Merry Christmas Eve!

The Clause-a-Meter is off the hook here in our home with Christmas spirit and excitement! Not only are we excited for Christmas morning, but we are all looking forward to traveling to California for hugs, fun and catching up with family and friends. 

Christmas Morning 2011

Leah was 18 months and Nate was 4 1/2. 

Our family has had our fare share of lousy Christmases. I recently came across these photos of Christmas morning 5 years ago when I was going through chemotherapy. I remember trying to smile and enjoy the day... but at that time I really believed I was living through my last Christmas. My smiles were for the kids. I watched the littles open gifts thinking about how I wouldn't ever get to watch them have this kind of excitement again. I remember I had to go to the ER two times that December because I had fevers, was going septic, and my organs were shutting down (went through that twice). I remember surviving the day... rather than celebrating it. 

It can be really hard to see good sometimes when life has dealt you a bad hand. In retrospect... I was learning the value of health (amongst a host of other life lessons). It has been a long five years of healing. The process of living beyond cancer is so much more than just a physical fight as finding mental and emotion health can be equally as difficult. I look back in amazement and grateful for the storm... and in awe of the rainbow! This Christmas is 100% different - and for that I am thankful!

When you are a pastoral family, the weeks leading up to Christmas (and Easter) are long and exhausting. Preparing the church for a service to celebrate the meaning of the season is fun and takes long hours. As a family, tonight we look forward to our special time after the candle light Christmas Eve service to rest together and watch our Christmas Eve favorite; "It's A Wonderful Life".  My favorite part will be at the end of the movie when the brother comes home from New York and says "A toast to my big brother George: the richest man in town." 

I know I will cry because I do every single year. 

And then George will find this letter:

And I will reflect and think about how blessed I am to have such incredible friends and family.

How blessed I am to have smart and healthy kids. 

How blessed I am to have a loving husband that I have fun with daily. 

How blessed we are to have been called to serve the people in this church. 

How blessed I am to have found health and the amazing support system at TSFL. 

How blessed I am for the opportunity to be a health coach and share this hope with others. 

And how this year I can finally, truly celebrate being healthy in a whole new way that I never knew was possible. 

Friends, thank  you for your friendship. 

Thank you for your role in this journey this past year. 

Thank you for honestly sharing your goals with me and trusting me with your reality. 

May you have Christmas full of love, hope and laughter!

Merry Christmas, 

Kelly

But What About My Kids???

One of the most common discussions that I find myself having with folks is about how the rest of their families will adjust to a new lifestyle of healthy eating. The beautiful truth is that you will start a ripple effect and YOUR FAMILY WILL GET HEALTHY TOO!!! 

Our kids watch us. 

The good. 

The bad.

The questionable. 

They are watching. 

They are watching us choose a salad over fries. They are watching us chose water over soda. They are watching us chose fruit over potato chips. And we have the power to SHOW them how to work for and enjoy health! 

Can you even imagine creating a lifestyle where your kids walk a path to better choices? What if our kids could avoid the struggles and frustration that we have endured maintaining a healthy weight? What if we taught our kids how to snack and eat meals in a way that fuels their bodies rather than feeds an emotion?

What? 

You’re kids don’t like healthy food? 

They won’t eat it? 

Neither would mine. 

A year ago my daughter REFUSED to eat any veggies. She would sit there and stare and sometimes even cry when faced with anything green. She was even prescribed an iron supplement to help make up for her lack of iron that was missing from not enough veggies. My son would only eat cooked trees (broccoli) and raw peppers, celery and carrots. Nothing more and he detested salad. 

(Now, I know a few friends/family that have/had incredibly picky eaters that put my kids to shame in their will to stand up against food - and to those of you, my sympathy is with you. This is not a fun part of parenting and I realize you may be dealing with texture issues and other elements of your kids eating habits that you have to endure. I know it’s not a simple fix for you. I’m sincerely sorry for the hell your kid creates for you every time they eat.)

Anyways, back to my picky eaters. When I made my eating lifestyle change last January I learned a bunch of stuff about me and about my kids (and husbands) eating issues. In no particular order here’s what I learned: 

• If I don’t buy them processed junk, they don’t have processed junk to eat. 
• If I make their snack options fruit, cheese, yogurt and veggies. They will eat fruit, cheese, yogurt and veggies. 
• If I don’t pull into McDonald’s for a quick meal, they cannot eat it. 
• If I am feeling lazy and am not in the mood to cook them dinner and I chose to swing through a drive-thru and grab them a quick fix… that is what they will eat. 
• If only when we eat out they are allowed to have soda it will be a special treat and not a daily habit. At the house we drink water… cause its free and they can get it themselves and our bodies need water.
• If I give them just a little bit of veggies… like 3 little pieces of lettuce covered in dressing or 1 piece of broccoli or 1 spear of asparagus, they are able to choke it down and they recognize that I am making an effort to not kill them & I really just gave them a “little like I promised. (The treat of “I will give you more” works great during this phase of transition.)
• Nobody dies if we don’t have bread and potatoes with every meal. 
• There is a way to make chicken, fish, beef, pork taste good. I now try to kick it up a notch with fun spices and cook in a way that everyone want to eat it. 
• Dessert is not required and for us and was really just a bad habit we were teaching our kids. 
• And on one of the survival shows I learned that before starving people will resort to eating bugs and drinking nasty stuff before they die. So I can sleep at night knowing my kids aren’t going to perish if they chose to not eat a meal. 

So, I’m guessing that you are wondering what our dinner table is like 12 months after our life change change began. Well, while my son still prefers to fill up on meat, he will eat a little bit of salad without freaking out and has learned that he likes cooked zucchini, asparagus and cauliflower. One of his favorite foods is my homemade tomato soup and he will try a bite of anything based upon my promise that I will never give him something I wouldn’t eat myself. My daughter now eats a decent amount of salad and will eat at least a bite or two of whatever other veggie she is given (without whining). She continues to eat just a little bit of meat… but knows that she needs to eat enough before leaving the table so it’s not as painful of an ordeal anymore.

We still have Mac and Cheese and Spaghetti O’s in the pantry. They still get chocolate milk every once in a while and they were allowed to keep their Halloween candy. We’re trying to teach balance and moderation with a focus on health. 

I want to finish by sharing a proud mom moment with you all:

A few months ago we went to BJ’s as a family. While selecting the kids meals I offered the kids the side choices of: curly fries, smilie potatoes, fruit, applesauce or broccoli. They chose fruit and applesauce and my son even made a comment about wanting to be healthy. I seriously started to cry - you can ask my husband… he thought I was ridiculous and started laughing at/with me. They chose health! They chose a 35 calorie fruit cup over a 350 calorie portion of french fries! They did it when I gave them all of the options - they decided on their own! I sat there with tears in my eyes thinking maybe, just maybe, my kids could lead a healthy life where they don’t have to diet and struggle like we have. And maybe the healthy decision will be the obvious choice in their future. Only time will tell… but I want to do my part to lay out that path for them.

Friends… when we get healthy our families get healthy!!! It’s our job to teach our children healthy decision making and health life skills. Eating healthy is one of the many things that we are responsible to teach them. It is literally our job!

*** If you would like to learn about this optimal health program that has not only changed my body shape and clothing size but also my mind and outlook on life I would love to share - just ask. It’s not a magic pill and I promise the work and discipline is totally worth it! 

Permission To Make Your Health A Priority

Is it just me or do you feel like there is temptation EVERYWHERE this time of year??? I feel like the only way to escape it is to avoid leaving the house... but even then my kids are somehow bringing in cookies, gingerbread houses and literally bags of candy to try and throw me off my game. Somehow everything is "special" and calls for sugar! I will not be taken down by even the sweetest of peanut brittle - I will beat Christmas and all its delicious temptation!

This week I had an experience that I bet everyone reading this can identify with. I was in a group setting and had done a good job eating a balanced and healthy lean/green style selection from the buffet line.  As others got up and got their dessert I refilled my water glass and then continued with conversation avoiding the dessert table all together.

And then it happened....
Well-Meaning Friend - "You HAVE to try this!"

Me - "I'm fine, no thanks."

WMF - "No, seriously... you need just one bite."

Me - "Thats okay, I don't really like pie." (Complete lie!)

WMF - Moving their fork towards my face: "One bite and you will LOVE pie! Just try it."

I didn't eat it. (Insert applause here.)
But this situation got my mind going as we finished up our visit.

If I had a peanut allergy, I certainly hope someone wouldn't be trying to get me to take "just one bite" of peanut butter cup.

If I had diabetes, I would hope that people would accept my "no, thank you" as enough of an answer and not try to kill me with cake.

If I just hated the taste/smell of coffee, I would hope that nobody would shovel a spoonful of mocha royal in my face causing a gag reflex.

So WHY is the desire to stay healthy and resist the temptation of sweets met with a challenge and questioning from our social circles? WHY does choosing to say no make me feel guilty, like I am hurting somebodies feelings? WHY do I feel like I need to eat food for other people? WHY?

And that's when what I have been learning for the past year was once again confirmed in both my head and heart. I need to feel confident supporting my food choices the same away someone with an allergy or medical condition would. After all.. obesity is a medical condition! I need to recognize my trigger and gateway foods and stand strong against them. It's not only okay for me to make choices that keep me focused on my goals, but I deserve to stay on track and not sabotage myself.
I need to protect me.
I need to stand up for me.
I need to make wise choices for me.
I am the only person that can keep me on track.
My health is my responsibility and I need to see it as important... even when temptation is taunting me.

So friends... as we encounter temptation this month I want to encourage you to be selfish and make you and your health a priority. Enjoy your friends, family and the special events of the season - and enjoy learning to view your health as important!



P.S. -  Hope you like the pics of some healthy Christmas treats that you can take to parties and add to the festivities.

P.P.S. - One of my favorite things about this program is that the supplemental meal fuelings are not meant to be forever - they are a tool to reach our goal of health.  Reaching a healthy weight is just one of the many steps to the program and in time we learn to transition back to eating regular foods and then maintaining a healthy weight/lifestyle.
And AFTER we get there, once we have changed our habits and are living a heathy lifestyle, we can have the occasional treat. (So basically, we're not saying goodbye to treats forever... we're just saying good-bye & see you later.)

Eating Triggers: Why do I do what I do???

Throughout this health-seeking journey I keep learning new things about myself and how I have related to food my whole life. Last weekend I learned something about myself that I think may be life changing. 

People over eat for all different kinds of reasons. Some due to stress, or boredom, or because they have a hard time controlling the powers of their cravings. Then there are some people that  overeat simply because they figure out a reason to see every meal as something special to celebrate. I've never really had these examples as my eating triggers.  But this past weekend I had a realization about myself and my eating triggers. I realized that in my past, I have overeaten and eaten the wrong things... because for some reason I see it as my responsibility to eat up food so that it is not wasted. 

It was Sunday afternoon and I went to the fridge to make lunch for the family. I had planned to have a TSFL shake during lunch that day... but then I saw the stuffing and potatoes and cranberry that was still waiting to be eaten. It was looking right at me; waving it's imaginary hands and silently chanting "over here, over here." I had my hand on the stuffing container when I said to myself, "Why are you doing this? Why?" 

I have spent the past year making good food choices and while I had a few bites of the traditional feast items on Thanksgiving... that day had passed and the holiday was officially over. 

"Why?" What a good question. My first response was to think, "well, I can't let all this food go to waste." But, the truth is there are 3 other people in our family that can eat it so "why" was I seeing it as my job to act like a human garbage disposal and clean out the fridge. Well, I was raised to not waste food... which is an important value and something that we are trying to teach our kids too. That principal in itself is not bad at all, but when that means that I see it was my responsibility to not only clean my plate but also clean out the entire fridge/pantry we have an issue. 

This revelation has brought me a unique sense of freedom. Freedom from the emotional feeling that "I have to eat" everything in the fridge. Freedom from the emotional feeling that I'm doing something bad by tossing out old leftovers. Freedom from the emotional feeling like its more important to eat whatever is there rather than putting my health first. Freedom to tell myself "It is not your job to eat... it is your job to make healthy choices about what you eat!"

What are your eating triggers? 

Identifying your triggers and coming up with a plan to change your response to those triggers can be life-altering. In this article by Dr. A, Identifying Eating Triggers - Dr. Wayne Andersen,  you can read about a variety of triggers & ways that you can develop new habits when you see yourself being triggered by food. 

I want to encourage you to not only identify your eating triggers, but also come up with a plan for the next time you are faced with your trigger. The opportunity to shift directions and create a new healthy eating habit is within your control. Believe in yourself - I believe in you! 

Have a fantastic weekend!

-Kelly

Sometime Something Is Better Than Nothing

My son did the sweetest thing to help me last week. I had just finished grocery shopping and was feeling a headache come on quickly. When I got inside the house I asked him if he would be willing to help bring in the groceries and put away anything that needed to go into the fridge so that I could lay down for a few minutes. He was so sweet and said that he could put everything away because he knows where things go… after all he is 9 yrs old. 

When I woke up I was delighted to find that he had in fact put everything away. As I started to make dinner, I went to the pantry and found… the yogurt. To my surprise I did not find the pasta the kids were going to eat…. that’s because it was in the fridge along with the spaghetti sauce and all the canned goods and a box of oatmeal and the the crackers, etc. I giggled to myself and instead of being annoyed counted the blessing of having a little boy that desired to serve me when I wasn’t feeling good. 

The reality is… sometimes something is better than nothing. 

This simple idea reminded of the first TSFL webinar Zoom call that I watched. Dr. anderson was talking about how as a lifetime practice of health we will need to teach ourselves to make the best bad decision because sometimes that is the situation we find ourselves in. Hearing this from Dr. A really caught my attention. It was one of the first times that I considered that this was truly a forever life change and I appreciated that he was addressing the reality that sometimes we lack 100% control and just need to do the best we can. In the past, I had used the word “cheating” to describe taking a bite of food off plan… but now I found a little more freedom (and less guilt) in this quest for healthy living. 

Now, please don’t misunderstand me. If you are on program, depending how far you go off plan you will kick yourself out of fat burn and create as situation where you have to work to get your body back into ketosis. This thinking is really an effort to help those in transition ad maintenance… but even if you are on program it is great to begin training your brain now on future decision making. 

So here’s an example: You are at a restaurant and your side dish options are curly fries, mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, cream corn or baked sweet potato. Or you are at the pizza restaurant with a group for dinner (this is so hard for me) but I’m always up for a gathering with friends so I must go. Do I chose 1 slice of pizza or buffalo wings?

What best bad decision will you make?

This is when we get to put the tools that we are learning to work! To stay on the path to health we need to chose for the foods highest in protein, lowest in carbs and lowest in fat. Given whatever choices you are given, using this filter will help you make the best choice for your health. 

We have made it past Thanksgiving folks! Remember, Thanksgiving is not the whole month - it was only yesterday. So if you stayed on plan congrats and if you chose another option for the day, jump back on the path to health. 

I am thankful and excited to share this journey with you!

* If you have friends that you think would enjoy these weekly encouragements feel free to share. They are welcome to contact me if they would like to be added to the mailing list. 

* I have a $50 scholarship to give away this month if anyone knows of someone that would like to start TSFL. Please message me and we can schedule a call to go over and introduce them to this program. 

The Freedom of Choice

This past Monday I decided to jump back on program and try to lose these last 10 lbs. which would put me at my wedding day weight. I'll admit I have been afraid of that number because... well, I really don't want to be a psycho, cranky, freak that is in a constant state of "hangry".  I got to thinking that maybe since I have been able to keep off these 50 lbs for 6 months, perhaps I can use the habits of health that I have learned and keep off these 10 lbs too. My second and main reason for starting up on program again though is that I want to have a plan for the holidays that keeps me disciplined and includes entering 2017 without food regrets. 

So far, 4 days into program, I have been reminded what its like to first set out on this journey. There have been days that this has been easy and several moments where it was hard and I found myself needing to chose health over the temptation. There have been moments where I have been hungry and even more when I have been surprised again by how little I felt hungry throughout the day. There was the time span where I felt the "ketosis flu" set in and today I enjoyed a day full of the energy that I remembered enjoying when I first started this last January. But most importantly, I have been reminded of how important the power of choice is in my quest for health. 

One of the things I love about TSFL is that this program isn't about being forbidden from certain foods... rather it focuses on making the best decision to reach your ultimate goal. I'm never going to tell you that you can't eat bread/candy/cake - but I will encourage you to realize that if you make that choice you will most likely kick yourself out of ketosis and detour yourself from your fundamental goal which is the reason you are doing TSFL to start with. 

If you haven't yet had the chance, I want to encourage you to read the section regarding choices from Dr. A's Habits of Health (pg. 25-36) These pages discuss our fundamental, primary and secondary choices. Understanding how our choices effect our goals is super important. As a brief overview, these types of choices are:

Fundamental Choice: "The choice upon which all other choices rest." (pg. 28) For many of us in this program our fundamental choice is to live free from fear and find optimal health.

Primary Choice: "A major choice - something we want more than other things that we may also want. " (pg. 25) The example in the book is making a choices between optimal health or a banana split. 

Secondary Choice: "The action we take to support our primary choice, even if we don't want to." (pg. 25)  An example of a secondary choices would be choosing to go to the gym at 6am even though you would prefer to be sleeping, because you know it's the only time you can actually get a workout in.

So, here's a personal example of weighing out choices which helps us make a life long change in our relationship with food: I see a bowl of my favorite candy - peach rings - and I'm pretty sure they want me to eat them. (Yes, that fake gummy, sugar coated, ring candy that you can get for $1 at the gas station. They are my weakness.) 

• First, I remind myself that I have made the fundamental choice to strive toward optimal health.
• Second, I recognize that I am being faced with the primary choice of  quickly devouring those beautiful peach rings OR  the choice to continue my efforts toward optimal health. 
• Third, I make the secondary choice to walk away from the peach rings and go find somebody to talk to and maybe refill my water glass. 

These choices are not easy. Shoot, if this was easy, EVERYONE would be skinny and in shape and our society would be healthy rather sick and obese.  Yet while it is not easy, it IS possible. You can do it. I can do it. WE can do this! 

In my TSFL journey the single best thing my health coach Kristen ever told me was, "I didn't lose 80 lbs by cheating." Those words hit me hard and I made the decision to train my brain to hear her words in my head whenever I found my fundamental choice being challenged. I'll admit there was a moment where her words made me question if I was actually capable of this... but heck, if she could do it so could I. 

So here we go friends... 

Thanksgiving is less than a week away and we will be full swing into the holiday season with parties, special meals, treats and endless temptations surrounding us. And we will have lots of choices to make. Nothing is forbidden... you are free to make whatever choice you feel is best for you. I want to encourage you to nail down your fundamental choice/goal and play out in your head what primary and secondary choices you plan to make. 

We can do this friends! I believe in each and every one of you and know that you all deeply desire to be healthy. The choice is in your hands!

Happy Thanksgiving, 

Kelly

PS - If you didn't get a chance to participate in this weeks Habits of Health call here's the link to the recording of the "Thriving Through the Holidays" Zoom: https://vimeo.com/191581590/293b663582

PPS - Be sure to check out our TSFL Team Fillmore FaceBook page for weekly contests and ways to earn $$$ toward your TSFL account. (There is a contest this week regarding the tools in this call (posted Nov. 14th). Be sure to submit your answer soon as the contest ends this weekend. 

Holiday Game Plan!

We are entering the holiday season and things are about to get real! Together we can beat the desire to fall off of our health journey wagon and create a game plan that will help you THRIVE through the next couple months.

Before we get into this... I want to share something that has really helped me to not be as nervous for the holidays as I had started November feeling. Think about this:

There are 50 days between  tomorrow and New Years Day. 

Which means there are 150 meals between tomorrow and the new year - 

or 300 meals if you are on the 5 & 1 Plan.

How many times are you actually going to be in a situation where you are 

surrounded by extreme temptation by holiday food???? 

Maybe 5 - 8 times???

Let's not throw away all of our hard work for a handful of meals. 

You can do this - surviving the holidays is totally doable - but we do need a plan! There were several tips that I picked up when I first started working toward health that helped me greatly when I found myself in party environments. 

#1 - Carry your water bottle around the entire time in your dominate hand. This will help you from reaching for little nibbles, help you get in your water for the day and signal your brain to make a conscious decision to decide if that food choice is worth more than your goal of reaching optimal health. 

#2 - Bring something to the party that you can snack on and will enjoy. Meat stuffed mini-peppers, stuffed mushrooms, a deli tray.... we have tons of options. Not only will you be bringing something that you can enjoy, but you will also be sharing heath with those at your event. 

#3 - Eat before you go so that you are not hungry.

#4 - Stand away from the food. 

#5 - Use a small plate and do not go back for seconds. 

#6 - Eat slowly.

In my team meeting this week our Director (Team Tinter) shared several tips and strategies for surviving the holidays. It is very important to ask yourself what your plan is for the holidays. What outcome do you want? On January 1st,  where do you want to be in your heath journey?

Here are a couple options that she suggested that you can think through and decide what will be best for you:

Option 1: Would you like to enjoy the benefits of staying on program?
- Feeling great and having more energy to go shopping and spend time with people.
- Continue losing weight so you look even better at your holiday gatherings.
- Experiencing little or no hunger and cravings (making it easier to deal with food and alcohol triggers).
- Stay in “Fat Burning”. 

or...

Option 2*: Would you like a compromise? Stay on program except for the holiday meals
using Medifast meals the rest of each day.
* Know with this option you will need to spend 2-4
days getting back into “fat burning mode” after the holiday meal – causing lower energy, hunger and cravings and slowing down weight loss.
You’ll have to ask yourself:
“Is it worth it?” 

or...

Option 3*: Would you consider it a success to go into maintenance mode?
Still eating 6 times a day, choosing Medifast to offset less favorable choices
Controlling portion sizes
Not gaining weight during the season, instead of putting on the average 7 pounds
*Know with this option - you would NOT be in “fat burning mode”. 

I am available and willing to help you decide which plan will be best for you - lets talk (or text... whatever you want)! Together we can come up with action step plans to keep you on track. 

This year you don't have to use the holidays as an "excuse" and you can enter 2017 in full momentum ready to keep striving toward your health goals. Over the next several weeks I'll be sharing several strategies for rational eating and ways that we can train our mind to stay focused on health... so that we can make a LIFE LONG change and find optimal health!

Have a great weekend!!!

Water you doing?

Water. 

We love to swim in it. 

We bathe in it daily. 

We wash our hands with it and use it in our food. 

And while drinking it is certainly something we do... we need to ask ourselves daily if we are really drinking enough of it?

Just this week I had a conversation with a friend about water and how hard it is to get in all the required ounces each day. It was during that discussion that I remembered (and it finally sunk into my brain) that drinking water is so much more than just something good to do while on program. It is actually a life altering habit of health that not only must we embrace to be successful on this weight-loss journey, but drinking enough water is a disciplined  habit that needs to stick with us forever if we never want to see the weight we lost return.  We need to commit to drinking enough water from today until our last day on earth... this would be an actual permanent lifestyle change.

Remember, TSFL is different than other programs because it is based upon looking at how the 15% of people that kept weight they had lost off for more than 5 years have been successful. At the top of their lists for life long success we find that one of the main daily healthy habits of those folks is that they drink at least 1/2 of their body weight in ounces of water a day. 

Making up to 60% of our weight, water is a vital component of our body. Since our bodies cannot store water (unlike fat), it is important that we replenish it often. By the time that we are thirsty, our bodies have been functioning without enough water for several hours. In fact, being thirsty is actually a warning sign of dehydration.

In Dr. A's Habits of Health, you will find more information regarding water and several FAQ's that can help you understand the importance of keeping up with your water intake on a daily basis. The following except from his book gives us a steak peak into why water is so important:

Finding that it was hard to get in all my 

water, I bought this 32oz bottle. It is so 

much easier to try to drink 3 of these big 

bottles rather han refilling a glass 8 

times throughout the day. 

"During Phase 1 of your weight-loss plan there are even more good reasons to make a conscious effort to drink your eight glasses a day. Here are a few:

* It's calorie free, but helps you feel full and satisfied. 

* It keeps you from overeating. Studies have shown that when we feel hungry, 30% of the time our bodies are actually signaling for water. 

* It facilitates the removal of toxins such as pesticides and preservatives from your cells. 

* It prevents dehydration as your body eliminates excess salt and water from a diet of too much processed food. 

* It minimizes or eliminates fatigue, lack of energy, headaches, and unclear thinking. 

*It speeds up metabolism. A recent study showed that drinking two 8-ounce glasses of cold water increased metabolic rate by 30 % for 90 minutes. 

*It helps your liver convert fat to energy. 

* It compensates for the loss of glycogen as you lose weight. " 

(Dr. A's Habits of Health, pg. 114-115)

I know drinking water is not an easy part of this life change. But in time it will get better. My first week of Phase 1 I found myself getting up several times a night to relieve myself... but eventually that changed. I learned that often when I thought I was hungry, I was actually thirsty. And most surprisingly, I remember how there came a point where my body actually craved water over other beverages.

This weeks challenge is to drink up that water. 

Every. Single. Day. 

I promise you will feel better and that this habit will help you with your weight loss. And one of the best things about water is that it is practically free - so there's no need to worry about it breaking the budget. 

You can do it - I believe in you!!!!

**** Before you go... here's a great stupid human trick involving drinking water from the Ellen Show. Enjoy! Ellen: Water you doing? 

Write It Down

Have you ever noticed when maybe you haven't heard of something or had a thought before and then all of a sudden it's showing up all over your life? I've had a week like that and it has really got me thinking... and I want to share and encourage you with these thoughts. 

So, last week at our Small Group Bible Study the guy on the video was talking about the Bible and the value of being committed to reading it. It was the same thing I have heard for 35+ years... and then he stopped, looked at the camera and asked "Do you want to be spiritual or not?" This question got me thinking and in my mind I jumped over to health. I had asked myself nearly a year ago "Do you want to be healthy or not?" and once I decided that my answer was yes, I began the search for a plan to be healthy... which lead me to my health coach and Take Shape for Life. Throughout the night I thought about his questions and decided that "yes, I want to be spiritual, so I need a plan if I want to actually achieve my goal". 

On Monday morning I went to the local coffee shop and snuggled up in a chair with my Bible, a devotional book and a Beth Moore study book I had never finished from earlier this year. As I started into this 1st day of study (again) a local pastor walked by and we chatted for a few minutes. He brought up (without my prompting) how important it is to write down our goals so that we don't forget where we are headed as we create habits to reach our destination. 

The next day, the devotional I was reading was entitled 'Write It Down' with the scripture reference of Habakkuk 2:2 "Write down the revelation." The main idea was that we have a natural tendency to remember what we should forget and forget what we should remember. 

So.... here's where I'm going with this. Whether you are religious or not it doesn't take a brain surgeon to know that if you write down your goals you are more likely to reach them. Habits start with the decision to make something a habit... and sometimes that means starting again. These situations have caused me to  pull out some paper and a pen and actually write down my current goals so that I can begin the journey to the destination of success. I'm still working on defining my goals and writing my personal "mission statement", but this is what my first attempt of getting my thoughts out looked like. It's a cluster drawing similar to what my 9 year old makes in his writing class... but hey, it works. Currently my goal is to find a better balance of life.... mental, physical, spiritual and with my family. This (similar to weight loss and maintenance) is going to be something that I need to constantly tweak, evaluate and keep working at as being a balanced human will forever be a work in progress. 

I know being balanced means more moments of peace and happiness and an improved quality of life. Because I know these truths - working toward balance is worth it.

As we journey together toward a new life with a heathy body and health mind... won't you join me in writing down your goals? I know some of you have taken time to actually write down what you want out of this process/program and some of us have just thought about it. 
What is your goal? 
What healthy weight are you working towards?
What non-scale victory are you looking forward to?
What is something we can celebrate today in this journey?
What is your WHY? (What motivates you to work toward our goals?)

The answers to these questions will be different to every one of us.... but we each have our own answers.  Over the next several days you can expect a phone call from me and (if you are willing) I'd love to discuss your answers to these questions with you. 
If you are on track toward your goals, awesome. 
If we need to start again... no problem, let's start again. 

As we continue this journey toward health, these written-out, concrete goals are going to help us succeed. Let's work together so that we can celebrate success together too!

Wishing you all a fun and memorable weekend!
-Kelly

Bread is Life

Hello friends, 
A couple weeks ago I had lunch with two girlfriends and we got onto the topic of weight loss.  I was sharing a little about this program and one of the gals asked if the program includes bread... or pasta... or rice... or crackers, etc. I knew deep down she wanted me to say "oh yes, it's a miracle plan... you get to eat a bagel for breakfast, ravioli for lunch and pizza for dinner and all you do is sprinkle magic carb-zapping powder on it." Wouldn't it be awesome if it was that easy??? But instead I had to disappoint her with the reality that we cut out carbs... just like practically every other weight loss plan out there. We laughed - but inside there were silent tears for the mere idea of being banned from interacting with french bread and all that is tempting at the bakery. 

Later that day one of the gals sent me this funny little meme:

I laughed at her text remembering our conversation... but also got to thinking about bread. 

How sad it is to feel like you have been told that you can never enjoy something that you "love" again. Like you have been warned that your best friend is bad for you and is tainting your character. That when you associate with "that" thing you run the risk of failing in everything you do in your entire life. That your friend Mr. Carb is actually an enemy out to destroy you. These are horrible and depressing thoughts. 

And these thoughts are NOT true. 

Truth is, once you hit your goal and transition into a state of maintenance you will get to reunite with your friend. Your relationship will be different, but you will be able to hang out again someday. See, while on program we need to realize that we're not saying "goodbye forever" - but we are saying "see you later." 

I've been in maintenance for 5 months now and I'll happily admit I  have had bread and tortillas and crackers and noodles. But I have not returned to eating them the way I used to - we have a new relationship. During the months of losing weight and striving toward health the most important thing I learned were the "healthy habits" that this program is based upon. Drinking lots of water, eating 5-6 meals throughout the day so that I wasn't starving and making wise healthy choices with my regular meals. 

We are all looking and seeking forever change. 

We all desire that being healthy would be our new normal. 

We all share the desire for optimal health. 

AND we can all do this!

I want to encourage you to stay strong and focused while you work this plan. Know that whatever is your weakness will be there waiting for you after you have reached your goal. And at that time you can re-defne your relationship. 

Today you are fighting to cross that finish line. 

Keep going! Stay strong! 

I believe in you - I hope that you believe in you too!

Hugs, 

Kelly

P.S. Here's a fun little video with some ideas of alternative Halloween treats that your kids and co-workers are sure to love... 

Skip the sugar this Halloween and try these tasty treats

http://wtvr.com/2015/10/30/skip-the-sugar-this-halloween-and-try-these-tasty-treats/

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