Embracing the Season

Even though the calendar says it's still summer, there are signs that fall is just around the corner.  In many parts of the country, children are now back in school (Michigan children return to school the day after Labor Day) and families are settling into a routine after a busy summer.  Outside my window, I'm seeing the first signs of leaves changing colors, which gives me really mixed feelings.  On the one hand, I love the beauty of a West Michigan autumn - the colors are spectacular and there are many lovely scenic drives available within just an hour or two of my house.  On the other hand, a beautiful West Michigan autumn sets the stage for the next season, which often stretches into the better part of five (or six) months of cold, snow and mostly gray skies.  Sigh . . .

This time of year, I find myself facing the choice of embracing the season at hand and enjoying the unique beauty it brings, or I can miss the beauty of each day because I'm focused on what's coming next - cold and snow.  I used to miss much of the autumn beauty because I'd be busy settling into my winter funk (might as well get a head start on it, you know!).  My weight would invariably start to climb this time of year, just as my spirits would begin to droop, and I would pretty much eat my way through the fall and winter, only emerging from my food-induced coma sometime in mid to late April.

Not any more!  Part of what I learned on my own weight loss journey was to embrace the season I'm in right now and look for the unique beauty that it brings.   And guess what?  I'm not just taking about the seasons on the calendar - I'm talking about the seasons in my life.

I viewed my almost-year of weight loss as a season in my life that I'd set aside to get to a healthy weight.   I really took the viewpoint that being on 5&1 was NOT the rest of my life, just one short season in what I hoped would be (and still hope will be) the rest of my long and healthy life. 

Like the seasons on a calendar, my weight loss "season" had it's good days and it's not-so-great days.  Some days during this "season" felt like the best of a summer day - airy and bright, while other days felt like the depths of winter - long, cold and grey, but I knew that it was only one short "season" of my life.   I've shared before, but I'll say it again:  I did NOT wake up joyful every day that I got to be on plan that day; I did NOT wake up every single day happy about facing another 5 Medifast meals.  Thankfully, most days I WAS pretty positive about all of the changes I was seeing and it helped that I really liked (and continue to like) almost all of the Medifast meals.  Joyful or not, I did view this as a season in my life and I was determined to make it as short of a season as possible :-).

Since reaching my goal over four years ago, I look back on my "lose weight and get healthy" season as a VERY short season in my life - just under a year.  It is a season that I will never regret, because I learned so much about how to eat, I learned so much about myself and how I related to food, and I grew a lot emotionally and spiritually, even as my body shrank.  The best part is that this season is past and I'm in an entirely new season of life - HEALTHY.  I'm at a healthy weight, in a size I never in a million years thought I'd be in (size 6 slacks and 4 dresses), I have energy to keep up with a very busy schedule (and 6 very busy grandchildren and 2 more due any day!), and I have an entirely new career helping people achieve the kind of success that I've been blessed with on this program.

I really encourage you today to embrace this "season" in your life.  It really will go fast, and the season that follows may well be the very best season of your life.  I also encourage you to make this "season" as short as possible, and you can do that by choosing to staying on plan, one day at a time.  The choice is yours today . . . choose wisely :-)