Ditching the Program because you're 'MAD at it'

 
I got an email from a friend last night that really got me thinking, and I want to talk about it.

Recently the program I'm on...Take Shape for Life....changed the format of their website entirely.
They eliminated individual blogs altogether in favor of blogs from the 'home office' only.

They took away private messages, they took away friends lists, and they took away any form of personalization whatsoever (we used to have a 'MyPage' where we could talk a little about ourselves, post pictures, talk about our goals, even record milestones via a ticker....all that is now GONE!)

Understandably, MANY of us...in fact I would venture to say the vast MAJORITY of us...who visited that website on a regular basis, were unhappy about the changes.

VERY unhappy.


So the complaints came....LOUDLY.

But guess what?  TSFL didn't care!  They weren't changing back.  Apparently the programming for the old personalized website was just too time and money intensive, and they didn't want to spend it anymore for a 'few' (we numbered in the hundreds but not thousands) users.

So it was basically 'tough, this is the way it is'.  Period.

People then fell into one of 3 categories:

1).  The Complainers:  These folks refuse to take 'NO' for an answer....so they KEEP complaining.
In fact, they find NEW ways to complain.  They look at the news and at what may or may NOT be happening internally within the Take Shape for Life organization.  They resort to name-calling.
They get sarcastic.  And they go on and on....in posts over and over and over again, about how AWFUL it is, how TSFL doesn't care, etc.
-- The result?  They are just expending an ENORMOUS amount of emotional energy 'fighting'...a LOST CAUSE.  They aren't impacting the direction TSFL is taking ONE iota. (PLUS they are making the Community website one that's now filled with bitterness and negativity instead of sharing and caring about each other)

2).  The Quitters:  These folks have decided that they are going to 'show' TSFL...they are 'mad' so they are going to DITCH the program altogether!  So they are turning to off-brands like Wonderslim and other methods to lose the weight.  Which of course is NOT the same as the MF 5/1 system, and will in all probability NOT produce the same result!  Think about it, these off-brands don't have the same nutrition, they don't have 100% of all the vitamins and minerals we need everyday, and they just don't have the quality I've come to expect from Medifast meals.  And you've got to 'experiment' all over again with these other brands to see what meals you'll like, etc.
WHY?  Just because you're 'MAD'?
Do you REALLY think TSFL is going to cry in their soup because they lost ONE client?  Behind you are hundreds....no, thousands...!  of 'newbies' who they can get to take your place.  
-- Again, the RESULT is...WHO are they hurting?
ONLY THEMSELVES.

3).  The Long Termers:  These are folks - and I'm in this category - who are unhappy about the website, AND the price increase -- but realize that change is inevitable, and sometimes we don't like the directions the changes take.  Sometimes things go awry.
But the PRODUCTS....the Medifast meals....are still amazing.  They still offer perfect nutrition for very little calories and allow you to lose the weight, and lose it FAST, while eating things like brownies and chocolate mint 'ice cream' (soft serve) and gingerbread and cereal and mashed potatoes and pretzels and cheese pizza bites. 
And these folks recognize that it's the PRODUCTS that are important....not the websites. 
YES, it sucks that we can't communicate as easily with others like ourselves on the program....but we can FIND OTHER WAYS to do that.  There IS Facebook (and check out the vast number of Medifast and/or TSFL related Facebook pages out there!  Ask your Coach...!) 
There ARE Coaches, and say what you like about TSFL's Coaching system, it's a system that WORKS to help people reach goal....and the Coaches are FREE to any person doing the program. 
YOU DON'T PAY MORE for a Coach.  In fact, with this latest price increase? You pay slightly LESS than someone doing Medifast alone!
And YES, there are some unscrupulous Coaches out there.  Just like everywhere ELSE in life.
But there are also some very very good ones.  People who care.  People who aren't in it to make a quick buck, but rather to HELP others...like themselves!....get HEALTHY and SLIM and STRONG.

Which category do YOU fit into? 

Are you a QUITTER....or a COMPLAINER....or .... a DOER? 

Join me and be a DOER....DESPITE whatever shenanigans go on in the company.  The product, and the program, are still WONDERFUL.  It still WORKS, and it will continue to work if YOU continue to use it and get out of your own head with all this negative energy.

Keep on keepin' on.....NO.  MATTER.   WHAT!

Linda
angiecat6@comcast.net