There really does not exist a "perfect" moment to decide to get healthy. So take THIS moment, and MAKE it perfect by making that decision. Now. Today.
If
you feel a little bit of panic at reading these words, I'm not going to
say "then you aren't ready". What I AM going to say is TAKE THE
MOMENT. Make it THIS ONE.
Nevermind that you have your friends' husbands' dog's birthday party to attend a week from Tuesday at 3:47 in the afternoon. THIS is the moment you need to decide.
Because if not, seriously, then when?
As you are NOW so you SHALL BE. Are you ON PLAN now? This moment? This day we call "today?"
If
not, then I suggest you decide what you desire. What you want. Why
you want it. If you want the yummies, you will always get the yummies.
If you want health, then you will do what it takes to obtain it.
So forget what happened last night at 11:34 pm as you were foraging in the pantry seemingly throwing your hopes and dreams for health out the window. Forget that more-than-a-glance you gave the cookies in the breakroom yesterday afternoon.
Yesterday.
Doesn't.
Matter.
It is TODAY and your very NEXT decision which determines the direction you will go. So what'll it be?
Friday, January 31, 2014
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Me? A Famous Athletes' Wife? Never Had THAT Before!
I love reporting on the "health
side" of being fit and healthy. I love letting people know that it IS
possible to go from Class IV Super-Obese walking with a cane and getting
stuck in the turnstiles at Disneyworld TO a fit and healthy woman who
LOOKS fit and healthy also.
On Monday I was flying back from New York to Phoenix. In that it was a 5+ hour flight, I went the back of the plane, to the galley, just to stretch my legs and get a can or two of water, and in so doing I got to talking to one of the flight attendants about health (as I usually do it seems!). When she found out that I had lost almost 150 pounds her eyes popped out of her head. I had to show her a before picture before she could believe it. "But you don't look like you've EVER struggled with your weight in your LIFE, like EVER! You look like one of those 'Famous Athletes' Wives' or something! I thought you WERE!"
One of the things that excites me about this plan is that when people DO it, they don't just end up looking like smaller versions of their formerly obese selves. What they DO end up looking like are fit and healthy people, it seems, even when they do light to moderate exercise as they approach a healthy BMI.
WHY IS THIS? Why is this program unique in that aspect?
Well, it is because this plan is among the best out there in it's "lean body mass sparing" aspects. It SPARES your muscle mass, your lean body mass, and it UTILIZES your fat reserves for energy. In fact, it has been proven as one of THE best programs in terms of this specific quality!
And I LOVE it!
You see, when you are primarily burning fat as a fuel source on a consistent basis, AND you have more-than-adequate high quality protein consumption at the same time, which this program accomplishes in SPADES (PROVIDED YOU ARE WEIGHING YOUR COOKED PROTEIN!!), as your fat melts away it uncovers the muscles you ALREADY HAVE.
And, I can tell you that if you have come from the obese category, you ALREADY have awesome MUSCLES because your body has had to carry your excess weight around for years. We already have the muscles. We just need to uncover them.
So what am I saying? I am saying HARNESS the amazing aspects of this LEAN BODY MASS SPARING PLAN by ACTUALLY and IN FACT following the plan.
Don't go killing yourself at the gym. Remain WITHIN the plan boundaries in terms of your exercise. Spend that energy following the plan as outlined in the Quick Start Guide. Follow it EXACTLY. Do NOT modify it in any way. Modify YOU. If there is a conflict between what the plan says and what you are doing, change your actions and NOT the plan.
Then rinse and repeat! =)
On Monday I was flying back from New York to Phoenix. In that it was a 5+ hour flight, I went the back of the plane, to the galley, just to stretch my legs and get a can or two of water, and in so doing I got to talking to one of the flight attendants about health (as I usually do it seems!). When she found out that I had lost almost 150 pounds her eyes popped out of her head. I had to show her a before picture before she could believe it. "But you don't look like you've EVER struggled with your weight in your LIFE, like EVER! You look like one of those 'Famous Athletes' Wives' or something! I thought you WERE!"
One of the things that excites me about this plan is that when people DO it, they don't just end up looking like smaller versions of their formerly obese selves. What they DO end up looking like are fit and healthy people, it seems, even when they do light to moderate exercise as they approach a healthy BMI.
WHY IS THIS? Why is this program unique in that aspect?
Well, it is because this plan is among the best out there in it's "lean body mass sparing" aspects. It SPARES your muscle mass, your lean body mass, and it UTILIZES your fat reserves for energy. In fact, it has been proven as one of THE best programs in terms of this specific quality!
And I LOVE it!
You see, when you are primarily burning fat as a fuel source on a consistent basis, AND you have more-than-adequate high quality protein consumption at the same time, which this program accomplishes in SPADES (PROVIDED YOU ARE WEIGHING YOUR COOKED PROTEIN!!), as your fat melts away it uncovers the muscles you ALREADY HAVE.
And, I can tell you that if you have come from the obese category, you ALREADY have awesome MUSCLES because your body has had to carry your excess weight around for years. We already have the muscles. We just need to uncover them.
So what am I saying? I am saying HARNESS the amazing aspects of this LEAN BODY MASS SPARING PLAN by ACTUALLY and IN FACT following the plan.
Don't go killing yourself at the gym. Remain WITHIN the plan boundaries in terms of your exercise. Spend that energy following the plan as outlined in the Quick Start Guide. Follow it EXACTLY. Do NOT modify it in any way. Modify YOU. If there is a conflict between what the plan says and what you are doing, change your actions and NOT the plan.
Then rinse and repeat! =)
Monday, January 20, 2014
Who Do I Want To Be?
That is a question I had to ask myself in July 2010 when I began my ultimate journey to health.
OH I could tell you PLENTY who I did NOT want to be at that moment.
ME. There was really nothing ABOUT me that I could say I liked at the time. I had so many faults and my life felt so unmanageable that there wasn't a whole lot about me I wanted to SALVAGE, to tell you the truth!
So to sit down and DECIDE who it is that I wanted to BE?
Was a foreign concept. But I reigned in my scattered, depressed and hopeless thoughts, and I had a heart to heart with my brain.
"Self" I thought, "Who is it that you want to be?"
"Thank you for asking. I want to be a fit and healthy person."
"Well fantastic! We are getting somewhere!"
"Yes, but I'm not right now and I'm so depressed about it and I don't see a way out and I can't seem to do anything right and here I am having gained ALL of my weight back plus 4 pounds to add insult to injury and my life is not manageable and my health is horrid and I feel so large and I can't seem to stick to anything for a day and......."
"WHOAH there, I didn't ask for a list of reasons why you AREN'T that person right now. I just wanted to know who it is you WANT to be?"
"Oh. Right. OK. I want to be a fit and healthy person."
"OK. We are getting somewhere. Now tell me, self, what types of things do fit and healthy people do?"
"Hmmmm. Well, I suppose that fit and healthy people take care of themselves. They have good self-management skills. Fit and healthy people make their eating plan and activity a priority in their lives. Fit and healthy people do these things."
"OK great start! So, what are YOU going to DO TODAY in order that SOMEDAY YOU will BE a fit and healthy person?"
"I will take care of myself. I will have good self-management skills. I will make my eating plan and activity a priority in my life. I will do these things. Today."
And so I did. And time passed. And now I AM a fit and healthy person. Because I said I wanted to be one, and then began DOING what fit and healthy people DO.
I didn't concentrate on those activities or attitudes that fit and healthy people DON'T have. I didn't look over at my UNFIT and UNHEALTHY friend's dinner plates at restaurants and wish I could eat what they were eating. I didn't WHINE about the DEPRIVATIONS that I was subjecting myself to and think "if only I were 'normal'!"
I didn't want to be normal. I wanted to be a fit and healthy person.
It was a question I asked myself often, and worked in ANY scenario or dilemma I found myself in.
At restaurants: Wow there is so much on this menu. What will I order?
"Well, what would a fit and healthy person order?" Right. I'll take the Grilled Chicken Breast, and instead of the mashed potatoes could I have two servings of the steamed vegetables? And we don't need the bread basket at this table thanks!"
At a movie theatre: Wow that pocorn smells good. Should I get some?
"Well, what would a fit and healthy person do?" Right. I'll bring my healthy fueling from home and drink water.
At a friend's housewarming party where there are NO healthy options for food: I think everyone is staring at me and thinking I'm on a diet because I don't have a plate. Should I put some chips on my plate?
"Well, what would a fit and healthy person do?" Right. A fit and healthy person would be more interested in the PEOPLE and the CONVERSATION than what was on his/her/or anyone else's plate.
Contemplating getting in some healthy motion: UGHHHH I really don't wanna.
"What would a fit and healthy person do?" Right. Get the shoes on and get out the door. Thanks! This works!
Who do YOU want to be? Once you decide, then DO what that person would do. And you will BECOME.
Transformation. I love it.
Rinse and Repeat!
OH I could tell you PLENTY who I did NOT want to be at that moment.
ME. There was really nothing ABOUT me that I could say I liked at the time. I had so many faults and my life felt so unmanageable that there wasn't a whole lot about me I wanted to SALVAGE, to tell you the truth!
So to sit down and DECIDE who it is that I wanted to BE?
Was a foreign concept. But I reigned in my scattered, depressed and hopeless thoughts, and I had a heart to heart with my brain.
"Self" I thought, "Who is it that you want to be?"
"Thank you for asking. I want to be a fit and healthy person."
"Well fantastic! We are getting somewhere!"
"Yes, but I'm not right now and I'm so depressed about it and I don't see a way out and I can't seem to do anything right and here I am having gained ALL of my weight back plus 4 pounds to add insult to injury and my life is not manageable and my health is horrid and I feel so large and I can't seem to stick to anything for a day and......."
"WHOAH there, I didn't ask for a list of reasons why you AREN'T that person right now. I just wanted to know who it is you WANT to be?"
"Oh. Right. OK. I want to be a fit and healthy person."
"OK. We are getting somewhere. Now tell me, self, what types of things do fit and healthy people do?"
"Hmmmm. Well, I suppose that fit and healthy people take care of themselves. They have good self-management skills. Fit and healthy people make their eating plan and activity a priority in their lives. Fit and healthy people do these things."
"OK great start! So, what are YOU going to DO TODAY in order that SOMEDAY YOU will BE a fit and healthy person?"
"I will take care of myself. I will have good self-management skills. I will make my eating plan and activity a priority in my life. I will do these things. Today."
And so I did. And time passed. And now I AM a fit and healthy person. Because I said I wanted to be one, and then began DOING what fit and healthy people DO.
I didn't concentrate on those activities or attitudes that fit and healthy people DON'T have. I didn't look over at my UNFIT and UNHEALTHY friend's dinner plates at restaurants and wish I could eat what they were eating. I didn't WHINE about the DEPRIVATIONS that I was subjecting myself to and think "if only I were 'normal'!"
I didn't want to be normal. I wanted to be a fit and healthy person.
It was a question I asked myself often, and worked in ANY scenario or dilemma I found myself in.
At restaurants: Wow there is so much on this menu. What will I order?
"Well, what would a fit and healthy person order?" Right. I'll take the Grilled Chicken Breast, and instead of the mashed potatoes could I have two servings of the steamed vegetables? And we don't need the bread basket at this table thanks!"
At a movie theatre: Wow that pocorn smells good. Should I get some?
"Well, what would a fit and healthy person do?" Right. I'll bring my healthy fueling from home and drink water.
At a friend's housewarming party where there are NO healthy options for food: I think everyone is staring at me and thinking I'm on a diet because I don't have a plate. Should I put some chips on my plate?
"Well, what would a fit and healthy person do?" Right. A fit and healthy person would be more interested in the PEOPLE and the CONVERSATION than what was on his/her/or anyone else's plate.
Contemplating getting in some healthy motion: UGHHHH I really don't wanna.
"What would a fit and healthy person do?" Right. Get the shoes on and get out the door. Thanks! This works!
Who do YOU want to be? Once you decide, then DO what that person would do. And you will BECOME.
Transformation. I love it.
Rinse and Repeat!
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
A Big Hairy Case of the "I Don't Wanna's!"
A big hairy case of the "I don't wanna's!"
Yeah, you heard me. Yes, I CAN still be a big baby sometimes and my mind and my emotions are screaming, in unison, "But I don't WANNA!"
Should be "I don't Wah-Wah-Wah-Na!" because I just have to treat it as one big WHINE-fest!
"What IS she talking about?!"
Ok here goes:
Today I had 6 miles to run for my Marathon training.
I didn't wanna do it.
And I didn't wanna.
Did I mention I didn't wanna?
I think I must have, I have a vague recollection of mentioning it.
I sat procrastinating until 4pm. I was in an epic battle with my mind AND my emotions. And they were both against my SCHEDULE and what I KNEW I needed to DO.
I'll bet you are curious to know who won that one?
It was a toss up until about 4:15. Then, with all the strength I could muster, I closed the computer and put my sunscreen on, my visor, grabbed my Iphone/music and my earbuds and I walked out the door.
I already had my running shoes on, my running pants on, and my running shirt on you see, I had been wearing them since, oh, about 8 am this morning.
Finally I stopped waiting for my feelings or my mind to PROMPT me in to DOING the right ACTION. I simply pressed the OVERRIDE button and began saying "get out the door" to myself.
And I did.
So today I was a big baby, and I ALMOST allowed THAT part of me to have it's way.
This would have been disastrous, do you know why?
Because I would have FED it.
And those parts of me I FEED get STRONGER.
If I FED my DESIRE to NOT RUN, it would have been stronger the next time I NEEDED to run. And eventually I'd chuck my whole training schedule to the wind and sabotage all my efforts because I already KNOW that if I begin to default to "not now" I will remain in a "not now" mood for a very, very, VERY long time.
Same with my eating plan.
Literally. Same mechanism.
With my running plan, when I default to "not now" it is as though next time I need to run I am a slug in molasses. But with my eating plan, when I default to eating "off plan" it becomes a run-away stallion.
Runaway slugs are NOTHING in comparison to runaway stallions. It is difficult but not impossible to reign in a runaway stallion. How do I know this? Call it a close call in the Blue Ridge Mountains when I was a pre-teen aged girl. I know. I had a bad experience. But I did it. It is the same feeling when my eating plan is run amok, so believe me I prefer the pony-ride in May sunshine of structure and routine and healthy habits!
I'm not sure why it is that my mind and emotions turn tricky on me sometimes, but I'm not going to sweat it too much because I've set up absolutes in my journey. I've set up healthy habits that allow me to quickly side-step my mind AND emotions if they are NOT agreeing with my primary goal of attaining and maintaining optimal health.
I have learned so much of what TO do that when my mind or emotions suggest something tricky, I can recognize it very quickly as "NOT GOOD CHOICE" and default to my schedule.
So my advice here? Have a schedule. Stick to the schedule even when you don't FEEL like it or WANT to. Make your schedule agree with the schedule in our guide if you are on the weight loss phase of our program. If you are in Transition? Make your schedule agree with the Transition Guide. Do it because you have DECIDED to, don't wait to WANT to or FEEL like it.
And you can achieve GREAT things!
Rinse and Repeat!
Yeah, you heard me. Yes, I CAN still be a big baby sometimes and my mind and my emotions are screaming, in unison, "But I don't WANNA!"
Should be "I don't Wah-Wah-Wah-Na!" because I just have to treat it as one big WHINE-fest!
"What IS she talking about?!"
Ok here goes:
Today I had 6 miles to run for my Marathon training.
I didn't wanna do it.
And I didn't wanna.
Did I mention I didn't wanna?
I think I must have, I have a vague recollection of mentioning it.
I sat procrastinating until 4pm. I was in an epic battle with my mind AND my emotions. And they were both against my SCHEDULE and what I KNEW I needed to DO.
I'll bet you are curious to know who won that one?
It was a toss up until about 4:15. Then, with all the strength I could muster, I closed the computer and put my sunscreen on, my visor, grabbed my Iphone/music and my earbuds and I walked out the door.
I already had my running shoes on, my running pants on, and my running shirt on you see, I had been wearing them since, oh, about 8 am this morning.
Finally I stopped waiting for my feelings or my mind to PROMPT me in to DOING the right ACTION. I simply pressed the OVERRIDE button and began saying "get out the door" to myself.
And I did.
So today I was a big baby, and I ALMOST allowed THAT part of me to have it's way.
This would have been disastrous, do you know why?
Because I would have FED it.
And those parts of me I FEED get STRONGER.
If I FED my DESIRE to NOT RUN, it would have been stronger the next time I NEEDED to run. And eventually I'd chuck my whole training schedule to the wind and sabotage all my efforts because I already KNOW that if I begin to default to "not now" I will remain in a "not now" mood for a very, very, VERY long time.
Same with my eating plan.
Literally. Same mechanism.
With my running plan, when I default to "not now" it is as though next time I need to run I am a slug in molasses. But with my eating plan, when I default to eating "off plan" it becomes a run-away stallion.
Runaway slugs are NOTHING in comparison to runaway stallions. It is difficult but not impossible to reign in a runaway stallion. How do I know this? Call it a close call in the Blue Ridge Mountains when I was a pre-teen aged girl. I know. I had a bad experience. But I did it. It is the same feeling when my eating plan is run amok, so believe me I prefer the pony-ride in May sunshine of structure and routine and healthy habits!
I'm not sure why it is that my mind and emotions turn tricky on me sometimes, but I'm not going to sweat it too much because I've set up absolutes in my journey. I've set up healthy habits that allow me to quickly side-step my mind AND emotions if they are NOT agreeing with my primary goal of attaining and maintaining optimal health.
I have learned so much of what TO do that when my mind or emotions suggest something tricky, I can recognize it very quickly as "NOT GOOD CHOICE" and default to my schedule.
So my advice here? Have a schedule. Stick to the schedule even when you don't FEEL like it or WANT to. Make your schedule agree with the schedule in our guide if you are on the weight loss phase of our program. If you are in Transition? Make your schedule agree with the Transition Guide. Do it because you have DECIDED to, don't wait to WANT to or FEEL like it.
And you can achieve GREAT things!
Rinse and Repeat!
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
You Know You Are On The Right Track......
.....When you become uninterested in looking back. - Zig Ziglar
I think this is highly appropriate for my journey/adventure towards health, and especially appropriate for this time of year!
I'm creating something NEW in my life, something I've never experienced until now, optimal and ultra health.
I'm not interested in rehashing when and why and how I ever became or remained Class IV Super Obese for most of my adult life. I'll tell my story gladly insofar as it helps others become inspired to create health in their own lives, but as to my own motivation for my own health journey moving forward, I don't dwell on the past.
I don't entertain much of that from myself, and I don't entertain much of that from others.
I'm not interesting in heading down a path of trying to concentrate on and figure out how or why something DIDN'T work and I know that some will argue that is the only way we learn. I see part of that philosophy in the brief revisitation of a strategy and making alterations in moving forward.
But for much of my own yo-yo diet journey I was stuck on what DIDN'T work. Now? I'm really only interested in what DOES WORK and practicing those routines and ritual behavior/habits repeated daily that DO work to GET ME WHERE I WANT TO GO.
It may sound like I'm splitting hairs here, and I sure don't mean to.
But basically this is my philosophy:
DO NOT give time and mental energy in focusing on those habits of disease that you DON'T want to practice.
DO give time and mental energy in focusing on those habits of HEALTH that you want to IMPLEMENT.
For every moment you spend wondering WHY you binged, or WHY you threw yourself under the bus again, or WHY you ALWAYS do this to yourself you COULD BE imagining what life WILL be like when you ARE living it at a HEALTHY WEIGHT!
DO YOU want to be fit and healthy? Then find out what fit and healthy people DO and start DOING those things. Are you starting from a point of being overweight or obese? Then do the 1st phase of the program, which is the weight loss phase, and move ON to transition and maintenance, which is, basically, the rest of your life!
So many people, and myself included when I was a yo-yoer, look at the weight loss PROCESS as a forever thing. It isn't. It is temporary. Do it and be done with it.
Does that mean you "go back to eating normally" when you are "done?"
You don't "GO BACK" to ANYTHING. That is my point. We move forward.
I wish everyone success in their journey!
Rinse and Repeat!
I think this is highly appropriate for my journey/adventure towards health, and especially appropriate for this time of year!
I'm creating something NEW in my life, something I've never experienced until now, optimal and ultra health.
I'm not interested in rehashing when and why and how I ever became or remained Class IV Super Obese for most of my adult life. I'll tell my story gladly insofar as it helps others become inspired to create health in their own lives, but as to my own motivation for my own health journey moving forward, I don't dwell on the past.
I don't entertain much of that from myself, and I don't entertain much of that from others.
I'm not interesting in heading down a path of trying to concentrate on and figure out how or why something DIDN'T work and I know that some will argue that is the only way we learn. I see part of that philosophy in the brief revisitation of a strategy and making alterations in moving forward.
But for much of my own yo-yo diet journey I was stuck on what DIDN'T work. Now? I'm really only interested in what DOES WORK and practicing those routines and ritual behavior/habits repeated daily that DO work to GET ME WHERE I WANT TO GO.
It may sound like I'm splitting hairs here, and I sure don't mean to.
But basically this is my philosophy:
DO NOT give time and mental energy in focusing on those habits of disease that you DON'T want to practice.
DO give time and mental energy in focusing on those habits of HEALTH that you want to IMPLEMENT.
For every moment you spend wondering WHY you binged, or WHY you threw yourself under the bus again, or WHY you ALWAYS do this to yourself you COULD BE imagining what life WILL be like when you ARE living it at a HEALTHY WEIGHT!
DO YOU want to be fit and healthy? Then find out what fit and healthy people DO and start DOING those things. Are you starting from a point of being overweight or obese? Then do the 1st phase of the program, which is the weight loss phase, and move ON to transition and maintenance, which is, basically, the rest of your life!
So many people, and myself included when I was a yo-yoer, look at the weight loss PROCESS as a forever thing. It isn't. It is temporary. Do it and be done with it.
Does that mean you "go back to eating normally" when you are "done?"
You don't "GO BACK" to ANYTHING. That is my point. We move forward.
I wish everyone success in their journey!
Rinse and Repeat!
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
I hadn't failed, I had just found 999 ways that DIDN'T work!
My whole life I had lost, gained,
repented, repeated. From about age 11 when I was on a well-known program which shall not be named (initials WW) for
the very first time. Yep! I lost 20 pounds as an 11 year old.
I still remember the anxiety I had of stepping on the scale every week for the whole world and God to see, to pronounce my judgement for the week. To pronounce whether I had been GOOD or BAD almost like confession! Every week, 1/4 pound was applauded. Sometimes 1/2 pound! Goodness gracious those weeks I lost a whole POUND I was treated as though fireworks were going off above my head! I held my head high on those weeks!
As an 11 year old.
My school lunch, as an 11 year old, would be comprised of what my mother considered a compatible and compliant lunch.
You tell me if you've ever seen an 11 year old pull the following out of her brown bag at lunch time, in front of a gaggle of other 11 year olds enjoying their hotdogs and french fries:
1 tin smoked oysters
6 saltine crackers
1/4 cup salsa
1/2 cup cottage cheese
Ummmmmmm......Yeahhhhhhhhh
Which is why, I am sure, I have absolutely no qualms EVER in pulling out a Medifast S'mores bar at a restaurant if I've already had my lean and green earlier, or taking a spoon to the pico de gallo that was placed on the table for the chips LOL!
Yup! Been there, done that! Done it all.
But do you know what I had NOT done until I found Take Shape For Life? Been successful at both losing AND KEEPING IT OFF.
Nope. Never. Not until I found our plan.
I just purchased the "People Who Lost Half Their Size" annual issue that comes out every January. I'm looking forward to reading the inspiring stories. And in reading these stories, I am not wishful thinking hoping and praying that someday I might be able to have a story like that too.
I'm there. And the ADVENTURE just keeps rolling!
Having lost 148 pounds and weighing 124 right now (started at 272) I have officially lost quite a bit more than half of me. And WAY more than half my SIZE because fat is FAR less dense than muscle skin and bones!
I would say I'm about 1/4 to 1/3 my original size, if clothing sizes mean anything I've gone from a size 26 Women's Stretch tops, a size F Spanx, a 44HH Bra, and 4XL tops to a size 2 jeans, a size A Spanx, a 32C Bra, and XS tops.
And the awesome thing is that my kind of success, and the success you see in the People Magazine is TOTALLY ACCESSIBLE TO ANYONE!
You have the tools you need right here! Just take that next step.
I am a FREE Health Coach, feel free to contact me at stacymichellephillips@gmail.com and let's get you on the path to optimal health. If you already have a health coach please reconnect with them, I only accept new clients. Thanks!
Rinse and Repeat!
I still remember the anxiety I had of stepping on the scale every week for the whole world and God to see, to pronounce my judgement for the week. To pronounce whether I had been GOOD or BAD almost like confession! Every week, 1/4 pound was applauded. Sometimes 1/2 pound! Goodness gracious those weeks I lost a whole POUND I was treated as though fireworks were going off above my head! I held my head high on those weeks!
As an 11 year old.
My school lunch, as an 11 year old, would be comprised of what my mother considered a compatible and compliant lunch.
You tell me if you've ever seen an 11 year old pull the following out of her brown bag at lunch time, in front of a gaggle of other 11 year olds enjoying their hotdogs and french fries:
1 tin smoked oysters
6 saltine crackers
1/4 cup salsa
1/2 cup cottage cheese
Ummmmmmm......Yeahhhhhhhhh
Which is why, I am sure, I have absolutely no qualms EVER in pulling out a Medifast S'mores bar at a restaurant if I've already had my lean and green earlier, or taking a spoon to the pico de gallo that was placed on the table for the chips LOL!
Yup! Been there, done that! Done it all.
But do you know what I had NOT done until I found Take Shape For Life? Been successful at both losing AND KEEPING IT OFF.
Nope. Never. Not until I found our plan.
I just purchased the "People Who Lost Half Their Size" annual issue that comes out every January. I'm looking forward to reading the inspiring stories. And in reading these stories, I am not wishful thinking hoping and praying that someday I might be able to have a story like that too.
I'm there. And the ADVENTURE just keeps rolling!
Having lost 148 pounds and weighing 124 right now (started at 272) I have officially lost quite a bit more than half of me. And WAY more than half my SIZE because fat is FAR less dense than muscle skin and bones!
I would say I'm about 1/4 to 1/3 my original size, if clothing sizes mean anything I've gone from a size 26 Women's Stretch tops, a size F Spanx, a 44HH Bra, and 4XL tops to a size 2 jeans, a size A Spanx, a 32C Bra, and XS tops.
And the awesome thing is that my kind of success, and the success you see in the People Magazine is TOTALLY ACCESSIBLE TO ANYONE!
You have the tools you need right here! Just take that next step.
I am a FREE Health Coach, feel free to contact me at stacymichellephillips@gmail.com and let's get you on the path to optimal health. If you already have a health coach please reconnect with them, I only accept new clients. Thanks!
Rinse and Repeat!
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Stacy Phillips' (that's ME!) Twelve-Week-Transformation Begins TODAY!
I can hear it now "But wait, you've
arrived, haven't you? You are at GOAL, you are almost done with
TRANSITION, and MAINTENANCE is just a couple weeks away....You're DONE,
right?"
Far.
From.
It.
Let me tell you a little something that I have learned on this process of attaining and maintaining optimal health.
There is no such thing as DONE.
Until you are DEAD.
And I don't plan on being dead anytime soon, Lord Willing!
And this is the COOL thing about it, I'm totally EXCITED to continue improving upon my health.
Let's get something straight, though, I have DETACHED "getting healthy" with "losing weight".
I detached these two things in my mind ON PURPOSE while in PHASE 1 of the Take Shape For Life Program. Because they are really only loosely related.
Losing weight does not EQUAL getting optimally healthy.
Getting optimally healthy does not EQUAL losing weight.
IF you are an overweight or obese BMI, attaining a healthy BMI is naturally the FIRST STEP in the process of BECOMING optimally healthy. It is the FIRST THING that needs to be dealt with, or handled.
Similar to smoking. If someone wants to be healthy and they are a smoker, the very first things is to ditch those ciggys. But ditching those ciggys doesn't MAKE them healthy, it is STANDING IN THE WAY of them BEING HEALTHY.
My Class IV Super Obesity was standing in the way of me being optimally healthy. No question about it, it was the FIRST thing I needed to deal with in order to have hopes of becoming optimally and in fact on my way to ultra healthy.
It isn't the LAST thing, it isn't the ONLY thing. And that is what I love about Dr. A's system, and his Habits of Health. LOSING WEIGHT is like the STOPPING SMOKING aspect of becoming healthy. It needs to be done, and it is the first thing TO be done on the continuum of attaining optimal health.
Unfortunately, in our "diet mentality" culture, it is usually the ONLY thing we obsess over.
Getting thin.
Losing weight.
Dropping fat.
We get so hung up on the PROCESS of that first phase that it becomes our hang-up. We get in the oscillating pattern of lose-gain-repent-repeat partly BECAUSE we are seeing WEIGHT LOSS AS THE GOAL in and of itself. This inherently makes it a NEGATIVE GOAL, meaning it is something we want OUT of our lives, something we want to ESCAPE.
When I fully embraced the thought that getting healthy was about bringing something AWESOME IN TO MY LIFE (health) instead of GETTING SOMETHING I LOATHED OUT OF MY LIFE (fat) is when my eyes were opened to the possibility that I could become healthy and STAY healthy, enjoy BEING healthy and LOVE LIFE!
And so, Dear ones, I embark on a 12-Week Transformation (www.stopchallengechoose.com) in order to move in to the next step, which for ME, since I AM at goal, includes maintenance yes, but also includes continuing to move into optimal and ultra health!
Day 1 is today! Yes, Stacy Phillips is becoming even MORE healthy. This is an endeavor I will strive for from year-to-year. How can I be even MORE healthy this year than I was LAST year?
And it doesn't have a THING to do with "losing weight". Novel concept!
And the fact that I could win some cool prizes doesn't hurt either! I'm going to WIN the Female Health Coach Category! Ha! Ok there is my competitiveness coming to the surface! LOL!
Rinse and Repeat.
Far.
From.
It.
Let me tell you a little something that I have learned on this process of attaining and maintaining optimal health.
There is no such thing as DONE.
Until you are DEAD.
And I don't plan on being dead anytime soon, Lord Willing!
And this is the COOL thing about it, I'm totally EXCITED to continue improving upon my health.
Let's get something straight, though, I have DETACHED "getting healthy" with "losing weight".
I detached these two things in my mind ON PURPOSE while in PHASE 1 of the Take Shape For Life Program. Because they are really only loosely related.
Losing weight does not EQUAL getting optimally healthy.
Getting optimally healthy does not EQUAL losing weight.
IF you are an overweight or obese BMI, attaining a healthy BMI is naturally the FIRST STEP in the process of BECOMING optimally healthy. It is the FIRST THING that needs to be dealt with, or handled.
Similar to smoking. If someone wants to be healthy and they are a smoker, the very first things is to ditch those ciggys. But ditching those ciggys doesn't MAKE them healthy, it is STANDING IN THE WAY of them BEING HEALTHY.
My Class IV Super Obesity was standing in the way of me being optimally healthy. No question about it, it was the FIRST thing I needed to deal with in order to have hopes of becoming optimally and in fact on my way to ultra healthy.
It isn't the LAST thing, it isn't the ONLY thing. And that is what I love about Dr. A's system, and his Habits of Health. LOSING WEIGHT is like the STOPPING SMOKING aspect of becoming healthy. It needs to be done, and it is the first thing TO be done on the continuum of attaining optimal health.
Unfortunately, in our "diet mentality" culture, it is usually the ONLY thing we obsess over.
Getting thin.
Losing weight.
Dropping fat.
We get so hung up on the PROCESS of that first phase that it becomes our hang-up. We get in the oscillating pattern of lose-gain-repent-repeat partly BECAUSE we are seeing WEIGHT LOSS AS THE GOAL in and of itself. This inherently makes it a NEGATIVE GOAL, meaning it is something we want OUT of our lives, something we want to ESCAPE.
When I fully embraced the thought that getting healthy was about bringing something AWESOME IN TO MY LIFE (health) instead of GETTING SOMETHING I LOATHED OUT OF MY LIFE (fat) is when my eyes were opened to the possibility that I could become healthy and STAY healthy, enjoy BEING healthy and LOVE LIFE!
And so, Dear ones, I embark on a 12-Week Transformation (www.stopchallengechoose.com) in order to move in to the next step, which for ME, since I AM at goal, includes maintenance yes, but also includes continuing to move into optimal and ultra health!
Day 1 is today! Yes, Stacy Phillips is becoming even MORE healthy. This is an endeavor I will strive for from year-to-year. How can I be even MORE healthy this year than I was LAST year?
And it doesn't have a THING to do with "losing weight". Novel concept!
And the fact that I could win some cool prizes doesn't hurt either! I'm going to WIN the Female Health Coach Category! Ha! Ok there is my competitiveness coming to the surface! LOL!
Rinse and Repeat.
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