's MOTD Wed Jan 16, 2008

[Guest guest]

's Daily Message WednesdayJanuary 16, 2008BEFORE, AFTER, BEFORE.

I have been blessed over the years to have received wonderful letters and E-mails from people who have lost a great deal of weight. Letters that read like the one that follows...

, I was at the end of my rope. I weighed 240 pounds and felt fat, miserable, and ugly. I felt people were staring at me when I walked down the street. I overheard gossip about my weight from coworkers on my job. I was getting more and more afraid to even go out in public. But on one of my braver days, I was at a local shopping mall and you were there on stage, dancing, singing and really revving up the crowd! I went over and got really caught up in the energy you`d brought to the mall that afternoon. Afterwards, you were so nice as you stayed to talk to people and sign autographs. You said some very special words to me that day and I took your advice home with me. I began using your healthy eating program and bought some of your workout videos. Today, I`m proud to tell you that I have lost 86 pounds so far! I've included before and after photos of myself to help you remember me. Thank you so much, , for your motivation and inspiration!

After reading her letter, I felt so good about this lovely lady I had been able to help. But a year or two later, I received another letter from that same lady and it went like this:

, I have received several letters from you since I lost weight. And I`m sorry to say that I have not responded. The reason is that I am so ashamed of myself. I was doing really well and feeling so good. As a matter of fact, I don`t think I`d ever felt better about myself in my whole life. But then I had some problems at home and let things bother me and stress me out. Without even realizing it, I began overeating again and began skipping my workouts. My relapse has led to an unhappy ending. I am so embarrassed to tell you that I have regained 80 of the pounds I`d worked so hard to lose. It`s like I just gave up and reverted to the old, unhealthy me. And my weight and happiness have paid the price. Enclosed are my before picture, my after picture and well, now...my before picture, one more time. , I need some encouragement to get started again!

Letters like this break my heart. I know firsthand how hard it is to lose weight in the first place. And I know how easy it is to gain it back, too. I mean, I have been up and down the weight-loss rollercoaster a few times myself. So, what did I tell this lady?

I first told her that giving up is not an option. I told her that she only slipped up! And the problem is that once you slip up a little here, you begin to slip up a little there. And before you know it, you`re rolling down the hill to end up at the bottom, once again.

When you give up out of despair or for whatever reason, you just lie there at the bottom of that hill feeling sorry for yourself. And that`s not a good feeling. You have got to get up, regain your bearings, reestablish your goals and start climbing that mountain again. You know, just like that little mountain climber from the Cliffhangers game on The Price Is Right!

Are you ready to begin again? Well of course you are and I want you to say these words with me...Giving up is not an option!

If you`ve lost weight and gained it back, you can lose it again, my friends. Bring the "after" you back into your life and make it for good, this time!

Love,