Snacking and Weight Loss

Can you snack and still maintain your weight?  Yes!  But you have to chose wisely and understand what nutrition your body needs every 2-3 hours.  

Aside from being popular sources of energy, snacks play an important role in our weight-loss program. Specifically, snacking gives the body an energy boost when needed, and is also beneficial for weight control. Research shows that snacking lowers both total and LDL (or "bad" cholesterol).

When you are in the weight-loss phase of your Medifast plan, your snacks will be your Medifast Meals. You will eat 5 small meals a day and one Lean & Green meal, so you are getting all the energy you need from these sources.

When you are on weight maintenance, healthy snacking is essential to keeping your metabolism going and your energy up. Good snacks include: fruits, vegetables, low-fat yogurts, crackers with low-fat cheese, cereals and small handfuls of raisins and nuts.

Here are some guidelines on how to maximize the health benefits of your snacks:

• Select a snack with a combination of protein, carbohydrates and fat.
• Pick a snack that is a good source of vitamins and minerals that you wouldn’t otherwise get from foods.
• To help control your weight, choose snacks that are less than 200 calories.
• Eat every two to three hours.   

Maintenance of your ideal weight does not have to be hard or difficult.  Good choices, made throughout the day, are essential to maintaining your healthy weight, feeling good and having lots of energy!

To learn more about Medifast and the 5 & 1 Plan, please visit Emoowered Weigh

Coincidence or a Wink?

Recently, I came across a small, compact book about Christian living in the most unlikely place - a Dollar General store!  They carry books from Thomas Nelson, the big Christian publisher.  The copyrights may be several years old, but the wisdom that flows from these pages is timeless.

My current read is a book by Squire Rushnell called "When God Winks at You."  He has collected stories over the years about coincidences, that he believes are really winks from God.  In Squire's opinion (and mine), God is just waiting for you to ask him for help, so He can let you know He is thinking about you.

As Squire says, "Every time you receive what some call a coincidence or an answered prayer, it's a direct and personal message of reassurance from God to you - what I call a godwink."

Has that ever happened to you? Something so unbelievable that it can't be explained except by calling it a "godwink."  (Let me know so I can write about it!)

This book is full of amazing stories that will leave you breathless in wonder.  After reading "When God Winks at You," you will be filled with the desire to look for all the "godwinks" in your life that happen right before your eyes!

God's Window

When I was young, my mother used to tell me a story about God, looking out of heaven's window.  He would stand at the window and just watch all that went on the world he created.  But she would always remind me that God could also look inside of what he created - into my heart and see my true intentions.

So if I misbehaved (which rarely occurred, because I was God's perfect child...) God could see instantly if I was truly sorry for hitting my brother or taking an extra piece of cake. 

As an adult, this image of God standing at His window has shifted and aligned with new realizations about my life, my purpose and how I may serve Him. The childhood version made God seem too remote and uncaring. Instead of God standing passively at His window as my mother described, I now see myself and my relationship with Him in a different light.

Or through a different window pane, if you will.

The Universe is constantly changing, creating, growing and dying.  The cells in your body change every minute of every day.  Each breath you take causes a chain reaction of change in your body as oxygen is delivered to your cells and carbon dioxide is removed.  You could say that each moment in time is a new creation - it has never occurred before and it will never be the exact same again.

Since we live in a Universe that is always creating something new and different, I realized that God must like change. Why else would He have created what he did? He could have just as easily made a static world, where nothing ever grows, evolves, dies and is reborn.  But He didn't...so that leads us to the next logical step.

If I am a creation of God, then I must be part of the change that He likes to experience! But how does God experience life in this three dimensional world that I live in? That is when I had my break-through moment. 

I am the window through which God sees this world!

God sees this world through my eyes, hears the cacophony of sounds through my ears, and tastes the flavors and textures of life through my tongue and skin.  I am the window pane through which He experiences this world!

But wait - what if I have let my windows become caked over with guilt, shame, regret or anger?  What if I my focus on the past or the future affects the clarity of the glass?  What if my emotional pain has dirtied the window pane through which God sees the world?  Is that really the way I want Him to see the world?

I control my thoughts and the direction of my focus and attention.  If I spend too much time remembering a painful event or waiting for something to happen in the future so I can be happy, my glass is not clear.  Only my focus on the present moment, with all of its gifts of love and wonder, will I keep the view open.

My awareness of this moment creates the transparency God needs!

I am the window for God to see my world.  When I stay in the moment of Now, He can see through me. I can hear His guidance and feel His love, because I am in the moment with Him. 

How clean are your windows?

Structural Tension

Do you know what Structural Tension is?  Sounds like a complicated, scientific term but it really is a simple concept.  This concept comes from Robert Fritz, author of Your Life as Art.  Dr. Wayne Andersen has also incorporated Structural Tension as one of his 8 Habits of Health.  

Structural Tension is based on a basic law of nature - any tension between two things seeks resolution.  Think of a rubber band stretched between your hands.  The farther you pull it apart, the more stress is caused.  One of two things will eventually happen - the rubber band will break and the tension released, or the rubber band shoots off into the air!

With this process, you are the creator of your life, not the victim.  You decide the vision of your future reality, complete with all the details.  If you want to lose weight and regain your health, for example, you might include your target weight, your waist measurement and clothing size.  Make it realistic, authentic and set a time line or deadline to accomplish your vision.

Once you create the vision, then you have to assess your current reality.  What is your current weight, waist measurement and clothing size.  The discrepancy between your current and future reality creates the "tension" that has to be resolved.

After you have completed these steps, imagine what steps or decisions you would have to make differently on a daily basis to reach your vision.  Start a walking program? Start on Medifast? Don't eat before bed? Whatever it is, use these new daily choices to advance toward your goal.

Structural Tension is explained in more detail in the Habits of Health recorded call.  Please dial 512-505-6863 to listen in - it takes less than 30 minutes but the information could change your life!

Living well, beautifully!

For more information on Medifast and the Take Shape for Life program, please visit Empowered Weigh

It is Just Like Riding a Bicycle

Remember the thrill of discovering your first "Big Kid" bicycle under the Christmas tree when you were six or seven years old?  Even though you were still in your pajamas, you couldn't wait to take it outside and feel the wind in your hair.  Oh, the adventures you would have on your magic carpet of two-wheels...

There was only one small problem.  You had never ridden without the training wheels before!

Your parents gently explained that you would learn how to ride without the extra support.  You wanted to believe them, you knew they had your best interests at heart, but still, there was that kernel of doubt in your heart. 

Because YOU had not experienced it yourself.

No one can give you their own experience of something.  They can describe it in rich detail, with all the emotion possible, but it still does not give you that same sensation as when you experience it for yourself.

This concept applies to everything.  I may have been a great student in school and know all of the tricks to studying, but until you spend the time to learn the material and study, you won't experience the thrill of receiving your first "A".  I can explain and show you on video how to ski down a slope, but until you actually feel your muscles tightened against the pull of gravity, and learn to pivot your hips as you make your turns, skiing won't be real to you.

Losing weight and creating health with Medifast is no different.  You can read all of the stories of the millions of people who have lost weight and feel great, but it won't penetrate your awareness.  You can taste the food and read the material on why it works, but you will always find an excuse not to go on the program. 

That is how your mind works - you don't like change, you don't want to learn something new and you certainly don't want to eat food out of a box, or because you are a Vegan and this contains egg product, or its just not the right time, or you have too many other things in your life right now... The list of excuses goes on and on!  And your waistline continues to grow and grow.

When is a good time to take control of your health?  After you have had the heart attack or your cholesterol is so high that the Doctor shakes her head every time she sees you?  Why wait for your external world to either be perfect or to suddenly face an extreme health crisis?

Did you wait for the perfect time to learn how to fly free on your bicycle?  No - of course not!  The vision of yourself on the back of the bike with a big grin on your face was strong enough to push you right past any excuses or fears.  You may have been tenative at first as your feet turned the pedals, but once you realized that you were RIDING YOUR BIKE, you soared with the clouds.

The Magic of Medifast has to be experienced to be understood and believed. Once you see the extra weight and fat melt away, you will also be a believer.  But no one can turn you into a believer without you first going on the program and experiencing the profound changes yourself.

It really isn't a hard thing to do, just visit Empowered Weigh or call me when you are ready to fly!

Living well, beautifully!

Kathy Eriksen
Certified Health Coach
Take Shape for Life

Can Freedom be Found Eating Out of a Box?

A potential Take Shape for Life client made a comment that has stuck with me ever since.  After showing her the program and having her taste some of the products, she turned to me and said, slightly exasperated, "I just don't know if I can eat out of a box!" 

It took me back for a second, because I had already experienced the benefits of this program and the profound changes it made in my life.  I mumbled something about "There is so much more to it than that" and we quickly parted.

I now have a much better answer to her statement that I would love to share with you (and her, if she is reading this post).  So here goes...

We are here as God's children, experiencing our lives through the lens of our physical selves.  When our bodies are out of balance, overweight, tired, listless and not thriving, it affects the lens through which we see ourselves and our world.  The way to a joyful and loving life is so simple -- take action steps to feel better physically and your emotions will follow!

It boils down to a very basic issue - do you believe you are worthy of feeling better, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually? Do you love yourself as a child of God? Or are you caught up in a self-imposed world of anger, frustration, doubt and fear?  It is your choice - either way. 

Only you can lift the veil that covers your "lens" and clear the fog that surrounds you.  Only you can make the decision to step forward, arms raised and say, "I want to discover the real me!"  No one else can do it for you.  The answer does not lie in the external world, despite the messages we receive from car and clothing advertisers, fast food restaurants and cruise lines.  The answer lies within, and your body is the entry door to discover your real hunger.

As Geneen Roth said in her best selling book, Women, Food & God, "It's never been true, not anywhere at any time, that the value of a soul, of a human spirit, is dependent on a number on a scale.  We are unrepeatable beings of light and space and water who need these physical vehicles to get around.  When we start defining ourselves by that which can be measured or weighed, something deep within us rebels."

The flip side of Ms. Roth's statement is that when we allow our physical bodies to be more in alignment with our spiritual selves, life works on all levels. 

And that is the secret I discovered after I lost 18 pounds on Medifast.  Because my body is lean and trim, I feel lighter and freer to express myself authentically.  Self-imposed thoughts of "I don't want to go to that swim party and wear a bathing suit," have been replaced by "Wonder who's having a swim party this weekend?"  Discouraging comments that I used to make to myself when my pants were too tight have morphed into the joy of finding clothes that now fit in my closet.  The sense of freedom I feel in my new body has expanded my world view. 

As my waist size shrank and the excess fat melted away, my spiritual size grew proportionally.

So, my friend, thank you for making your comment about "eating out of the box."  It made me look harder at my own "box."  As my body as gotten smaller, I have grown bigger.   My "box" of negative thinking has dissolved in the radiant light of Myself. 

Eating out of a box?  It is the best thing that has ever happened to me!

You Can Be Free: The Greatest Contest of All

You Can Be Free: The Greatest Contest of All: "Imagine that you just won the following contest: Each morning your bank would deposit $86,400 in your private bank account for your own use..."