Saving Energy

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 recently 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 Take Shape for Life, 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 :-)

Aligning 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 - I know what's most important to me (primary choice), so I make choices to support that (secondary choices). Some of those secondary choices aren't always what I would prefer to do (saying "no thank you" to unhealthy food choices or exercising), but I choose to do them because they support what is most important to me.

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 :-)

Don't Get Spooked!

Happy Halloween!  In my past, Halloween was the beginning of an all-out food fest that didn't end until I was in a sugar-induced stupor on January 2.  Between Halloween and New Year's, it wasn't unusual for me to pick up at least 10 pounds - yikes!

I have a terrible sweet tooth that I inherited from my dad (he's the only person  I know who will put peanut butter and jelly on his grilled cheese sandwiches, and I've seen him put it on hamburgers once or twice).  When my children were young, I would sort through their trick-or-treat bags and take out all of the "yucky" candy bars (I know, I'm bad . . . the kids eventually figured out what I was doing and I was busted).

Seven years ago, being on 5&1 and staying on plan meant keeping my hands out of my grandchildren's trick or treat bags (a sugar-aholic is shameless . . . ), but it wasn't easy.  Halloween was the first big test of my commitment to stay on plan, so I approached the day with a bit of trepidation.  When the moment finally arrived and I stared down all that candy, I realized that once I started eating it I probably wouldn't be able to stop, and I knew that once I DID stop, I'd feel awful - physically and mentally.  That was one of the first times on plan that I can remember sensing a serious threat looming to my weight loss journey, and my response was to think ahead and not get caught up in the moment.

I'm writing about this now because I'm guessing that some of you will be facing down a lot of candy and chocolate today.  I'm encouraging you to anticipate the temptations and decide what you're going to do and how you're going to respond. 

Planning ahead is critical on this plan.  So many of us are impulsive eaters, and I know that there were many times when I found myself eating almost before I realized it.  That was always followed by regret, but it was too late to undo what had been done.  When we take the time to anticipate temptation and plan how we're going to respond, we're more likely to be successful.

Eating my Medifast meals on time was key to keeping me on plan, even when faced with some of my favorite sweets.  Because I was eating my meals at regular intervals, my blood sugar stayed stable and my cravings didn't get out of hand.  Because I wasn't hungry, it was much easier to walk away.  Keeping a crunch bar handy can also be helpful if the craving continues - they really satisfy my sweet tooth!

The most important thing you can do ahead of time is to spend some time thinking about what you really want.  When you're not facing a temptation, it's much easier to focus on what you really want (and what you REALLY want isn't the Halloween candy . . . ).  Get a clear picture in your mind now of what you want - think about how you'll look and feel at your goal.  If you get that picture in your mind, you'll be in a better position to make choices that will support your goal.

I'll talk more about the holidays in upcoming posts, but I'm encouraging you to have a solid plan in place for today.  Getting through this sugar-infused day will position you for success as we move closer to those OTHER holidays!

It's all about making choices to support what we really want. Choose wisely :-)

Embracing the Season

Even though the calendar says it's still summer, there are signs that fall is just around the corner.  Children are now back in school 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 six 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 9 very busy grandchildren!), 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 :-)

Food to Die For

I love food.  There are very few things I don't like.  One of my successful Take Shape for Life friends has challenged herself to only say "love" when referring to God or people and talks about "enjoying" food instead of "loving" it.  I think that's a great attitude and I aspire to truly think that way, but when I'm honest with myself, there are a lot of foods that I love to eat.  There have been times when something is so over-the-top delicious that I've said, or I've heard someone else say, "that is to DIE for!"  What we mean, of course, is that the food is beyond-description yummy.  

Because I've described food as "to die for" on numerous occasions in my life, I was interested to see an article posted on the internet a while back with the title "7 Foods to Die For."  Naturally I had to check them out!  The seven foods were an assortment of some of the latest menu offerings at national chain restaurants, including a milkshake that is over 2,000 calories!  The foods listed weren't in the article because they were delicious beyond description "to die for," they were listed because these are the types of foods that are literally killing us.  Another menu option on the list of "to die for" foods was a huge hamburger with all of the fixings nestled between TWO grilled cheese sandwiches (the sandwiches took the place of the bun).  The food industry seems intent on finding new ways to help us put on weight, clog our arteries, and raise our blood pressure and blood sugar, and far too many people are lining up and shelling out money to do just that.  

At a time when more people are obese than at any other time in history - HISTORY!! - and when excess is celebrated in so many circles, those of us on Take Shape for Life are truly doing something counter-cultural.  We are lowering calories, temporarily limiting options, and learning the difference between full and satisfied.  We are also learning what it means to make new and better choices by staying focused on what we want - a healthy, thin body.

There are a number of things I would die for - my faith and my family are at the top of that list.   There are also things I'm not willing to die for, and food is at the top of THAT list!  After losing 126 pounds on this program and maintaining my weight loss for over six years (thank you, Jesus!), I know that I am no longer digging my grave with my fork.  I enjoy food, and I may even kind of sort of love it (sometimes), but die for it?  Never!

There are so many food choices out there, and some are literally to die for.  It's up to each of us to decide for ourselves what we'll choose, and the choices we make are based on what we decide is most important to us.  Choose wisely :-)

It All Adds Up!

Do you ever get tired of staying on plan?  I know I did!  Does it ever feel pointless to open up yet another Medifast meal?  Especially for those who have a lot of weight to lose like I did, getting to goal will require months and months of opening a Medifast meal five times a day, weighing our lean, measuring out our veggies.  There may be times when it becomes boring, or at least not very much fun anymore, and you may wonder if it's worth it.

I remember reading a story about a freshman named Mike at the University of Illinois who, in 1987, found a unique way to finance his education.  He convinced a popular columnist at one of the Chicago newspapers to ask his readers to "send in a penny for Mike."  Mike just asked for a penny because he reasoned that a penny doesn't mean anything to anyone.  He guessed that every reader would find loose pennies in their house, under couch cushions, in their car - forgotten and not valued.

To everyone's surprise, people began sending in their pennies, and in less than a month the fund was up to 2.3 million cents, with donations coming in from all over the United States as well as Mexico, Canada and the Bahamas.  Mike eventually ended up with $28,000 - those pennies added up!

The little things we do today add up! Each Medifast meal in and of itself may seem of little value - but put together, day after day, it adds up!  It's hard for us to have the big picture sometimes when we face what feels like the monotony of yet another day on plan, but there IS a big picture - and it's you at goal :-).

And you'll get there, one day, one meal and one choice at a time.  Choose wisely :-)

What's Your Perspective?

I heard a great story about the difference perspective makes.  According to the story, a man walked by a construction site and talked to three workers.  He asked the first worker what he was doing and the worker said, "I'm laying bricks."  When the same question was posed to the second worker, the man replied, "I'm building a wall."  The man then asked a third worker what he was doing and that person responded, "I'm building a cathedral."

Sometimes when we're in the throes of 5&1 (and sometimes it really feels like we're in the throes, which the dictionary defines as "intense or violent pain and struggle, esp. accompanying birth, death, or great change"), it's easy to see nothing but the brick in our hand.  We may not yet have a vision of building a cathedral, or that vision may have gotten clouded along the way.  Today may be a day when all you can see is the brick in your hand; the brick is heavy and dirty and you're aware of the mortar caked under your fingernails.  I've never laid bricks, but I can only imagine that it gets pretty monotonous after a while, and probably downright miserable on a hot summer day.  If a bricklayer can't see beyond the next brick going down, it must seem like a pointless and never-ending task.

Or perhaps you've moved beyond the brick and can see the wall you're building - you've been able to step back a bit and see that you've made some real progress.  That's a good thing!  The challenge is to not get content with a free-standing wall when what you are really building is a cathedral :-).  I've seen far too many people make great progress but stop short of their goal because they got a little too comfortable with where they were.  They were busy laying bricks for a while, then took a step back and realized that they'd put up an entire wall.  Instead of pressing on to finish their task, they spent too much time admiring what they'd done instead of staying focused on where they needed to go and what they wanted to build, and before long they abandoned the program.  It wasn't that they were unhappy with the progress they'd made, but they decided to settle.

You don't settle if you know you're building a cathedral.  You may just be in the initial brick-laying stage, or perhaps you've given yourself a minute to reflect on the wall that's gone up, but cathedral builders don't stop with a wall because they have a cathedral to finish!

What are you building today?  Do you have a vision of your finished product - a healthier you?  Your body IS a temple, your own living, breathing cathedral, if you will.  Don't stop before you make it as healthy and vibrant as it can possibly be.  If necessary, put together a storyboard of what you want your life to look like when you reach your goal - cut out pictures of people wearing the clothes you want to wear and doing the kinds of activities you want to do.  Put your storyboard someplace where you'll see it as a way of helping you to stay focused on what you're building, one day and one choice at a time.

Our perspective, like so many other things, is our choice.  Choose wisely :-)

Taking the Scenic Route or the Autobahn?

My husband and I do a lot of traveling these days - both because of our business and just for fun (although we love what we do, so all of our travel is really for fun!).  Sometimes we fly due to time constraints or distance, but whenever possible we like to drive because we love road trips.  When we have time, we stay off the interstate and are on the lookout for all of the hidden treasures we miss when we're on cruise control at 70 miles per hour.  We love to stop and take pictures along the way, talk to people, and try fun, local restaurants.  We don't always have time for a leisurely drive, but it's fun when we can.

There are other times, of course, when we are focused on getting where we need to be and set our GPS to get us there as quickly as possible.  The route we take depends on how fast we want/need to get to our destination.

I don't know about you, but once I finally decided (REALLY decided) to lose weight, I wanted to reach my goal as quickly as possible.  I wasn't interested in taking the scenic route - I wanted the autobahn.  I'd done the "count points" program three different times, none of them particularly successfully, and the thought of doing a lot of work and getting maybe a half-pound loss per week for the effort didn't appeal to me at all.

I didn't want a "make it up as I go along" plan, either - I'd done that a zillion times.  You know - the "I'll just eat less, watch my portions and make better choices" plan, completely unstructured and for me, completely unsuccessful.

This last and final time (thank the Lord, it really WAS the last time!) that I decided to lose weight, I wanted a proven system. I wanted something that was fast AND safe, and I wanted something that would not just get me thinner, but also healthier.  Take Shape for Life/Medifast totally met the criteria and then some! 

When we're going on a trip and time is of the essence, we study a map and find the shortest route from Point A to Point B, or we plug the destination into our GPS and select the "shortest route" option.  Once we have our route in place, we stick to the route and ignore the signs that advertise attractions ten miles off an exit en route.  It's not that the attractions aren't interesting, but we have a destination to get to and we're focused on getting there as soon as we can.

Those off-plan foods are the attractions ten miles off the exit . . . if we veer off course and take the side-trip, we're going to waste a lot of time and delay getting to our destination.  When it comes to getting to a healthy weight, we need to stay in the express lane with no exits between the time we get on and our goal.  

Are you on the autobahn today or are you taking a leisurely route to get to your goal?  The choices you make determine the route you take.  Choose wisely :-)

Are You Missing "Real" Food?

One thing I often hear from individuals who are on 5&1 is, "I love the results I'm getting, but I sure do miss real food!"  Do you ever find yourself saying, or thinking, this, too? When I was on 5&1 to lose my 120 pounds, I confess that I often thought and said the very same thing. I loved the results I was getting, but opening up packet after packet of what I deemed "fake food" got old at times.

Then I did some thinking about what "real" food really is. Real food is food that nourishes my body. 

It's funny, but before I started on my transformational journey, I never viewed anything I ate as anything less than "real" food, no matter how nutritionally poor it was. I did eat a lot of healthy food, just way too much of it, but food void of any real nutritional value also routinely found its way into my body.

Just for fun, I did a search on the ingredients of a couple of popular foods that are commonly consumed.  Here's what I found:

Ingredients in Twinkies: 

Enriched Wheat Flour (enriched with ferrous sulfate (iron), B vitamins (niacin, thiamine mononitrate [B1], riboflavin [B2] and folic acid)) 

Sugar
Corn syrup
Water
High fructose corn syrup
Vegetable and/or animal shortening (containing one or more of partially hydrogenated soybean, cottonseed or canola oil, and beef fat)
Dextrose
Whole eggs
2% or less of:
Modified corn starch
Cellulose gum
Whey
Leavenings (sodium acid pyrophosphate, baking soda, monocalcium phosphate)
Salt
Cornstarch
Corn flour
Corn syrup solids
Mono and diglycerides
Soy lecithin
Polysorbate 60
Dextrin
Calcium caseinate
Sodium stearol lactylate
Wheat gluten
Calcium sulfate
Natural and artificial flavors
Caramel color
Sorbic acid (to retain freshness)
Artificial color (yellow 5, red 40)

How about McDonald french fries?

Potatoes, canola oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, safflower oil, natural flavour (vegetable source), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (maintain colour), citric acid (preservative), dimethylpolysiloxane (antifoaming agent) and cooked in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with THBQ, citric acid and dimethylpolysiloxane) and salt (silicoaluminate, dextrose, potassium iodide). - See more at: http://www.undergroundhealth.com/mcdonalds-reveals-17-foul-ingredients-in-their-french-fries-including-gmos/#sthash.ZDYzPnXu.dpuf

Yet we didn't view ourselves as eating "fake" food when consuming these, did we?  When we look at the ingredients in Medifast products, do you know what we find? Most of the ingredients are just food or naturally-derived; most of the unpronounceable things are part of the vitamin and minerals that our meals are fortified with.  And the Medifast products are doing something really important - they are providing the nutrition we need while helping us get to a healthy weight.

One thing I know for sure, even though I ate a lot of "natural" and even organic food at 260+ pounds and Type 2 diabetic, it was infinitely healthier for me to eat my five Medifast meals and a lean & green to get to a healthy weight rather than continue eating organic and being morbidly obese.

Dr. Wayne Scott Andersen, Take Shape for Life co-founder and Medifast medical director, recently wrote a terrific blog entitled "Think Beyond Meal Replacements." Here's a link to his article: http://www.drwayneandersen.com/health-info/articles/#/think-beyond-meal-replacements

So take heart, you ARE eating "real" food, food that is nourishing your body and helping you get to a healthy weight. As you are opening your meal replacements today, know that you are doing something that is incredibly healthy for yourself and bon appetite!  You are getting healthier with each meal and each choice . . . choose wisely :-)

Losing at a Snail's Pace

One thing that we all share in common is a desire to get to our goal weight as quickly as possible.  When I started Take Shape for Life seven years ago, I paid special attention to individuals who lost their weight quickly, because I very much wanted to follow in their footsteps.  By the time I started on this program, I'd been fighting a losing battle with obesity for over 20 years and I was ready to be done with it - as fast as possible.  I tried to set realistic expectations because I was 55 and post-menopausal, so I understood that I probably wouldn't lose as fast as someone younger than I.  But I hoped it would be a short journey from start to finish.  I'm guessing that's what you want, too!

But what happens if your progress is at a snail's pace?   How fast does a snail actually go?   One study clocked a snail at 0.00758 miles per hour - or 40 feet in one hour.  No wonder the phrase "at a snail's pace" means "slow!"  The snail may move at, well, a snail's pace, but you have to admire its perseverance.  One preacher noted that "By perseverance the snail reached the ark." 

Our willingness to persevere is often tested when our progress slows down to a snail's pace.  I had several weeks when I only lost one pound and I had three separate weeks when I didn't lose a thing - even though I stayed 100% on plan.  I won't kid you - it was frustrating and a bit discouraging.  At that point, I had a choice:  I could either keep doing what I had been doing and trust that the scale would eventually catch up, or I could allow my seeming lack of progress to be my undoing. 

Since most of you know that I DID reach my goal, there's no suspense in how this story ended :-).  I realized that I had no control over how fast I lost the weight - I could only control whether or not I chose to stay on plan.  Some weeks my efforts were rewarded with a several pound loss, but other weeks with equal effort brought little or no progress on the scale.  I didn't realize it at the time, but those snail-paced weeks taught me the value of doing what I needed to do regardless of the outcome.  Perseverance made the difference for me and it will make the difference for you, too.  You WILL reach your goal, and ultimately it doesn't matter if you get there quickly or at a snail's pace.  Once you're there, you'll have no regrets that you chose to make the journey.

We can't choose how fast our bodies release the weight, but we can choose to persevere.  The choice is yours . . . choose wisely :-)

Seven Years Ago Today . . . My Journey Began!

Seven years ago today I opened my first Medifast meal packet and began my Take Shape for Life journey - and what a journey it's been!  

I had a lot of apprehension about losing so much weight, even though I didn't even think I COULD lose it.  I was a mix of skepticism and apprehension, sprinkled with just a touch of hope.  I was apprehensive that I'd ever be able to maintain a weight loss.  I was very apprehensive about how I'd look after losing 126 pounds - would I look old and drawn?  Would I have skin hanging all over?  Would I EVER be able to enjoy food again?

There were times when this apprehension threatened to derail my progress, and I'm thankful that it didn't!  When I found myself feeling anxious about all of the unknowns, I decided to not borrow trouble and just leave everything in God's hands.  I figured I would deal with any issues when and if they came up and not waste time worrying about them in the meantime.

The good news is that none of my fears materialized!  I lost the weight quickly and because of the things I learned and the healthy habits I embraced, I celebrated my 6-year goal anniversary last month. 

My skin looks really good - not perfect, but really pretty good!  People ask me all the time if I've had plastic surgery, which I have NOT (I have nothing against it, but that's not how I choose to spend my time and my money at this point in my life).  I have a little bit of loose skin on my abdomen, but I'm not a bikini type of person to begin with; I have some loose skin on my upper arms, but my arms fit in a size 2 or 4 jacket, so it's not too bad; and I have loose skin on my upper thighs.  The upper thighs are the most pronounced area of loose skin, so I don't wear skirts above my knee and I wear walking shorts or capris (I'm too old for Daisy Duke shorts anyway!).  People tell me I look healthy - and younger than I did before losing the weight :-).

And I DO enjoy food now - and I enjoy it without feeling guilty!  For years I felt guilty much of the time I ate, because I viewed everything as either "good" or "bad" food.  No surprise, the food I liked best was in the "bad" category, and every time I ate it I did so with the feeling that I was cheating (I was always on one diet or another), so the enjoyment was tempered with guilt.  I can't tell you how freeing it is to eat something that USED to be in the "bad" category and simply say, "Wow, that was GOOD!"  There is no longer a "good" or "bad" category of food, because everything can be enjoyed in moderation and in proper portions.  This is amazingly freeing and one of the unexpected joys of reaching my goal.  

And I am healthy - most important of all!  With 9 grandchildren to keep up with, being healthy and staying healthy is incredibly important to me. When I started on program seven years ago today, we had four grandchildren and my goal was to get healthy so I would be around to dance at their weddings.  I still want that, and I want to be an active, fun grandma for them between now and those someday weddings.

I just realized that there IS one downside to reaching goal, so I'd better 'fess up!  The post-goal shopping trip can be expensive (but oh, so much fun)!  I needed everything from underwear out - pajamas and nightgowns, bathrobe, swimsuits (I actually had fun shopping for swimsuits, if you can imagine!), business clothes, sports clothes, coats, jackets . . . and then new accessories to go with my new wardrobe! Six years later, it's still wonderful to walk into any store and know that I have lots of choices and can select things that fit not only my body, but my taste.  I spent years settling for whatever I could find to fit my size 24W/3X body, and often what I found wasn't really a good color for me or reflected my taste in clothes.  Yep, having fun shopping and spending money on clothes is the only downside I can think of, but it sure doesn't feel much like a downside :-)

Don't let anything keep you from reaching your goal!  Maybe you haven't seen a healthy weight in a long time, or maybe you've NEVER seen a healthy weight, but don't let fear of the unknown keep you from getting there.  Losing weight doesn't solve every problem in our lives, but it WILL improve your life in ways you can't even imagine.   

You'll get to your goal one day, one meal, and one choice at a time.  Choose wisely :-)

Celebrating Six Years Since Reaching Goal - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Celebrate with me today! Six years ago today I reached my weight loss goal, losing 120 pounds in two days short of 11 months.  I am celebrating this milestone today and am especially thankful because, with God's help, I've beaten the odds!  Statistics show that 85% of people who lose weight gain it all back, plus additional weight, within two years.  I have never been so happy to be outside the norm in my life!

When I started on Take Shape for Life in June of 2007, I had very low expectations.  Every attempt I'd ever made to lose weight had met with only minimal weight loss (the most I ever lost was 36 pounds and that took me 9 months to lose).  Every attempt at losing weight resulted in rapid rebound weight gain as soon as I stopped counting the carbs, calories, fat grams or points for the program I was on.  I was so incredibly desperate when I placed my first order that I had actually been contemplating weight loss surgery, but I didn't believe this program would work.  I honestly thought it would fail and that I could move forward with surgery knowing in my heart that I'd truly tried everything.

One of the things that attracted me to this program was the Transition & Maintenance program.  I liked the thought that if I could somehow lose some weight, this program might actually help me to keep it off.  After losing 36 pounds on another program, giving away all of my largest size clothes (24W/3X) and then regaining the weight and having to repurchase a wardrobe in that largest size, I knew I couldn't continue to yo-yo any more.

This program was truly an answer to my very desperate prayers for help!  If someone would have told me seven years ago that I would be celebrating six full years at a healthy weight, I wouldn't have believed them.  If someone would have told me seven years ago that I would be working full-time as a health coach helping others lose weight and get healthy, that many of my family members would be at a healthy weight (including my husband), I wouldn't have believed them.  If someone would have told me that I would be able to do all of the things I am now able to do, including traveling all over the country, I wouldn't have believed them.  I had no idea when I ordered that 4-week variety pack that that decision would alter the course of my life.  I am so incredibly humbled and thankful for all that has happened.

There were many days when staying on plan was difficult.  There were many days when I honest to goodness did NOT want to eat another Medifast meal for the rest of my life.  There were times when I felt deprived as I turned down off-plan food, and there were times when I was angry at myself for what I had done to my body that cause me to be on such a restrictive program to begin with.  What was different this time was that I made the decision that, regardless of how I felt or what was happening in my life, I would stay on plan.  Taking it one day at a time, and often one meal at a time - and choosing to draw on God's strength for the many times my own was failing or non-existent - I finally reached that long-elusive goal four years ago today.

Maintenance has been harder than I had anticipated.  As I've shared before, I still have a fully-developed set of fat-girl taste buds - almost everything still sounds and tastes as good as it ever did and I am often challenged to stay mindful of portion sizes.  Because I did 5&1 just about perfectly (never cheated and kicked myself out of fat-burning the entire time I was on program and had only the occasional ONE bite of something off plan), I somehow unrealistically thought I'd do Maintenance perfectly, too.  What I've come to realize - finally - is that Maintenance is the rest of my life.  Since there isn't anything I'm going to do perfectly for the rest of my life, that includes Maintenance.

Right now I'm about 20 pounds above where I really want to be, and while that isn't ideal (and I'm working on it!), I've learned to grant myself grace and not waste time berating myself when I haven't followed my own advice about choosing wisely :-).  I AM celebrating maintaining an over 100 pound weight loss for six years and celebrating the ongoing improvement that has made in my health.  I still eat six small meals a day and 2-3 of them are still Medifast meals. I have gone back to tracking my meals to keep better track of my calories and am finding this accountability to be incredibly helpful.  Even when eating healthy, which I do, it's easy to eat more than I should and too much of a good thing, even healthy food, is NOT a good thing :-). 

I have also made a vision board filled with pictures and words that represent what optimal health means to me. That board is posted in my office and a picture of it is the wallpaper on my iPhone; I also have a picture of my vision board posted on my refrigerator :-).  What helps me to make the choices I need to make is staying focused on what's really important to me.  Yes, I lost over 100 pounds and have maintained a 100-pound weight loss for six years, but the important question for me right now is: what do I want to CREATE in my life? It's not just about what I want to maintain, because, frankly, maintaining is pretty boring and hard to sustain. I have learned that maintaining status quo is virtually impossible - we are either slipping backward or moving forward; we cannot stay in the same place for very long. Coming out of a VERY long winter and in the midst of dealing with some personal stress at the moment, I have made the decision to refocus on start creating. And what a difference that makes in my mind set!

My long-term goal is to fully internalize the principles in Dr. A's Habits of Health, THE best book out there for long-term success and health.  I hope someday consistently making the best choices is my automatic response . . . for now, I strive to make good choices and I keep a very clean kitchen so that my environment is structured for success.  None of my trigger foods (and they are legion . . . ) are allowed in the house because I've learned that I can't eat them in moderation.

One of the things Dr. Andersen (Take Shape for Life's co-founder and medical director for both Take Shape for Life and Medifast) discusses in his books, "Dr. A's Habits of Health" and "Discover Your Optimal Health" is the importance of a healthy mind.  Six years since reaching goal, one thing has finally - FINALLY - hit home for me: the key to long-term success is having a healthy mind. We have wonderful tools - our Habits of Health materials, Medifast meal replacements, and our health coach. We have the tools we need, but the difference between success, both short-term and long-term, depends on what's going on in the space between our ears. A healthy mind is the holy grail of optimal health!

The choices I made that led to me reaching goal six years ago weren't always easy, but as I look back today, they sure were worth it!  The choices I continue to have to make aren't always easy, either, but staying healthy is absolutely worth it!  You're facing your own set of choices today - how I hope and pray that you will choose wisely :-)

Doing Right, Feeling Good

Successful people do what is right no matter how they feel, and by doing right they feel good – John C. Maxwell

I don't know about you, but so often I want to feel good FIRST and allow the good feeling to give me the oomph I need to do what I need to do.  Sometimes that works for me, but sometimes it doesn't.  If I'm in the mood to clean out a closet, I can get to work and turn chaos into order in a short period of time.  If I wake up with energy to spare, heading to the health club is easy.  If the scale gives me a number I'm happy with, making healthy choices is a natural.

Like I said, sometimes waiting for the feeling works for me and sometimes it doesn't.  Unfortunately, there are times the closet needs cleaning, or I need to exercise, or the scale is up a couple of pounds and I just don't feel like doing what I know I need to do.  It's not easy to always make the choices I need to make when I'm just not feeling it.  The problem is that when I don't do what I know I need to do, the inaction doesn't generate a good feeling - it produces guilt.  I pass by the closet and look at the mess and know I really SHOULD get at it . . . I decide not to head out the door to work out and then, when it's too late to go to the health club, wish I had . . .

Inaction doesn't produce positive feelings and can put us into a downward spiral where the longer we don't take action, the harder it is to get started.  I've seen this over and over again with people on this program.  They start our enthusiastic and strong, then for a variety of reasons find themselves off plan.  That's when the challenge comes, because many wait to get started again until they feel motivated - they wait for the good feeling so that they'll do what they need to do.  Sometimes the good feeling comes and they're ready to get started again, but sometimes it doesn't.  People who went off plan over the holidays are still struggling to get back on plan 100%  today, almost four months later.  They're frustrated and mad at themselves for what they think is their lack of willpower, and each day that passes only increases their frustration at themselves.

When we can take a giant step forward and do the right thing, whether we feel like it or not, an amazing thing happens.  The good feelings we've been waiting for finally show up!   They don't always show up right away (wouldn't it be great if they did?), but they do show up!

When I tackle a messy closet even when I don't feel like it, good feelings kick in.  As I continue working and organizing, a surge of energy usually comes and carries me to completion.  Whether or not the good feelings come during the project, they sure do show up when I'm finished and admiring the order I created!  I may not feel like working out, but when I push through the "don't feel like it" and do it anyway, I'm always - always - glad that I did.

And when we get back on plan and do what we need to do, whether we feel like it or not, the good feelings eventually show up, too :-).  There is a sense of relief that washes over us when we take control and do what we know we need to do, and the scale usually rewards us in short order, which brings more good feelings :-).

The good news is that by doing the right thing, we not only end up feeling better about ourselves, but that action brings the success we're hoping for.  It all begins with the choice to move forward, whether we feel like it or not.  Choose wisely :-)

Feeling Caged In?

Does this program feel a bit restrictive to you?  Do you sometimes feel like you've put yourself in a very small cage, with all of your favorite foods just outside your reach (even when you stretch and reach between the bars)?  When we've been on other plans that had us counting calories or carbs or points, most of us had more food options than we have while we're on 5&1.  I've encountered a couple of people who ended up leaving this plan and opting to go back to the "points" program because they wanted more options in their daily menu.

I read a story that made me think about our self-imposed Take Shape for Life "cage" and it gave me an entirely new perspective on this.  The story told about an individual who rescues chimpanzees.  These chimps were orphaned by those in the business of bush-meat trade and taken from the jungle; many of the chimps have lived their entire lives confined in a space smaller than a prison cell.  When the man who rescues them arrives to take them to the game reserve he calls "Chimp Eden," he finds that many of the chimps are hostile and untrusting, not understanding that he is trying to help them.  When he tried to put them into a smaller crate for the trip to their new home, the chimps put up quite a fight - they don't realize that the crate is temporary and that its purpose is to bring them to a much better place.

Hmmm . . . anybody see any application here?  :-)

When we start on 5&1, most of us are motivated because we've felt trapped in a body we don't want to be in.  We don't feel well, we don't like what the scale says, we don't like the size label on our clothes.  We're in a prison of obesity from which we're desperate to break free. 

It's almost ironic, isn't it, that the vehicle that will eventually bring us to a freedom that we can't even imagine can, temporarily, feel like a yet another cage.  Like the chimps that are being transported from their prison-like cell to "Chimp Eden", we may find ourselves fighting the very vehicle that is designed to bring us to a much better and happier place.

Take Shape for Life's 5&1 program is a tool - this is not the rest of your life!  It is carefully designed to bring you from where you are to where you want to be, and to get you there as quickly and safely as possible.  To do that, it takes all of the guesswork out and, to keep it as simple as possible, removes most of our food choices.  The problem is that sometimes we stop viewing this as a vehicle that's taking us to our goal and we begin to resent the restrictions.  If we don't take a deep breath and get back our perspective, our resentment and feelings of deprivation can ultimately be our undoing. 

If we're feeling frustrated and restricted by the limitations of 5&1, we may be vulnerable to the food temptations that come our way.  However, if we view 5&1 as a secure transport vehicle to get us to our goal, we will be in a much stronger position to stand firm and "just say no."

Cage or safe transport?  How you choose to view this program may well influence other choices you make today.  Choose wisely :-)

Just Too Busy Right Now!

I need some help today to understand something.  I've heard this over and over again and I'm just a bit confused.  Anybody want to help me out?

Here's what has me confused:  I've heard from several people lately who were on plan and doing well at one point, but now say that they're too busy to stay on plan right now and will get back to 5&1 "when things settle down."  

Maybe it's because I found this to be the easiest plan I ever did, but I'm frankly at a loss to understand how it's possible to be too busy to grab a packet (or, more simply, a crunch bar or a bag of pretzels or cheese bites).  I am assuming that regardless of how busy we are, at some point in our day we do eventually put something in our mouths, right?  Even though I'm in maintenance, if I have a crazy-busy day, I'll eat Medifast meals throughout the day.  I may be too busy to fix something else, but I have bars, pretzels or cheese bites with me wherever I am, and I always have water.

Here's what I *think* might really be going on, based on my own past experience with food.  When I'd get really busy and that busyness resulted in lots of extra stress, it wasn't so much that I didn't have time to eat healthy as it was that I didn't want to.  I rationalized that being extra busy and stressed meant I "deserved" to take a break and treat myself - I deserved to eat what I wanted and reward myself because I was working so hard.

I'm not meaning to be at all harsh or difficult here, and I hope that those of you who've read my blogs for a while have gotten a glimpse of my heart and know how much I care about people and how much I want everyone to get to a healthy weight.  I struggled with morbid obesity for so many years and I know how hard it is to change entrenched habits.   Past attempts at losing weight were always subject to the whims of weather, mood, how busy I was, etc. etc.  The reality is that it didn't take much for me to decide that "today isn't a good diet day" - I cut myself slack all the time.   The problem was that life continued to be busy, living in Michigan meant that the weather was often not to my liking, and, thanks to hormones, some days my mood varied moment to moment.  It all added up to lots of days that weren't "good diet days."

Funny thing happened, however.  One day I was ready - really ready - to make a change in my life.  I made the fundamental decision to get to a healthy weight.  Once I did that, my life didn't slow down, the weather in Michigan didn't improve, and my hormones . . . don't even go there!  Only this time none of this mattered when it came to whether or not I was going to stay on plan.  That certainly doesn't mean it was easy, because sometimes it was incredibly hard and sometimes the last thing I wanted to do in the morning was face a day filled with 5 Medifast meals and a "boring lean and green."  But even being tired of the program didn't alter the fact that I'd made a fundamental choice to get healthy.  As a result, as each challenge came (and trust me, they came), I figured out what I needed to do to stay on plan.

In the end, whether or not we choose to stay on plan probably depends less on how busy our schedule is and more on whether or not we've made the decision to just do it.  The choice is yours . . . choose wisely :-)