|
|
|
Issue
6 |
MakeMeThinner January Newsletter |
January 2004 |
|
--->Feature |
|
New Year, New You
A line in Frank Sinatra’s song, "My Way" included the phrase,
“Regrets? I’ve had a few…” My husband Terry and I decided to
live with no regrets. As pastors, we have spent a lot of time
with people that have come to the end of their days. Often they
share their regrets. For years I lived with regrets. Regrets are
no longer an option for me.
My obesity prevented me from enjoying life to its fullest. I was
limited by my mobility and by my size. I was unable to
comfortably fit in an airline seat or in the seats at amusement
parks. I was unable to wear clothing that was appropriate for my
age. I hated having a matronly figure when I was thirty years
old.
Medifast virtually changed our lives.
A New Year is dawning and it can be the beginning of a New You!
Terry gave me a terrific Christmas gift. It is a Mary Engelbreit
ceramic mug (for drinking my daily water allotment!). Across the
top of the mug in block letters it says, “DON’T LOOK BACK.”
There is a picture of a character carrying a suitcase in one
hand and a “hobo” stick slung over his shoulder. It implies that
all his worldly belongings are crammed in his suitcase and tied
in the knapsack attached at the end of the stick.
There is a crossroad with two paths. One leads forward, a long
winding path through an unknown forest; the other known pathway
is shorter and also indicates a forest.
An owl sits upon the road sign pointing in opposite directions.
One arrow points back, the lettering at the top says, “No Longer
An Option” The little guy with the suitcase, took the high road
marked with the sign, “Your Life.”
You may very well be standing at the crossroads yourself. Let me
serve as the wise owl that sits atop the sign post. This New
Year two paths lay ahead of you. You may stay where you are,
doing the same old things that you have always done or you can
take the unknown path and begin something new.
If you are in a health crisis, you are facing some choices that
may very well determine your longevity. Choose wisely what you
will do. Terry and I will never regret that we chose Medifast
and that we chose life.
The rest of your life lies before you. Like the gang here at
MakeMeThinner, you may choose to not look back and to go for a
New Year and a New You. It may be the middle of winter and you
are all bundled up in your sweats and wooly socks but all too
soon, spring will be here, followed quickly by summer.
Do you wanna spend another spring and summer sitting on the
sidelines, watching life pass you by or do you wanna live with
no regrets and participate in all that life brings your way?
Looking back is no longer an option for us.
|
|
--->News, Articles and Special
Offers |
Your Goal in 2004
Have ya been watchin' television lately? The recent cold snap
means fewer outdoor adventures for me and I find that the
television in our family room has been on more than I personally
prefer. While putting away the CHRISTmas decorations, I saw
Whoopi Goldberg espousing her recent weight loss based on a can
of milk laced with sugar. (Compare the labels n the nutritional
content of a Medifast shake and Slimfast!)
As I waited in the check out line at the grocery store, I spied
the latest People Magazine with testimonies about "How Real
People Lost weight - And Kept It Off."
We are bombarded by the latest diet programs from every media
source. It is difficult to know what plan to choose. Over the
years, I have tried many of them but was never able to maintain
a healthy normal weight until I was introduced to the Medifast
plan. My journey to success began the day I chose to follow
Medifast, the prescription for life. My old eating habits and
sedentary lifestyle are no longer an option for me.
What's your goal for 2004? If it is to get healthy, this can be
the year that you succeed! For less than $10 a day, we can
become your grocery store - your food can be delivered to your
door, you'll get great support and you will get healthier one
shake at a time. This will absolutely work for both men and
women.
Dieters know that dieting does not work! My body never told me
to eat celery sticks, it told me to eat Ben and Jerry's!
Don't give up! Get on with it! Become a better you.
New Year, New You.
You can get started by giving Terry a call at 1-800-621-1927
A goal is Reached One Step at a Time.
There is no sudden leap to greatness.
Try as we might, we just cannot wiggle our nose like Samantha
from the old weekly television sitcom, “Bewitched” and have
everything cleaned up and in order.
Your success lies in doing, day by day.
The key word here is DOING. ‘Doing’ is a verb; it is an action
word. If we want to be successful in 2004, we must be doing the
things that lead to success and we must do them day by day.
Your upward reach comes from working well and carefully.
Our Medifast plan works well – we have the university studies to
back it up and twenty three years of success. Carefully follow
our plan for good health and you will reach and maintain your
weight goals.
Good work done little by little becomes great work. When you do
the right things – choose carefully what you eat and plan to eat
on time every time – little by little you WILL become healthy –
follow the plan step by step – one shake at a time, we’ll change
your shape and your health!
Your house of health success will be built shake by shake.
The secret is patience. Perseverance.
A bottle fills drop by drop.
You’ll become healthier slurp by slurp of your shake. Every time
I take a sip of water from my DON’T LOOK BACK mug, I remind
myself that my old ways and old habits are no longer an option
for me. I look forward to the path that leads to health and
wealth.
I am healthier than I have ever been and I absolutely love the
opportunities that Medifast has given to me to help people like
you. I look forward to meeting and talking to our Medifast
clients. You are part of our family and we rejoice with you when
you are able to eliminate medications and do things that you
were unable to do before Medifast. The antidote for the 21st
century is not another pill, it is nutritious good tasting
healthy food, it is Medifast.
Fat and Happy
I read a hilarious list of holiday dieting tips last month
and meant to share it with you sooner but because of my father’s
illness, I got behind in my correspondence. Daddy’s heart attack
has renewed my desire to make healthy food choices this year.
At the Pettit household, we are cleaning out the cupboards and
refrigerator of all the holiday junk food and renewing our
resolve to take good care of ourselves. The relatives may have
gone back to their respective homes, the holiday decorations may
be packed away and this may be Cookieless January, but there
will be many opportunities this month where you will be faced
with opportunities to gorge at the trough – a potluck, a
luncheon meeting at the Grand Buffet, a birthday party or
dessert after the symphony. It’s out there, Folks: real live
fattening food!
The following article cracked me up and I hope that it makes the
edges of your mouth turn up, too.
Thou Shalt Not Skim Flavor From The Holidays
by Craig Wilson, USA TODAY
I hate this time of year. Not for its crass commercialism and
forced frivolity, but because it's the season when the food
police come out with their wagging fingers and annual tips on
how to get through the holidays without gaining 10 pounds. You
can't pick up a magazine without finding a list of holiday
eating do's and don'ts. Eliminate second helpings, high-calorie
sauces and cookies made with butter, they say. Fill up on
vegetable sticks, they say. Good grief. Is your favorite
childhood memory of Christmas a carrot stick? I didn't think so.
Isn't mine, either. A carrot was something you left for Rudolph.
I have my own list of tips for holiday eating. I assure you, if
you follow them, you'll be fat and happy. So what if you don't
make it to New Year's? Your pants won't fit anymore, anyway!
1. About those carrot sticks. Avoid them. Anyone who puts
carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas
spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next
door, where they're serving rum balls.
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like
fine single-malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer
than single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of
year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories
in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an egg-nogaholic
or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two.
It's later than you think. It's Christmas!
3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the
whole point of gravy. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your
mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.
4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made
with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother?
It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an
effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a
Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of
it. Hello? Remember college?
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now
and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing
else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need
after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate
of food and that vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet
table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of
Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many
as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like
a beautiful pair of shoes. You can't leave them behind. You're
not going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice
of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and
one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have
more than one dessert? Labor Day?
9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded
with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all
cost. I mean, have some standards, mate.
10. And one final tip: If you don't feel terrible when
you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been
paying attention. Reread tips. Start over. But hurry! Cookieless
January is just around the corner.
Cookieless January
I know full well, it IS hard to control what ya stuff into your
face. There ARE goodies lurking all about us. Many of our social
outlets revolve around food but we do not HAVE to jeopardize our
health nor must we succumb to mindless eating just because FOOD
IS THERE.
Many items on the banquet table or served at potlucks are not
heart-healthy or conducive to optimizing our health. Some foods
may be palate-pleasers but they are not supportive of our heart
and health. Eating balanced protein and balanced carb foods (The
key word here is BALANCED) results in increased longevity and
allows us to maintain a healthy weight.
While I have lost weight using a variety of different weight
loss programs, fad diets, unsafe herbs and quack diets, I was
never able to really reach a healthy weight and absolutely
unable to maintain a healthy weight. That is, until I was
introduced to the Take Shape For Life Program, featuring
Medifast products!
I have an inquiring mind; I am a thinker, a wonderer. I wanna
know WHY. Therefore, I have often tried to analyze WHY I over
eat. I thought perhaps I could remedy my fatness if I knew WHY
it happened. Sometimes I ate because I was bored or had nothing
else to do, because the food was there and I just absent
mindedly scarfed high calorie and fat-ridden foods and snacks
while doing other things such as reading or watching television.
In my quest to know the reasons why I overate I have never
really come to any one all time reason. I just know that I
really love the taste of food! Perhaps I am a taste-a-holic or a
food-a-holic! I have figured out however, that I was unable to
know how much was too much and when to quit eating. Medifast has
taught me portion control. I have learned to eat smaller meals,
evenly spaced throughout the day. I am very satisfied now eating
smaller quantities of food and I now make better food choices.
In addition to knowing how much to eat at any one time and how
often to eat, I now know which foods are wholesome and safe for
me to eat. Medifast products are not diet supplements and
Medifast is not medical treatment.
The soy-based, well-balanced medical food does give me what I
need, has aided me to get into the habit of eating healthy and
has taught me how to distance myself from slipping back into my
old eating habits.
Just as the Take Shape For Life program is well-planned, I am
now a well-planned person, too. I know in advance how much I
will eat and what I will eat. It took me 7 months to lose 130
pounds and I have successfully maintained my healthy weight for
11 months. I continue to use Medifast products on a daily basis
because it has proven to be a healthy alternative to the foods
available today.
I eat several healthy regular food snacks every day and I eat a
healthy regular meal every day. I love how I feel and how I look
with Medifast products. I want to optimize my heart health. It
is important for me now that I have become aware of the fact
that we have heart disease in our family line. My 80 year old
Daddy had a massive heart attack on January 13th and remained
in the cardiac intensive care unit for five weeks. After
spending ten days in cardiac recovery, he is currently in a
rehab center, very weak and shaky. He has to take handfuls of
medications now, he must gradually build up his strength and
hopefully he’ll soon be off of oxygen and be able to return
home.
It is sobering to read the instruction manual for people with
pacemakers, new heart valves and heart disease. A mint green
backless cotton gown is not my best look…
By eating healthy and regularly exercising, I am improving my
overall health, reducing my own risk for heart disease, stroke,
diabetes, certain cancers and improving the way others perceive
me.
The Awesome Leopard Woman
We live in a fat prejudiced society. Before I lost weight I did
not have doors opened for me. Now that I am thin and trim, men
open doors for me, folks help me carry my heavy boxes of college
catalogs from the storeroom to my classroom, people look me in
the eye when they talk to me, and they remember my name when
they meet me. “You’re Nancy Pettit, the Medifast Lady!” the
grocery clerk said to me the other day.
When I was obese I felt like I was a non-person. See my October
Newsletter for how I was beige-ing when I was obese. (Here’s a
link http://www.makemethinner.com/newsletter/medifast-october-newsletter.htm)
No longer am I a non-person. Amazing things happen to me as a
result of Medifast
I now enjoy shopping for and wearing stylish clothing. Due to my
leopard nylons, leopard faux fur vest, jumper, sweaters, etc. I
am known as “Leopard Woman” and as I mentioned, amazing things
happen to me!
A few weeks ago a gorgeous woman wearing a leopard print coat
attended our church with my friend Bill, one of our church
members.
After church Bill was assisting his friend with her coat and I
said, “Hey, hey! Bill, ya got the wrong woman! After all, I AM
Leopard Woman – bring that coat right over here!” Kiddingly, I
said to an elderly church member lady, “Outta my way, Grandma,
I’ve gotta see that coat!”
Bill had told his friend all about me and how much weight I had
lost and of my love for leopard print clothing. That precious
lady gave me her coat!
Seriously! Right there on the spot! She told me it was meant for
me and that it looked fabulous on my trim figure! Gosh! NO ONE
ever gave me anything like that before. Leopard print coats
don’t come in ‘one size fits all.’ I now have a beautiful
leopard print coat and a friend for life!
When I met Coach and celebrity sportscaster Dick Vitale in
August 2003 at the TSFL Conference in Orlando, Florida, I showed
him my ‘before’ Medifast pictures and he looked at me, back to
the pictures, looked at me again and then said to me, “You are
awesome, Baby!”
He was so amazed and he introduced me to his wife, to his
daughter and to his son-in-law and had me show them my ‘before’
Medifast pictures, too. Coach Vitale said I, Nancy Kay Pettit am
awesome! When I weighed 258 pounds I sure never felt or looked
very awesome. Medifast changed my life and it can change yours,
too.
I know that YOU can become awesome, too and like moi, you can
STAY awesome, Baby! Medifast is awesome because it has taught me
how much to eat and what to eat to optimize my health. It is not
a diet product but a high protein nutritionally balanced program
that has changed my life. It is life-changing and life giving.
A Tip for the Trough
I often have these little thoughts or phrases doink into my
brain and they help me when I am tempted to eat for comfort or
to eat simply because it is there.
This is my latest - “If you grip it, don’t dip it.” (or you
might try this one, “Don’t dip it, skip it!”) Avoid dips – dips
are usually mayo, sour cream or cream cheese – based. That means
many dips are high in calories and fat. If you must dip, use
salsa, it’s a great low fat heart healthy alternative to
calorie-rich ranch dip.
The Voice of Victory
Even through the dreaded holidays, we've had some fantastic
success stories relayed to us through email and our support
forum. We have many 30-50 pound successes and one of our forum
members is flirting with the big 100 pound goal.
We encourage people to visit our support forum for information
and inspiration.
Join in the fun at:
http://www.makemethinner.com/forum/
Monthly Specials (January - while they last)
Hearty Oatmeal
French Vanilla Berry was $13.95 NOW $11.95
Cocoa
Hot Cocoa w/out Marshmallows was $12.65 NOW $10.75
Supplement Bars
Double Berry was $14.95 NOW $10.50
TS Men's Bio-Engineered Food
Chocolate or Vanilla was $27.95 NOW $23.95
Fast Soups
Delicate Chicken was $7.45 NOW $6.25
Savory Beef was $7.45 NOW $6.25
Robust Tomato was $7.45 NOW $6.25
Success Guides
Success in a Shaker Jar was $20.95 NOW $17.95
Choose Wisely
I went to a holiday potluck at work just before Christmas.
Before Medifast I would have sampled every item on the food bar.
Now I am very selective. On the table were plates of crackers,
bags of chips, and a myriad of overcooked and over processed
foods.
I took a small 8-inch plate and I chose several clusters of
fresh raw broccoli, some three bean salad, a spoonful of
broccoli casserole, a small piece of ham with all visible fat
removed, one large cocktail shrimp and a small 1 inch by 1 inch
chocolate cookie bar.
After eating the broccoli first, I sampled the three bean salad.
Since it wasn’t that good, I ate only some of the green beans. I
had a few small nibbles of the broccoli casserole without the
cracker crumb topping. Since it didn’t thrill my taste buds, I
left the majority of it on my plate. I drank a cup of coffee and
enjoyed the warmth of it in my hand, the aroma and its rich
taste.
In the past I would have worn a size 24 tent dress, waddled
around the food trough with a large plate heaped with a sample
of all of the food items plus I would have washed it down with a
few glasses of holiday punch or juice – all carbs! This year I
spiritedly walked away from the holiday party in my size 6
leopard print mini jumper and fishnet stockings. Because I can.
You can do it, too! Okay, Guys, I don’t wanna hear about YOU
wearing fishnet stockings and leopard print jumpers (especially
Mikey!!)…but a nice pair of Dockers and a tucked in leopard
print T-Shirt sounds mighty fine to moi. |
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
Medifast, Take Shape for Life or MakeMeThinner never send
unsolicited email.
To Unsubscribe, reply to this email with "Unsubscribe" in the
Subject and we will remove you from our mailing list.
For previous issues of the MakeMeThinner Medifast Newsletter
visit:
http://www.makemethinner.com/newsletter/ |
|
|
|
|
