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Issue
3 |
MakeMeThinner October Newsletter |
October 2003 |
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Be Extraordinary!
This has been an amazing month for me. Thank you so much for the
great feedback regarding my newsletter. It is a joy to know that
so many of you have been helped by my drivel. I must admit that
this is a totally new adventure for me and that it does take
diligence to come up with something juicy that may be of benefit
to you.
EXCUSES. Boy, I think I’ve heard them all. I am a former
classroom teacher and kids always came up with what they thought
were good reasons for not turning in their assignments on time.
I taught in a private school for fifteen years and all children
arrived via carpools. I fondly recall one family that had a ten
mile commute. Mr. Anglin brought his two girls and a neighbor
boy to our school. They were late nearly every day. Here are
some of Mr. Anglin’s classic excuses:
Dear Mrs. P.,
Please excuse the kid’s tardiness as we were bucking a heady
east wind and it slowed down the van…
Dear Mrs. P.,
Please excuse the children’s tardiness today. Mrs. Anglin and I
had an amorous evening and this morning when the alarm went off
at 6 AM, I just could not get out of bed on time…
Dear Mrs. P.,
Please excuse the kids’ tardiness today. The dog ate the gas
pedal off and I just couldn’t get the van into gear…
Mr. Anglin's written excuses always brought a smile to my face
but in the scheme of things, his children were always late to
class, it interrupted my morning lessons to have three kids walk
into the classroom late and his kids missed out on some of the
juicy things I was teaching.
Excuses. They come in all sizes and for all reasons but they all
create problems. The excuse affects the one who makes the excuse
and affects the one/ones at the other end of the excuse. For
years I made excuses about why I did not lose my excess weight.
I was 130 pounds over weight. I was morbidly obese. I just
couldn’t seem to lose weight effectively. I made excuses. I got
to the point where I just didn’t want to try another weight loss
plan. The truth of the matter was I had made lousy food choices,
I was not in control of my health and only I could make the
decision to do what was best for me. For years my doctors had
encouraged me to lose weight but they really didn’t have a clue
about what would work. Their pat answer was, “eat less, and
exercise more.” Thus I would go from one national weight loss
program to another. All I lost was a lot of money and a lot of
time. A bumper sticker that I saw on the way to work summed it
all up: “I’ve been dieting for seven days and all I’ve lost is a
week.” To borrow a phrase from Dr. Wayne Andersen, the Medical
Director for Medifast and Take Shape For Life, “Diets don’t
work.”
Intellectually and conceptually I knew what to do to lose weight
but I couldn’t do it for real. I was in a desperate situation.
Then along came Take Shape for Life. It has virtually changed my
life and as a result, I am driven to help others also in
desperate situations. It is Terry's and my desire to do positive
things to affect regular people’s lives.
Recently I had an opportunity to speak to a group of Health
Advisors, prospective health management customers and
prospective Health Advisors at a seminar held in the Northwest.
I candidly spoke about what had happened to me as a result of
being morbidly obese. Here are some excerpts from my little
talk. I think that they may be of benefit to you.
“When you got up this morning did you look out the window and
exclaim, Ho hum…it’s just an ordinary Saturday? I think I’ll fix
the ordinary kids their ordinary breakfast and comb my hair in
an ordinary style and wear something ordinary.
For those of you who have children, when they were born did you
look at them and think, “Oh, look! I have an ordinary baby that
will grow up to be an ordinary person.” To this day, do you
think that your child is an ordinary child? Of course not! Your
child, the child of your loins, is extra-ordinary. Your child is
absolutely EXTRAORDINARY!! You, too, my Friend are uniquely
designed and you are extraordinary! One of the greatest
compliments that anybody can give you is to say that you are
different. If you don’t stand out in a group, if there’s nothing
unique or different about you, you should re-evaluate your self.
Over the course of some difficult events in my life, I found
myself beige-ing. That’s right; I said beige-ing – Not Beijing,
as in China but the act of becoming beige. Blending in. I was in
neutral, I WAS neutral. I started to conform to the radio and
television commercials and the print ads and thought I deserved
to eat it all. And I did. I ate it ALL.
14 months ago I weighed 258 pounds and tried desperately to
blend in with the crowd. Actually, I found myself hiding behind
the crowd, not thinking very highly of my self and feeling
miserable about my health. I had exchanged fabulous for
flabulous.
On July 16th I made one of the best decisions of my life and
that was to begin using Take Shape For Life’s featured product,
Medifast. It has restored me and renewed me.
Every day we make decisions. Daily we are presented with
options. We must choose one or the other.
We can choose to give up or get up.
Destruction or development.
Complaining or obtaining.
Lukewarmness or enthusiasm.
Indifference or decision.
Resisting or receiving.
Blending in or standing out.
I don’t know where you are today in your weight loss
journey. If you are in the contemplative stage, read my previous
newsletters and comments from other people that have posted to
our Forum. Perhaps something we have written or said can give
you hope. Perhaps you realize that you, too, are beige-ing or
you know that right now you are in a desperate health/weight
situation. We are here to help you!
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Offers |
Personal Stuff
Guess what?
After reading my September Newsletter, some of you emailed Terry
and told him he needs to buy me those red leather pants for my
birthday on October 20th. Thank you very much! You are great!
Well… RED leather pants were not to be found anywhere in town
but that darling man DID buy me a pair of black leather pants –
get this, they are a size 4! Yes, a size 4. For once in my life,
my dress size is less than my shoe size! Hah! I wore those black
leather pants when I spoke at the Northwest Take Shape For Life
Smell the Roses Conference. Comments overheard…”Nancy looks like
a teeny bopper!” “Nancy looks hot…”
Gosh, those comments made me feel extraordinary – I am no longer
beige-ing, Folks and neither should you!
I have a little encouragement card on our kitchen counter and
this is what it says, “it is not the easy or convenient life for
which I search but life lived to the edge of all my
possibilities.” (Mary Anne Radmacher) For too long, I did not
live up to all my possibilities. Can you relate to that?
One way to stand head and shoulders above the crowd is to choose
to do regular, ordinary things in an extraordinary way and with
great enthusiasm. I recall making green oatmeal for breakfast
and green smashed potatoes for supper on St. Patrick’s Day.
Terry and our daughter, Becky Jean had green tongues for a week
but it was a day to remember for a life time!
This last weekend was Terry’s prebirthday – we celebrated it
with our bestest friends Steve and Bon Bon, our favorite
daughter Becky Jean* and her adorable husband, Christopher. We
went for a drive in the country, slurped Medifast shakes in the
car, roamed the punkin’ patch and checked out the corn maze. We
had a blast climbing on top of hay bales, took a stroll along a
stream and giggled and laughed until we snorted. All because we
can now that our weight is at normal and appropriate levels and
because we just feel so great. I easily climbed up to the top of
a stack of hay, went for a hike along a stream WITHOUT gasping
for air. Because I can! Bon Bon, Becky Jean and I called
ourselves The Medifast Girls and we had Medifast Moments along
the way where we posed for pictures with our husbands. Because
we can! Because we want to have our pictures taken now that we
are of appropriate weight. We are extraordinary and you can be
extraordinary, too! Choose to be!
Keeping your Cool
For those momentary flashes of uncoolness…Ladies, if you are a
resident of Menopause Manor and experience personal saunas, try
our Medifast Plus Women’s Health drink – it has black Cohosh,
Chaste Tree Berry and Echinacea Purpurea and soy protein all
blended in a simple packet that you mix with water. It may be
used as an alternative for Hormone Replacement Therapy by having
two or three of these healthful drinks every day. Most women
find that their menopausal symptoms, if not completely
eliminated, are significantly diminished.
October Specials (while they last)
Fit! Ready to Drink
Chocolate was $2.49 NOW $1.99
Medifast 55
Swiss Mocha was $13.45 NOW $11.50
Medifast 70
Swiss Mocha was $13.95 NOW $11.99
Hot Cocoa was $12.00 NOW $9.99
Fast Soups
Delicate Chicken was $7.25 NOW $5.99
Robust Tomato was $7.25 NOW $5.99
Savory Beef was $7.25 NOW $5.99
Tips and Tricks
As the nights get chilly, consider having a nice cup of Medifast
Hot Cocoa. It is a great way to relax after a long day. Unwind
by reading Success in a Shaker Jar or Life is Hard, Food is Easy
both by Linda Spangle. I highly recommend ordering and reading
these books! You’ll be glad ya did it.
To prepare the Hot Cocoa, I’d suggest that you fill your
favorite mug with cool water, add the packet of Cocoa mix and
blend until smooth. Then place your mug (uh, that is your CUP –
not your actual MUG with the eyebrows, lips and nasal passages
attached!) into the nuclear box and nuke it for one minute.
Twirl a spoon through the cocoa and return it for another 30
seconds or so of nuking. It is quite tasty with just a snort of
sugar-free Toasted Marshmallow flavor Torani® or DaVinci® syrup
added to the Hot Cocoa. I know that the directions on the box of
the Hot Cocoa say to add hot water to the mix but trust mois on
this one – cool water first, stir-stir-stir then nuke and slurp!
Ahhh…
More Tips - Get a Body Buddy:
Here’s a great idea for you – grab a body buddy and work
together to reclaim your health. If your desire is to lose
weight, having a buddy to do it with will be a super way to keep
you motivated and on track.
If you have arthritis or suffer from joint pain, exercise may be
the last thing on your mind. When I weighed 258 pounds, exercise
was NOT an easy thing for me to do. I have arthritis in most of
my major joints. Sometimes moving your body is exactly what is
needed to improve joint health and reduce pain.
Research shows that exercise can be an essential means to manage
arthritis. Regular, moderate exercise benefits people with
arthritis. Primarily, exercise reduces joint pain and stiffness,
builds strong muscle around the joints, and increases
flexibility and endurance. Exercise also helps promote overall
health and fitness by increasing energy and improves sleep
patterns (Well, yeah! That fresh air wipes you out, making those
cat naps come on quicker and more frequently! Zzzzz…) Exercise
helps to control weight, decreases depression, and improves
self-esteem. In addition, exercise can help stave off other
health problems such as heart disease and osteoporosis. Many
people meet to walk at the mall during inclement weather. Just
don’t go for walks by the Candy Shoppe or ice cream parlor…
The important thing to remember is to start slow and to make it
fun. It is always good to start with flexibility exercises,
which are basically stretching exercises that will improve your
range of motion and help you perform daily activities.
Once you feel more comfortable you can move on to weight
training and endurance exercises such as bicycling. You may be
reluctant to exercise because you are in such pain. If this is
the case you may want to start with a water exercise program. In
the water your body's buoyancy reduces stress on your hips,
knees, and spine. When I weighed 258 pounds, I used a LOT of
energy and got a LOT of exercise trying to find a bathing suit
that would fit me. Gosh, the tensile factor involved in
manufacturing a bathing costume that would stretch to fit a size
24 Queen-size lady is daunting! If that thing broke loose, it
could have permanently harmed people!
Whatever exercise program you decide on, please consult with
your doctor before starting out.
If it is your desire to improve your joint health, having a
walking buddy will keep you moving on a regular basis. Our
Medifast Plus Joint Health drinks provide 1500 mg of glucosamine
and chondroitin in a convenient and tasty form. We recommend
three drinks a day for maximum joint health.
Grab your Body Buddy on those dark and rainy days, you’ll be
more likely to go for that needed walk if there is someone to
meet you on the corner and to walk with you.
Check up on each other a couple times a day to see how you’re
doing with your water consumption – you’ll keep each other
moving towards a healthier lifestyle.
The Spice Rack - (Send us your Medifast Recipes)
Mahhh-vel-ous Minestrone:
It is the tail end of the tomato season here in The Couve. I
recently pulled out the spent flowers, trimmed veggie plants
down to the final few tomaters, zucchini and peppers clinging to
the vines and will allow them to ripen and then will send the
remaining vines to the compost heap.
You know, it was exhilarating to be able to crawl around in the
garden without huffing and puffing! Since there is less of me, I
can fit into the flower beds without mashing the plants now. I
was able to easily scramble up the ladder to trim the wild
wisteria and passion flower vines all by myself, too.
However, I DO have a little clothing problem. My yard clothes
are so big for me that my pants keep slipping down over my hips.
I gotta get some smaller pants or risk southern exposure of the
leopard underdoodies…
Anyhoo…back to the comment about the Minestrone soup. After a
happy afternoon of fall gardening, I prepared a bowl of Medifast
Minestrone in this way:
I stirred the Minestrone soup packet into cool water until well
blended, added a stalk of chopped celery and a tablespoon or so
of chopped onions from the freezer. (Sometimes I peel and chop
up several onions at once and toss them into a freezer container
and deep six ‘em until I need some onions to add to different
entrees. That way I am always prepared to have fresh-tasting
fast food.)
I nuked the soup for a minute. Took it outta the nuclear box,
gave it a stir and nuked again for about 30 seconds or so until
it was nice and hot.
BTW, for faster clean up – COVER the bowl of soup before nuking
so ya don’t have soup splashage all over the inside of the
nuclear box…
Next I added three chopped roma tomatoes fresh from a raid in
the neighbor’s garden (The unsuspecting neighbor is our
son-in-law Christopher and our favorite daughter Becky Jean!
Hah! Shh…don’t tell ‘em, okie dokie?)
Lemme tell ya, that Minestrone was delightful! I had a package
of Medifast Multi-grain crackers and watched “Trading Spaces” on
TLC. It was heavenly!
You can even add a tad bit of bullion and more water or a packet
Savory Beef Fast Soup to make a larger quantity of the soup. But
remember, we are learning portion control as part of our
lifetime of maintaining appropriate health and weight levels.
That’s one of the good things about Take Shape For Life – you
learn how often to eat and how much to eat at any one time and
coupled with exercise and good food choices, you’ll be able to
keep that wonderful figure for the rest of your life!
Enjoy!
Inquiring Minds Wanna Know
Some of our readers wanna know how we came up with our website
name. Well, I tell ya...have you seen those television
commercials for the frazzled woman who needs some peace and
quiet – she calls on Calgon® to take her away.
When I was in my research phase of knowing that I must lose
weight but trying to figure out how I would do it this last
time, I remember standing in our clothes closet searching for
something that fit so that I could get dressed and go to work. I
just cried out from the bowels of our closet, “Hey, Somebody!
Take me a-w-a-a-a-a-y and Make Me Thinner!
Drat! No knight in white clothing came to rescue me from my
closet but I did manage to get help when a friend told me all
about Medifast. It really did Make Me Thinner and it can do it
for you, too!
Kids Korner
As I drive to work each day, I pass some junior high kids
waiting for their bus. One guy always has a can of Coke or
Mountain Dew and a Hostess Ding Dong or a bag of chips – Argh!
What a way to begin his day. I’d love to stop and offer him one
of our Fit! Drinks and a Fit! Energy and Nutrition bar but would
probably get arrested for giving candy to a kid. As a former
classroom teacher, I know that many of my students came to
school without having had breakfast – I know that I did not take
the time to prepare breakfast for myself. Our daughter always
had a bowl of cereal and some toast or milk but I went to school
on an empty tank. What is your kid (or grand kid) eating for
breakfast every day?
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, recently released
a list of the worst snacks for children. Among the worst, are
“Coca-Cola and Pepsi sodas, Hostess snack cakes…” According to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 15 per cent of
children ages 6 to 19 are overweight and should be eating less
sweet and fatty food. Margo Wooten, the Center’s nutrition
director, said children would have to bike for one hour and
fifteen minutes to burn off a 20-ounce Coke.”
The percentage of overweight kids has tripled since the 1970’s.
The percentage of overweight 6-11 year olds:
1971-1974 was 4.0
1976-1980 was 6.5
1988-1994 was 11.3
1999 – 2000 was 15.3
(source Centers for Disease Control)
We can control diseases with diet and exercise and need not do
it with medication. Our bodies are gifts that God gave us and
we’ve got to take good care of them. Nine million kids are
seriously overweight. More than 25% of Black and Hispanic kids
are overweight compared to 15% of white kids. Kids are on the
fast track for adult cripplers like heart disease, stroke and
diabetes.
“In a recent study pediatricians reported that obese adolescents
felt slightly more social isolation than teenage cancer patients
undergoing chemotherapy. Once kids get fat, the odds of losing
weight and keeping it off are depressingly small. Prevention is
the key.”
(Jim Hill, Center for Human Nutrition, University of Colorado as
cited in the September 22, 2003 issue of Newsweek Magazine).
Kids eat what they are served. Parents and schools are a
critical part of the equation. Consider giving the special young
people in your life one of our Fit! Products for good nutrition.
Studies indicate that people that eat a healthy breakfast every
day are better able to manage their weight. A recent study found
that there was a 35 to 50 percent lower rate of obesity and
insulin resistance in those who ate breakfast every day compared
to those who skipped it. People who have high levels of blood
sugar or the hormone insulin may have insulin resistance.
“Seeing that breakfast skippers were more likely to have high
rates of insulin resistance illustrates that skipping breakfast
could be a risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular disease,”
says study co-author, Linda Van Horn, Ph.D., professor of
preventive medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School
of Medicine in Chicago.
Ahh..that really blows away the current Adult Breakfast of
Champions -- a Starbuck’s and a Prozac…
Sheesh, another month. In the time it takes to rip off another
calendar page, you could be ripping off the top of a packet of
Medifast. We are changing the shape of America one shake at a
time. Just remember...if you started slurping shakes today, by
the time you read next month's newletter you could be 20-30
pounds lighter.
The best of health to everyone.
Ta Ta till next time from the MakeMeThinner Team...:)
http://www.makemethinner.com |
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