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JustLoseItwithBerta
Volume 1
Issue 15
04-15-2010
Dear ,
Hi and welcome back! First
of all, I want to say thank you for your great response to my first teleseminar
and the launch of my first Tele-Class, Start Losing Weight, NOW! The class was
full by Sunday evening, and I sincerely hope that it will be the right time for
you the next time I offer it - because it's actually a perfect starter class to my weight
loss program for you, and I want to make it a regular
offering. In the meantime, as I think back over the last four months
I have been writing to you, I still can't believe how much more I want to tell
you! In the beginning, I sometimes thought to myself, What
if I wake up one day and have nothing else to say? I guess I shouldn't worry
because I haven't uncovered the tip of the iceberg, yet. There is so much I want to share with
you! I have developed tons
of effective strategies that have proven successful for hundreds of women, and
I want you to add your name to the list. So,
I'll keep writing, knowing full well that you'll be finished losing long before
I run out of strategies and information to share! There are many factors
that hinder us on our journey toward weight loss, and I have written or spoken
about some of them, already. I
have also touched on some issues that I promised to deal with more fully in
future e-zines. Today, I
would like to address an obstacle mentioned last week,
the one I see as "The" addiction: sugar. Yes, sugar is what got most of us into
trouble in the first place, and it continues to thwart our progress. We were brought up to associate
sugar with all that is good. Little girls, the nursery rhyme tells us, are
actually made of "sugar and spice and everything nice." Now there's a loaded
description! The vast majority of the overweight women I know spend their adult
lives trying to overcome issues that are rooted in this description of what is
expected of a "good" girl. We were taught to be sweet-read obedient and
compliant - and were rewarded over the years with candy and ice cream for doing
so. As we got older, we were rewarded with sweets for doing something well or
achieving something. Think about it: desert was the reward for just finishing
our meal! Sugar has been a
source of pleasure in our lives, and its association with positive things has
been ingrained into our psyche practically from birth. In my blog today, I will
introduce you to some facts about sugar, and I'll begin to explain its effects
on our health, our happiness, and yes, of course, our fat. So please click here www.justloseit.com/blog to
see what I have to say about what is truly not one of the sweetest things in
our lives.
Tea Time with Berta: 
Couch Potatoes Rejoice!
Many people beginning a new weight loss program make a very
big mistake right from the start. Naturally, when thinking about losing weight, we inevitably have
thoughts about exercise. We all know
that if we eat well and exercise, we've done what it takes, and voilą! So we go out and join the gym, or pick up a cute
pair of running shoes, or order that new best-selling DVD: "Burn, Baby, Burn
that Fat in 5 Minutes a Day without Breaking a Fingernail or a Sweat!" These
all seem like great ideas, and I am a full supporter of exercise, but in all
honesty, not following through is only one of the issues I see around
exercising to lose weight.
A few years ago I had a client in her mid 30s who weighed
close to 300 pounds. Now, this is a lot
of extra weight for a body to be carrying around. It's a lot on the heart, the
back, the knees, everything. When she
started with me, she thought it was odd that I didn't bring up exercising. She kept waiting, but I had no plan to
suggest any sort of exercise regimen. Why not? Well, first of all, she
was losing plenty of weight every week without it: a solid two to four pounds a
week for months and months. Exercise was obviously not in her daily routine at
that point, and I knew that adding it would create two new problems.
Let me explain. Exercise is great. It burns up energy, and
food and fat are energy, so we want to burn them right up. Nevertheless, if your body is not ready for
this kind of a thing, it might backfire. My client had reduced her caloric intake, and she was safely and
efficiently losing weight because she was taking in less than she was putting
out, creating a perfect equation for weight loss. Two to four pounds a week is an awesome way
to achieve long-term success. If she had
started to exercise, then she would have lost too much, too fast. As exciting
as that might be in the beginning, it would have also made her hungrier, much
hungrier, and chances are that she would not have been able to sustain the program. Something would have given. She
would have probably started thinking that between the weight loss and exercise
she could safely eat a bit more to stave off the increased hunger. And to be
honest, she would have been fine for a while. Eventually, she would have increased
her intake until it equaled her output, and she would have hit a plateau. This,
in turn, could have thrown her emotionally to the point where she gave up on
herself, yet again. So, can you see where the addition of exercise can be more
of a hindrance than help in some cases?
If your weight is that high when you start, get your food
together first. When you have lost for a period of time, and you don't have as
much pressure on your heart and joints, then gradually add some exercise. A little cardio will go a long way. It will help strengthen your heart and burn
away extra calories. Just remember, this
will make you hungrier! Do not make the mistake of eating more to satiate the
hunger. If you feel hungry, you might actually
be thirsty, so drink plenty of water before, during and after exercising. After
you have finished your walk or run, wait a little bit for your body to relax,
and then continue with your regular regime of three well-balanced meals. Do not
increase the portion size because you are hungrier! The cardio will speed your weight loss, but
the increased hunger will be harder to deal with in the beginning. Again, that's
why I suggest waiting, if you can, to start the fitness program later, when it
will help with the last and hardest-to-lose pounds.
Exercise is a great way to help you stay at your goal weight
and keep you toned and heart healthy. However, as I have said, it can be tricky. So, as a rule, I tell my clients who have
been exercising to keep it up, since their bodies are conditioned to it. For
those who are not presently active, I suggest waiting until they get their food
together. Only then should they begin a regular exercise program. I also remind them to prepare their bodies to
start moving by stretching properly before any exercise. The cardio goal should
be to break a sweat for at least 20 minutes at first, and then gradually
increase the time. Please listen to your
body! If something hurts, your body is telling you that you are doing too much.
Listen to it; don't push your way through it, especially if you have been
overweight for a while and your muscles have atrophied a bit. These are changes that you will gradually implement
for the rest of your life. It's not a race, and you want to progress steadily,
with balance and without injury.
Losing weight can be difficult, and even overwhelming, at
times. That is why it is a huge mistake to make drastic lifestyle changes that
you could never sustain over the long haul. The idea of changing your food is change enough! To wrap up, understand that I am all for
exercise, but everything in its proper place and time. Get your food together, and when you are
regularly dropping weight and your body is healthier, check with your doctor
and then gradually add some cardio, listening at all times to your body. Don't be surprised if you enjoy it for the
first time in your life!
Did you know...
that healthy eating does not always result in weight loss?
This is a big misconception, and I am not surprised when my clients inevitably
complain, But it's not like I'm eating a couple of Big Macs anymore! Why am I
not losing weight, now that I'm eating so healthy! Well, here it is: a calorie is still a calorie, be it white or
brown. Sure, switching from all beef
patties on sesame seed buns to veggie patties on whole-wheat wraps, or from
Spaghetti-Os to brown rice pasta is healthier, and initially you will probably
go down, but only for a moment. Sorry,
to upset you, but I don't make the rules! As I tell my clients, if I were in
charge of the fat credits, I would lavish them on you to reward healthy eating
choices; however, I am not, and I have to live by the same rules as you!
When you go from consuming large
amounts of sugary, salty, and fried junk food, you'll notice a bit of
weight loss, and you'll feel a lot better because that bloated feeling will leave. Your head might feel clearer, and you will
certainly have more energy. This could lull you into thinking that losing
weight and feeling great is not so hard. Heck,
you might think, I can just go from white rice
and pasta to brown, from fried chicken and fish to baked, throw in some
broccoli, and I'm there! Not so
fast. As I've said before, if losing weight were easy, we would all be
thin! It's not easy. Just look around for all
the proof you need. You are not
magically going to lose just because you make wise substitutions. You are still
constrained by the fact that you must burn up more than you consume! Before going on, let me take a moment to
appeal to your basic common sense. If you want
to lose weight, then why in the world would you choose to eat pasta, be it
brown, white, or purple? It's still
pasta, and although some types of pasta are healthier than others, you
shouldn't have any of them if you are trying to lose weight. You see this,
right? If you really want a wise and absolutely delicious alternative to pasta,
choose a serving of spaghetti squash. In fact, check out my recipe for Italian Night Spaghetti Squashin the March
11, 2010 issue of this e-zine: 3-11-2010 E-zine.
Of course eating healthier is great. Even if you don't have
the obvious exterior fat to lose, you might have dangerous, interior by-products
of fat, like cholesterol and triglycerides clinging to the insides of your arteries.
At any rate, cleaner food choices will keep you feeling and looking much better,
but they won't necessarily make you lose weight. You still have to listen to your body's
signals. If you joined me last week for my first teleseminar, you know how to
listen to your body in order to lose weight. If you missed the call, please
feel free to click on the link Start Losing it with Berta and listen to the recording. You can hear the entire class and learn all about
the first stages of weight loss, including how your body will feel while you
are losing.
By all means, please switch to cleaner foods, but remember
that in order to get to your goal weight, you must follow the rules: eat three
moderately sized, well-balanced meals, and make sure you go to bed feeling just
a bit hungry every day. Simple!
My favorite things to eat!
Gazpacho
I have been waiting since I started this e-zine in January
for the weather to be warm enough for this next recipe. I say it's close enough! This is truly one of my favorites and
something you can make anytime. It's perfect for lunch on a nice hot day-so
refreshing!! Since this cold soup isn't
cooked, it's considered to be raw food and is super rich in antioxidants!
What you will need:
2 cups seeded and finely chopped cucumber
1 cup finely chopped red onion
1 cup seeded and finely diced green bell pepper
1 cup seeded and finely chopped red bell pepper
1 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 can (28 ounce) tomato puree
3 gloves garlic, minced
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
¼ fresh jalapeno pepper, minced
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup dry red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
¼ cup water
3 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Combine all the ingredients in a large container and chill
for at least 20 minutes. This cold soup
can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days, so you can make
plenty of it and have it all week long!
Serve chilled.
Bon Appetite!
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