You know how you make New Year’s resolutions and they never seem to work? Me, too. I decided to take a different perspective this year regarding losing weight; for 2013, I’d like to become healthier and more fit (losing weight would be really nice, too!).
Our daughter Leah and I want to become fitter and began a new program this week called Take Shape for Life. You can learn more about it by clicking here. If you do decide to use this program and hire my new friend and coach, Tina Cochran, please let her know I referred you as I can get a $50 credit! 🙂
I know several people who have used it with great success. Tina decided to do something about her weight when her very honest son told her she needed to go on The Biggest Loser. She lost over 100 pounds on it and now is a health coach with the company! Better yet, she’s maintained her weight for four years!
No one has told me to go on The Biggest Loser yet, and I certainly want to avoid that happening. A full-length mirror and shopping expeditions tell me plenty: it’s past time to do something!
What I like about this program is that you don’t have to starve yourself (I LOVE to eat!) or do hours of aerobics or painful floor exercises to lose the weight (I do NOT like to exercise!)! Studies show the average weight loss for the first two weeks is 2-5 lbs and 1-2 lbs per week after with the Medifast 5 & 1 Plan. You lose weight safely and quickly, using their products in conjunction with healthy foods, exercise and health coaching – without having to get extreme!
The shipment of food that I ordered arrived today. Of course, I had to immediately test the chocolate brownies, lol. Leah’s response was a little less than enthusiastic: “They don’t taste like brownies.” I thought they were good (chocolate anything is good!).
Leah’s dry response to the program is a good reminder for us all, no matter what program or plan we use:
“If you just buy and cook healthy foods and exercise, instead of eating junk, you’ll lose weight and get in shape.”
So simple. Why don’t we do it?
Because we’re slackers. It’s a discipline issue. Healthy food? Exercise? What fun is there in that?
“We don’t enjoy being disciplined. It always seems to cause more pain than joy. But later on, those who learn from that discipline have peace that comes from doing what is right.” Hebrews 12:11, God’s Word Translation
There’s also huge mindset issues surrounding food. We eat because:
- We’re depressed.
- We’re lonely.
- We’re worried.
- We’re angry.
- We’re bored.
- We’re addicted to food – often foods that aren’t healthy for us. Who do you know of who has a problem eating too many asparagus tips or too much cauliflower?
And don’t forget GUILT about food. Have you heard any of these before?
- You should be thankful for those vegetables. There’s starving children in Africa (China, Haiti, America…).
- Don’t waste that food. Do you know how much money we paid for that?
- Food is meant to be enjoyed, like life. Eat!
- What’s wrong with you? Are you sick or something? Why don’t you want any seconds?
- I don’t want to eat alone. It won’t kill you just this once to have the cheesecake. Come on, join me!
We eat, we feel guilty, we diet, we lose a little weight, we slip, the guilt continues.
This is so hard to believe, but as a child I was so thin. I was the shortest, thinnest person in my class throughout school. In junior high school, I was nicknamed “Little Bit” because of it. Other than during my first pregnancy (my daughter Heather) at age 18, I remained a size 3 from 9th grade until I was in my early 30’s.
Over the last 20 years, my weight has gone up and down like a yo yo. When I married Ray over 20 years ago, I was still a size 3. THREE! (I won’t tell you my size now, but let’s just say it’s way past a 3!)
Then I became pregnant. During my pregnancy with Leah, I quickly gained 60 pounds. Yes, 60. (Pre-eclampsia. I was put on strict bed rest and gained even more.)
After I gave birth, I lost it using a doctor-prescribed weight loss pill and by walking daily. Heather and I would walk every day around town, pushing Leah in the stroller. In a couple of months, I got down to a size 7. Not a 3, but I felt so much better about myself.
After I went off the pill, I gained weight back.
This blog post is my confessional: I’m addicted to coke.
Like confessing sins to a priest, it’s now confession time to my faithful readers. Through the years, I’ve lost and gained, lost and gained. Almost always in conjunction with whether or not I’m on coke. No, not cocaine. 🙂 Coke the drink. Will I be sued by the company if I put the real name on here? When I was on the prescription weight-loss pill Redux after I had Leah, I also stopped drinking coke. CLUE – it makes you gain weight!
I love coke! I’ve drank it since I was a child. I’ve stopped drinking it several times, but always go back to it, much like a drug addict on crack or an alcoholic back to alcohol.
I’m not physically addicted to it. I can stop and only have a “withdrawal” headache for a day or so. It’s more like an emotional comfort food, the way some people comfort themselves with cakes, pies, ice cream, chocolate, bread, pasta – only mine is coke. Does anyone relate to this?
I LOVE the taste of it.
I LOVE Sonic happy hour – 99 cent large cokes. What a great deal, like libraries. Leah is so humiliated because I now know some of the Sonic employees by face and by name. They know my face and my black car and they say hi with a smile. They know I want a large coke with a long straw. They know I actually do the TalktoSonic surveys online to be able to get another coke – this time a free Route 44 coke. I love driving around with the radio up and drinking a cold, iced, big coke.
My family and friends tell me to stop drinking it. Even on Facebook, right out in public, a friend posted on my wall this week to drink more water and stop drinking coke.
When I babysat my friends’ kids a couple of years ago, their son asked me every day, “Did you have a coke today? WHY? It’s bad for you! Why don’t you JUST STOP?!” Why indeed?
My last health coach couldn’t help me kick the habit. Only I can make the choice to stop.
Yes, I know how horrible and awful it is for you. Please don’t email me or leave comments telling me how the commercial trucks have to place hazardous materials on their trucks when transporting it. Just pray for me to overcome this terrible habit! Pray hard. I can’t do this without God’s help!
Coke makes you gain weight – and keep it on.
When my weight is lower, I feel good about myself. But usually hungry because I’ve been starving myself, taking prescription Redux, sucking on cokes for energy all day without eating, or forgetting to eat because I’m working hard on my laptop, busy on a project.
When my weight goes up, I feel bad about myself. Fat. Unattractive. Not enough. Less than. Envious, jealous. I look at those 5’8″, thin, sexy women gracing the covers of Cosmopolitan at the Walmart check-out line; skinny, tan teens or 20-somethings girls in tank tops, short shorts and flip flops around town; even women my age who are model-beautiful and thin, and I feel shame about my belly and thighs.
I hate being fat. I’m thankful for my relatively healthy body, and I know God and my family and friends love me anyway, but I hate being so big. I hate not feeling sexy for my husband because I’m fat.
Yes, it’s time to do something.
I’m so done with the mindset issues and the guilt and the envy.
I’m done with people in my life making me feel guilty for enjoying eating.
I’m done with beating myself up for enjoying a chocolate bar.
I’m done with worrying if I’ll get health-related illnesses from being so overweight.
I’m done with feeling physically uncomfortable because of the weight.
I’m done with going shopping and having a hard time finding something I really like because of my size.
Instead, today I’m embracing good food, good water, good health, good feeling exercise like walking and swimming, good fitting, smaller clothes soon. I’m encouraging Leah to embrace these things, too. I’m excited about health coaching with Tina! She has inspired me!
I met recently with her and was relieved to hear her say that she will not call and hound me, being my food mommy or verbally beating me up for what I ate that day. I do that to myself enough!
However, she will help me dig deeper with emotional issues surrounding food, such as why do I (or others) sabotage my fitness success? Why do I eat or drink things that I know are unhealthy, cause me to gain weight, or have no nutritional value whatsoever? Why don’t I consider myself valuable enough or worthy enough to take care of me?
Most importantly, don’t I realize that I can’t fulfill the great purpose God has for my life if I don’t take care of this holy temple that God created and belongs to Him? I can’t achieve the things God wants for me if I’m not feeling well, unhealthy, sick, or even just plain sluggish and tired. I have big dreams in my heart. I believe God put them there. But those dreams can’t come to pass if I’m too fat to do them, if I become sick and unhealthy.
God also doesn’t want me to feel bad about myself when I look in the mirror.
And what are options to fast food or ordering a pizza on the nights I’m tired and don’t feel like cooking, or don’t want to cook?
I’d appreciate your prayers as Leah and I embark on this new, exciting adventure. Taking charge of our health and our fitness. Losing weight in a healthy way.
Meanwhile, be sure to check out Take Shape For Life, too. Just click here. I will let you know how it goes. It can’t hurt!