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Issue
5 |
MakeMeThinner December Newsletter |
December 2003 |
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New Years Resolution
I haven't made any resolutions for years because in the past I
always blew mine within the first few weeks. Therefore, I
haven't wanted to set myself up for failure. Now I think I've
got a handle on some things, thanks to Medifast!
Not all New Year's resolutions have to do with eating plans and
health but in the past, my resolutions were mostly
weight-related.
How 'boutchoo?
Are you currently living moment-by-moment and find that thinking
ahead one month from now is too hard to deal with? People that
reach their goals are goal-setters to begin with. If ya don't
have a goal, how will ya know when ya reach it?
In my personal life I like things tidy. Part of that is by
professional training and some a by-product of my upbringing. I
don't do well living aimlessly. Perhaps it is a result of all
the years as a classroom teacher and the necessity for writing
and implementing lesson plans. Now I did NOT particularly enjoy
writing those lesson plans mind you. Some of us would not do
certain things in life unless they were required, eh?
My students would have preferred that we have extended recess
periods and much longer lunch periods and I would much rather
have taught math, phonics, reading, penmanship and science all
day but it was also necessary for me to teach history, geography
and physical education if my students were to receive a
well-rounded education, to meet the state and district
educational standards. Turning in weekly lesson plans was a
school requirement but in my heart of hearts, I knew it was the
right thing to do. I am a fairly disciplined individual.
People that are successful weight managers are people that have
a plan and work their plan.
While I haven't solidified it yet, off the top of my head my
resolution is gonna be "Healthier than ever before in 2004!"
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Keeping it Off
Like others, I have lost weight before and regained it. I've
lost and regained too many times to count but suffice it to say,
I have literally spent thousands of dollars, more months of my
life ON a diet than off and no one can measure on any type of
scale the heartache and emotional issues that result from
regaining that lost weight. Weight regaining was a way of life
for me, that is before Medifast.
Maintaining weight loss is truly a monumental task - it is more
difficult than losing the weight in the first place. Diets don't
work. That's why we avoid the word DIEt. Look at the first three
letters: it spells DIE!
Some inquiries I receive are from people that have used Medifast
in the past and lost weight using the nutritiously sound, well
balanced soy protein based product but they have regained the
weight they lost. Medifast has proven to be successful for them.
Many have lost a substantial amount of weight - anywhere from 15
pounds to over one hundred pounds. However many regained the
weight they had originally lost plus bonus pounds.
Believe me, I have heard some real interesting reasons why
people say they regained those pounds and zoomed right back up
to where they were before they started dieting! Some are comical
and are real pieces of fiction. More often than not, they break
my heart.
The Medifast program has been around for 23 years now and has
shown to be nutritionally safe, a quick and effective weight
loss plan and has a great weight maintenance program. It works.
If you follow the plan, it cannot fail. People can fail to
follow the plan but the plan does not fail.
After hanging out on planet earth for fifty-five years, I have
made a wonderful discovery: I choose what grub goes into my
mouth. No one has ever held me captive, forced open my jaws and
shoved a Krispy Kreme Donut down my gullet. The only person that
can be held responsible for what goes over my lips and lives
forever on my hips is ME!
Is there a Doctor in the house?
Where was Medifast all those years when I was on my personal
quest for an ideal weight loss program? It was here all along.
My doctors never told me about it because they either didn't
know about it or because the health maintenance organization we
belong to subscribes to no weight loss programs other than their
own sponsored workshop called "Freedom from Diets."
I honestly feel that none of my doctors would ever personally or
consciously withhold something good for me. Their medical oath
states that they are to do no harm. Most doctors don't have the
time in their very busy schedule to explain this soy-based
weight loss program nor do they always have the time to go over
the transition and maintenance plan in detail. Sometimes they
can only merely point us in the right direction and we must do
the research and dig out the information on our own.
I must confess that I was mildly cheesed at my physicians when I
first found out about Medifast. I felt cheated. I felt like they
OUGHT to have known about it and OUGHT to have told me about it.
After a quick attitude adjustment, I took it upon my self to
inform my doctor by giving her several pages of information
about Medifast.
Her reaction was this, "You expect me to read all of this?"
My response, "Yup."
I informed her as best I could during the nine minute medical
check up office call that I was allotted… She continues to
gladly allow me to have blood work done every couple of months
and to leap on her scale to check my weight. She takes the time
to personally write in the margin of my blood test reports:
"Outstanding!"
Does she tell others struggling as you and I have about
Medifast? I have no way of knowing that. She works for a very
large well-known HMO indigenous to the Northwest. She may not be
allowed to mention Medifast to her patients because of the HMO's
regulations and I suspect that she just continues to refer her
obese patients for gastric by-pass surgery or refer them to
their Freedom from Diets workshop as she referred me in the
past.
Winning the Battle of the Bulge
Yo-yo dieting certainly does have an effect upon our bodies -
both mentally and physically. It affects our metabolism. Mine is
probably permanently messed up after all the years I've dieted.
Therefore it is really important to gradually reintroduce foods,
to gradually increase calories and to add gentle exercise
initially and then make it a part of one's DAILY life plan.
Yep, we NEED to exercise most days. I just read a report from a
diabetes publication that states that folks over the age of 40
must exercise in order to reduce their likelihood of developing
insulin intolerance. I would fit that category - I am well over
40 years of age. I LOVE my toes and don't wanna have them lopped
of due to poor circulation and inability to heal. I am over 40,
I eat; therefore, I exercise! In order to raise one's metabolism
after having been on a weight reduction program, exercise IS
necessary.
That means if ya wanna keep that flab off your frame, ya gotta
move, ya gotta sweat, ya gotta exercise. Calories in: fat on -
unless you exercise.
If you go 'Cold Turkey' from weight loss to regular eating and
do not go through a gradual reintroduction of food, your
metabolism may very well remain very low and will not be ready
to assimilate the extra calories you add back.
Look out! Cowabunga Dude and Dudettes! The Flab will fly right
back on your frame!
85% of people who lose weight will gain their weight back unless
they make lifestyle changes. This weight gain/weight loss weight
gain/weight loss cycle is detrimental and it results in
increased health risks.
Weight loss success is not merely an external change. I believe
it requires an internal change as well. It is more than taking
smaller portions. For me, I look at food differently than ever
before. Food is fuel. It is not THE focus when I gather for the
celebration of life and love with my family and friends. Yes,
food seems to be a part of the family gathering times but it is
NOT the most important part. I choose to focus on the people. I
am not going to an orgy; I'm going to a family gathering or an
activity involving my friends. Food is not my focus. It's the
folks, not the food.
Many times people ask me about the odds of keeping off the lost
weight when they wean themselves off of Medifast.
I continue to use several Medifast products a day. Why? Because
I absolutely LOVE how I feel when I use them and absolutely
dislike the way I feel when I do not use them. Why would I wanna
stop using them? Besides, they help me to keep my girlish
figure!
Now I know that nothing tastes as good as thin feels and my
thinness depends upon the fact that I take in only the amount of
calories that I need and NOT the calories I WANT! WANT and NEED
are two separate issues!
The Recipe for Success
Take Shape For Life's focus is nutritional intervention for
health and weight management.
If we continue to eat the way we always have (Before Medifast),
most of us will continue to gain weight. That doesn't paint a
pretty picture does it?
Most Americans feel that we cannot be successful with our eating
habits any more. Does that mean that we are doomed to be fat
forever? I don't think so!
There are certain steps that have been shown to enhance the
likelihood of maintaining an appropriate weight level. See my
December Newsletter for the specifics.
Restricting or limiting caloric intake is only part of the
equation for success. Regular physical activity is the other
part. That is my least favorite aspect of weight maintenance but
it is extremely important. I don't particularly care to wear
glasses either but if I want to avoid hitting cars, to be able
to see who is in my family room, then I must wear glasses. Gosh,
if it were up to me, I'd wear a nightie most days and not ever
wear nylon stockings but social protocol is not entirely up to
me!
I exercise most days because I know how great I feel now and I
do not want to go back to the way I felt when I weighed 258
POUNDS! People who successfully maintain their weight at
appropriate levels DAILY eat breakfast, eat small regularly
spaced meals - every three to four hours, weigh frequently,
successful weight managers have a support system - they are
accountable to someone, successful weight managers plan ahead
and stick to their plan and they exercise most days. Nothing
tastes as good as thin feels.
The long term outlook for people without maintenance support is
very poor.
The long term outlook for people with maintenance support is
excellent.
It's more than a Diet
Here at MakeMeThinner, we provide a Forum for encouragement and
support and you are a great part of that support network. Kudos
to you all!
I have secured my own accountability groups. I started one that
meets regularly at my church, I speak weekly at a Take Shape For
Life Informational/Support meeting and I check in with my
personal physician regularly.
Some people benefit from meeting with a nutritionist or a
behaviorist. Behavior Modification is an excellent tool for
life-long weight maintenance success. Support makes all the
difference in long-term weight management success.
Many people express to me their frustration for having regained
half of what they struggled to lose. People that have used
Medifast in the past mentioned that they did not know how to
transition off. Some quit the program before they reached their
goal weight. I covered the topic of transition in my December
2003 newsletter and you can read it by going to
www.makemethinner.com/forum/
Our goal here at Take Shape For Life is to help you to achieve
and to maintain optimal health by providing you with the tools,
knowledge and support you need. We are not a weight loss
company. We exist to empower people to be able to optimize their
health. We provide a high quality product that also happens to
be healthy, tasty, convenient and fast to procure and to eat.
Many of our clients say Medifast is a healthy fast food!
We feature Medifast products that are manufactured by Jason
Pharmaceuticals. An aspect that appealed to me is that Medifast
products are backed by significant university studies, it is
time-tested (23 years) and there are countless success stories
from physicians and clients alike. I am one of them and so is my
husband Terry, our daughter Becky and her husband Chris and my
brother-in-law Tim, AKA 'Unca '.
Medifast may not be for everyone. It has proven to be very
effective for me - I lost 130 pounds and it continues to prove
to be ideal for me. I have maintained my appropriate weight for
more months than it took me to lose it now and that feels really
good!
I have suggested to some of our clients that once they lose
their weight that they attend weekly weight loss/weight
maintenance support meetings in their area, attend seminars at
their local hospital or through their community college, take a
nutrition course, etc. We can always learn helpful tips and it
can also provide an accountability link for folks. Some weight
monitoring groups weigh their members weekly which can be a good
thing for some of us, eh? If a person stays within a few pounds
of their goal weight, some well-known international weight
monitoring groups do not charge a weekly fee.
I live in Vancouver, WA and we have a bimonthly support/info
meeting. Perhaps there are some other Take Shape For Life
support meetings in your area - your TSFL Health Advisor usually
can help you to locate a group if there is one in your local
area. If you can't find a local group, why not start your own?
Big gains in losing
What I do today can and will have an affect on my future years.
We have but one child; I do not want her to have to push me
around in a wheelchair because I am overweight and unable to
walk about because I have made some poor choices about what I
eat today.
Because I have lost weight is by no means a guarantee that I
will not end up in a wheelchair some day but I am going to do
all that I can to become as healthy as I can and to stay that
way!
Now I know that may seem like a blunt statement or may even
appear to be trite or glibly written but my point is this: many
illnesses (85% of illnesses) are directly or indirectly related
to nutrition. After having heard Dr. Wayne Andersen speak at a
recent leadership training seminar I understand that the cause
and effect of high-fat, high calorie foods is heart surgery.
Dr. Wayne ought to know - he graduated first in his class from
medical school, he has been a board certified anesthesiologist
since 1986 and was the tenth physician in the United States to
receive his board certification in Critical Care Medicine. He
has repaired a lot of hearts in the operating room over the
years! I am ever so thankful that I made a choice to choose
Medifast and to make a significant lifestyle change.
Some permanent damage has occurred to my bod because of the
years of wanton eating. My joints have been ground away because
of the years I was morbidly obese. I weighed more than one
hundred pounds over my ideal weight. My joints were not designed
to support a 258 pound body, I'm only five feet six and a half
inches tall, not six feet six and a half inches tall!
I reached a point where I decided to take command of my life and
made some lifelong changes. I love the name of our company: Take
Shape For Life. That's what I did. I did it FOR LIFE, not just
for a short time fix.
I did it for myself. I did it for my family.
Only YOU can decide why you want to lose and maintain an
appropriate weight. Only YOU can decide to do it and you can do
it for a short time or you can decide to do it for life. You can
decide to do it for your family, for an upcoming special event
or you can do it for yourself and you can do it for your life. I
think you are totally worth it. DIY!
It is not easy to make major lifestyle changes. Some of us are
in a position that if we do not make some changes now, if we do
not take the time to exercise and take the time to lose the
unhealthy weight, we will be forced to deal with an illness in
the future and the illness we contract may take more than just
our time, it may take our very life.
We're all worth it
Making a lifestyle changes takes personal commitment, it takes
great effort, it takes time - time from an already
time-stretched day, and it takes money - yep! It's another chink
out of our puny monthly budget but Medifast makes it easier to
do all those things. In the long run, it is very cost-effective.
I don't spend our hard-earned $ on nutritionally worthless
high-fat and high-calorie junk food! Medifast is premium
nutritional food and frankly, I think I'm worth it and so does
Terry!
Yes, this is our business and yep, I am biased but it is only
because I have found the antidote for living in the 21st
Century! Over one million people have safely used these soy
protein based products. It works for me, it has worked for
others and just maybe it is what you've been looking for, too!
Here at MakeMeThinner we do our very best to provide personal
help for our clients. We encourage you to frequently scope out
our website, read through our fantastic forum, you may always
personally write to Terry, Unca (my brother-in-law), or to me.
Give a family member or a friend the gift of health, too. Tell
them about us.
The MakeMeThinner Gang is committed to helping you to get
healthy and to stay that way.
Winter Wonderland Sale
Yep Folks. It's ALL on sale! Up to 40% off on some products.
We're taking advantage of this fantastic sale to stock up for
the New Year.
Follow this link to see the details.
We hope you have enjoyed this month's newsletter and hope that
you will take advantage of the Winter Wonderland sale. This is a
great opportunity to stock up for the new year. For those of you
already on the plan, this offers a great opportunity to
reinforce your commitment to the program. For those of you still
deciding on whether to start the plan, take this opportunity to
kick off the new year with the goal of better health for the
future.
The Medifast plan - roughly $250 a month
All the support and guidance you need to succeed - free
Your health and well being - Priceless |
Medifast/Take Shape for Life are registered trade marks of Jason
Enterprises, Inc.
If you'd like to submit an article or a Mah-vel-ous Medifast
Moment for our monthly newsletter, send it to
webmaster@makemethinner.com
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For previous issues of the MakeMeThinner Medifast Newsletter
visit:
http://www.makemethinner.com/newsletter/ |
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