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 :-)