At JumpstartMD we believe that to be successful on the program depends not only on eating the right foods, but also on having the right mindset. Negative thoughts can stall your journey – and ultimately hamper your ability to achieve your goal. We recently learned about a member that has worked past negative thinking—both with the Jumpstart program and in other aspects of her life.
“I tried different programs with different results and varying levels of failure. I wasn’t being successful and needed something. When I heard my co-worker talk about JumpstartMD I thought it could be for me. It was a struggle for me to pick up the phone, as calling was admitting my failure.”
Our Member quickly worked past the self-doubt and embraced the program.
“This is what works for me. When a coach tells me what to do, I will do it. I understood the parameters I was asked to meet, followed specific instruction, and read the book—knowing that learning all these bits of information would only help me with this undertaking. At first I worried I didn’t have the motivation to stick to the diet. I thought ‘I am going to fail’. But when I saw the weight coming off I was more motivated to get myself out there.”
“It’s been quite an experience and has allowed me to experience eating and food and being able to analyze ‘why am I doing this’? With Jumpstart, I have been given the tools to be in control.“I can’t tell you how much the weight loss I have experienced has been a major boost to my morale. In my head I honestly I thought I couldn’t do it. I tried all the programs. I thought I didn’t have the motivation and ability to stay focused. Not the case with Jumpstart. I had to find what worked for me and everything kind of connected my head and my heart.”
“Out there” is where our member has taken on another big challenge. She had been swimming with a group of friends. “I became encouraged to get out of my comfort zone by swimming with my friends—I always thought I would never do that.” She had the confidence to breakaway and try the San Francisco Dolphin Club, San Francisco’s revered Swimming Club. “With increased confidence, I could swim with people I didn’t know and be there for the experience.”
Our Member still recalls getting over the mental hurdles of swimming in open water a few years ago. “When I first started open water, I was in a wetsuit. One time I decided it wasn’t terribly cold and decided to take off the wetsuit. I took it off, and it was a very different experience. I was no longer constricted by rubber on my chest or covered by anything.” But there remained the fear of the unknown that comes with open water. “I had so much anxiety. I was in my head too much. I felt like my heart was going to explode and I couldn’t breathe.”
She was able to quickly tune out the negative thinking through good advice from her coach. “He simply told me to keep my head down. I blindly thought about it and swam with my eyes closed…’focus on the here and now,’ I thought. Don’t let this get in your head. Physically preventing myself from looking ahead really helped.
Laura’s ability to work past the self-doubt and remain determined to achieve her goals continues to pay off in her weight loss journey. She has already lost 35 pounds since March with continued momentum towards her goal. “JumpstartMD has enabled be to analyze why I eat what I eat and has given me the tools to be in control.”
In addition to continued progress towards her target weight loss of 50 pounds, Laura recently qualified to participate in an organized Dolphin Club swim under the Golden Gate. “When I first realized you could swim under the Golden Gate, I thought ‘You can do that?’. I want a picture of my head bobbing with GG over me.’”
And so, on August 27th, Laura reached her goal and swam 1.4 miles to the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Laura tackles challenges with that consistent, focused, head-down approach, yet still takes a moment to savor the journey.
“The krux of it for me is that I am a good swimmer – not the fastest, but I don’t have to think about my stroke and all the effort. I can swim the distance and feel a great sense of achievement. Now that I’m doing great things and losing weight, I’m confident in my ability to do other things. I’m more empowered.”
In terms of what’s next – she will continue towards her weight goal while simultaneously eyeing the possibility of swimming the English Channel or from one Hawaiian island to another.
Laura had some wise words for her fellow JumpstartMD members. “You have to understand that in order to become healthy and stay healthy you have to stay active. As we all age, motion is lotion. You rest you rust. Find something you enjoy doing because it motivates you, something you like to do–then marry that with a program that will provide you with guidance and support.”
