Just a Little Cheating

Take Shape for Life's 5&1 program 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/Medifast 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 five-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 :-)