Staying the Course

Hello friends! I hope your new year is going well! It has been a busy 2015 but we are grateful for a new year. We ended 2014 with wonderful holidays enjoying family, friends and delicious foods! Dr. Murphy's recommendation to "enjoy the day" along with the smaller plates meant I didn't bring any new weight into the new year! Yay! I was able to enjoy the favorite things we have each year at Thanksgiving and Christmas in moderation. Quite a change from the year before when several new pounds snuck up on me and I had to work to get those little guys back off.

2015 also marks a milestone for us. It has been three years since I became "ready for change" and started living a new life. Nearly 80 pounds are gone from my highest weight. Even though it has now been three years, it is still new and fresh every day. This way of living is so easy now, I wish I had become ready a long time ago. I had the honor of sharing my journey with the members of the 2014 Alabama Community College Association Conference right before Thanksgiving. Dr. Murphy and I shared how we have worked together to navigate a new way for me to eat and live. It was such a joy to pass along what I have learned and hopefully we inspired someone else searching for a new, healthy life to find their own way. We had several people tell us they were encouraged by our story and plan to make changes, I hope they have. In addition to good numbers on health tests, having other people tell me they want to make a change after hearing this story is my favorite part.

There is nothing special about me. I'm just a regular person. The special thing is that God allowed me to meet Dr. Milady Murphy at the right time and allowed Alex Beatty to cast me in that small film to show me what was happening and to light a fire inside of my heart. God also allowed me to be surrounded by a wonderful support team to help me along the way. Becoming ready for change, eating healhty foods, normal size portions, a support team.....that's it. No expensive fees, no exclusive club, no pills or special food, no surgery.....just reaching a point when you say, "I've had enough. I will do whatever it takes to make a change." When you reach that point, the rest is easy. So, now as we start year three, I'm excited to see what lies ahead. Hopefully more invitations to share our journey in hopes of spreading the word "You can do this!!" If so, I trust The Lord will provide the words of encouragement needed to help others who were like me. So please join me in staying the course on this new journey and let's be healthy and happy together! For those of you interested in our presentation, I have included our handout and Dr. Murphy's original email with a sample eating plan on this website. You will find links to them in two icons on the right side of the home page.

Blessings,

Janie