Happy Memorial Day! Since this is a holiday, I'm going to make this short :-). I'm thankful to all of the brave men and women who have given our lives to protect our country and preserve our freedom, and also grateful for all those who are serving our country today. May we never forget, and may we never take for granted how precious our freedom is and the price that has been paid.
Have a great, on-plan day! Choose wisely :-)
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
What a Difference!
I'm writing this morning while sitting in my sun room, the place I've spent most of my waking hours for almost two weeks. Since breaking a bone in my leg 12 days ago, I've been pretty much housebound, parked in one spot with my leg up. I have a tendency to be a bit of a control freak (perhaps I'm becoming a "recovering control freak"), so this experience requires ongoing attitude adjustment since I realize there's not a thing I can do to change the situation.
In my pre-Take Shape for Life/Medifast life, when out-of-control events happened in my life, my first instinct was to resort to eating. As I type this, I realize how ironic that was, because I couldn't control my eating, either! However, food was the way I dealt with the frustration. My weight first began to go up 25 years ago when we were given four weeks notice that my husband was being transferred to another store (he was a retail jewelry store manager for a large chain) in another city. We had put down some pretty deep roots in the town where we lived and the transfer was not something we wanted, but it was either move or find a new job. We moved - and I ate. On the heels of that move, my knee (same one that's injured now) became painful to the point that I had to stop exercising and taking stairs in our house became difficult. I needed surgery, but didn't want a second surgery on that knee (the first surgery was 4 years earlier and I had a difficult recovery). I put off surgery for almost a year, waiting for my knee to improve, which it didn't. It was a time of tremendous frustration, so I ate. Since I had become very sedentary, it didn't take very long for me to pile on 30 extra pounds. I finally agreed to surgery with the intent that once I finished rehab I'd get back to exercising and "work off" the extra weight. Instead, while in rehab I discovered I was expecting our son. Pregnancy piled on another 70 pounds, and from that point on the weight just kept coming as I kept eating to deal with any and all of life's events (and there were many).
I've shared before how my Take Shape for Life/Medifast journey began a healing process that has forever changed how I related to food. What I've realized over the past few days is how true that is. My current situation is exactly the kind of thing that would have had me diving face-first into sugary carbs (my drug of choice) three years ago. What's different now is that I don't even want to - honest! It's not a matter of me fighting the urge to stuff food - the urge isn't even there. I can't describe how amazing that is - God has truly healed that place in my heart!
Instead of carb-loading right now, I'm actually temporarily back on 5&1. Because I usually wear a BodyBugg that tracks how many calories I burn each day, I know that on a given day, if I don't exercise, I burn between 1,500-1,700 calories a day. As a result, I try to keep my caloric intake for the day between 1,500 and 1,600. Right now I know I'm burning less calories, so I'm compensating by taking in fewer calories. Since it's hard to be on my feet, preparing food is a challenge, so voila! Medifast to the rescue :-). I'm able to keep to my 6 small meals a day (which is how I always eat) and don't have to worry about having to prepare anything. Once I'm back on my feet, I know I won't have extra pounds to deal with as a result of being so sedentary.
Those choices I began to make almost three years ago when I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast are still making a difference in my life today. The choices you make today can and will make a difference for you one, two, or three years from now. Choose wisely :-)
In my pre-Take Shape for Life/Medifast life, when out-of-control events happened in my life, my first instinct was to resort to eating. As I type this, I realize how ironic that was, because I couldn't control my eating, either! However, food was the way I dealt with the frustration. My weight first began to go up 25 years ago when we were given four weeks notice that my husband was being transferred to another store (he was a retail jewelry store manager for a large chain) in another city. We had put down some pretty deep roots in the town where we lived and the transfer was not something we wanted, but it was either move or find a new job. We moved - and I ate. On the heels of that move, my knee (same one that's injured now) became painful to the point that I had to stop exercising and taking stairs in our house became difficult. I needed surgery, but didn't want a second surgery on that knee (the first surgery was 4 years earlier and I had a difficult recovery). I put off surgery for almost a year, waiting for my knee to improve, which it didn't. It was a time of tremendous frustration, so I ate. Since I had become very sedentary, it didn't take very long for me to pile on 30 extra pounds. I finally agreed to surgery with the intent that once I finished rehab I'd get back to exercising and "work off" the extra weight. Instead, while in rehab I discovered I was expecting our son. Pregnancy piled on another 70 pounds, and from that point on the weight just kept coming as I kept eating to deal with any and all of life's events (and there were many).
I've shared before how my Take Shape for Life/Medifast journey began a healing process that has forever changed how I related to food. What I've realized over the past few days is how true that is. My current situation is exactly the kind of thing that would have had me diving face-first into sugary carbs (my drug of choice) three years ago. What's different now is that I don't even want to - honest! It's not a matter of me fighting the urge to stuff food - the urge isn't even there. I can't describe how amazing that is - God has truly healed that place in my heart!
Instead of carb-loading right now, I'm actually temporarily back on 5&1. Because I usually wear a BodyBugg that tracks how many calories I burn each day, I know that on a given day, if I don't exercise, I burn between 1,500-1,700 calories a day. As a result, I try to keep my caloric intake for the day between 1,500 and 1,600. Right now I know I'm burning less calories, so I'm compensating by taking in fewer calories. Since it's hard to be on my feet, preparing food is a challenge, so voila! Medifast to the rescue :-). I'm able to keep to my 6 small meals a day (which is how I always eat) and don't have to worry about having to prepare anything. Once I'm back on my feet, I know I won't have extra pounds to deal with as a result of being so sedentary.
Those choices I began to make almost three years ago when I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast are still making a difference in my life today. The choices you make today can and will make a difference for you one, two, or three years from now. Choose wisely :-)
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Holiday Weekend - Survive and Thrive
It is just me, or is anyone else in denial that this is Memorial Day weekend, the official kick-off of the summer? It seems like it was only a short time ago that we were ringing in the New Year and making all of those New Year’s resolutions. Remember those? How many of you made solemn resolutions on January 2 that, with the holidays finally behind you, you were going to finally get focused and get to your weight loss goal. How many of you vowed that you were going to be at your goal by the time shorts and swimsuit weather rolled around again? How have those resolutions worked out?
I know that a number of you made that resolution and stuck to it, and you’ve reached your goal (congratulations!!). Without exception, when someone reaches their goal they readily admit two things: 1) it wasn’t always easy and 2) it was worth it! No one has yet reached goal and decided that giving up some of their favorite food for a short period of time wasn’t worth the thrill of seeing their goal weight on the bathroom scale. Even more than the thrill of seeing that number on the scale, a number of you have seen real improvement in your health – with medical conditions improved or completely resolved and prescription medications reduced or eliminated.
Others of you aren’t at goal yet, but you’re continuing to make great progress. Some of you have had the joy of finding yourselves as much as 100 pounds lighter in a matter of months. You know that the sacrifice and the struggle is worth it and that as long as you keep focused on where you want to go, you will soon be at your goal weight.
If you aren't in one of the two categories listed above - either at your goal or making good progress toward your goal, would you like to be? You can be, and that reality can begin today, even on a holiday weekend!
Regardless of where we are on our journey, this holiday weekend will find many of us attending BBQs, picnics and parties with family members and friends. Most likely, most of the food at these events won’t be even remotely on plan, so what’s a person to do? Here’s my suggestion: plan ahead, ask questions, and don’t be afraid to do what you need to do to stay on plan. If you’re going to a cookout, find out what will be on the grill. If it’s hot dogs and brats, ask your host/hostess if it’s OK if you bring along a chicken breast to throw on the grill (I'm almost 100% certain they won’t mind!). Offer to bring a large garden salad or a vegetable tray. If the protein option is burgers on the grill, you can have 5 oz. of beef, but skip the bun and watch the condiments as they will add unwanted calories and carbs. If you’ll have trouble resisting the chips and dip, bring a bag of soy crisps or a bag of Medifast pretzels or cheese puffs. While everyone is having dessert, make sure you have a crunch bar with you. NOTE: you may have to adjust the timing of your 5 Medifast meals, so take the time to plan your day accordingly.
One of the things I learned while on 5&1 is that nobody really cared what I was eating. As long as I was OK with it, so were they. I attended a lot of food-focused events and either ate what I could or brought along something I COULD eat and it was never an issue. Nobody cares if you eat chicken while they eat a brat, and even if they DO care (which they don’t!), this is your program and your health.
Don’t let a holiday weekend get in the way of getting what you really want! Focus on what you want, then choose wisely :-)
I know that a number of you made that resolution and stuck to it, and you’ve reached your goal (congratulations!!). Without exception, when someone reaches their goal they readily admit two things: 1) it wasn’t always easy and 2) it was worth it! No one has yet reached goal and decided that giving up some of their favorite food for a short period of time wasn’t worth the thrill of seeing their goal weight on the bathroom scale. Even more than the thrill of seeing that number on the scale, a number of you have seen real improvement in your health – with medical conditions improved or completely resolved and prescription medications reduced or eliminated.
Others of you aren’t at goal yet, but you’re continuing to make great progress. Some of you have had the joy of finding yourselves as much as 100 pounds lighter in a matter of months. You know that the sacrifice and the struggle is worth it and that as long as you keep focused on where you want to go, you will soon be at your goal weight.
If you aren't in one of the two categories listed above - either at your goal or making good progress toward your goal, would you like to be? You can be, and that reality can begin today, even on a holiday weekend!
Regardless of where we are on our journey, this holiday weekend will find many of us attending BBQs, picnics and parties with family members and friends. Most likely, most of the food at these events won’t be even remotely on plan, so what’s a person to do? Here’s my suggestion: plan ahead, ask questions, and don’t be afraid to do what you need to do to stay on plan. If you’re going to a cookout, find out what will be on the grill. If it’s hot dogs and brats, ask your host/hostess if it’s OK if you bring along a chicken breast to throw on the grill (I'm almost 100% certain they won’t mind!). Offer to bring a large garden salad or a vegetable tray. If the protein option is burgers on the grill, you can have 5 oz. of beef, but skip the bun and watch the condiments as they will add unwanted calories and carbs. If you’ll have trouble resisting the chips and dip, bring a bag of soy crisps or a bag of Medifast pretzels or cheese puffs. While everyone is having dessert, make sure you have a crunch bar with you. NOTE: you may have to adjust the timing of your 5 Medifast meals, so take the time to plan your day accordingly.
One of the things I learned while on 5&1 is that nobody really cared what I was eating. As long as I was OK with it, so were they. I attended a lot of food-focused events and either ate what I could or brought along something I COULD eat and it was never an issue. Nobody cares if you eat chicken while they eat a brat, and even if they DO care (which they don’t!), this is your program and your health.
Don’t let a holiday weekend get in the way of getting what you really want! Focus on what you want, then choose wisely :-)
Friday, May 28, 2010
Tomorrow
A week or so ago, I talked a little about about our experience of eating at a buffet on our way home from a weekend conference in Chicago. I want to share another story from that buffet stop.
Seated at the table just behind us were a couple of men, both quite overweight. During a lull in the conversation with my husband, I overheard one of the men, who had just refilled his plate, comment, "This is it. I'm going to start eating better tomorrow." He laughed as he continued, "Oh, wait . . . that's what I said yesterday."
I smiled when I heard that, because that sounded like something I would have said three years ago. I had good intentions, really I did. I certainly understood that I was significantly overweight, although I avoided thinking of myself as being morbidly obese (but with a BMI of 44.6, that's exactly what I was!). I also was aware of the health risks associated with my obesity and recognized that my own diabetes was probably a result (since my mom and sister are both diabetic, I also wondered if I'd be diabetic regardless of how much I weighed). In those days, I was always a day away from finally starting on the diet to end all diets - the one that would finally help me lose weight. I say I was always a day away because the diet was always going to start "tomorrow." My "tomorrows" usually were a Monday, as that seemed like a good day to start a diet. I'd reason that I would enjoy "one more weekend" and then really buckle down and just do it. The problem was that Mondays at work were usually very busy and often stressful, and if things were busy and stressful, well, that wasn't a good day to deprive myself of my favorite food. Never mind that I'd just had another "last supper", eating all of my favorite foods "one last time" in preparation for my new diet . . . it would just have to wait until "tomorrow."
The fact that the man at the table behind me joked about eating better "tomorrow" told me that, on some level, he recognized the need to do just that, and his size certainly shouted that he needed to do something for his health. He was just going to wait until "tomorrow."
Tomorrows have a sneaky way of always being just one day away, and those days turn into weeks, which turn into months. There really is no better day than today to make the choices we need to make to put us on (or keep us on) a path that will lead to a healthier tomorrow. I know this is the start of a holiday weekend and I understand that some of you may be thinking that your "tomorrow" is next Tuesday, after you get through a weekend of holiday activities. I would encourage you to not put off until tomorrow the healthy choices you can make today. With a little planning, it IS possible to have a great holiday weekend and still stay on plan. The choice is yours . . . choose wisely :-)
Seated at the table just behind us were a couple of men, both quite overweight. During a lull in the conversation with my husband, I overheard one of the men, who had just refilled his plate, comment, "This is it. I'm going to start eating better tomorrow." He laughed as he continued, "Oh, wait . . . that's what I said yesterday."
I smiled when I heard that, because that sounded like something I would have said three years ago. I had good intentions, really I did. I certainly understood that I was significantly overweight, although I avoided thinking of myself as being morbidly obese (but with a BMI of 44.6, that's exactly what I was!). I also was aware of the health risks associated with my obesity and recognized that my own diabetes was probably a result (since my mom and sister are both diabetic, I also wondered if I'd be diabetic regardless of how much I weighed). In those days, I was always a day away from finally starting on the diet to end all diets - the one that would finally help me lose weight. I say I was always a day away because the diet was always going to start "tomorrow." My "tomorrows" usually were a Monday, as that seemed like a good day to start a diet. I'd reason that I would enjoy "one more weekend" and then really buckle down and just do it. The problem was that Mondays at work were usually very busy and often stressful, and if things were busy and stressful, well, that wasn't a good day to deprive myself of my favorite food. Never mind that I'd just had another "last supper", eating all of my favorite foods "one last time" in preparation for my new diet . . . it would just have to wait until "tomorrow."
The fact that the man at the table behind me joked about eating better "tomorrow" told me that, on some level, he recognized the need to do just that, and his size certainly shouted that he needed to do something for his health. He was just going to wait until "tomorrow."
Tomorrows have a sneaky way of always being just one day away, and those days turn into weeks, which turn into months. There really is no better day than today to make the choices we need to make to put us on (or keep us on) a path that will lead to a healthier tomorrow. I know this is the start of a holiday weekend and I understand that some of you may be thinking that your "tomorrow" is next Tuesday, after you get through a weekend of holiday activities. I would encourage you to not put off until tomorrow the healthy choices you can make today. With a little planning, it IS possible to have a great holiday weekend and still stay on plan. The choice is yours . . . choose wisely :-)
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Patience
Some people seem to be born with a patient disposition. I am not one of those people. Patience is one of those virtues that still needs some work in my life, and unfortunately it only comes as I have opportunity to practice it. Like now.
The first few days after I injured my leg last week, I had a pretty good attitude about the whole thing. Even in the emergency room, I was thankful that I was there for a workout-related injury instead of an obesity-related health crisis. I was thankful that it was a fracture and not torn ligaments. I was thankful that I didn't need surgery or a cast - just an immobilizer.
The thankful attitude has been harder to come by the past couple of days because, frankly, I'm ready to be done with this. I'm tired of sitting with my leg up, I'm tired of not being able to drive, I'm tired of it hurting, I'm tired of wearing the immobilizer, which is hot and heavy and sometimes uncomfortable. Blah blah blah . . . the whining could go on and on.
I realized this morning that the reason I'm feeling more whiney is because I want this to be over. The doctor told me it would be 4-6 weeks, so my expectation that somehow things would be all better now are quite unrealistic. My unrealistic expectations are fueling my discontent and frustration . . . time to adjust my expectations and take a deep breath, I guess!
My guess is that unrealistic expectations and a lack of patience have tripped up more than a few of us at one point or another in our lives, and they may be threatening to trip us up on our weight loss journey. Even though we know we didn't gain the weight overnight, and even though we've seen good progress so far, we may reach the point where we just want to be done, and we want to be done NOW. All of the excitement we had when we started the program has dissipated and we may feel really bogged down in the sameness of it all. Instead of taking a look back to see (and celebrate) how far we've come, we look ahead and it feels like it will be an eternity before we're at goal.
We get frustrated because we've only lost one or two pounds in the past week and we think we should be losing four or five. We compare ourselves to others who seem to be making faster progress and that comparison fuels our own impatience with the process. We're just ready to be done so we can get on with the rest of our lives.
So what do we do? One thing I realize this morning is that wishing things to be different doesn't make them so, but that attitude will make me miserable (and miserable to be around) in the process. I have to choose to either embrace this time and learn from it, or not. I can either choose to be patient and look for things to be thankful for, or not.
In a few weeks, I know that things WILL be back to normal for me. I also know that in a few weeks, or a few months, you'll be at your goal. Our challenge is to choose our attitude for the time between now and then. No matter what is going on in our lives today, there are things to be thankful for - we just have to look for them! Choosing our attitude will determine whether we experience joy on our journey or not. The choice is ours . . . let's choose wisely :-)
The first few days after I injured my leg last week, I had a pretty good attitude about the whole thing. Even in the emergency room, I was thankful that I was there for a workout-related injury instead of an obesity-related health crisis. I was thankful that it was a fracture and not torn ligaments. I was thankful that I didn't need surgery or a cast - just an immobilizer.
The thankful attitude has been harder to come by the past couple of days because, frankly, I'm ready to be done with this. I'm tired of sitting with my leg up, I'm tired of not being able to drive, I'm tired of it hurting, I'm tired of wearing the immobilizer, which is hot and heavy and sometimes uncomfortable. Blah blah blah . . . the whining could go on and on.
I realized this morning that the reason I'm feeling more whiney is because I want this to be over. The doctor told me it would be 4-6 weeks, so my expectation that somehow things would be all better now are quite unrealistic. My unrealistic expectations are fueling my discontent and frustration . . . time to adjust my expectations and take a deep breath, I guess!
My guess is that unrealistic expectations and a lack of patience have tripped up more than a few of us at one point or another in our lives, and they may be threatening to trip us up on our weight loss journey. Even though we know we didn't gain the weight overnight, and even though we've seen good progress so far, we may reach the point where we just want to be done, and we want to be done NOW. All of the excitement we had when we started the program has dissipated and we may feel really bogged down in the sameness of it all. Instead of taking a look back to see (and celebrate) how far we've come, we look ahead and it feels like it will be an eternity before we're at goal.
We get frustrated because we've only lost one or two pounds in the past week and we think we should be losing four or five. We compare ourselves to others who seem to be making faster progress and that comparison fuels our own impatience with the process. We're just ready to be done so we can get on with the rest of our lives.
So what do we do? One thing I realize this morning is that wishing things to be different doesn't make them so, but that attitude will make me miserable (and miserable to be around) in the process. I have to choose to either embrace this time and learn from it, or not. I can either choose to be patient and look for things to be thankful for, or not.
In a few weeks, I know that things WILL be back to normal for me. I also know that in a few weeks, or a few months, you'll be at your goal. Our challenge is to choose our attitude for the time between now and then. No matter what is going on in our lives today, there are things to be thankful for - we just have to look for them! Choosing our attitude will determine whether we experience joy on our journey or not. The choice is ours . . . let's choose wisely :-)
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Breaking Free
Happy Wednesday! We're halfway through another work week and coming up on a holiday weekend, so there are lots of reasons to be thankful today :-).
Right now I'm working my way through Beth Moore's newest Bible study, "Breaking Free." I really enjoy her studies and this one is no exception - lots of good stuff! In the video I watched yesterday, Beth made the statement that "To the the degree that I'm in captivity, I'm believing lies. To the degree that I'm walking in liberty, I am believing the truth."
That statement caused me to reflect on my journey from 260 pounds to goal, a time when I was finally able to walk away from over two decades of emotional eating. For years, I was caught in what was truly captivity, unable to break free from a miserable cycle of emotional eating and yo-yo dieting. I believed for a long time that I couldn't get out of it, that this was my "lot in life", and that led to feeling pretty hopeless. There were times when I was in the midst of binge eating and realized how sad and destructive it was, but dismissed it as "well, I have an eating disorder," dismissing my actions because I believed I couldn't help it. I tried over and over again to lose weight and my repeated failures led me to believe that I couldn't lose weight. I was over 50 and believed that women my age couldn't lose weight. I believed a lot of things that weren't true and, as a result, those lies kept me captive.
As I've shared before, I didn't believe that Take Shape for Life/Medifast would work, but decided it was worth giving it a try. The first untruth that was exposed was my belief that I couldn't lose weight, that women my age couldn't lose weight. I saw 9 pounds come off the first week and my long-held belief about my ability to lose weight began to crack in light of the truth. Because of the cost of the program, I made a commitment to stay on plan for one month (I couldn't justify the cost unless I was actually doing the program). When the stuff of life bubbled up that would have plunged me into an emotional eating binge, I found that, with God's help, I WAS able to stay on plan and deal with the emotions instead of stuffing them. As that happened time and time again, I realized that although I was certainly an emotional eater, I had the ability to walk away from it - I was not a helpless victim. I finally began to embrace the truth that I was only held captive as long as I chose to be held captive.
I've shared this story before, but since it fits so well here, I'm going to share it again:
The lies we believe are the puny stakes in the ground that hold us captive. We have the ability to walk away the minute we choose to believe the truth, and the truth is that we CAN walk away. It's not easy, but it's possible. The choice is ours today . . . choose wisely :-)
Right now I'm working my way through Beth Moore's newest Bible study, "Breaking Free." I really enjoy her studies and this one is no exception - lots of good stuff! In the video I watched yesterday, Beth made the statement that "To the the degree that I'm in captivity, I'm believing lies. To the degree that I'm walking in liberty, I am believing the truth."
That statement caused me to reflect on my journey from 260 pounds to goal, a time when I was finally able to walk away from over two decades of emotional eating. For years, I was caught in what was truly captivity, unable to break free from a miserable cycle of emotional eating and yo-yo dieting. I believed for a long time that I couldn't get out of it, that this was my "lot in life", and that led to feeling pretty hopeless. There were times when I was in the midst of binge eating and realized how sad and destructive it was, but dismissed it as "well, I have an eating disorder," dismissing my actions because I believed I couldn't help it. I tried over and over again to lose weight and my repeated failures led me to believe that I couldn't lose weight. I was over 50 and believed that women my age couldn't lose weight. I believed a lot of things that weren't true and, as a result, those lies kept me captive.
As I've shared before, I didn't believe that Take Shape for Life/Medifast would work, but decided it was worth giving it a try. The first untruth that was exposed was my belief that I couldn't lose weight, that women my age couldn't lose weight. I saw 9 pounds come off the first week and my long-held belief about my ability to lose weight began to crack in light of the truth. Because of the cost of the program, I made a commitment to stay on plan for one month (I couldn't justify the cost unless I was actually doing the program). When the stuff of life bubbled up that would have plunged me into an emotional eating binge, I found that, with God's help, I WAS able to stay on plan and deal with the emotions instead of stuffing them. As that happened time and time again, I realized that although I was certainly an emotional eater, I had the ability to walk away from it - I was not a helpless victim. I finally began to embrace the truth that I was only held captive as long as I chose to be held captive.
I've shared this story before, but since it fits so well here, I'm going to share it again:
Have you ever seen an elephant at the circus? I don't know if they still do this, but years ago circus elephants could be seen standing next to a small wooden stake in the ground with a chain around one ankle. In the story I read, the writer became rather curious as to how one small wooden stake could hold a large elephant captive, so he did some investigating. As it turns out, the trainer begins using the chain and stake when the elephant is just a baby. The baby elephant is unable to pull free and, over time, gradually accepts the chain and the restriction it provides. What the elephant never realizes is that as it grows stronger, it could easily pull the stake out of the ground and be free. You see, the elephant adapts itself so completely to the chain that it loses sight of the fact that it could free itself in a moment, if it only realized that the chain no longer had any power over it.
The lies we believe are the puny stakes in the ground that hold us captive. We have the ability to walk away the minute we choose to believe the truth, and the truth is that we CAN walk away. It's not easy, but it's possible. The choice is ours today . . . choose wisely :-)
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Choosing to Not Settle
I've been reminded again of how often we can become so accustomed to the way things are that we're willing to settle for what we've got. What got me thinking about this is my injured knee.
My knee has been a bad knee since my mid-20's, when I was young and thin. I've had two surgeries on it, one at age 30 and a second when I was almost 34, and it's never been great. Over the years things have gradually deteriorated and I've adjusted my activity in response.
When I injured my knee last week on the treadmill, they did both an x-ray and an MRI in the emergency room and those results were sent to the orthopedic physician I've seen for several years. He showed me the injury, but also pointed out all of the arthritis, bone spurs, meniscus tear and an area that's bone on bone. Like I said, it's a bad knee :-). As he reviewed the x-ray and MRI with me, I asked him how far out I was from a total knee replacement. His response was that it was my life and my body and at whatever point the pain and/or restricted activity was unacceptable, he would replace the knee.
My first response was that the pain wasn't that bad most of the time. Of course I take a prescription-strength dose of ibuprofen every day, but once I do that, the pain really isn't that bad. And I can do almost everything I want to do, except I can't run, can't ride a bike, can't rollerblade, can't sit cross-legged (due to limited range of motion).
As I started reviewing the things I could no longer do because of my knee, it dawned on me that my activity really has become pretty restricted. I hadn't realized it because it happened over time, but slowly but surely I've modified my life and my activity level and accepted these modifications as normal.
This reminds me of the story of the frog in the pot of water. If you put a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will jump right out, but if you put it in a pot of cold water and gradually heat it, the frog will cook and not even realize it because its body will continue to adjust to the changing temperature until it's too late.
For many of us, our weight came on gradually and we adjusted as we went along, accepting this as the new normal. We stopped doing some of the things we used to do and made all kinds of mental excuses, perhaps even telling ourselves that we didn't want to do those things anymore anyway. We eventually settled into life as an overweight or, in my case, morbidly obese person.
For others, perhaps you've been overweight your entire life and assume that this is just how it is and it's hard to imagine living a life different than what it is.
It's exciting to see how much this program changes us! As we begin to lose weight, normal begins to be defined in an entirely new - and wonderful - way. Things we thought impossible become possible. Individuals who avoid flying because they could barely fit into an airline seat are now free to travel; people who had trouble walking to the end of their driveway are participating in 5K races; women who only shopped for their clothes online because they needed such large sizes are now going on shopping weekends with friends - the list goes on and on.
Those changes happen as we make the choice to redefine normal in our lives. We can't do that until we take an honest look at our current reality and determine that it's not acceptable. That's the first step. The second step is to allow ourselves to dream and believe that our normal really CAN be redefined in a new and wonderful way. Once we get a vision of how different a new normal can be, all we have to do is make the choices we need to make to bridge the gap from our current reality to what we want.
Those choices include the choices we'll make today. Choose wisely :-)
My knee has been a bad knee since my mid-20's, when I was young and thin. I've had two surgeries on it, one at age 30 and a second when I was almost 34, and it's never been great. Over the years things have gradually deteriorated and I've adjusted my activity in response.
When I injured my knee last week on the treadmill, they did both an x-ray and an MRI in the emergency room and those results were sent to the orthopedic physician I've seen for several years. He showed me the injury, but also pointed out all of the arthritis, bone spurs, meniscus tear and an area that's bone on bone. Like I said, it's a bad knee :-). As he reviewed the x-ray and MRI with me, I asked him how far out I was from a total knee replacement. His response was that it was my life and my body and at whatever point the pain and/or restricted activity was unacceptable, he would replace the knee.
My first response was that the pain wasn't that bad most of the time. Of course I take a prescription-strength dose of ibuprofen every day, but once I do that, the pain really isn't that bad. And I can do almost everything I want to do, except I can't run, can't ride a bike, can't rollerblade, can't sit cross-legged (due to limited range of motion).
As I started reviewing the things I could no longer do because of my knee, it dawned on me that my activity really has become pretty restricted. I hadn't realized it because it happened over time, but slowly but surely I've modified my life and my activity level and accepted these modifications as normal.
This reminds me of the story of the frog in the pot of water. If you put a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will jump right out, but if you put it in a pot of cold water and gradually heat it, the frog will cook and not even realize it because its body will continue to adjust to the changing temperature until it's too late.
For many of us, our weight came on gradually and we adjusted as we went along, accepting this as the new normal. We stopped doing some of the things we used to do and made all kinds of mental excuses, perhaps even telling ourselves that we didn't want to do those things anymore anyway. We eventually settled into life as an overweight or, in my case, morbidly obese person.
For others, perhaps you've been overweight your entire life and assume that this is just how it is and it's hard to imagine living a life different than what it is.
It's exciting to see how much this program changes us! As we begin to lose weight, normal begins to be defined in an entirely new - and wonderful - way. Things we thought impossible become possible. Individuals who avoid flying because they could barely fit into an airline seat are now free to travel; people who had trouble walking to the end of their driveway are participating in 5K races; women who only shopped for their clothes online because they needed such large sizes are now going on shopping weekends with friends - the list goes on and on.
Those changes happen as we make the choice to redefine normal in our lives. We can't do that until we take an honest look at our current reality and determine that it's not acceptable. That's the first step. The second step is to allow ourselves to dream and believe that our normal really CAN be redefined in a new and wonderful way. Once we get a vision of how different a new normal can be, all we have to do is make the choices we need to make to bridge the gap from our current reality to what we want.
Those choices include the choices we'll make today. Choose wisely :-)
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