What Are You Waiting For?

What are some of you waiting for?  

A friend of mine had an obese, Type 2 diabetic friend who she'd talked to several times about this program and explained to him the difference it would make for his diabetes.  She didn't press him to start because she understood that everyone has to be ready, and he wasn't ready.  She shared with him how, several months after her own heart attack and stroke, she went on this program and not only lost weight but also significantly improved her health.  But he wasn't ready.  Several months later she ran into her friend and he told her that he thought he was thinking more about maybe starting the program, but wasn't quite ready.  Unfortunately, just a few weeks later he went into a diabetic coma and died - at age 56.  Ironically, he had actually ordered a month's worth of product and had it in his cabinet, but he hadn't gotten around to actually starting on the program.

Another friend of mine had a morbidly obese co-worker with whom she shared the program.  He took information home, reviewed it and handed it back to her and said he wasn't interested.  Sadly, this man died of a massive heart attack several months later.

I didn't know these individuals and I have no idea why they weren't ready to start the program, but I'm going to speculate, because I'm guessing one or more of their reasons  were the same reasons I hear over and over again:  too busy right now, or social event/vacation is around the corner, or I feel OK so I must be OK, or it's summer and I want to eat fruit, or I can't give up my {fill in the blank}, or or or or ????  

I know that many of you reading this have made the decision to get healthy and you are refusing to allow anything to get in your way - good for you!  Today's blog is lovingly for - and I do mean "lovingly" - those who think that "today's just not a good day to do this" and who assume that there will always be a more convenient tomorrow.  So did these individual gentleman.  Both died WAY too early.  It's impossible to know if things would have been different for them had they made the decision to lose weight, but it's hard not to wonder because we know that losing weight positively impacts blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Why do we allow so many other things, so many less important things, keep us from doing something as important as taking care of ourselves?  I've known individuals who desperately needed to lose weight who decided not to continue on the program because they eat out all the time and didn't want to limit their menu selections to lean and green options.  Others who hesitate to start because they are convinced that their family "wouldn't like it" if they prepared lean and green meals instead of the family favorites.  So many people want to lose weight, but they want to do it on their own terms, in their own way.  The problem is that our way flat-out doesn't work - if it did, we wouldn't be here :-).

The reality is that tomorrow won't be more convenient.  Tomorrow will have it's own list of excuses why we "can't" do this.  Gambling on our health is high-stakes gambling - why risk it?

If you aren't on plan today, what are you waiting for?  What on earth is more important in today's schedule than taking care of yourself?  The choices we make today are important - to us and the people we love.  Choose wisely :-)