it IS possible! It starts with recognizing the source of our hunger, then being willing to change how we respond and make a difference choice. Making changes happens one day, one meal, and one choice at a time. Choose wisely :-)
Friday, February 17, 2012
For Those Who Are Struggling
I wrote this blog in January of 2008, about 7 months after I started my weight loss journey. I hope that it will be an encouragement to someone today!
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For all of my friends who are struggling to stay on plan right now, I wish I could give you a big hug! My heart goes out to everyone who’s struggling, because I have SO been there!
Every last diet I’ve been on for the past twenty years ended in failure because I wasn’t able to stay focused. “Life” happened over and over again and I reached to my old friend, food, for comfort. And that “friend” was always there with soothing words, assuring me that yes, this piece of chocolate or this bag of chips or these cookies or whatever would absolutely make me feel better. And it did, for just a few minutes. Then the guilt about what I’d just eaten would replace the comfort I’d just gotten, and food would again say, “Having some bad feelings right now? Just eat this and those bad feelings will all go away.” And the cycle would continue over and over again.
OR I would feel that I “deserved” to eat this or that because I had been SO good on my diet, or because I’d had such a tough day.
I have always been a “live in the moment” kind of person, so long-range thinking is not something I do naturally. I am embarrassed to admit that I am very much into instant gratification (my dad used to often say that “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”), so eating what I wanted at any given moment was always more satisfying than NOT eating it and waiting for the reward sometime down the road (i.e., weight loss).
Given my dieting history and multiple failures over the past twenty years, I wasn’t particularly hopeful that THIS time would be any different for me. I am more surprised than anyone that it HAS been successful so far, actually far more successful that I could have ever imagined. Most surprising of all is that in seven months of being on plan, I haven’t cheated once. I’m amazed even as I type that! There is no pride in saying this, only amazement. I am well aware that Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” I’m not saying that I will never cheat, and I’m certainly not saying that it’s not possible, because I know how easy it would be for me to go off plan.But something HAS changed in my thinking over these past 7 months. I’m sharing this for those who are new on Take Shape for Life and wondering if eventual cheating is inevitable. I’m also sharing this to hopefully encourage some of my friends.
When I placed my first order, I was seriously considering weight loss surgery. This surgery isn’t covered by my insurance, so financing options would have included a second mortgage on my house – I was that desperate. I had been diagnosed in September of 2005 with Type II diabetes and I knew that my obesity was a contributing factor, along with a strong family history. After my diagnosis, I went on a diet and lost a little over 30 pounds, dropped two sizes and gave away all of my bigger clothes. My glucose levels dropped (I never was on medication) and I thought I had FINALLY figured “it” out. I got pretty cocky and over-confident (forgot about that verse in Proverbs!) and ended up falling flat on my face. By last June, I had gained back almost all of the weight I’d lost and had gone back up those two sizes. Going shopping once again for pants in size 24W/3X was incredibly depressing. Traveling with my daughter to Phoenix, the Grand Canyon and Sedona was fun but frustrating because my clothes were tight and my energy level sucked.
Last June I attended a Grand Rounds lecture by a bariatric surgeon at the hospital where I work. He was talking to physicians about the after care of patients who’d undergone bariatric surgery, but he also spent some talking about all of the health risks associated with obesity. I sat in the back of the room and wanted to crawl under the table—I was miserable! It was immediately after that lecture that I began researching weight loss surgery options, and that’s when I came across information on Take Shape for Life/Medifast.
I had to think long and hard before I ordered it, because $250 for a month’s worth of food is a lot of money. I had to really, honestly ask myself if I thought I could really stay on a diet for a month, and I decided I had to try. I promised my husband—and myself—that I would give the program an honest try for four weeks, then re-evaluate. I spent a lot of time on the boards and was really inspired and encouraged by people here, and I began to hope that perhaps this really would be the tool to release me from twenty years of obesity. I printed out recipes and put them in a binder, I copied every hint I could find on how to succeed on this program, and I got started.
The fact that, once I got into fat burning, I have feel wonderful and am NOT hungry has been a bit part of me staying on plan. I don’t want to go through the “getting into fat burning” misery again, and I haven’t found any food yet that’s been worth the miserable headache I had for the better part of two days. Someone had posted that it would take a minimum of three days and 15 Medifast meals to get back into fat burning once we’re out, and at $2/meal, that meant any deviation would cost me a minimum of $30, and I haven’t come across a brownie or anything else that’s worth $30 to me.
But it’s more than feeling good and not wanting to waste $30 that’s kept me on track so far. I really do view this time on this program as a short season in my life—it is NOT the rest of my life! I have wasted twenty years struggling with obesity and being on one continual diet (or feeling guilty that I SHOULD be on one) and I’m sick of it. I want this weight loss season to be my very LAST one, and I want it to be as short as possible. I have been tempted many times to go off plan, but the thought that my going off plan could extend this weight loss season by a single day has been enough to stop me in my tracks. I don’t want to spend another day overweight that I don’t have to! I want to get on with the rest of my life!!
My time is in the Lord’s hands and I don’t know how many years He has planned for me, but I do NOT want to die prematurely of something as preventable as obesity. With God’s help, I will NOT die of obesity. I am no longer diabetic (according to my doctor!), my cholesterol is normal WITHOUT meds, and my blood pressure is also perfect, also without meds. At this moment, I am 55 and HEALTHY!
I also stay on plan because I’m scared to death to go off plan. I’ve read a lot of blogs from people who got off and are really struggling to get back and stay on—some are recommitting for the 3rd and 4th time. I love the fact that they continue to pick themselves up and try again, but it scares me. I’ve failed so many times in the past and I’m afraid that if I go off plan and get myself completely out of fat burning, whatever “clicked” in my brain will “click off” and I won’t be able to get my head back in the game.
So I’m gritting my teeth when necessary and staying on plan. It isn’t always fun, and sometimes I’m absolutely sick of doing this, but I committed to doing what I know I need to do, regardless of how I feel. I don’t want to live with regrets, wondering how things might have been different for me if only I’d been able to lose the weight.
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That was written a little over four years ago. I could NOT have imagined at that point in time just how much my life would change - all for the better! I stayed on plan and reached my goal on May 22, 2008 and I have never regretted for one second the decision I made to get healthy. It wasn't always easy, but it was worth it! Make the decision, then choose wisely :-)
Thursday, February 16, 2012
When, Not If, Temptation Comes
As much as I wish it wasn't so, the reality is that we will be tempted over and over again. It would be wonderful if we could escape into a temptation-free, stress-free bubble while we're getting to our goal (actually, it sounds like a pretty nice place to live permanently!!), but there is no such bubble. Even if we started our weight loss program overflowing with resolve and firmly focused on our goal, temptations will come. It's not a matter of if, but when.
So now what?
First of all, we have to be realistic and acknowledge that there WILL be temptations. If we expect that somehow we won't be tempted, sooner or later we will be greatly disappointed. Temptations of all kinds, big and small, are pretty much a constant.
We also have to be responsible and realize that, despite the temptation, we are ultimately in charge of the choices we make in the face of temptation. Nobody makes us cave, and no circumstance is beyond our ability to handle. We always have a choice and we need to take responsibility for our choices and not blame our spouse, our children, or our boss.
We also need to be ready for the temptations that will come our way. We don't always see them coming, but if we're realistic and anticipate that there will be temptations along the way, we will have the opportunity to plan our strategy in advance. Sometimes that strategy will require us to face down the temptation, and sometimes our strategy will be to get as far away from the temptation as we can, as fast as we can. You already know where you're vulnerable, so don't wait until the heat of the battle to figure out your game plan. Make a list of your known areas of weakness - when and why are you most tempted to go off plan - and write down how you're going to handle the temptation the next time. Thinking through the situation and visualizing a successful outcome can really make the difference!
Finally, get refocused. Focus on what you want, not on what you don't want. The more you try to fight the temptation, the harder it is to fight. Don't focus on fighting it, focus on what you want and where you want to be in three months, six months, a year from now. Shifting your focus changes the dynamics immediately. When I was on 5&1 and the inevitable food temptation showed up, I would tell myself (sometimes out loud!) that "this isn't going to get me where I want to go." I constantly had to refocus my attention off of the temptation and back to what I wanted . . . then I got away from the food temptation immediately!
Temptations will come - maybe even today. When they come, you will have a choice to make . . . choose wisely :-)
So now what?
First of all, we have to be realistic and acknowledge that there WILL be temptations. If we expect that somehow we won't be tempted, sooner or later we will be greatly disappointed. Temptations of all kinds, big and small, are pretty much a constant.
We also have to be responsible and realize that, despite the temptation, we are ultimately in charge of the choices we make in the face of temptation. Nobody makes us cave, and no circumstance is beyond our ability to handle. We always have a choice and we need to take responsibility for our choices and not blame our spouse, our children, or our boss.
We also need to be ready for the temptations that will come our way. We don't always see them coming, but if we're realistic and anticipate that there will be temptations along the way, we will have the opportunity to plan our strategy in advance. Sometimes that strategy will require us to face down the temptation, and sometimes our strategy will be to get as far away from the temptation as we can, as fast as we can. You already know where you're vulnerable, so don't wait until the heat of the battle to figure out your game plan. Make a list of your known areas of weakness - when and why are you most tempted to go off plan - and write down how you're going to handle the temptation the next time. Thinking through the situation and visualizing a successful outcome can really make the difference!
Finally, get refocused. Focus on what you want, not on what you don't want. The more you try to fight the temptation, the harder it is to fight. Don't focus on fighting it, focus on what you want and where you want to be in three months, six months, a year from now. Shifting your focus changes the dynamics immediately. When I was on 5&1 and the inevitable food temptation showed up, I would tell myself (sometimes out loud!) that "this isn't going to get me where I want to go." I constantly had to refocus my attention off of the temptation and back to what I wanted . . . then I got away from the food temptation immediately!
Temptations will come - maybe even today. When they come, you will have a choice to make . . . choose wisely :-)
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Watch Out for Orange Peels
Every now and then I hear a bit of trivia that captures my imagination. I read about someone who went over Niagara Falls in a barrel on July 25, 1911. Having visited Niagara Falls and marveling at the beauty and power of all that water, I can't imagine anyone thinking that going over the Falls would be a good idea, but several individuals have done so and lived to tell the story. This particular individual was Bobby Leach, the first man (and second person) to go over the Falls. He used a steel barrel in his stunt, and although he survived, he broke both kneecaps and his jaw in the plunge. What fascinated me was learning that years later, while touring in New Zealand, Bobby slipped on an orange peel, injured his leg and died from complications due to gangrene. He survived Niagara Falls but an orange peel led to his demise.
So what on earth does this have to do with losing weight and getting healthy, you may be asking?
Simply this: it's often the little things that trip us up - the things that we aren't watching for, the things we're unprepared for. We may plan and prepare for our food Niagara Falls - the family get-togethers, Super Bowl, Valentine's Day - then hit an orange peel when we encounter some unexpected stress or find ourselves in a situation where we're really hungry and we don't have a Medifast meal.
Thankfully, those "orange peel" situations don't have to be our undoing, if we're prepared. Those situations, while unexpected, aren't unfamiliar to us, because they are often our food triggers. As a recovering food addict/emotional eater, I know that stress was a trigger to eat. When I went on 5&1, I couldn't control when or how the stress would appear, but I could plan ahead for how I would handle it. Knowing how we've responded to our orange peels in the past is the first step in planning for future situations. If necessary, write out a typical "orange peel" scenario, then detail how you will handle the next one.
If your orange peel is a busy lifestyle that sometimes finds you caught without a Medifast meal, keep extra meals in your car, your desk, your purse, etc. so that no matter where you are, if it's time to eat, you're prepared. I still keep a box of Medifast pretzels in my car, along with several bottles of water. I always have a couple of crunch bars in my purse and, when I was still working outside my home, I kept several meals in my desk drawer.
Even when we do hit an orange peel, we always have the ability to choose our response. Our food orange peels don't have to land us on our backside - we can keep standing and keep moving ahead. We just have to make the decision to get to a healthy weight, plan ahead, then choose wisely :-)
So what on earth does this have to do with losing weight and getting healthy, you may be asking?
Simply this: it's often the little things that trip us up - the things that we aren't watching for, the things we're unprepared for. We may plan and prepare for our food Niagara Falls - the family get-togethers, Super Bowl, Valentine's Day - then hit an orange peel when we encounter some unexpected stress or find ourselves in a situation where we're really hungry and we don't have a Medifast meal.
Thankfully, those "orange peel" situations don't have to be our undoing, if we're prepared. Those situations, while unexpected, aren't unfamiliar to us, because they are often our food triggers. As a recovering food addict/emotional eater, I know that stress was a trigger to eat. When I went on 5&1, I couldn't control when or how the stress would appear, but I could plan ahead for how I would handle it. Knowing how we've responded to our orange peels in the past is the first step in planning for future situations. If necessary, write out a typical "orange peel" scenario, then detail how you will handle the next one.
If your orange peel is a busy lifestyle that sometimes finds you caught without a Medifast meal, keep extra meals in your car, your desk, your purse, etc. so that no matter where you are, if it's time to eat, you're prepared. I still keep a box of Medifast pretzels in my car, along with several bottles of water. I always have a couple of crunch bars in my purse and, when I was still working outside my home, I kept several meals in my desk drawer.
Even when we do hit an orange peel, we always have the ability to choose our response. Our food orange peels don't have to land us on our backside - we can keep standing and keep moving ahead. We just have to make the decision to get to a healthy weight, plan ahead, then choose wisely :-)
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Happy - and Healthy - Valentine's Day!
Even though most of us do pretty well staying on plan most of the time, we are often challenged to stay committed to our healthy goals when holidays and special events arrive. Today is Valentine's Day, a day that often includes a multitude of food temptations. If your Valentine's celebration usually centers around food, how will you graciously deal with those who want to buy you candy, or make a decadent meal or dessert?
A friend of mine sent me an article from Dr. Phil that addresses just such a scenario. Here's what Dr. Phil suggests:
I think this is a GREAT way to let people know that while you appreciate their thoughts and efforts, their best gift to you this year is their support. If you may be facing such a scenario, I really suggest that you practice saying this until you're comfortable. If you look someone in the eye, smile and tell them how much you appreciate what they want to do (or have done), it really will be OK :-).
This is your journey to a healthier you, so don't be afraid to make the choices you need to make today to keep you moving in the direction you want to go. Reaching your healthy weight will enable you to celebrate many Valentine's Days with the people you love for years to come. That's the best Valentine's Day gift you can give to them, and it's the best Valentine's Day gift you can give yourself.
But since this is a day for giving gifts to those we love, how about making today's choice to stay on plan your Valentine to others? The cards that are given today will soon be thrown away (or tucked away to be all but forgotten), the flowers will fade and be tossed, and the chocolate . . . we won't go there :-). These traditional expressions of love have a pretty short shelf life, and while they are nice sentiments, they don't have lasting value. With that in mind, another response to someone who wants to give you a food gift today might be, "Thank you so much for caring enough about me to give this to me/make this for me. My gift to you is to get healthy so that we can enjoy many more years together." What do you think?
As always, it's your choice. Choose wisely :-)
A friend of mine sent me an article from Dr. Phil that addresses just such a scenario. Here's what Dr. Phil suggests:
"You have been very good about sticking to your healthy eating plan and don’t want to find yourself sliding backward. How can you resist the pressure from family and/or friends to eat a big, decadent meal? You might say: “I have a lot invested in what I’m doing, so please don’t take offense if I either bring my own food or turn down something you’ve worked hard to make. This is really important to me, and I appreciate your support.” "
This is your journey to a healthier you, so don't be afraid to make the choices you need to make today to keep you moving in the direction you want to go. Reaching your healthy weight will enable you to celebrate many Valentine's Days with the people you love for years to come. That's the best Valentine's Day gift you can give to them, and it's the best Valentine's Day gift you can give yourself.
But since this is a day for giving gifts to those we love, how about making today's choice to stay on plan your Valentine to others? The cards that are given today will soon be thrown away (or tucked away to be all but forgotten), the flowers will fade and be tossed, and the chocolate . . . we won't go there :-). These traditional expressions of love have a pretty short shelf life, and while they are nice sentiments, they don't have lasting value. With that in mind, another response to someone who wants to give you a food gift today might be, "Thank you so much for caring enough about me to give this to me/make this for me. My gift to you is to get healthy so that we can enjoy many more years together." What do you think?
As always, it's your choice. Choose wisely :-)
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Find a Way, or Find an Excuse
When it comes to success on this program, the outcome is always determined by what we want. I've seen individuals who embrace this program from Day 1, follow the protocols and get to goal quickly, and I've seen others who struggle for a while and hit one bump after another, but who finally make the decision to get to goal - then they do. Sadly, I've also seen my fair share of individuals who get started, do well for a while, but eventually fall off and regain their weight.
So what's the difference between those who succeed, sooner or later, and those who don't? The individuals who embrace the program and reach their goal don't have more willpower or less temptations than anyone else. They've just figured out what they want and have made a decision to get there.
The bottom line is that if you really want to do something, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse.
I'm speaking from my own experience. I tried to lose weight on a myriad of other programs for over two decades, only to fail miserably time and time again. Some of the failure was undoubtedly due to the programs I tried - crazy, fad diets that weren't sustainable over time and threw my body so off-kilter that I didn't even feel well. However, there were other programs that had a decent track record and were relatively well-balanced, but I couldn't stick to those programs either. My bottom-line issue was that while I was interested in losing weight, I didn't want to lose it enough to do whatever I had to do to reach my goal. I wanted something that would somehow get me to a healthy weight without having to sacrifice anything. I wanted the results without the effort. For that reason, I eagerly followed news reports on FDA trials of new diet drugs, hoping that the next one out would be "it" and magically get me to goal while allowing me to continue my clearly unhealthy habits.
Because I was far more interested in losing weight than actually committed to doing so, it didn't take much for me to go off plan. Any social event, regardless of how small, was a reason. A stressful day at work? Well, that certainly made for a "no diet" day for me. Coming down with a cold? Poor baby - eat some chocolate and feel better. I could be perfectly on plan on a perfect day, but life is life and I was hard-pressed to ever have very many "perfect days" in a row. I kept kidding myself and telling myself that I wanted to lose weight - really I did - but my actions didn't support what I said I wanted. I always had an excuse - a good excuse - why I just couldn't stay on the diet "today."
By the time I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, I was really desperate. I had regained almost all of the 36 pounds I'd lost on my last diet attempt (took me almost 9 months to lose those 36 pounds and I managed to regain the weight in less than 6 months). My blood sugar was also going up and I knew my efforts to stay off of oral diabetic medications were coming to an end and that I'd soon be adding those to the other prescription medications I was on.
I didn't place my first order with a firm commitment to losing weight - it was more like grasping at straws. I didn't expect the program to work and, in fact, carefully researched the return policy because I thought I'd probably hate the food, feel hungry, and return everything. The only thing that initially kept me on plan was the cost, because I couldn't justify spending the money unless I was actually following the program.
The switch was flipped in my brain - finally - when I started to see the weight come off and realized that I actually felt great! I liked some of the food, wasn't so crazy about a few things, but realized that this was a program that could actually work - if I let it. It was at that moment that I made the decision to go for it and get to a healthy weight, and everything changed. I still had some of the same struggles as I'd always had - work was stressful, we had a lot of social events, I still got colds - but this time I figured out what I needed to do. Those things were no longer excuses.
So, the question today is: do you really want to get to a healthy weight? If so, if you've really made the decision to do that, if that is what you REALLY want, you'll find a way to do it, one day and one choice at a time. Make the decision, then choose wisely :-)
So what's the difference between those who succeed, sooner or later, and those who don't? The individuals who embrace the program and reach their goal don't have more willpower or less temptations than anyone else. They've just figured out what they want and have made a decision to get there.
The bottom line is that if you really want to do something, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse.
I'm speaking from my own experience. I tried to lose weight on a myriad of other programs for over two decades, only to fail miserably time and time again. Some of the failure was undoubtedly due to the programs I tried - crazy, fad diets that weren't sustainable over time and threw my body so off-kilter that I didn't even feel well. However, there were other programs that had a decent track record and were relatively well-balanced, but I couldn't stick to those programs either. My bottom-line issue was that while I was interested in losing weight, I didn't want to lose it enough to do whatever I had to do to reach my goal. I wanted something that would somehow get me to a healthy weight without having to sacrifice anything. I wanted the results without the effort. For that reason, I eagerly followed news reports on FDA trials of new diet drugs, hoping that the next one out would be "it" and magically get me to goal while allowing me to continue my clearly unhealthy habits.
Because I was far more interested in losing weight than actually committed to doing so, it didn't take much for me to go off plan. Any social event, regardless of how small, was a reason. A stressful day at work? Well, that certainly made for a "no diet" day for me. Coming down with a cold? Poor baby - eat some chocolate and feel better. I could be perfectly on plan on a perfect day, but life is life and I was hard-pressed to ever have very many "perfect days" in a row. I kept kidding myself and telling myself that I wanted to lose weight - really I did - but my actions didn't support what I said I wanted. I always had an excuse - a good excuse - why I just couldn't stay on the diet "today."
By the time I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, I was really desperate. I had regained almost all of the 36 pounds I'd lost on my last diet attempt (took me almost 9 months to lose those 36 pounds and I managed to regain the weight in less than 6 months). My blood sugar was also going up and I knew my efforts to stay off of oral diabetic medications were coming to an end and that I'd soon be adding those to the other prescription medications I was on.
I didn't place my first order with a firm commitment to losing weight - it was more like grasping at straws. I didn't expect the program to work and, in fact, carefully researched the return policy because I thought I'd probably hate the food, feel hungry, and return everything. The only thing that initially kept me on plan was the cost, because I couldn't justify spending the money unless I was actually following the program.
The switch was flipped in my brain - finally - when I started to see the weight come off and realized that I actually felt great! I liked some of the food, wasn't so crazy about a few things, but realized that this was a program that could actually work - if I let it. It was at that moment that I made the decision to go for it and get to a healthy weight, and everything changed. I still had some of the same struggles as I'd always had - work was stressful, we had a lot of social events, I still got colds - but this time I figured out what I needed to do. Those things were no longer excuses.
So, the question today is: do you really want to get to a healthy weight? If so, if you've really made the decision to do that, if that is what you REALLY want, you'll find a way to do it, one day and one choice at a time. Make the decision, then choose wisely :-)
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Mud Puddles or Pristine Ponds?
In her devotional book "Believing God Day by Day," author Beth Moore wrote about one morning walk when she came across four ducks splashing in a mud puddle in the sidewalk while a large, pristine pond was just over a small hill.
That simple story made me wonder how many times I've been content to splash in a mud puddle that was conveniently located, rather than make the effort to go a bit farther and enjoy the pristine pond just over the hill. Almost every time I choose immediate gratification, what I'm choosing is the mud puddle instead of the pond, because I settle for what's close instead of what I really want.
I have to keep going back to the principle of identifying my priorities, then making secondary choices that support those priorities. I may not always LIKE or WANT the secondary choice, but I make those choices because they support what I REALLY want. Dr. Andersen talks at length about this in his book, Dr. A's Habits of Health. Getting to what I really want always takes more effort than settling for what's at hand (the mud puddle), but the effort is absolutely worth it.
At this point in my life, my primary choice in terms of my health is to maintain a healthy weight and continue my pursuit of optimal health. That means that I have to ignore the mud puddle within my reach (my puddle looks a lot like chocolate . . . ) and keep on moving!
There are mud puddles along our path every day, so it takes a renewed commitment every day to keep on walking and not settle. Don't stop, because the pond is just over the hill :-)
Who wants an on-plan, mud puddle-free day today? You can have it, if you want it! Staying out of the mud puddles happens by making the decision to choose wisely :-)
That simple story made me wonder how many times I've been content to splash in a mud puddle that was conveniently located, rather than make the effort to go a bit farther and enjoy the pristine pond just over the hill. Almost every time I choose immediate gratification, what I'm choosing is the mud puddle instead of the pond, because I settle for what's close instead of what I really want.
I have to keep going back to the principle of identifying my priorities, then making secondary choices that support those priorities. I may not always LIKE or WANT the secondary choice, but I make those choices because they support what I REALLY want. Dr. Andersen talks at length about this in his book, Dr. A's Habits of Health. Getting to what I really want always takes more effort than settling for what's at hand (the mud puddle), but the effort is absolutely worth it.
At this point in my life, my primary choice in terms of my health is to maintain a healthy weight and continue my pursuit of optimal health. That means that I have to ignore the mud puddle within my reach (my puddle looks a lot like chocolate . . . ) and keep on moving!
There are mud puddles along our path every day, so it takes a renewed commitment every day to keep on walking and not settle. Don't stop, because the pond is just over the hill :-)
Who wants an on-plan, mud puddle-free day today? You can have it, if you want it! Staying out of the mud puddles happens by making the decision to choose wisely :-)
Monday, February 6, 2012
What I've Learned
I just came through the most stressful couple of days that I've had in a very long time. To my surprise, some old feelings that I thought were pretty much gone roared back as I found myself almost overwhelmed with wanting to eat a lot of comfort food - and I do mean a lot of comfort food.
That feeling really shocked me, because I thought that I had gotten past the whole emotional eating thing a long time ago. When things get stressful, running to food just isn't something I normally even think of. Until the past couple of days. That long-buried monster roared to life and the battle was on.
What was different this time was that I remembered what I learned when I was on 5&1, and that made all the difference. Even as the battle inside me raged, I kept telling myself two important things:
1. Food won't fix this. It never had and it never will. I learned a long time ago that food only temporarily masks the emotions, but it never fixes the issue. In the past, once the emotional eating was over, I always - always - regretted it. The remorse and shame was then piled on top of all of the other emotions I had been trying to mask, making me feel even worse than before.
2. The second thing I had to keep reminding myself was what was I really wanted and keep my eyes fixed straight ahead. What I want is to be as healthy as I can possibly be, living at a healthy weight and comfortably zipping up my size 6 jeans. Diving fork-first into a pile of comfort food doesn't support what I really want.
I reminded myself of these two important things, but I also had to make some choices.
While on 5&1, I learned to run to the true Source of my comfort, my Heavenly Father, and that's what I kept doing over these past couple of days. Every time I felt overwhelmed by things out of my control, I prayed, choosing to leave them at the feet of Jesus. That was something I had to choose to do over and over again.
I also chose to eat Medifast meals and have a simple lean and green. We keep a very clean kitchen, so even if I had decided to stuff my face, I would have had to go to the grocery store and buy the junk food. We went out for dinner, but I opted for lean protein, a small salad and some steamed veggies and asked that the waitress not bring rolls. I made a conscious decision to avoid any potential trigger foods and to eat small meals every 2.5-3 hours to keep my blood sugar stable. This wasn't what I particularly FELT like doing, but I did it anyway because I knew that keeping my blood sugar stable would help me better fight off the cravings and keep me in control of my eating.
This time on 5&1 may seem long for some of you, but this is a time when you are learning important lessons and incorporating new, healthier habits that will help you be successful for the long term. This is about so much more than eating Medifast meals. It's about so much more than weighing out a proper portion of a lean meat and fixing a salad.
You are making lots of choices right now that will impact your long-term success. Choose wisely :-)
That feeling really shocked me, because I thought that I had gotten past the whole emotional eating thing a long time ago. When things get stressful, running to food just isn't something I normally even think of. Until the past couple of days. That long-buried monster roared to life and the battle was on.
What was different this time was that I remembered what I learned when I was on 5&1, and that made all the difference. Even as the battle inside me raged, I kept telling myself two important things:
1. Food won't fix this. It never had and it never will. I learned a long time ago that food only temporarily masks the emotions, but it never fixes the issue. In the past, once the emotional eating was over, I always - always - regretted it. The remorse and shame was then piled on top of all of the other emotions I had been trying to mask, making me feel even worse than before.
2. The second thing I had to keep reminding myself was what was I really wanted and keep my eyes fixed straight ahead. What I want is to be as healthy as I can possibly be, living at a healthy weight and comfortably zipping up my size 6 jeans. Diving fork-first into a pile of comfort food doesn't support what I really want.
I reminded myself of these two important things, but I also had to make some choices.
While on 5&1, I learned to run to the true Source of my comfort, my Heavenly Father, and that's what I kept doing over these past couple of days. Every time I felt overwhelmed by things out of my control, I prayed, choosing to leave them at the feet of Jesus. That was something I had to choose to do over and over again.
I also chose to eat Medifast meals and have a simple lean and green. We keep a very clean kitchen, so even if I had decided to stuff my face, I would have had to go to the grocery store and buy the junk food. We went out for dinner, but I opted for lean protein, a small salad and some steamed veggies and asked that the waitress not bring rolls. I made a conscious decision to avoid any potential trigger foods and to eat small meals every 2.5-3 hours to keep my blood sugar stable. This wasn't what I particularly FELT like doing, but I did it anyway because I knew that keeping my blood sugar stable would help me better fight off the cravings and keep me in control of my eating.
This time on 5&1 may seem long for some of you, but this is a time when you are learning important lessons and incorporating new, healthier habits that will help you be successful for the long term. This is about so much more than eating Medifast meals. It's about so much more than weighing out a proper portion of a lean meat and fixing a salad.
You are making lots of choices right now that will impact your long-term success. Choose wisely :-)
Friday, February 3, 2012
Redefining Our Future
In response to the statement that "you are what you eat," I once heard a comedian lament, "Oh no! I'm a doughnut!" That may be funny, but, like it or not, who we are today is the sum total of the choices we've made. I remember looking in the mirror at my 260+ pound body and thinking "I did this to myself."
Coming to grips with the reality of past choices can be pretty sobering, but the good news is that those past choices don't have to continue to define us. While it's true that who we are today is the sum total of the choices we've made, it's also true that who we will be tomorrow will also be the sum total of the choices we're making today. In a very real way, we have the ability to change our health destiny beginning today, if we're willing to make different choices.
It's hard work learning to make new and better choices, but the more we make those choices, the easier they get. When I first started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, I was really focused on staying on plan for 21 days in a row. I had heard for years that it takes 21 days to make a new habit or break an old one, and since I'd never stayed on ANY plan for 21 days straight, I thought it was a worthy goal to shoot for. I marked each day off on the calendar and as I got closer and closer to that 21st day, it was amazing to realize that I was going to actually do it. When I hit the 21st day, I began to believe that maybe I could truly change some long-time bad habits, habits that had taken me further and further away from the healthy person I wanted to be.
The choices I made for over two decades resulted in a morbidly obese, diabetic woman who looked back at me in the mirror. The choices I've made since June 24, 2007, the day I started on this plan, changed all of that, returning my blood sugar to normal levels and bringing me to a healthy weight (and keeping me there!). I know that I have to continue to make healthy choices every day, because who I will be tomorrow will reflect the choices I'm making today.
It always comes back to the choices we make today, doesn't it? Choose wisely :-)
Coming to grips with the reality of past choices can be pretty sobering, but the good news is that those past choices don't have to continue to define us. While it's true that who we are today is the sum total of the choices we've made, it's also true that who we will be tomorrow will also be the sum total of the choices we're making today. In a very real way, we have the ability to change our health destiny beginning today, if we're willing to make different choices.
It's hard work learning to make new and better choices, but the more we make those choices, the easier they get. When I first started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, I was really focused on staying on plan for 21 days in a row. I had heard for years that it takes 21 days to make a new habit or break an old one, and since I'd never stayed on ANY plan for 21 days straight, I thought it was a worthy goal to shoot for. I marked each day off on the calendar and as I got closer and closer to that 21st day, it was amazing to realize that I was going to actually do it. When I hit the 21st day, I began to believe that maybe I could truly change some long-time bad habits, habits that had taken me further and further away from the healthy person I wanted to be.
The choices I made for over two decades resulted in a morbidly obese, diabetic woman who looked back at me in the mirror. The choices I've made since June 24, 2007, the day I started on this plan, changed all of that, returning my blood sugar to normal levels and bringing me to a healthy weight (and keeping me there!). I know that I have to continue to make healthy choices every day, because who I will be tomorrow will reflect the choices I'm making today.
It always comes back to the choices we make today, doesn't it? Choose wisely :-)
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Just a Little Cheating - Part 2
Yesterday I blogged about how just a little cheating could result in a much longer journey to goal. While taking a little - or a lot - longer to reach goal may be reason enough to not cheat, there is an even more important reason to stay on plan.
My friend, Freida, is a nurse and also a health coach. After she read yesterday's blog, she made the following comment, "making "wiggle room" on this plan can actually be very harmful. Eating "off plan" foods, such as wine, can keep your body out of fat burning. This means your body will not burn the fat needed for energy to get through the day. Without fat burning, we ask our bodies to function on 800 to 1000 calories we ingest each day. This could mean no weight loss and may lead to metabolism slow down or worse yet, muscle wasting as the body begins to starve. Choosing to just cheat "a little," can actually cause you great harm!"
In addition to being a nurse and a health coach, Freida is also one of the nurses who hosts the weekly Take Shape for Life nurses's call - she knows what she's talking about!
Her comment really puts "a little cheating" on an entirely new level. I've known individuals who insist that they will follow 5&1 plus have a glass of wine or a piece of fruit every day, reasoning that their calories are still low and they're still losing weight, even if the weight loss is slower. But fat burning protects our bodies, including our muscles. This isn't an extremely low-calorie diet, as some reason. 5&1 is carefully designed to provide all of the nutrition we need while we safely drop our calories, and we can safely drop our calories to under 1,000 because our bodies are in fat burning.
Thanks, Freida, for providing another - and critically important - perspective on this issue! Staying on plan is not only the fastest way to reach goal, it is also the safest and healthiest way to get there. As always, the choice is yours . . . choose wisely :-)
My friend, Freida, is a nurse and also a health coach. After she read yesterday's blog, she made the following comment, "making "wiggle room" on this plan can actually be very harmful. Eating "off plan" foods, such as wine, can keep your body out of fat burning. This means your body will not burn the fat needed for energy to get through the day. Without fat burning, we ask our bodies to function on 800 to 1000 calories we ingest each day. This could mean no weight loss and may lead to metabolism slow down or worse yet, muscle wasting as the body begins to starve. Choosing to just cheat "a little," can actually cause you great harm!"
In addition to being a nurse and a health coach, Freida is also one of the nurses who hosts the weekly Take Shape for Life nurses's call - she knows what she's talking about!
Her comment really puts "a little cheating" on an entirely new level. I've known individuals who insist that they will follow 5&1 plus have a glass of wine or a piece of fruit every day, reasoning that their calories are still low and they're still losing weight, even if the weight loss is slower. But fat burning protects our bodies, including our muscles. This isn't an extremely low-calorie diet, as some reason. 5&1 is carefully designed to provide all of the nutrition we need while we safely drop our calories, and we can safely drop our calories to under 1,000 because our bodies are in fat burning.
Thanks, Freida, for providing another - and critically important - perspective on this issue! Staying on plan is not only the fastest way to reach goal, it is also the safest and healthiest way to get there. As always, the choice is yours . . . choose wisely :-)
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Just a Little Cheating
Take Shape for Life's 5&1 is a very rigid and restrictive plan, and for a lot of people, the restrictions are challenging to live with. Having been on other plans that allow for "wiggle room", some individuals keep looking for a way to somehow incorporate some of their favorite foods into this program and still make it work. They want to be have the kind of success they see others have, in the same amount of time, while being able to cheat on the weekends.
The truth is that you CAN cheat if you choose to do so, and you can do this and still reach your goal . . . it will just take you a lot longer. Here's a real-life example from a couple who both went on the program at the same time. The wife made the decision to stay on plan 100% of the time and she lost 50 pounds. Her husband also made the decision to follow the program, with one exception: he did the 5&1 plan plus had a glass of wine every evening with dinner. In the same amount of time that his wife lost 50 pounds, he lost 20. Yep - his wife lost over twice as much weight in the same amount of time!
So often we may think that it's OK to modify the plan just a little . . . after all, we reason, it's only a LITTLE bit off plan, so how much could it hurt? I guess the question each person has to ask is, "how quickly do I want to reach my goal?" If you aren't in a hurry, then perhaps having a glass of wine or eating something off plan might be OK for you.
When I started on Take Shape for Life and began to realize that I had finally found a program that actually worked, something that really WOULD help me to reach my goal, I wanted to get there as quickly as I possibly could. I fought obesity for over twenty years and I didn't want to be obese for one day longer than I had to. I knew I didn't have any control over how fast my body released the weight, but I COULD control whether or not I stayed on plan. I knew that staying on plan would get me to my goal the fastest. It's not that I didn't miss a lot of things while I was on plan, but I figured that nothing was worth keeping me obese a day longer than necessary. As I approach the four-year anniversary of reaching my goal, I certainly don't regret the decision I made to stay on plan :-).
Almost every day presents a challenge to stay on plan. If it's not stress, it's an occasion of one kind or another (Super Bowl this weekend, Valentine's Day in two weeks, for instance). If it's not an occasion, perhaps it's a friend or loved one who's less than supportive. Regardless of the challenge, the choice is ultimately ours. As we consider the choices we face, it might help to ask ourselves how fast we want to reach our goal. After we honestly ask - and answer - that question, we'll make the choices that support what we want. Think carefully about what you really want, then choose wisely :-)
The truth is that you CAN cheat if you choose to do so, and you can do this and still reach your goal . . . it will just take you a lot longer. Here's a real-life example from a couple who both went on the program at the same time. The wife made the decision to stay on plan 100% of the time and she lost 50 pounds. Her husband also made the decision to follow the program, with one exception: he did the 5&1 plan plus had a glass of wine every evening with dinner. In the same amount of time that his wife lost 50 pounds, he lost 20. Yep - his wife lost over twice as much weight in the same amount of time!
So often we may think that it's OK to modify the plan just a little . . . after all, we reason, it's only a LITTLE bit off plan, so how much could it hurt? I guess the question each person has to ask is, "how quickly do I want to reach my goal?" If you aren't in a hurry, then perhaps having a glass of wine or eating something off plan might be OK for you.
When I started on Take Shape for Life and began to realize that I had finally found a program that actually worked, something that really WOULD help me to reach my goal, I wanted to get there as quickly as I possibly could. I fought obesity for over twenty years and I didn't want to be obese for one day longer than I had to. I knew I didn't have any control over how fast my body released the weight, but I COULD control whether or not I stayed on plan. I knew that staying on plan would get me to my goal the fastest. It's not that I didn't miss a lot of things while I was on plan, but I figured that nothing was worth keeping me obese a day longer than necessary. As I approach the four-year anniversary of reaching my goal, I certainly don't regret the decision I made to stay on plan :-).
Almost every day presents a challenge to stay on plan. If it's not stress, it's an occasion of one kind or another (Super Bowl this weekend, Valentine's Day in two weeks, for instance). If it's not an occasion, perhaps it's a friend or loved one who's less than supportive. Regardless of the challenge, the choice is ultimately ours. As we consider the choices we face, it might help to ask ourselves how fast we want to reach our goal. After we honestly ask - and answer - that question, we'll make the choices that support what we want. Think carefully about what you really want, then choose wisely :-)
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