Choosing Optimal Health

If you could choose optimal health in your life, would you want it?  That seems like such an obvious question at first glance, doesn't it?  I mean, who wouldn't want optimal health?  Given the choice, who wouldn't want to be healthy - or even more than healthy, optimally healthy?

The reality is that we CAN choose optimal health, but some of us won't.  It's not that we can't have it, but that we'll choose to not have it.  We have all we need to create optimal health in our lives right now:  we have the program, Take Shape for Life, which includes the Habits of Health, the support and guidance of a free health coach, and is fueled by Medifast meal replacements with has a proven track record of over 30 years - everything we need to be successful.  But some of us will choose to get in the way of our own success by allowing our past failures or our own concepts or fears to get in the way.  The only thing standing between us and achieving optimal health is, well, us.

Some of us will choose the path of immediate gratification, succumbing to numerous triggers along the way.  We have good intentions, but vacations, celebrations, parties, stress, a busy schedule, etc. etc. get us off track and we make choices that won't keep us moving in the direction of optimal health.

One of the things I've learned is that if we want something bad enough, we'll figure out what we need to do to get it.  My question for you today is simple:  What do you really want?  Do you really want optimal health - living as long as you can as healthy as you can?  If so, you have in your hands all of the tools that you need to get it.  There really isn't anything to even figure out, because all of the figuring out has already been done!  All we have to do is commit to eating every 3 hours and we will get to our goal, which is an important milestone on our optimal health journey.  From there, we continue to add other healthy habits that keep us moving in the direction we want to go.  It's pretty simple if we just take it one step at a time.

The good news is that you don't have to commit to doing this for a lifetime - you just have to commit to making healthy choices today.  Can you do that?  If so, maybe you can do that tomorrow, too, and then maybe even the day after that!  You don't have to worry about whether you can do this tomorrow or the day after that, you just have to commit to today - one meal at a time.

Are you committed to pursuing optimal health in your life today?  The choice is yours . . . choose wisely :-)

What Does, and Doesn't, Work

A couple of nights ago I watched part of TLC's "My 600 Pound Life - Where Are They Now?," which was a follow-up to the recent series that chronicled four 600+ pound individuals who underwent gastric bypass surgery.  This past Sunday night's program caught viewers up with where these individuals are now.  Although none of them had regained all of their weight, all four had gained quite a bit and were significantly overweight (obese).  It was clear that although they were better off than they were prior to surgery, the surgery didn't fix their issues with food.  Unhealthy eating habits, not retrained through surgery, resulted in significant weight gain.

Coupled with watching this program, I also saw a news article on the internet announcing that singer Carnie Wilson had lap-band surgery, 12 years after having gastric by-pass surgery.  In the past 12 years, she has regained 2/3 of her weight and was concerned about rising blood sugar levels and saw lap-band surgery as the way to bring things back under control.

What both of these situations make clear is that the real work of weight loss happens in the space between our ears.  We HAVE to get our thinking straight on the role that food plays in our lives or nothing will really change long-term for us.  Take Shape for Life/Medifast is a wonderful program and it works, and works fast.  However, if we don't do the hard work of redefining our relationship with food, if we don't choose to incorporate healthy habits on a permanent basis, the weight WILL come back on.

Reaching goal isn't the end . . . it's the beginning of what CAN be the rest of your thin, healthy life.  It's also the start of choosing to make wise choices when all foods once again become options. 

It's so important to begin thinking now about what maintenance will look like for you.  If you are dreaming of once again enjoying all of your old favorite foods, that's a red flag.  I don't mean that you won't ever be able to enjoy a small amount of something you used to eat, but there will be things that won't be a regular part of your life . . . if you want to stay at a healthy weight. 

That's why I'm such a huge fan of "Dr. A's Habits of Health," written by Take Shape for Life co-founder and Medifast's medical director, Dr. Wayne Scott Andersen.  He spends the first part of his book discussing how to have sustainable motivation for permanent change to help us get our minds in the right place.  His book also outlines exactly HOW to eat for the rest of our lives, and it's not how to eat Medifast meal replacements.  His book also teaches simple ways to incorporate movement, reduce stress and inflammation, get restorative sleep - all of the components needed to live a longer, healthier life. 

Weight loss surgery won't fix the way people relate to food, and neither will being on Take Shape for Life/Medifast's 5&1 in and of itself.  The 5&1 program teaches us how to eat six small meals a day, critical to long-term success, but redefining our relationship with food is another important component and cannot be overlooked or ignored if you want to be part of the minority of individuals who successfully maintain their weight loss.

Is this a quick-fix diet for you, or are you committed to long-term, permanent change?  Be honest when you answer this question, then choose wisely :-)

No Wiggle Room

I remember seeing an ad in the paper several years ago for a weight loss program and the ad said, "If you could lose weight on your own, you would have already done so."  I bristled when I read that because I still believed that I could do it on my own.  I knew what to eat, I had a fairly good understanding of nutrition and I had a thick book that listed the calories, fat and carb grams of just about any food you could think of.  I rejected the notion that I needed a program - I was smart and I had the tools and the information I needed.  The problem was that this smart, equipped woman kept gaining weight, ended up with 268 pounds packed on my 5' 5" frame.

For over twenty years, I was either on some kind of a diet or reading about the newest "get thin quick" diet, and I managed to acquire a shelf full of diet books, each promising that this was THE way to lose weight.  The problem was, I thought I was smarter than the program.  It didn't matter what program I was on, within a few days I'd be back to my old tricks - playing with the program, changing things here and there, substituting one food for another.  I figured that as long as I understood the principles, I could mix it up and do it my way.  

Obviously, doing things "my way" didn't work for me.  By the time I made the decision to order my first four-week Take Shape for Life/Medifast order, I was ready to just follow the program.  I finally came to the realization that I couldn't lose weight on my own and, despite the fact that I was intelligent and informed, there was a real disconnect between the knowledge I supposedly had and my actions.  Reaching the end of myself was the start of what will be the rest of my healthy life.

I followed the 5&1 program to the letter.  I weighed and measured my protein portions, I measured my vegetables, and I just did what I was told.  To my amazement, it actually worked :-).  I didn't play with the calorie or carb allotment, substituting my own 100 calorie this or that for one of the Medifast meals - I just opened another packet every 2-1/2 or 3 hours and kept losing weight.  I also didn't try to outsmart the program by over-exercising, which is something I'd done in the past.  I waited three weeks to start exercising (actually, I waited a bit longer than that . . . ), and I kept my exercise to about 45 minutes a day.  And it kept on working!

There really is no built-in "wiggle room" on 5&1.  It's restrictive by design, and it's designed to help you safely reach a healthy weight as quickly as possible.  Have you reached the point where you're ready to just follow the program, or are you still trying to figure out an angle where you can sort-of do the program and sort-of do your own thing?  How you honestly answer this question will determine the likelihood of you being successful on this program.   Ultimately, the choice of how you do the program is yours to make.  Choose wisely :-)

Dying for Food

I recently re-read an article that was published a couple of years ago in the medical journal, Lancet.  The study was paid for by Britain's Medical Research Council, the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK and others.  Given the sad fact that the obesity epidemic has only gotten worse since this article was first published, there are now even more people at risk of early death due to being overweight and obese.  Here's an excerpt from the article I read.

“Obesity Can Trim 10 Years Off Life”

Being obese can take years off your life and in some cases may be as dangerous as smoking, a new study says. British researchers at the University of Oxford analyzed 57 studies mostly in Europe and North America, following nearly one million people for an average of 10 to 15 years. During that time, about 100,000 of those people died.

The studies used Body Mass Index (BMI), a measurement that divides a person's weight in kilograms by their height squared in meters to determine obesity. Researchers found that death rates were lowest in people who had a BMI of 23 to 24, on the high side of the normal range.

Health officials generally define overweight people as those with a BMI from 25 to 29, and obese people as those with a BMI above 30.

 "If you are heading towards obesity, it may be a good idea to lose weight," said Sir Richard Peto, the study's main statistician and a professor at Oxford University.

Peto and colleagues found that people who were moderately fat, with a BMI from 30 to 35, lost about three years of life. People who were morbidly fat — those with a BMI above 40 — lost about 10 years off their expected lifespan, similar to the effect of lifelong smoking.

Moderately obese people were 50 percent more likely to die prematurely than normal-weight people, said Gary Whitlock, the Oxford University epidemiologist who led the study.

He said that obese people were also two thirds more likely to die of a heart attack or stroke, and up to four times more likely to die of diabetes, kidney or liver problems. They were one sixth more likely to die of cancer.

"This really emphasizes the importance of weight gain," said Dr. Arne Astrup, a professor of nutrition at the University of Copenhagen who was not linked to the Lancet study. "Even a small increase in your BMI is enough to increase your risks for cardiovascular disease and cancer."

I can't help but ask myself, am I willing to die for food?  I’ve seen people standing on street corners holding signs that say, “Will work food,” but I can tell you with assurance that I’m not willing to stand on a corner with a sign that says, “Will die for food.”

I am willing to die for my faith (Jesus died for me, and I would die rather than renounce my Savior); I would die for my husband, my children or my grandchildren.  I would possibly die to save the life of a stranger.

But I refuse to die for food!  As I approach my four-year anniversary of reaching my goal, I am SO happy to know that although I will ultimately die of something, it will NOT be of an obesity-related disease!  I refuse to cut my life short – as many as 10 years short, according to this article – because of food. 

Because obesity can never be cured, only managed, I commit again today to make the choices I need to live a long and healthy life.  I’m too busy living to die for food!  You have a choice to make today, too . . . choose wisely :-)

Tomorrow? Or NOW?

One of the things I have to continually fight is my tendency to procrastinate.  If it's something I want to do, I'm all over it from the start, but when the task at hand is something that I'm not excited about, I can find 101 reasons to put it off.  As I've gotten a bit more mature (am resisting saying "older"!), I have gotten better, but I'm far from declaring victory in the procrastination department.

I perfected the art of procrastination (if there is such a thing) when it came to getting healthy.  Like Little Orphan Annie, my theme song was "Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you, tomorrow . . . you're always a day away!"  Since I have been a daily weigher for years, I'd step on the scale every morning, groan at the number I saw, and solemnly promise myself that I would start on a diet and start to turn things around . . . tomorrow.  "Today" was rarely a good day to start a diet because I was too busy, too tired, too stressed, etc.  While I had a dozen reasons why "today" wasn't good, I'd promise myself over and over again that I would start on a diet "tomorrow."  

I promised and procrastinated myself all the way up to 268 pounds and diabetic.  The day I got back the lab work that revealed diabetes, it felt like someone had thrown ice water on me as I finally faced the consequences of waiting for a tomorrow that never came.  That diagnosis started a journey that would, almost two years later, finally bring me to this program.  Between the diagnosis and the day I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, I had a number of failed attempts on yet another program, and I still had too many days of playing the "start tomorrow" game.

For those of you who take the time to read my blogs (thank you!!), you know that I enjoy thought-provoking quotes.  I read one that addresses the whole issue of procrastination:  "Procrastination is the false believe that there is a better time than NOW!"

My "NOW" came in June of 2007 when I came to a point where I felt like I couldn't continue down the path of obesity one more day.  The scale was up again, my blood sugar numbers were up and I knew I had to do something NOW.  Even though June wasn't a particularly convenient time for me to start on this program, especially with fresh fruit coming into season and a two-week vacation just a month away, it truly was my NOW.  As you probably can guess, I have no regrets!

Is today YOUR "NOW?"  Or are you still under the impression that there is a better time than today to focus on getting healthy?  I know there are pressures today . . . work, children, perhaps aging parents, finances, but there are always pressures and once one issue is resolved, don't two more pop up?  

Things will always get in the way because life is rarely without one challenge or another.  If tomorrow still looks like a better day to be on plan for you, are you really willing to wait?  What happens if tomorrow ends up being as crazy - or crazier - than today?

Make today your NOW.  It really doesn't matter what's going on in your world today, because once you make the decision, it's amazing how easy it is to figure out the "how."  What choices will you make today?  Choose wisely :-)

Losing that Loving Feeling

My best guess is that many of us who ended up on Take Shape for Life/Medifast got here because we developed an unhealthy relationship with food at some point in our lives.  I say "unhealthy relationship" because I know that I didn't balloon to 268 pounds just because I had a "good appetite."  My weight skyrocketed to morbid obesity because I had an emotional relationship with food.  I used to talk all the time about how I "loved" chocolate, or "loved" Mexican food, etc.  I just plain loved to eat!
A while back I read a story in my devotional, "Our Daily Bread," about the movie, "Fever Pitch."  In the movie, Ben Wrightman is crazy about the Boston Red Sox baseball team.  He rarely misses a game during the spring and summer months.

One winter, Ben falls in love with a young woman named Lindsey and wins her heart.  Then spring rolls around, and she finds out that he's a different person during baseball season.  He has no time for her unless she goes to the games with him.

When Lindsey ends her relationship with Ben because of his fanaticism, he talks with a young friend who says, "You love the Sox.  But tell me, have they ever loved you back?" Those words cause Ben to analyze his priorities and to give more time to the woman he loves, who loves him back.

That story got me thinking about things that I've loved that didn't love me back - like food :-).  One of my good friends (she's lost over 100 pounds on this program) told me that she no longer talks about "loving" food, she now says she "enjoys" food.  I love it!  She reserves the word "loves" to describe her feelings for God, her family and other people, and her example has challenged me to do the same thing.

Another friend of mine, also a 100+ pound loser, reminds herself of the need to view food as fuel, nothing more.  

I think both of these wise women are on to something!  Loving God and loving people . . . enjoying food and viewing it as fuel.  Sounds like a good balance to me!

Part of the really hard work on this program - and I DO mean hard work - is redefining our relationship with food.  If we don't do that, we won't make the permanent changes needed to maintain our weight loss.  How we relate to food will change over time as we consciously choose to change how we think.  Begin today - one thought and one choice at a time . . . and choose wisely :-)

Don't Come Up Short

I spent years not only fooling myself, but trying to fool other people when it came to my weight. Because I had so much shame and embarrassment about my weight, even getting dressed in the morning was an ordeal. Every outfit had to pass the "does this make me look fat?" question and I required my clothes to do their best to hide the fact that I had packed as much as 268 pounds on my 5'5" frame.  It was a daunting request to make out of every outfit and the fact that I thought some things made me look "thin" probably says more about my state of denial than the outfit itself.

For several years, I refused to get on the scale at the doctor's office.  A nurse practitioner had once chided me for skipping my yearly well-woman exam and when I told her it was because I didn't want to get on the scale, she told me that I didn't have to be weighed if I didn't want to and urged me to not skip this check-up because of the scale.  For this person in denial, that was my "get out of jail free" card and I pulled it out every time I saw the doctor.

I tried to hide my weight from my friends and even from my doctor, but I wasn't kidding my body - and my body was keeping tally of what I was doing to it.  The bill came due in September of 2005 when routine blood work revealed that I was now diabetic, with very high cholesterol and triglycerides.

This quote really puts it into perspective:  "If you don't do what is best for your body, you are the one who comes up on the short end."  ~ Julius Erving

When we choose to not take care of our bodies, we are ultimately the ones who come up short.  When I wasn't eating right, when I wasn't exercising, I was only hurting myself.  Every time I would cheat on a weight loss program (and until I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast I cheated - repeatedly - on every last program I ever went on), I was really only cheating myself and my body was keeping a running tally.

Turning things around and permanently moving in a new direction begins with being truthful with ourselves about where we are - getting a clear picture of our current reality.  How much do we weight?  What size are we in?  What are the things we can't do, or can't do comfortably, because of our weight?  What medications are we on due to weight-related conditions?  How would we have answered these questions five years ago?  Are we in better or worse shape now than we were then?  If we continue to do in the next five years what we've done over the past five, where will we be five years from now?  Are we OK with that?

Those may be hard questions to ask, but if you ask yourself those questions and answer them honestly, you'll have a clear picture of where you are right now.

Then imagine yourself at your goal weight.  How much will you weigh?  What size will you be?  How will you feel?  What will you be able to do?  Get a clear vision of what that will look and feel like.

What you have just done is created structural tension, which is the gap between where you are and where you want to be.  Tension seeks resolution, so focus your eyes on what you want to create in your life, then begin making the choices to get there.  You will move from where you are to where you want to be one choice at a time.  Choose wisely :-)