Happy 9 Year Anniversary - to Me!

Today is an anniversary for me as it was 9 years ago today (9 years!!!) that I began a program that I was CERTAIN would fail, like every other program had failed, but a program that ended up changing my life in every conceivable way. 

I just went back and re-read the very first blog I'd ever written in my entire life, written on my first day on plan. I thought I'd share it with you, because it reveals where I was 9 years ago - hopeful and desperate. I couldn't have imagined all that would happen from that day forward to today, and re-reading it made me incredibly thankful all over again that God led me to this program. I tell people all the time that God led me to just the right program at just the right time, and I really believe it!

Here's the very first blog I ever wrote, on my very first day of my journey to a healthier me:

"Today is the first day of the rest of my new, healthy life. My first shipment came a few days ago, but I waited until today to start because I was out of town (in Chicago) Friday thru last night to celebrate my brother's 50th birthday. Now that the celebration is over, I am more than ready to start.
My first meal was the Dutch chocolate shake. I mixed it up last night (used my Magic Bullet for the first time), refrigerated it overnight and re-blended it this morning with 3 ice cubes. The shake was pretty good and, at least temporarily, filled me up. I'm anxious to try the other foods and figure out what I do and don't like so that my next shipment will be tailored to my taste.
I've been on so many weight loss programs over the past 20 years, which is how long I've been struggling with a major weight problem. Weight Watchers, Atkins, Fit for Life, Herbalife, Weigh Down, Slimfast, South Beach -- all worked for a while, but the weight has always come back, plus some. Last year I lost almost 40 pounds on South Beach and really, REALLY thought I had finally "gotten it." I was thrilled to buy clothes two sizes smaller last summer and, convinced that I'd never see "that" weight again, I gave away all of my larger sizes. It was devastating to have to go out this spring and purchase clothes in that larger size again, and I reached a turning point.
When I found myself trolling the internet for information on gastric bypass surgery (which my insurance doesn't cover), I realized that I had reached the point of desperation . . . then I was introduced to Take Shape for Life through our parent company, Medifast. I remember hearing about Medifast years ago, when it was strictly a liquid diet and available only through a physician. For those reasons, I never seriously considered it. This time, however, the testimonials and the fact that the program includes a variety of food options caught my attention. With the full support of my husband, I placed my order.
And today it begins. I am hopeful, and I am refusing to listen to the voices in my head that tell me I will fail at this like I've failed at everything else.
God is my refuge and my strength, and I want to honor Him with the way I care for this temple He has given me."

I certainly never imagined that I could lose 120 pounds, let alone do it in just 11 months*. I certainly never imagined that my decision to get healthy would have a ripple effect that would impact hundreds, let alone thousands, of other lives. I couldn't have imagined that my decision to get healthy would result in first me and then John leaving long-time careers to work full-time as health coaches, giving us both the financial freedom and time freedom to organize our lives around what matters most to us, and that we would be able to help others do the same thing. To God be the glory for all He has done, and for all He continues to do in and through us!

* Average weight loss for Clients on the Optimal Weight 5&1 Plan™ with support is 20 pounds. Clients are in weight loss, on average, for 12 weeks.

It's Saturday, but Sunday Is Coming!

On this day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, I can’t help but wonder what Jesus’ disciples were feeling that Saturday morning. Their beloved leader and teacher was dead and buried, and all of their hopes and dreams died with him. They had left their fishing nets, their families – everything – to follow Him, and now He was dead. I don’t think words can even begin to describe the depths of their despair and sense of hopelessness. They didn’t know that Sunday was coming, and that with the sunrise their entire lives, and the world, would change forever. Their reality on that Saturday was one of no future, and they may have wondered if they would be the next ones nailed to a cross.

But Sunday DID come, and they heard the words they never expected: “He is not here, He is risen as He said!” What a difference 24 hours made in their lives! Jesus was alive – and is alive forevermore!

We all have Saturdays – days when it feels like there is no hope and we can’t envision a brighter tomorrow. We can find ourselves trapped in circumstances and it feels like there’s no way out and we lose hope. We may be discouraged by the economy, family situations, health issues, or even a frustratingly slow scale.

Hang in there! It may be Saturday, but Sunday IS coming!

Fat Tuesday

Today is Fat Tuesday.  For those Christians who follow the Lenten season, this is the day when all of the fat and sugar would be eaten to get it out of the house in preparation for Ash Wednesday and the 40 days of Lent leading up to Easter.

While observing Fat Tuesday and the 40 days of Lent is not part of my own Christian tradition or practice, I do identify with the "Fat Tuesday" thinking of eating it up and "making it go away," because that was one of my "strategies" for years.  

When we'd have sweets in the house (which was too often in those days), my focus was often just eating them up and getting them out of the house.  My ability to eat them in moderation was nil, so I wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible.  There was never any thought of just throwing the rest away, because that would be "wasting food."

What I realize now was that I was really the human garbage can. I didn't want to waste the food by throwing it away, so I ate it, whether I was hungry or not, whether I even wanted it or not.  All those starving children in India or Africa or wherever . . . how could I waste food by putting it in the trash?

Does anybody identify with this, or am I alone in this type of thinking?

Part of my weight loss journey was learning to look at food as fuel, not an object of comfort, AND learning that it was OK to throw something away.  My throwing the food away didn't impact those starving children at all (please note: my heart breaks when I see pictures of those children, so I am not making light of them).  

I learned to respect myself enough to NOT be a human garbage can anymore.  That's not an easy thing, because I grew up in a family where wasting anything, including food, was absolutely NOT done.  Those childhood tapes still run in my head, so learning to make healthier choices required - and still requires - a conscious decision to make better decisions.

When I was working outside the home, I could almost count on a co-worker or two picking up some Fat Tuesday pastries from the store and bringing them in as a treat.  I'm guessing that some of you may be facing the same temptation today.

Hang in there!  Don't lose sight of what you really want!  You've been doing great, so today is a day to recommit to staying on plan TODAY.  Today can be your THIN Tuesday, not your Fat Tuesday :-).  Like every day, the choice is yours . . . choose wisely :-)