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 :-)