Monday, September 19, 2011

August 2nd-22nd, 2011

And it is called obesity. My body is set up to store every extra calorie I give it as fat. And it will always be so. But there is HOPE!!!

I have found hope in Medifast, and in staying compliant to the program as written in the Quick Start Guide I see *R*E*S*U*L*T*S* which is what I'm after.

Even when I am at goal and maintaining at a size 2 petite, I will still consider myself as having this medical condition. But I will consider myself in a lifetime treatment program, and that lifetime treatment program, therapy if you will, is Medifast.

I am going to be one of the ones who use 3 Medifast Meal Replacements every day along with phase 4 of transition. So my maintenance plan will look like this:

3 Medifast Meals
11-13 oz protein
2.5 cups vegetables
2 medium sized pieces of fruit (or 1 cup cubed or berries)
1 dairy
1 whole grain

I will use the transition plan as written, and will maintain my weight because I will always be in THERAPY but never CURED.

I have this hope. And I am the one who can implement it. Only me. No one else is responsible for my health EXCEPT myself. And I am in a place where I take that responsibility gladly.

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being."
-Goethe

Most people just want to know that they matter. That you see them. That you regard them as unique and special. Much of the time this can be accomplished with enthusiasm and a smile! It's a little harder in the virtual world, but I find it is still similar.

Take this forum for example. When I see a blog with "0" comments on it, I feel a little dejected even if it isn't my blog! I know, crazy! But it is true! So I read the blog and comment on it because I want the writer to know that they matter! And that they are unique and special! Because we all are.

Let's make sure no blog goes un-commented on! =)

So today is a crazy day, my schedule is a bit off and I'm way behind on my water. But I'm catching up. And my headache is subsiding.

I saw some dear friends today who are missionaries in Slovenia. They came over and we had egg-free waffles. Well, they did. I was happy serving and chatting!

I gave my dear friend a beautiful Lomonosov Cobalt tea pot and a Lomonosov tea cup (I have a matching tea cup) so that we can pray for each other every time we use it!

This was a random blog but I just wanted to say hello!

Happy Saturday everyone! And keep on Medifasting!
Sorry I've been MIA on the blogs. Little man had Strep and 104.5 fever. Feeling much better now, and running around the house again. So here I am!

Just wanted to give a quick update. Will blog more tomorrow!
I did. Looking back, I have to say that I did not eat anything I did not want to eat. And I enjoyed everything I ate on my way back to 268. And I didn't feel guilty. I was in the trance of denial.

And I gained back 140 pounds.

And you see, that was actually the problem. Day after day mindless eating, lined up in a neat little row, will do that over time. The danger is not in the eating off plan for a meal, or even a day, or two or three days. It is not getting back to Medifast after those two or three days are over.

And once the carbs gain control, they are a powerful force to be reckoned with. They make us forget all our goals and dreams we have for ourselves. They tell us "you can start tomorrow" and tomorrow never comes.

So if you are reading this blog and have been off plan for even the last week or two, wondering if you actually have the courage to begin again, START TODAY. Make you NEXT meal a Medifast one. Don't wait until tomorrow. Walk over to your cupboard and choose a Medifast meal. (I know you still have a few in there!) As you prepare it, commit yourself again to the process. Because it is never too late to become the person we 'might have' been.

But we have to set our foot on the path. Then place your order.
Contentment in the process. That is what I preach. I know that the antibiotics I was on this week and the TOM that came a week early as a result have logistically resulted in this tick up on the scale. So, I will ignore the number and move on. =)

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
Not many other cultures in this world have a population of people who, for the most part, get what they want. Have we been spoiled to grow up in America, a land of opportunity and a land of plenty? Well that is the topic of another blog but today I was thinking about the fact that we, as individuals, usually get exactly what we want.

Our problem, however, and one of the reasons we became obese in the first place, was that we were wanting the "wrong" things.

I'm all for getting what I want. I really have NO problem with that. But I am learning to line up my WANTS with my primary goal of Optimal Health. Because I really REALLY want Optimal Health.

Do you want junk food? Then eventually you will get junk food. Like you have gotten it so many times before. So many times that you found yourself ordering Medifast out of desperation because somewhere deep down you also want to be a normal weight.

An essential key to coaxing out the long-term success potential of this tool of Medifast we've chosen to use is to actively, and I do mean ACTIVELY establish exactly WHAT IT IS THAT WE WANT MORE Because we WILL get it. Then we need to ACTIVELY minimize those wants that are in danger of keeping us from what we want MORE.

Are you obsessing over the food that you are missing? Well if you are, you are technically "wanting" it (or are in want of it) and you will get it. Maybe tonight in a binge after everyone else has gone to bed. Maybe next weekend at your cousin's second wedding. In fact, you are already thinking of your next encounter with the yummy food/intoxicating alcohol that you want. You may have even posted about how much of a "challenge" it will be to stay "on plan" and you're not sure you can really do it, you know, "realistically" because we all have to, you know, "live life" and everything should be, you know, in "moderation".

So, the scenario is ripe for you to, in fact, slow your losses, stall your losses, gain, give up. Because you wanted the yummy food/alcohol more.

Or, are you waking up each day and thinking to yourself that you cannot WAIT to get into "just overweight" on the BMI chart, or to move from "overweight" to "normal weight"? Do you have that next size down dress/jeans in the closet in a prominent place in your closet so that you are reminded every day that you are actually shrinking? Are you carefully preparing your Lean and Green and measuring your healthy fats so as to stay compliant to the plan?

Are you orienting your day towards wanting health or are you orienting your day towards wanting yummy food? Because therein lies the direction you will ultimately head.

Because we do, in fact, usually get what we want.

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
When I wake up in the morning I have one perfect cup of coffee. It has 2 TBSP half and half and 1 packet splenda in it, and is a bit of heaven on earth.

And as much as I'd love a second cup, and as much as every morning my brain tells me to go ahead and have a second cup, I ALWAYS have my second cup black.

Why? I'm sure I could do the numbers so that I COULD have a second cup of coffee with 2 TBSP half and half and 1 packet splenda in it, just count both servings as my 2 healthy fats and the 2 packets of splenda as condiments.

But I don't.

You see, my inner brat is the one asking for that second cup, and it is coming out of a place of indulgence. (If one is good, two is better type thing).

I consciously make the DECISION first thing in the morning to say NO to indulgence for indulgence-sake, and have my second cup black.

This sets the tone for the rest of the day. Because shortly thereafter, that inner brat will say "naw, you don't have to start drinking your water yet.....you don't feel like it..."

And if I indulge that inner-brat with the coffee, I'll also listen to her with the water, and before you know it, it is noon and I am woefully behind on my water and have used up all my healthy fats.

So I choose. It's a simple choice, and I make it around 7:34 every morning. After a few sips of the "black" coffee I usually abandon the cup and get some water........

=)

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
That's right. I don't care what anyone says to try to talk me out of it. I am going to have a free-for-all this weekend, and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it. Every minute of chocolate-filled bliss and I don't care who knows it.

You got it, I'm having a "5-brownie day"!

Five Medifast Brownies, that is! Oh and a weighed and measured lean and green + appropriate healthy fats, too!

I really cut loose on the weekends. =)
I went to see Cowboys and Aliens last night, MAN what a good movie. Entertaining, enjoyable, witty, and two of my favorite leading men Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig.

I went by myself, because going to movies solo is actually one of the ways I relax and my hubby doesn't mind. Next to me was a couple who looked to be in their early 60's, and were both shall we say "extremely ample".

The man returned from the snack bar with a large soda (could have been diet) and an XL movie theatre popcorn. I didn't think much of it, because many people get XL movie theatre popcorns and share it with their party.

Here's the thing. The man ate it himself. No sharing with the wife. Here's the other thing. Halfway through the movie he went and got the "free" refill and another soda, and he proceeded to eat the entire refill also.

I heard a steady "munch munch munch" in my left ear throughout the entire movie, and I reflected how that man is killing himself one XL popcorn at a time.

Then I wondered at this culture of ours which says that is normal, and even desired (I mean who can go see a movie without soda and popcorn?!?!).

I didn't feel disgusted, I felt sad. And thankful, so very thankful, that I found Medifast and that more importantly, I made the decision to be counter-culture with my health.

PS I just looked up the calories he consumed JUST on the popcorn, and a Large with 3 squirts of butter flavor would have been 1500 calories. So an XL was probably closer to 2000 calories PER BAG. Add in the soda (528 per 48 oz serving) and that would total more than 5000 calories consumed of pure garbage.

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
"If all of your thinking in your life has brought you to a place you don't like, think again. Have another thought. Think BRILLIANTLY." - Graham Cooke
Some of us are over-thinkers. We take a simple process and we "think it all up!" until it is no longer simple, until it is so STINKING complex that even WE lose track of it and eventually abandon the effort.

And we just think we are experts. I know I do. =) HA!

Then something happens to bring us back to simplicity. For me, I think I've been moving towards simplicity for a year now, as I have done Medifast. I am no longer the angry, bitter, dour fat woman of days-gone-by.

I am changing at my core. I have identified the person I want to become and am moving toward that goal.

Do YOU have a picture in your mind of the person you want to become? Or is your goal just "to lose weight"?

I challenge anyone who is reading my blog today to take some time over the next few days and REALLY think SIMPLY about who you want to become. If you were a reflection of your AUTHENTIC self, what kind of person would you be? How would your authentic self look? What would your authentic self do? How would your authentic self treat others? Treat yourself?

If you don't have a goal, you'll never reach it. That is what I have discovered in my own life. So define your goals, and in so doing, you may actually be defining yourself and your potential.

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!




Attachment: Celebrity2011.jpg
My son started back to Kindergarten this week, and I am proud (in a bit of a wicked way I suppose!) to report that I am, in fact, NOT the biggest mom after all!

That was my NSV for this week!

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!


Today I woke up and didn't feel like it. Waking up, that is.

Then I put on my running shoes although I didn't feel like it. Running that is.

Now I'm drinking my water, and to tell you the truth, drinking so much so early makes me kinda nauseous. I sure don't feel like it.

In a few minutes I'm getting my chocolate shake ready for breakfast. Not so enthused this morning. But I'll do it.

Ever have those days when the things that we do just feel like obligations and when we forget that WE chose this and not the other way around?

Yeah. That is me, today. But you know what? I'm doing it anyway. Why? Because my fat doesn't care how I feel, it will respond to what I put into my body and how much I move. So today, although my heart isn't in it, I'm doing it.

Don't look now, but I think I may be acquiring a bit of SELF DISCIPLINE into my life. Please don't tell my perpetual teenager side of me, aka my inner brat. I've had her on board for this journey and I don't want her to jump ship LOL. She can be a menacing and cunning foe. =)

Doing what we don't feel like or want to do daily in order to obtain a future goal is what Dr. A would call secondary goals to obtain a primary goal. The primary goal is what we are after, and the things we do every day, the little disciplines we incorporate throughout our routine, are called secondary goals.

Often, if not always, the secondary goals are not fun. There are no accolades, no immediate rewards, and it is usually hard. We sacrifice parts of our day to do tasks that sometimes are unpleasant in order to move us toward that primary goal.

Dr. A uses the analogy of a concert pianist. Being a concert pianist is the primary goal, but practicing every day in order to become that concert pianist is the secondary goal. I am sure that concert pianist when he was growing up would have rather been playing with his friends outside, or surfing facebook, or hanging out at the mall. But he diligently and faithfully set the framework to make himself into a concert pianist by practicing for hours every day. Feeling like it or not didn't even enter in to the equation. He just did it.

That's where I am in my Medifast journey. I love where I'm headed, and I know I'll get there. I have faith in the process. But it's not all pony-rides in May sunshine in the process of becoming that which I have decided to become.

So I get down to the choice of setting my secondary goals, and using the tools I have at my disposal. Namely, Medifast meals and running shoes.

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!

PS I'm going to keep attaching my "celebrity look alike" collage to every blog from now on because I like it! C'mon, Jessica Biel? Kate Winslet? Annette Benning? Scarlett Johanssen? =)
Attachment: Celebrity2011.jpg
I still remember one of the first Celebrity Look-Alikes I did, on myheritage.com, before I had lost over 100 lbs. It wasn't pretty. There were lots of men in the collage. Older men. Wasn't thrilled. In fact, my highest %% match was William Shatner at the time. If you browse my photos on MyPage and look at the one of me in the pink sleeveless shirt, you will see why. It was ALMOST the saddest day of my life LOL.

But I just did a NEW celebrity look alike collage, (picture attached) and I think I'll TAKE THESE RESULTS!!!

Scarlett Johanssen, Kate Winslet, Jessica Biel, Annette Benning are among the highest matches.

Yeehaw!!!! I no longer look like William Shatner or Stacy Keech!
Attachment: Celebrity2011.jpg
Simplicity = the 5&1 plan.

I am also trying to simplify other areas in my life. To take an exerpt from Janet Luhrs The Simple Living Guide,

"Simple living is about living deliberately. That's all. You CHOOSE your existence rather than sailing through life on automatic pilot. Living deeply means living consciously...being fully present, fully aware. Living deeply means living intimately...closely tied to the people, places and things in your life. When you simplify, you'll have space and time to know and love people in a deeper way. You'll present your authentic self to the world and will create a life that is authentic for you. You'll surround yourself with people who like and love you for who you are deep inside, rather than the professional or other kind of persona you project to the world. Simplicity and living deeply means shedding all of those outward layers of image and busyness that keep us from being close to ourselves and other people. It is a more authentic life. Simplicity is living from your essence...your core. You can discover this essence only when you slow down and begin to live deliberately, consciously."

I am excited to read the rest of this book. I see big changes on the horizon in every area of my life. And I am excited as all get-out!

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
The plan, the plan, nothing but the plan.

I've thrown away my condiment list. I am paring down my choices this week to what it contained in the basic plan, as outlined by the Quick Start Guide. No more, no less. Sure I CAN have a snack and condiments....but I've grown too dependent on them. I want simplicity and results.

If it ain't in the QSG I ain't doin' it. Period.

Extreme? No, proven.

I've got 45 more pounds to lose and I want to lose them by New Year's Eve.

Have a great Medifasting week! Rinse and Repeat!
The big girl, that is what I was known as in elementary school. Shocker of all shockers when the day came that I realized I actually had a SMALL frame.

I am petite. My bones are petite, my stature is petite, I am petite. I can't wait for the world to be able to see that about me again someday soon.

Starting out at a size 26 jeans no one would have guessed that about me. Now that I am a size 10 people are beginning to suspect.... =)

I have also randomly learned that I REALLY like platform shoes and 5-inch heels. So does my 6 foot 2 hubby (not for him, for me!).

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
So many of us are emotion-driven, myself included. We need to be gung-ho about something in order to dive fully into it heart and soul.

So what happens when that emotional pull we felt doing Medifast at the beginning wanes?

Do you ever wake up some mornings not "feeling" necessarily in love with your significant other? Do you let that affect what you do that day? "Sorry honey, I'm just not feeling it this morning. I'm packing my bags." Or how about this one "Sorry honey, I'm just not feeling it this morning. Maybe when the plumber gets here he'll look better to me than you do right now and...."

You get the picture.

No, most of us do not conduct our relationship in this way. Well, Medifast is a commitment also. And once we get in to the routine and the initial large losses happen, sometimes that "feeling" wanes, and the Medihoneymoon is over.

What do we do?

Some folks will decide that because they aren't infatuated with Medifast anymore it is time to find their excitement in other things and other foods because they are bored with Medifast.

Some folks, though, will decide that since they made a commitment to themselves and others that they would see this through, they DO Medifast anyway, regardless of how they feel.

And a funny thing happens. Eventually these people experience a new emotion, which is the peace and satisfaction that comes from consistently doing a good job and sticking to their commitment.

Emotion follows motion.

So I say do the program regardless of how you feel, INCLUDING on the weekends. Your fat doesn't care how you feel. Your fat will respond to what you put into your body and how much you move. Period. Even if you are controlling your intake while kicking and screaming, and having a back-and-forth internal dialog with yourself about how FREAKING hard this process can be, that is fine. Leave it at your lips.

Nothing passes your lips that isn't on plan. And you WILL be successful.

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
"Freedom is not procured by a full enjoyment of what is desired, but by controlling the desire." - Epictetus

This is really what this program is about, right? Controlling our desire?

Let me say this again...CONTROLLING OUR DESIRE. At first glance, many may think this means fighting tooth and nail to NOT succumb to our desire. Right?

No. I believe Epictetus was saying that freedom only comes when we CONTROL the actual PROCESS of desiring.

What are we focused on? Because if we are allowing thoughts and fantasies of "eating what we want" to run rampant in our heads, we truly then are still in bondage.

But what, then, is freedom?

For me, freedom is the ability to control the OBJECT or the FOCUS of my desire.

I desire good health. I am free to pursue that good, or optimal, health, and obtain that desire.

What if I desire junk food? Well, the constraints of the plan become something I resent. That resentment passes in to every area of my life and make me just a bitter person because my desire must go unfilled if I am to stay "On Plan". Or, I fulfill my desire and stay fat.

Either way I have become a slave to that uncontrolled desire.

But if I control that desire and focus it on something noble worthy and good, then the filling of that desire is a pleasure. AND I get what I want! No feelings of deprivation because, you see, I am getting exactly what I desire and am free to do that without guilt.

So let's be careful in fantasizing about "all that yummy food", lest we enslave ourselves in the process.

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
I've seen many posts lately about cravings, and it really hit me this weekend that my actual cravings have changed.

In the past, and on previous programs, I would crave things that were blatantly fat-producing things, like ice cream, cupcakes, brownies, and the like.

This weekend I dealt with cravings, but I dealt with them in the proper way which is, for me, NOT to succumb.

But WHAT I was craving really made an impression on me. I was craving baba ganouj. I was craving hummous. I was craving shrimp and vegetable spring rolls wrapped in rice paper. Good things, healthy things, and things I still needed to say "no" to for NOW. But not NO when I'm in maintenance!

Just some thoughts.
"The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me." - Ayn Rand

I don't need anyone's permission to change my life. I only need to decide to do it, and then step into that decision with the conviction of my dreams.

"I pity the fool" who tries to stop me. =)

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!


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August 22, 2011- Sept 8th 2011

I don't care if you are 20 years old or 70 years old. I don't care if you have gained and lost over 1,000 pounds in your lifetime, just to be back at the top end of your weight pendulum. What I DO care about is letting you know that no matter what your situation, no matter what your current weight, no matter WHAT your level of present despair, you CAN DO THIS.

Look at my before and afters. I'm not quite finished, I have 30 pounds left to go, but this is my SECOND time on Medifast. We are never a hopeless case. I have gone from a size 26 to a size 6 in 13 months.

Did it take time? Yes. But I was happy and felt AWESOME after WEEK ONE was completed. Yes, you heard me, week 1. I felt an optimism I had not felt, a certainty that this time was THE last time.

I have built around myself a support system that is multi-faceted. I reached out for help. I leaned on others when I needed to. Then I learned how to become my OWN cheerleader. Hold MYSELF accountable. Keep the commitments I made to MYSELF on a daily basis and not treat myself like a child.

I got control of my inner-saboteur. She is still there, and she rears her ugly head every once in awhile...but I have a stern talk with her every time and remind her that she can either be on board with this, or go back into the closet. Sometimes that doesn't work and we end up mud-wrestling. Occasionally she wins. Most times I win.

Anything is possible.

I believe that God is in control, but I believe that He has allowed US to be in control of our health in so much as we can be. God did not design me to be obese. I had done that to myself. Now I've stepped in to what I believe is my true calling, my true destiny, and my authentic self. I am vibrant, not hiding. I am smiling, not scowling. I smile at life when I wake up in the mornings, instead of dreading the day.

It is never too late to become the person we might have been.

Who is that person? Take some time this week and dream. Dream BIG!!! What would you do "if only" you were a normal weight? Where would you go? What would you do? Who would you be? Because I want you to catch a glimpse of your own potential. We are powerful beings, you and I. I think we are afraid of our own potential. I am here to tell you there is no need to be afraid of who you 'might have been', who you CAN BE. Just step into it.

How? Make your next meal an On Plan Medifast Meal. Drink your water. Go about your business. In time, you will become that person. Be intentional about your choices. Don't let life HAPPEN to you, don't always be REACTING to life. MAKE life. MAKE it happen. Yes, you can.

I will leave you with a quote:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

-Marianne Williamson

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
This was on her bio....I really just have no words. I had her picture (attached at bottom) as my avatar for about 1/2 an hour. I couldn't stand it anymore and changed it back to me. It really creeped me out.

"

I'm your average gal next door who just happens to have a body to match the size of her personality. I've never been completely thin, though I have been just under the chunky side. Growing up I wrote a letter to my dad; and in it I told him that my favorite subject in school was lunch. Who would have guessed? Throughout school I was always a top student. I graduated high school in the top ten percent of my class. I was about 300 pounds then. Later I also attended a couple semesters of college. From the time I was 20 to the time I was 30, I went from 300 pounds to 500 pounds. This weight wasn't intentionally gained.


Though, I noticed that I liked the way the weight felt, and the way my body was filling out. Then, one day at 30 years old I was surfing the net. I came across a dating banner for SSBBW's. I had never heard that term before. I decided to find out what it meant. That one add got the ball rolling for me. I found out about FA's and the world of larger women. I was impressed and excited. Deep down I had always known I wanted to be fat, but I thought I was alone in this feeling. I began to look into how fat other people were able to become, how they did it, side effects, and whether it could be done in a safe and healthy manner. The more I learned, the more I wanted to let go and gain weight.


So, at 500 pounds I decided I was ready. It wasn't until several pounds later that I began to feel the freedom and the absolute joy of being fat and getting fatter. The more weight I put on the better I felt, and the more confidence I seemed to gain. I began to change the way I did things according to my weight. I wasn't out running marathons by any means, but I tried to stay as active as possible. I began to eat just a bit more each day than the previous day. Before I knew it I was 700. I'm still very healthy, very mobile, and active. I'm looking forward to pushing the limits and seeing just how fat I can get. It's hard to put into words what it feels like.


The way my body moves on its own, yet with me is poetry in motion. Being this size has caused me to have to take life slower, That enables me to enjoy alot of life's little things that most people are so busy they over look. There is a bit of rebellion to being my size. I mean after all aren't we taught that you aren't supposed to be fat? I love marching to my own beat and thinking outside of the box. Not that there would be a box big enough to put me in either size wise or size wise relating to my personality. :) Being this fat has given me a feeling of total freedom and not only self acceptance but confidence. I wish other women could find the freedom that unlocks that within themselves."

Attachment: Fatwoman.jpg
I had to put this shock photo up as my avatar for a day or two.

(*Edit: I changed it within 1/2 hour it creeped me out! It is attached at the bottom of this blog and my next one too.....)

This lady lives in Casa Grande and wants to...WANTS TO... is ACTIVELY WORKING TOWARDS being the fattest woman in the world. Her name is Susanne Eman and she has two teenage boys.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3757881/Worlds-fattest-mum-Susanne-Eman-wants-to-be-heaviest-ever.html

http://susanneeman.com/

If you read about her your heart will break. And you will be mad. Mad at her, mad at what she represents, mad at what kind of mother she is being to her sons.

Just thought I'd share. No, this is not my before picture. But what it IS serving right now to me is as a reminder. A reminder of the fact that no matter how big I thought I was when I began this journey AGAIN last summer, I could always be bigger. And if I give up on me again, someday I could actually be as big as this woman. The human body is capable of storing this much fat. It doesn't happen overnight, but it CAN happen.

I will take it down in time.
Attachment: Fatwoman.jpg
It would be very easy for me to adopt the mindset that because I LOOK normal, I can therefore "eat" what others may consider "normal", ie the typical Western Diet.

Nope. I can't. I will never be able to, either. My body has many many dormant fat cells just waiting to fill up. In fact, they are emitting a hormone RIGHT NOW that is just BEGGING my system to store fatty acids back into them as fat reserves. Begging I tell you. Pleading. And any calories that I consume that are over and above my miniscule daily needs WILL be converted to fat AND stored in the blink of an eye.

So as I said, I may look normal, but I have entered into a very tricky and dangerous part of my journey. The knowledge of this, but the SEEING a "normal" body day in and day out.

So how do I combat the complacency?

1) I have printed off several copies of my "before" picture, the one of me in the pink shirt. I post one on my fridge, I post one by my side door (the one I use most). I keep one in my purse, and I keep a wallet sized one in a cute little Vera Bradley coin purse, in the picture window part of the purse so I can see it every time I search for change.

2) I keep my size 26 "Fat Pants" and my XXXL Holiday Sweater on the top shelf of my closet just in case I need a more poignant visual reminder of how much I have accomplished.

3) I read and re-read "Dr. A's Habits of Health", to truly work my way towards Optimal Health and not just some jean size accomplishment. Although I'll take that too LOL.

4) I will help as many people as I can do what I did. Paying it forward.

5) I may go have a cup of coffee once a month at an all-you-can-eat buffet and just observe with my journal in hand. And just watch.

I never want to forget. Because my body will ALWAYS want to get back there. It is what years of abuse have done to my system and my metabolism.

And one day I will LOOK like that skinny girl who can eat whatever she wants and never gain an ounce, but I will NOT BE her. Remembrance. Never go back.

My change this week into a size 6 jean has really jolted me into an acute awareness of where I have actually come from this last year. From a size 26 to a size 6. It is just incredible to me. And I love to help inspire the potential in others to do the same thing I did.

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
Just a quick update, I had a fantastic weekend! And even though my ticker has only moved about 5 pounds this month I have lost 3 jeans sizes in 6 weeks! From a 12 to a 6!

Warp speed! I knew when it started to FINALLY come off my bum and thighs, it would come off ONLY from there! And it pretty much has! I love this program!
Went to see a great friend today and had a very refreshing time just TALKING real life stuff. So blessed to have her in my life.

It reminded me that there is "real life in progress" for all of us. There is never a "good" or "optimal" time to get control of our own health, and NOW is ALWAYS the best plan.

She and I are getting healthy. It sure helps to have a friend doing it with and alongside you! And no matter what the future holds for all of us going on this amazing journey, I have one thing to say.

OUR BEST LIVING IS IN FRONT OF US NOT BEHIND US!

Yes. Our "Glory Days" are yet to be lived. We, all of us, have this amazing potential within us to BECOME the person we MIGHT HAVE been.

We are doing that. Chips fall where they may. Funny quick story about those chips, today my chips fell standing in line to buy a Coke Zero at the Minute Mart and realizing the jailbait teen-aged boy behind me had just been checking out my BUM!!! I think I chuckled out loud as I walked to my car thinking how far I've come in a year. And realizing once again that I am blessed to have found a plan that actually works.

And eyes to yourself, you young whipper-snapper, I am your MOMMA'S AGE! AND I'm married.

Serves me right for actually WEARING my size 6 White House/Black Market black jeans out in public. Tee Hee.

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
Sometimes I'm a little scared to get off this chair and off this computer and make my way to my bed, although I really REALLY need to.

Why? Because I have to walk past the kitchen. And if anyone thinks that this ole' chick doesn't get cravings, or has this whole weight thing beat and figured out and handled, well think again.

I still struggle with temptations. And I still take it a day at a time.

Sometimes it is as if my inner-saboteur delights in getting me THIS FAR in the day...just to tempt me to throw it down the drain with a slip-up.

Sometimes I feel like my inner-saboteur is not satisfied if I don't deviate from the plan. Well yes, I KNOW that is the case. So just for today (because all we can handle is one day at a time don't ya know!), JUST for today, JUST for this walk from my computer down the hall to my bed, I will say no. I will be successful. Tomorrow I will worry about tomorrow.

Time to take "the walk".......I'm confident I'll be victorious. Just writing it out has helped. =) Have a great night! Oh, and incase you didn't see my previous blog today, this little chickie is able to wear her SIZE 6 JEANS! Take THAT inner-saboteur!

And with that, I'm off to bed.

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
Oh yes. I bought two pairs of size 6 White House/Black Market jeans a few months ago knowing I would be in them this fall. And it's not even this fall yet. I am so excited.

I have a little muffin top but nothing that prevents me from wearing these puppies out in public with a loose T-shirt!

So I went to our local Coffee Shop today feeling all pretty in my SIZE 6 JEANS! YES, you can still feel cute and sexy at age 41! Just had to shout it out there. Far cry from size 26. Oh yes. I'm lovin' it! Just had to share.
OK here is a reality check. Labor Day, don'tcha know, is just another 24 hour day.

So wake up, have your 1st Medifast meal, drink your water, and continue through your day.

Going to a BBQ? Great! Enjoy the company. All they have is Brats and Dogs? Then eat your lean and green before you go and take a bag of BBQ Bites, and drink Diet Coke or water.

Challenge yourself to focus on the PEOPLE at the event. NOT the food. DON'T complain, don't even open your mouth at your own "deprivations", or you will talk yourself into feeling sorry for yourselves. Then you'll be a wet blanket.

Don't even mention it. If someone asks, say "I'm not really hungry" or "I ate before I came" or "My stomach is giving me trouble today".....

And let it be that. If someone else gives you a hard time, and you've already told them you weren't hungry, ask them "Why is it so important to you that I overeat today?"
"Just for today I will exercise my soul in three ways. I will do somebody a good turn, and not get found out; if anyone knows of it it will not count' I will do at least 3 things I don't want to do, just for exercise.

I will not show anyone that my feelings are hurt - they may be hurt but today I will not show it.

Just for today I will be agreeable. I will look as well as I can, dress becomingly, talk low, act courteously, criticize not one bit, not find fault with anything, and not try to improve or regulate anybody but myself."

I found this on a bookmark last week and wrote it down. It impacted me. Just for today, I will follow the precepts.

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
I was told this today by one of the other parents while picking up my Kindergartner at school. I love these little "pick-me-ups" that come out of the blue and are SO encouraging! Awesome NSV if I do say it myself!

That is what 1 year on Medifast will do when you start in a size 26 jeans and work your way down to an 8 I guess! So stick to it, folks! You will NOT be disappointed! And you never know who you might inspire.
Sometimes the struggle boils down to one hour, one minute at a time. It is in these moments where we meet ourselves, REALLY meet ourselves. Are we the stuff of heroes? Or will we cave at the first opportunity?

I truly have a desire in my heart to do something heroic today. So I will stay on Medifast as written in the Quick Start Guide, and I will clean my kitchen. And in my eyes and in my family's eyes I will be a hero today.

How about you?
I wanted to do a little shout out to anyone who is just starting or is thinking about starting this program, who may have a significant amount of weight to lose, and who is already discouraged or depressed at how far they have to go.

Happy doesn't wait for you to get to goal.

Happy starts the minute YOU start the program. Honest.

Ok, well there IS the first three days. There is that. I can't say that happy starts really THEN. But happy DOES start on day 4 with renewed energy, and that little something that probably feels foreign to many just starting out...HOPE.

Hope. The knowledge that this time is for real. The knowledge that the program IS simple (not easy) and understandable, and most importantly, livable.

The knowledge in reading other people's success stores, blogs, and MyPage's, that success can be yours too if you simply follow the plan.

Before you know it, your happy factor has increased and you are full blown happy a month in to your plan!

So be encouraged. Happy doesn't wait for you to get to goal.

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
Don't know if I mentioned this weekend that I made it to the coveted size 8 Levi's. Oh yes. I'm there. Today I was wearing my comfy size 12 cut-offs and I could pull them off without unbuttoning them. A classic sign to self that it is indeed time to retire them. So I got out my scissors and "cut off" my Gap Lowrise 10's which are now my new "comfy" pants.

But here is the awesome part. I CAN WEAR MY LEVI'S 8's!! Oh yes. I am super excited about them apples. Far cry from my (tight!) size 26's.

Survived the weekend, given a NSV today. Yip yip yahoo.

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
I was restless today. And snack-y. I'm not gonna lie.

I didn't indulge the snackiness, and the restlessness has NOT gone away. But I'm not going to try to appease my inner-brat by giving her what she thinks she wants because, you see, I know better.

And because I, and not she, is driving this boat, I will sit here and blog, not eat, because yes even I still struggle through weekends at times.

But I'm almost through it. And if I can give ONE person any kind of support RIGHT NOW by reading my blog, then I have succeeded.

I came from a size 26 (and probably should have been wearing size 28's....) and XXXL or XXXXL tops to size 8 jeans and S-M tops. I have every reason in the world to continue moving forward, not take a step back. So I will grin and bear it because sometimes we have to ACT like we have it together on our eating plan until our emotions catch up with us. For me, "acting" like I have it together means going through the actual motions of having it together, ie NOT eating off plan. Whether I feel like it or not. So I guess I'm acting. But I will get the desired results, and my emotions will catch up with me tomorrow and I will be thankful that I got through tonight.

So here's to faking it until I make it! When it gets late enough I'm just going to BED!!!! =)

Happy Medifasting y'all!
It's funny, I hear much about "sustainable farming" and "sustainable growth" but not much about "sustainable living". So I got to thinking about it this afternoon.

What IS sustainable living? Well, let's look at the two words separately.

sus·tain·a·ble

1.
capable of being supported or upheld, as by having its weight borne from below.
2.
pertaining to a system that maintains its own viability by using techniques that allow for continual reuse: sustainable agriculture. Aquaculture is a sustainable alternative to overfishing.
3.
able to be maintained or kept going, as an action or process: a sustainable negotiation between the two countries.
4.
able to be confirmed or upheld: a sustainable decision.
5.
able to be supported as with the basic necessities or sufficient funds: a sustainable life.

liv·ing

1.
having life; being alive; not dead: living persons.
2.
in actual existence or use; extant: living languages.
3.
active or thriving; vigorous; strong: a living faith.
4.
burning or glowing, as a coal.
5.
flowing freely, as water.

So, if I put any/all of those together I get the following: Thriving, vigorous and strong actual existence, able to be maintained or upheld as an action or process.

THAT is what I want. And I want it vibrantly. I want it abundantly.

I look back on how I was "living" when I weighed 268. Oh, to be sure, I was "alive", but I was not "living".

I was drawing breath. But my heart was dying. My soul was just about lifeless. I had been sucked dry.

I believe that God places lessons on our heart, and when our hearts break, they drop in. I learned, in a furnace, in a pressure cooker that was my life, that if I was going to really live I needed the courage to just follow the Medifast plan for ONE DAY. That is all I needed. Just one day.

So I drew every ounce of strength I had. Then I asked the Lord to back up my good decisions with His supernatural strength. And I managed to squeak out one day.

I have been waking up with that same determination every day since. It has been almost 13 months now.

There have been days my decisions were not as good as they could have been. There have been days I grit my teeth and held on by my fingernails. There have been days that I woke up in the morning, ashamed of what I had done the day/night before. But I kept going. I kept on. I was determined. And I decided that one bad decision does NOT define me. So I kept going.

I am now almost 13 months into my plan and 110 pounds down from my high of 268. And I continue. And my life has changed in so many ways I cannot even begin to catalog them for you. So I will just say I am happy. Life is great. I am living sustainably. I hope you will join me.

Who is with me?

Laugh if you must. I am laughing this morning after feeling my left hip/side abdomen area and feeling a solid mass.

I was turned slightly to the side, and I felt the other side and didn't feel it...then I straightened out and they both felt the same. Oh my goodness. I just felt a muscle.

I honestly got a little freaked out for a minute, a wave of panic overwhelmed my little brain and my first thought was "There is a LUMP in the SIDE of my ABDOMEN!!!"

Um, yes, but it has been covered up for years by so much fat it just always felt jiggly, not solid. Yes. Hello muscles.

Started at 268, down to 158. Feeling grand. From a 48 BMI to a 27 BMI. Size 26 jeans to a size 8. Oh yeah!

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
Oh "Normal BMI" I have you in my sights! And at my rate of loss, which averages 2 lbs/week, you will be MINE by my 42nd Birthday on October 22nd.

I look forward to spending many decades to come at a "normal" BMI. I have said "goodbye" to obesity forever.

I am so excited. =)
Unless we are on a feeding tube, we are all 100% in control of and responsible for what we put in our mouths.

The technique I have found works EVERY time it is tried to be successful when battling cravings or unexpected items in the office break room is Dr. A's "Stop...Challenge...Choose".

Stop yourself. Suspend all action while you CHALLENGE what you are about to or being tempted to do. Will carrying through with your intended action take you towards your ultimate goal of optimal health? CHOOSE what action you will take. Yes, pointing your toes towards the door and propelling yourself through it back to your desk IS an option, as much as it doesn't FEEL like an option when you are in the throes of temptation.

Stop. Challenge. Choose.

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
I am building around myself a micro-environment of health. I am surrounding myself with a support system of like-minded people.

And today I went to my second OA meeting. The first OA meeting I was dragged to when I was 19 years old by a well-meaning neighbor. I never went back because "Hey, I don't have that problem..."

22 years later, and about 400 pounds lost gained lost gained lost gained and lost, I have been admitting for some time now that yes, I am an over eater.

What else could explain the lose-gain-repent-repeat behavior over the past 30 years of my life?

So I went. I felt uplifted. I felt at peace. Abstinence will do that. And non-abstinence promotes anxiety, fear, and a feeling of being out of control. I choose abstinence.

When the decisions in my life come from a place of peace and serenity, things usually turn out A-OK. When I make decisions from a place of fear, that is when things are all in confusion and usually I don't make the right decision.

For awhile now I have felt at peace with my life, and at peace with my calling. It is a good place to live life from, let me tell you. I wish it for all of you. And for me it all started with abstinence.

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
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Recent Blogs...September 8- Sept 19 2011

"I am not feeling restricted and deprived, I am free and choosing"... is what I wrote on a comment of a blog today. And it really got me thinking about "the" difference for me.

I have had an interesting journey. The first time I did Medifast was in 06/07, and I lost 140 pounds, and I felt restricted and deprived the entire time I did the plan. I white knuckled it through and lost the weight.

This time, I'm down 113 pounds, and I am NOT feeling restricted and deprived. I have really wrapped my head around the fact that I am FREE, and I am CHOOSING to do that which will carry me TOWARDS optimal health.

Not just AWAY from feeling bad about myself.

There IS a difference.

I am so excited to see what it is I will become in this process, to continue to see how my life will change even more. It has already changed so much I can't even tell you. But my motivation is optimal health and ultra health, NOT just "feeling better about myself and not hating myself".

That only got me so far, then I realized that I STILL didn't feel great about myself because I hadn't given myself anything to work TOWARDS. So when I got to my goal the first time, sure I looked great on the outside, but all I was left with was a big void of NOT being who I WAS, and being GLAD for that.

But if you AREN'T who you WERE anymore, who ARE you? I didn't understand that concept last time. And therefore I didn't stay at goal long.

This time I am dreaming of and falling in love with and BECOMING my AUTHENTIC self. The person I 'might have' been, the person I AM becoming! If I love her I'll want to take care of her and preserve her good health.

So I am doing this thing. I love who I am, I love who I am becoming.

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
Honestly, he did. My husband began Medifast yesterday, and he is on day 2 today. He has used Medifast on and off over the last 5 or 6 years to maintain his weight, so this in itself is not a surprise.

What did shock me is that he took my copy of Dr. Andersen's Habits of Health to the coffee shop today and came back a changed man.

I kid you not. He read through the introduction, the forward, the preface, and chapters 1-3 and he came home babbling all sorts of things about inspiration, potential, positive goals, changing one's destiny, moving towards optimal health....

All the same FREAKING THINGS I have been talking to him and the world about these last 6 months!

=)

I am so happy! =) An afternoon spent with Dr. Andersen and my husband is ready to shout it from the rooftops!

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
Will you be ON PLAN or OFF PLAN?

Make the choice first thing, then get on with your day, doing your Medifast in the background of your life.

The more you bring individual food choices into the rest of your day, the more the food has won because it is dominating your thoughts. Don't let it.

Decide today whom you will serve....optimal health, (and all the hopes and dreams of health you have for yourself), or FOOD.

I look at it is a spiritual choice for myself. To live as the person God intended me to be (a healthy weight, as He designed me to be), or indulging my flesh with the yummy food and being a glutton. Because if I am gaining weight, I am consuming more than I need. And that makes me a glutton.

I am a Christian. I love the Lord. I make no secret of it. And when I think about it, gluttony is a serious sin as far as scripture is concerned, but in the Western Culture we have taken the fangs out of it and made light of it. We have church potlucks and go back for seconds. We go out with the church lady friends and indulge in a heavy meal complete with dessert. We have ice cream socials and teach our children that food is worthy of celebration. Food is worthy of honor and that we bow down and serve....food.

Food determines what kind of day we will have. Food determines whether we will feel deprived or not today. Food makes us angry. Food makes us sad. Food makes us giddy and euphoric when we cut loose and indulge in the drug aspect of it. Food has power over us. Our kids see that too. They are learning that from us.

My hope and prayer is that I can continue to become indifferent towards food. Yes, that is correct. Indifferent. Food is fuel. It is not an event. For me, anyway.

Those are my thoughts for today.

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat.
Oh Yes. It is in fact a PINK Vespa 150CC Scooter. Oh, YESSSSS!

This is what I could picture me riding on a year ago when I began. And I bought it today. 28 more pounds, when I get to 128, I get to ride it!!!
Attachment: pinkvespa.jpg
It is so interesting how this journey changes our perceptions, slowly, over time.

I would have hardly noticed a year ago to read a blog that claimed that a certain situation or person or scenario or time of the month "caused" or "made" someone go off plan.

"Of course I went off plan"....the blogs sometimes state, as if it is inevitable, and, well, who wouldn't?

Now when I read those statements I cringe.

I don't cringe out of anger, I cringe out of sorrow. Sorrow that I can't communicate in any real way except as an anonymous person on a website to this person that NO, their intake truly IS in their control, and NOTHING makes or causes ANYONE to go off plan.

Going off plan is just such a conditioned response for so many people, they forget that they have a CHOICE.

Stress has always = a pint of Ben and Jerry's or a margarita at the end of a long day, so why ever WOULDN'T it mean that now?

I am here to say we all have a choice.

Sometimes I want to change my avatar back to the pink shirt picture, my "before" picture, because when people see my avatar now I almost lose credence in some people's minds I am sure. "Well, she's made it, how could she possibly know what I'm struggling with"....or "Easy for HER to say, she doesn't know what it is like..."

I want to say I've been there. I've been there for MOST of my life. I have been morbidly obese for most of the last 2o years. There was a stint in 06/07 when I briefly hit my goal weight, then it was right back up.

I am 30 pounds away from goal now. Still considered overweight. Looking forward to transition and maintenance. And I'm here to say that the only thing that separates me from the person who just fell off the wagon after their first 2 days is a single choice.

Some days I am so close to letting it slip away I can almost taste the failure. Again. Then I remember that I get to choose. Nothing is inevitable. So I work the Dr. A's Habits of Health, again and again. I read that book again and again. I do the exercises in that book again and again. Because the only thing separating my size 6 tushie tush from the size 26 kadonkadonk I started with is...the...next...choice.

What will it be today?

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
Some days we can walk on air because we are so elated at what this process of becoming a healthy BMI/weight is doing to our quality of life. Sometimes we just don't feel like it.

There is no "trick" to being successful. But the underlying theme is that we go through the motions even on days we don't feel like it. Because it is our intake that determines our success, not how we feel about it. Whether we are anxious, sad, happy, glad, elated, dejected, mad, embarrassed, overjoyed, peaceful, or resentful, it doesn't matter. As long as we stick to the plan.

Now IF these emotions are dictating and controlling our intake, instead of our commitment to the plan controlling our intake, then we will not be successful in the larger picture. Because if you allow your emotions to determine the success of your Medifast day, then if for example you happen to eat when you are anxious, sad, happy, glad, elated, dejected, mad, embarrassed, overjoyed, peaceful, or resentful, and you don't deliberately STOP that process, then your day is shot.

But if you can practice the STOP, CHALLENGE, CHOOSE method as outlined in Dr. A's Habits of Health book (available for purchase in the MyMedifast store), if you can detach your intake/actions from your emotional state, and do the plan because you are committed to doing the plan, then day in and day out you will see the results you are looking for.

It is not rocket science, but I see many people including me sometimes, banging our heads against the same wall. And usually it is tied to the fact that we are looking to FOOD to fulfill a purpose it is not meant to fill.

How many times do we see or experience ourselves the "Such and so situation in my life MADE me go off plan".

Really? It did? Such and so situation tied you to a chair, forced your mouth open, and shoved those M&M's in, forcing you to swallow upon threat of death? Really?

And so begins the process of disentanglement. Disentangling our every thought, experience, or stress from the immediately following thoughts of food or binging.

So begins the process of becoming less "Food Focused".

Some may be cringing even at the THOUGHT of giving up their security blanket. Well, if we don't give up our security blanket of food, we can't give up our security blanket of fat that we have so insulated ourselves with for much of our lives. Do BE different we must DO differently.

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
Commitment. To ourselves.

Funny, how sometimes when we break a commitment to ourselves we don't think it is a big thing. Maybe that is one of the reasons this program seems to get harder as time goes by. One little slip can turn into 5 little slips and before you know it you are spending more days OFF the plan than ON the plan.

It seems to be harder after we let that first "cheat" in the door.

Why?

Because we aren't valuing our commitment to ourselves.

Then we find we cannot even spend one full day on plan, because why? We have decided that our commitments to ourselves aren't worth honoring.

So how do we fix this? I don't know THE answer, but I do know something that helps! Re-evaluating our primary goals is first. What do we want and why do we want this? If we don't have this target we will never get there, and if we don't have a specific target we risk making Medifast more of a maintenance program. A few days on, a few days off. A few days back on to get what we just gained back off.

The problem with this type of "maintenance" is that it IS short-term. Medifast was never meant to be worked like this, and it is inevitable that unless we regain our focus and begin honoring the commitment to ourselves daily of "I will be on plan today" then we WILL gain our weight back.

So today do what matters most. Stay true to the plan, stay true to yourself. Do what matters most. Get to goal, transition, then maintain.

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
I've decided to be bored with Medifast. I've decided to be bored with the food and bored with the process.

Why? Because I have decided that just as I never again want to be an emotional EATER, neither do I want to be an emotional DIETER.

Neither works out well for me. BOTH are giving food an improper place in my life. Food is not meant to fill a place in my soul, and neither is "dieting".

When I try to stay all pumped up and all excited about the process, well, that is when I know I'm in danger of a fall. Because I need to focus on other things in my life besides food or, well NOT EATING food.

So I don't get jiggy with all the recipes that float around. I don't seek to make a concoction with all of my condiment and snack allowances in order to satisfy my craving. Because it's never satified. I'm not satisfying my craving, I'm FEEDING an addiction when I do that.

And that's just me. No judgment on those who do yummy up their food. For me, I gotta make it liveable, tolerable, and that's about the extent of it for me. Honestly? I want to be DONE with the weight loss portion of this program, and IN to my transition program.

So I medifast. And I rinse and repeat. And I fall every once in awhile, and I pick myself back up and look forward in the direction I am headed, which is optimal health. REALLY living. I hope you'll join me!

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
We all have at our disposal a life changing tool.

A 100% life changing tool.

A tool that, if used correctly, and as it was intended to be used, has the potential to CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

Remember that this weekend. It is your choice. Utilize Medifast as written to CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

That seemingly small decision to have that drink, or to have just a "bite" of the BBQ sandwich, or to skip a Medifast meal or two because you aren't hungry, all of these seemingly SMALL decisions add up to THE DIFFERENCE between those who are successful and, quite frankly, those who are not.

You read many stories on these blogs/board. Guess what? Not all of them are going to be successful. They just aren't. It is a statistical certainty.

But do you know how you can ENSURE that you WILL be part of the 5% that takes it off, then keeps it off?

Stick to the plan, as written, including transition when you get to your goal. THAT is the recipe for success.

So don't think that little piece of soft black licorice that is sitting so innocently in your pantry is harmless.

It has the power to be your undoing. If you choose IT over your goals and dreams you have for yourself.

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
Shout out to Wearebobo and her awesome blog today, about her dream which she is determined to make a reality of world travel and living abroad.

It got me thinking about things. First, I wondered if Wearebobo would have discovered this about herself had she not had the courage to begin and commit to the process of Medifast. Next I began to wonder in my own mind how I have changed over the last year, and I saw some similarities in our desires.

I too wish to travel. When my son goes to college in 12 short years (hee hee) my husband and I want to live abroad. We'd love to rent a little place on the island of Skopelos, in Greece, where we have missionary friends, and just volunteer our time. We'd love to spend a year in Tuscany, and Venice. We want to really see the world.

This last year those desires have really come to the surface for us. And to take it even deeper in my own life, I have noticed that I am de-cluttering my house and donating a TON of stuff to Goodwill on a monthly basis. I have cleaned our garage, and will be finishing that project up in the next month, and I have removed appliances that just aren't needed or used from my kitchen.

I have entered the phase of giving things away. And I feel mentally lighter because of it!

My mantra for deciding what to keep and what to give away is coming down to this: What would I be willing to ship 1/2 way around the world in a steamer trunk by boat? If I won't be taking it with me then, and I'm not REALLY using it right now, then why keep it? Why take up the space in my garage or my house? Things are burdensome and sometimes they just end up owning us!

Now I'm not going to give EVERYTHING I own away and go become a monk with nothing but the clothes on my back. As appealing as that actually sounds sometimes, no joke!

But I do see a parallel attitude of unburdening myself of unneeded possessions at the same time I am doing so with my fat. I sense a paradigm shift. Most of my life up until July of last year I have been a hoarder. Hoarding collections of plates, of quilts, of clothes. Hoarding food. Hoarding fat in my fat cells. Accumulation. Excess. Bulge. Everywhere. Excess weight. Debt. Everything.

But last July (a year ago) when I began Medifast for the second and final time, I began to do the head-work and the soul-work necessary for this to be a lifetime of chasing optimal health. And the results have been AMAZING both physically and on the inside.

I am giving things away, people. I continue to give things away. I am helping people become the best versions of themselves possible by encouraging them along their journey of weight loss!

Man life is good!

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
There's never REALLY an optimal time to start a "diet". But every day is an opportunity to change your LIFE.

We are currently headed in to football season. Cool, crisp nights, tailgating, BBQ's, beer. Followed briskly by Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year, which are what I call the "Heavy-Hitting 4" one after the other. Then there is Valentine's Day, Easter, Anniversaries (many people get married in Spring!), Memorial Day, and back to summer with the pool parties, long hot evenings, and more BBQ's and cookouts, not to mention camping. Finally, Labor Day brings us back full circle.

Many people give up before they start. Because they are looking at this as a diet. But the changes that we make are really LIFESTYLE changes, and they change our lives and ourselves for the better.

If you have 60 lbs to lose, do you realize that if you had started Medifast right after Easter last year, you would most likely be sitting at your goal today? "If Only"......

So if you are lurking on the boards, wanting to change your life, but skeptical about the "Holidays" coming up, don't be. There will be more of them next year. And you will be a healthier, happier you!!

Happy Medifasting! Rinse and Repeat!
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