How to Avoid Getting Sidetracked

Ready or not, Thanksgiving is here and the holiday season is about to shift into full swing.  In my almost-six years of health coaching, I’ve sadly seen the same thing over and over again: some individuals do really well right up until now, then crash and burn when the holidays arrive. Some of them recover and go on to reach their goal and some continue to flounder even to today.

Often what trips people up are other people. They have a plan in place to deal with the holiday meal and show up with a solid plan and lots of resolve. Then the pressure begins from, of all things, family members. They hear, “It’s a holiday, for goodness sake.  Live a little!” “You’ve been doing really well, so you deserve to take a break and reward yourself.” “Just this once won’t hurt!” “But this is Mom’s/Grandma’s/Aunt Lucy’s (you pick!) prize-winning dessert that she only makes once a year. You can’t hurt her feelings by not eating it!”  You get the idea – there is no end to the things people will sometimes say in an effort to get someone off track.

What’s interesting is this: most of the time, the people who are trying to get us off-track aren’t on track for their own health!  I saw a post on Facebook a couple of days ago that said, “Don’t get sidetracked by people who are not on track!” This is GREAT advice and something to keep in mind as we head into Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow and then the holiday parties and meals in December.

Think about it! When is the last time that someone who was at a healthy weight and living a healthy lifestyle encouraged you to eat unhealthy things? Most people who are living a healthy lifestyle at a healthy weight are VERY supportive of anyone who is focused on the same thing.

When someone who isn’t at a healthy weight urges you to go off plan “just this once,” remember that this very thinking is probably keeping them in their own unhealthy state.  Nothing irritates an unhealthy person more than seeing someone resist the very temptations they are giving in to. Misery loves company.

Keeping this in mind tomorrow (and beyond) will hopefully help you to choose wisely J.  Have a wonderful – and healthy – Thanksgiving!

Making Decisions

Sometimes we think that what has been will always be, or we think that where we are is "it" and we're convinced that things will never change.  If we've had a long history of failed attempts at losing weight, it's easy to believe that our dieting history determines our future.  Here's a quote that challenges this kind of thinking:

"It's not what is happening to you now or what has happened in the past that determines who you become.  Rather, it's your decisions about what to focus on, what things mean to you, and what you're going to do with them that will determine your ultimate destiny." ~ Anthony Robbins

The decisions we made in the past had a significant impact on where we are today, and many of those decisions became habits over time.  But habits are still decisions, even if we aren't acutely aware that we're deciding each and every time.  The reason I know these are really decisions is because we have the ability to change them if we choose to do so.  We can get rid of unhealthy habits that don't serve us and we can develop an entirely new set of habits that put us on a new path - if we want to.

Going back to Robbins' quote, "your decisions about what to focus on, what things mean to you, and what you're going to do with them" - infused in each of these statements is choice.  We choose what we're going to focus on, whether it be past failures or current frustrations or future hopes and dreams that include being at a healthy weight.  If we look up and focus on the sky, we can't focus on the ground.  If we fix our gaze on the ground, we can't see the sky.  Where we choose to focus is critical, and it is a decision we have to make every day.

Robbins says that we decide "what things mean" to us - we attach a value and that value determines what we do with things.  Because the focus of this blog is about making healthy choices, let me apply this to the food choices we make.  If we value being healthy - if we've made a fundamental choice to get to a healthy weight - then that value will determine the food choices that we make.  If we value immediate gratification more than being healthy, that value will lead us to make different choices.

The choices of what we're going to focus on, what things mean to us and what we're going to do with them WILL, in large part, determine the future of our health.  That future may seem a long way away, but we're getting there one day and one choice at a time.  Choose wisely :-)

Focusing Ahead

I read a story about a man who got on a tractor for the first time.  He described the thrill of starting up the engine, dropping the plow, and heading out across the field.  As he drove the tractor, he marveled at all of the gauges and gadgets on the tractor and enjoyed the feel of the steering wheel.  Everything was perfect until he looked back to admire his results.  Instead of seeing the straight lines he expected, he described what he saw as resembling a slithering snake, "with more bends and curves than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway."  In his excitement to plow a field for the very first time, he forgot the cardinal rule of plowing:  plow with your eye on the fence post ahead.  On the return trip he did just that and his line was straight.  He realized that the first row was messed up because he didn't have a focus point.

Do you have a focus point?  Are you keeping your eyes on where you're going, or are you finding yourself being distracted by the details?  When we're focused on where we're heading, that not only keeps us moving forward, but it keeps us moving in a straight line to our goal.  If we're looking around at all of the things we "can't have" right now, if we're looking at all of the potential obstacles that might come our way, our path to goal may look a lot like the man's first plow line - filled with twists and turns. Where we focus is important every day, but focus is especially critical right now with the holidays fast approaching.

By focusing on our goal, we are more likely to get there in a straight line.  We are continually reminded of where we're going and what we want, and that reminder will keep all of the distractions and obstacles on the sidelines.  We may be aware of them because we see them with our peripheral vision, but they are a blur as we go past them because our eyes are fixed on our goal. 

Where are you choosing to focus today?  Your choice will determine your path to goal . . . choose wisely -:)

Avoiding the Energy Drain

Staying on plan is a lot of work.  There's no getting around it.  Opening packets isn't hard, but being surrounded by the ever-present temptations IS hard and it takes constant focus to avoid them.  That focus can be exhausting sometimes.  

That's true, but did you know that it's even more exhausting to give in to temptation and go off plan?

I read that it takes as much energy to avoid a task as it does to do it; procrastination saps energy while completion gives relief.

This was certainly true for me.  I cheated miserably on every other program I'd ever been on until I started on 5&1, and the energy I spent cheating really was exhausting and demoralizing.  The internal struggle pre and post cheat went something like this:  "That really looks good and I want it.  I know I'm not supposed to have it, but it really looks good and I'm hungry/tired/stressed and I deserve it.  I shouldn't have it . . . I really shouldn't have it.  OK, I'll just have a bite.  Well, maybe half won't be too bad . . . Ugh, I ate the whole thing.  Since I ate one, I'll eat the other one so I won't be tempted anymore . . . Well, I really blew it.  How could I be so stupid and weak?  I don't even feel good - I ate way too much.  I'm never going to lose weight.  Why do I even try?  I wish I hadn't eaten the stupid thing - it wasn't worth it."

That cycle was repeated over and over again, and it was emotionally exhausting.  Every time the cycle was repeated, I felt more demoralized and defeated and reaching a healthy weight seemed just a little further away.  Talk about an energy drain!

Contrast that with the energy involved in staying on plan:  "That really looks good and I want it.  But I also really want to get to a healthy weight and I want that more than I want the food.  I can have that if I want, but I am choosing to not eat that right now because it won't get me where I want to go . . . Wow, I did it - I didn't cheat.  Whew!  I really did it - that feels great!"  Instead of feeling emotionally drained, this scenario energizes you - it really does!

I remember really struggling at times to stay on plan and there were a few times when I almost caved.  The internal dialogue was certainly more extended than the example listed above.  However, there was SUCH a feeling of relief when I walked away - I was flooded with relief and joy once the temptation had passed.  The realization that I really could stay on plan gave me hope that I would eventually reach my goal and it also strengthened my "no thank you muscle" for the next inevitable temptation.  Knowing that I'd resisted once made it just a bit easier to resist the next time, and that next time made it even easier to resist the time after that.

So how are you going to spend your energy today?  It all depends on the choices you make, so choose wisely :-)

Changing Priorities

"When our old priorities don't go with our new life, we either return to our old life or adopt new priorities."  


My old priorities as they related to food and my health were WAY off.  I was very much focused on instant gratification and only gave a passing nod to the idea that what I was putting in my mouth today could negatively impact me tomorrow.  I was certainly aware of the dangers of obesity, but I always had VERY good intentions to "start being good tomorrow."  I can't tell you how many "last suppers" I've had in my life as I tried to eat up all of the "bad food" before starting on the next sure-thing diet.  I knew that exercise was important, and I could give a pretty good list of all of the reasons why, but there was never time to exercise today - but I'd promise myself that I'd get started tomorrow.  My priorities were pretty much on the here and now, and "tomorrow" never showed up on my calendar.  Every day was only "today."

To this day, it amazes me that God led me to the right program at the right time, knowing that I was finally - FINALLY - ready to make permanent changes in my life.  I didn't even realize it at the time, and that the thought that I could really make permanent, positive changes seemed impossible.

However, June 24, 2007 was the beginning of what has truly been a life-changing journey, and, with God's help, I have made permanent changes in my life.  I know I can never return to that old life, so I've been forced to adopt some new priorities.  Many of these priorities flow out of my primary choice/ secondary choice philosophy (are you tired of hearing about this yet?). 

Some of my priorities - my most important priorities - remain unchanged: my faith and my family.  However, other priorities have been rearranged because being healthy is now one of my new, permanent priorities - a primary choice.  

According to the statistics, 85% (or more) of people who lose weight end up gaining it all back, plus some, within two years.  I can't help but wonder if many of these people return to their old, overweight life because they never changed their priorities.

Priorities don't automatically change.  They only change as we choose to change them.  It's never an easy task, but if we don't change our priorities to support our new, healthy life, sooner or later we'll find ourselves in a place we vowed we'd never see again.

Changing priorities happens one day at a time, one choice at a time.  What choice are you making today?  Choose wisely :-)

No Shortcuts!

We all want change in our lives, to some degree or another.  Everyone on this program wants to change their weight and many want to improve their health - I know I wanted both.  

I've often wished that I had either a magic wand or a fairy godmother so that any and all changes could happen in an instant - one wave of the wand and poof!  it's done.  I'd have the result I wanted without going through the process I needed to get there.  Honestly, sometimes that sounds SO good to me!

I watched a program on TV a while back about a man who was obsessed with plastic surgery.  He went so far as to get implants that gave the look of bulging arm muscles, because he said he wanted the look but didn't have the time or desire to work out at the gym.   So he got the look alright, but didn't have the true muscle mass he needed and he also didn't have the satisfaction that would have come had he built up real muscles over time. 

I often hate the process.  I'm not a particularly patient person by nature (God is continuing to grow me in this area), so when results aren't almost immediately forthcoming, it's tempting for me to grow weary of the process.  That was certainly the case with every other weight loss program I ever went on.  They were a lot of work and the progress was agonizingly slow and I lost interest before I ever got very far.

Even on 5&1, though there isn't a safer way to lose weight quickly, it's still a process that happens over time.  For me, it was almost 11 months of eating 5 Medifast meals every day and one lean & green, and those 11 months sometimes seemed eternal.  Honestly, some DAYS on 5&1 felt like an eternity :-).  

What I didn't fully understand at the time, but I see more clearly now, is that those 11 months were a time of sowing seeds of new actions and responses.  I was seeing results right along, which kept me motivated, but the process of learning to eat a different way planted seeds continue to bear fruit.  Those seeds planted while I was on 5&1 have become a crop of lifestyle changes and healthy habits that are helping me to stay healthy.  Had I had the magic wand and reached my goal in an instant, I would not have done the work I needed to do to maintain my weight loss and ensure a healthy lifestyle for the rest of my life.

Planting seeds of new, healthy habits happens one day and one choice at a time, so choose wisely :-)

Getting In the Game

"Health is not a spectator sport."  Is your first instinct to nod in agreement, or are you thinking, "rats!!" :-)  It's true . . . if we want to be optimally healthy, being as active and vibrant as we can possibly be for as long as possible, we have to get in the game.

This quote is from "Dr. A's Habits of Health," a book written by Take Shape for Life co-founder and Medifast's Medical Director, Dr. Wayne Scott Andersen.  My husband and I have worked our way through this book a couple of times, and I do mean worked our way.  It's a fabulous book and the companion guide, "Living a Longer, Healthier Life" is designed to not only expand on his "Habits of Health" book, but also is a workbook so that the reader can apply the Habits of Health principles to his/her own life.  I highly recommend both books!

I'm really good at studying and learning.  I'm an avid reader and enjoy the whole learning process, and I believe in being a lifelong learner.   However, reading, studying and learning in and of itself, as good as those things are, won't do a thing to get me healthy or keep me healthy.  

Prior to starting on Take Shape for Life, I had done a lot of reading and studying.  I had a good grasp of nutrition and understood the health risks of obesity.  I had an entire shelf of books on different diets (you name it, if somebody published a book about it, the book was probably on my shelf). I would often pull one of the books down to read, hoping a chapter or two would somehow spark enough motivation to get me moving down the scale again.  Unfortunately, I did a lot of my reading while eating cookies or chips . . . I kid you not.  I used to say that my obesity (my all-time high weight was 268 on my 5'5" frame) wasn't due to not knowing what to do or a failure to grasp the health risks.  

Knowing and doing are two entirely different things.  If we want to reach a healthy weight, if we want to be as healthy as we can possibly be, we have to stop being a spectator and get in the game.  It simply won't happen by osmosis.  I'm certainly not advocating that anyone stop reading about health - in fact, I HIGHLY recommend Dr. Andersen's book to anyone who wants to create long-term health in their lives.  I just know that reading alone, even Dr. A's book, won't do it for us.  We can know all of the ins and outs of why it's important to eat every 3 hours and we can have the low-glycemic list memorized, but if we aren't doing it, the information is useless.

Once we're in the game (and since you're reading this, I'm guessing that you're in the game!), the next challenge is to stay in the game.  I've never seen a team decide half-way or 3/4 of the way through a game that, since they're ahead and doing well, that they can quit early.  Even when a team has a comfortable margin and their win is a foregone conclusion, they stay in the game until it's over.  We have to do the same!  For us, the game isn't over when we reach our goal . . . it's never really over as long as we're on this earth.  Every day between now and goal is a day where you have to make choices to move forward.  That doesn't change when you reach your goal - some of the options will change, but you will still have choices to make and those choices will either move you forward or take you back.  The game continues!

If you're inclined to sit on the bleachers, it's time to get off.  If you're currently in the game, keep going!  You'll do that with the choices you'll make today.  Choose wisely :-)

What If?

We're in Pennsylvania this week with my parents, visiting my sister and family members. Saturday night  I had an conversation with my niece that's had me thinking . . . 

She shared an ongoing struggle she has had with food sensitivities and has spent a fair amount of time and energy trying to track down what she's allergic to. Between doctors' visits and trial-and-error, she has come to the realization that she has a sensitivity to fructose and anything with fructose in it causes a lot of gastrointestinal discomfort and pain. As a result, she reads labels like crazy and seldom eats out because fructose is in so many prepared foods. 

What got me thinking - a lot - about this is that she is absolutely not apologetic about her food sensitivity. She is matter-of-fact, accepts it for what it is, and doesn't worry about what someone else might think of her because of what she does and doesn't eat. And I'm sure that no one would ever say to her, "Oh, just one bite won't hurt . . . live a little . . . it's just one cheat . . . " Even if someone would be that insensitive, she knows that eating something with fructose in it will leave her miserable and she's decided it's clearly not worth it.

She knows that those food items taste good, but she knows they aren't good for her and she's made the decision to not eat them. End of discussion.  Because the decision has been made, she doesn't agonize over whether or not she she should eat something, and she really doesn't care what anyone else thinks. This is about her and her health.

Everyone understands when someone has a food allergy or sensitivity. Whether it's fructose, gluten, peanuts or something else, we don't expect someone with a food sensitivity to cheat "just this once." If someone has made the decision to be a vegetarian or vegan, no one urges them to "splurge" and have a steak. 

What would happen if we adopted this same attitude about our own health? What would happen if we viewed off-plan food the same way my niece views food containing fructose? What would happen if we didn't care what other people thought or said?  This IS about our health, and while we won't suffer immediate consequences if we eat that slice of pizza, the long-term consequences of not getting and staying at a healthy weight can be devastating - physically, mentally and emotionally. 

We have a right to be healthy, and we have a right to expect others to respect the choices we're making to get and stay healthy. As always, it's a choice we have to make every day . . . choose wisely :-)