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JustLoseItwithBerta
Volume 1
Issue 18
05-06-2010
Dear ,
Hi and welcome. Last
week, instead of writing my usual Tea
Time piece, I gave you a step-by-step explanation to get you started doing
the "Berta" thing. I hope it was
helpful. I have decided to include it as
a regular link for new readers getting started and all of my original readers
who might have become a bit lost and in need of a quick refresher. You will also be able to find this start-up
link on my blog and Facebook pages.
Please let me know if it is helpful and if there is anything else that I
can do to make my information easier to access and follow. Again, all of this is temporary until my
website is up. Then it will be a one-click navigation and far more interactive.
You will be able to talk with me as well as many other women who are going
through the same struggles. I hope to
make it a unique community for support, guidance and information. You will see lots of before and after photos
of women who have lost anywhere from 25 to more than 100 pounds! Until then, please hang in there and follow
these easy steps. Once you have the basics, then it's all about Consistency and
Longevity. You can check out those two
blogs and many others by going to my blog page at www.justloseit.com/blog. This week's blog was difficult to write. It's a very serious subject that is confusing
for many. Is being overweight actually
an issue of addiction, and if so, why? If it is not, then why is it so hard
to control our weight? So, join me as I explore the topic of addiction: what I
believe it is, and what it is not. To
read more about this very sensitive subject and to see if you, too, might be
dealing with a problem greater than food, please go to www.justloseit.com/blog.
Tea Time with Berta: 
When all is said and done, and you are finally in control
of your emotions, your relationships, and your food choices, the time is right
to kick it. I mean, kick the habit once
and for all. Easier said than done, I
know, because we associate all of our habitual behaviors with other behaviors.
It's almost impossible to stop doing one thing without having to give up a host
of others. Discussing this issue with a client this week I was reminded of the time when I first learned just how difficult it could be to break a bad habit. Prior to this, I had never really tried to change a problematic behavior
completely; I was usually satisfied to lay off of it for a few days or weeks,
proving that I could do it, if I really wanted to.
Thirty years ago (wow, how time flies!), I was a cigarette
smoker. I loved smoking cigarettes. I was good at it, a natural, if I do say so
myself! But, alas, it was the first of
many addictions I would deal with as time went on. Of course many people smoked back then, and it
was far more acceptable than it is today, when we frown at the sight of professionally
dressed men and woman huddled outside in the rain, puffing away for dear
life. Nevertheless, one particular day
it occurred to me that I needed to quit, sooner rather than later. I was
teaching aerobics at an Elaine Powers
Figure Salon and was on my way to a healthier me, and it really didn't seem
right that I would end a class and light up in the back room with the other
instructors.
Anyway, on this particular day I was determined to put an
end to my nicotine addiction. I figured I had smoked for about eight to ten years, and
it was time to put on my grownup pants and just kick it! Not wanting to make a
rash decision, I waited for the "right" day and time, and on New Year's Eve,
just after midnight, I quit. Done. Easy,
except it was kind of silly wasn't it, to stop at midnight when we had just
started the party, and I had a half pack of cigarettes? Of course I would
stop, but the morning seemed much more reasonable. I would be done with the
pack, and I would wake to a brand new year! Well, if you have read my other e-zines, you will recognize the fatal
lies in this type of thinking. Of course
there are no tomorrows, not really.
I did stop for a few hours that night, but since we were
away for a weekend, I said I would start when we returned home; it would be
easier that way. We got home on a Sunday, which everyone knows is not the right
day to launch a new commitment, so I decided I would quit on Monday! Of
course I would. On Monday, I still had
part of the pack and since it would be silly to waste them, I would finish them
off, and then I would quit. This kind of
rationalization went on and on; ultimately, I simply stopped planning to quit. Then, months later and out of the blue, the thought popped
into my head that this was the day, and as hard as it was going to be, I decided I was going to grin and bear it.
It turned out that there were tons of triggers that made
me yearn for a cigarette. First of all,
I couldn't drink coffee because it was impossible to do so
without a cigarette. Then I had to stop eating bran muffins (you see, I was
health conscious even then!) because who has a bran muffin without a cup of
coffee? Then, I had to find a new place to eat breakfast because I couldn't go
to the diner where I used to have a bran muffin with a cup of coffee and a
cigarette. Then, I discovered that I
also had to give up reading the paper. Yup, the paper went with the coffee and
muffin and...well, you know the rest.
Simply getting up in the morning presented so many
triggers that I had real doubts about my ability to hold tough. And the
evenings were just as bad, since going out with my friends meant exposing
myself to their smoking. Then there were the bars, which were not smoke-free
zones back then! Basically, it was impossible to go anywhere with anyone! To
say the least, it was a rough first year, and I probably quit about eight
times. By the time I was smoke free for
a solid year I felt that I really could call myself an ex-smoker. I thought
that was it, that I was safe and could go anywhere and no longer be tempted.
And then I met a guy. Greg, a gorgeous guy, perfect in
every way, except that he smoked, like everyone else. Urgh! Even so, I was strong, and I didn't
break until one night when I was being silly and said, "Let me have a puff,
baby." He handed me his cigarette and I took a puff and was relieved at how
awful it tasted. I even coughed. Perfect! But then, another day, my body, not
my mind, wanted another puff. It
remembered something it used to like, so I had two puffs. And then it was three puffs, then a whole
cigarette, and then....well, obviously I was a smoker again! After an entire
year! After all I knew about the difficulty of stopping! After I knew how much
better I felt physically! After knowing the pride of breaking a bad habit! I
was smoking nearly a pack a day, again. Well, we looked so good smoking
together that we continued for another year.
Greg and I decided that on New Year's Eve of
that year we would both stop. Funny,
right? You would think I might have learned something by now. Of course you know how this turned out: same
story, different year. The days and
weeks after New Year's Eve were the same as the time before, except for one
thing. One day when I was in the midst of lying to myself again, I had the courage to call it what it was: a
lie. I didn't realize that I had been
lying to myself all the time. It was as if a light went on. On a Wednesday
afternoon, at 1:23 PM with three quarters of a pack left, with a half smoked
cigarette in my hand, with my boyfriend still smoking my brand, no less, I
quit. I put out that last one, without even taking a final puff and then tore
up the rest of the pack and threw it away. I was done. I knew it would be hard, and I knew there would be triggers,
and I knew there would be temptations. However, I was tired of smoking and
lying to myself that I was going to quit. I knew that if I weren't serious
about it at that moment, then I would never do it.
There is no "Just one more;" it's too hard to resist the
things we are addicted to. Whether your
talking about nicotine, or sugar, or caffeine, or white carbs, or salty
potatoes chips, saying, "Just one more, and then I'll stop" is nothing but a
lie. Stop the madness and don't turn back.
Just Kick It!
Did you know...
that you quite literally have to eat to lose weight? I know you all understand that we need food
for proper nutrition, but our bodies actually need certain types of foods at
regular intervals in order to lose weight.
Often, when clients have worked with me for a few months
and have lost 15 pounds or so, they relax a bit and find that after a long
weekend they have put on a few pounds. Before they come back to see me,
they try desperately to lose the weight (I think it's so funny that they are
embarrassed about their weight around their weight loss coach). How do they
attempt to lose it? They do the obvious: they just stop eating, or eat almost
nothing. It doesn't work, and they come in all confused about what is going on
with their bodies. I like to remind them that there really is no trick to
this. You must eat to give your body the
nutrients it needs to have energy to burn all day long. Food is energy; you need it. Simple.
I don't know how many times a week I hear that someone
doesn't have the time for lunch, or they just don't "do" breakfast. "Really," I'll say. "And how has that worked
in the past?" When you go through your busy week, skipping meals all over the
place, you end up so hungry that you overeat at night. You go to bed stuffed,
and you wake up too full to want breakfast. Then you repeat the cycle over and
over, wondering why you aren't losing weight. After all, you are skipping one or two meals
every day! Have you ever had the experience of gaining weight
while following a regimen of skipping meals? Were you completely puzzled and
angry that the weight didn't fall off during those times? Well, there is this funny thing called your
metabolism. Yes, the metabolism people constantly complain about, telling me
that theirs is "slow." What happens to
your metabolism when you skip a meal?
As you know, in order to work efficiently, your body needs
food energy. When you take in more than you use, the food energy is stored as
fat. If you do not take in enough energy, it seems logical that your body would
start using the stored fat. Except,
somehow, it doesn't work that way. Now, that's a good thing because we would be
in a lot of trouble if we could dictate how our bodies worked! You see, when your body doesn't get enough
food, it stops performing as an efficient energy-burning machine. Instead, it
reacts as if it had wandered into the desert and has no idea when it will get
its next meal.
To protect itself from starvation, it has to slow down, and
this looks like a sluggish metabolism. At these times, the body does not burn
energy at its normal rate. The body also has to make you a little bit tired
because it doesn't want you to expend energy unnecessarily. On top of this, if
you are also not drinking enough water, then your body will further protect
itself, this time from dehydration, by retaining some of the water that you
drink. In the end, when you get on the scale after starving yourself, you are
likely to find that you are up a couple of pounds. This means that your body is functioning the
way it should, to protect itself from your ill-advised methods of controlling
your weight. If you want a healthy
metabolism, eat. Don't skip breakfast. If you are not hungry for breakfast, you
have been overeating at night. If so,
check out my blog on food plan basics; the article is: What to Eat - the Beginning.
Please make the choice not to skip any meals because all you
will end up doing is starving yourself and shutting down a perfectly fine
metabolism. Much less eating always looks like much more weight.
Don't do it!
My favorite things to eat!
Spiced Jerk Portobello
Steaks
Serves 4
For those of you looking for a delicious alternative to
steak on the grill, here it is! If you
haven't tried Portobello mushrooms before, you're in for a treat! You can pan fry, grill or broil them. Mushrooms are one of the best foods to boost
your immune system, so give this dish a try-it's a definite keeper!
What you need:
2 tsp. light brown
sugar, or natural sweetener (don't worry, a little won't hurt)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground
allspice
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. sweet paprika
 1 tsp. salt (please
be moderate)
½ tsp. cayenne
¼ tsp. freshly grated
nutmeg
4 large Portobello
mushrooms, stems removed
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
What to do:
1. In a shallow bowl, combine the brown sugar, cumin,
allspice, oregano, paprika, salt, cayenne, and nutmeg. Set aside.
2. Coat the mushroom caps with 2 tablespoons of the olive
oil, then coat them evenly with the spice mixture. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in
a large skillet over medium heat. Add
the mushrooms and cook until tender, about 5 minutes per side. Serve hot!! Yum!!
Serve with a side of veggies or a salad for a delicious and
nutritious meal!!
Bon Appetite!
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Berta is a respected weight loss counselor who has educated and empowered hundreds of women JUST LIKE YOU to lose the excess weight that prevents them from living their dream and becoming the woman they were meant to be.
Her gift, and the reason her program is SO SUCCESSFUL, is her ability to break down every detail of your weight loss journey so you can be prepared for the challenges and understand the emotional components behind them.
This on-line program has been designed to bring you the same experience of her methods and common sense explanations that Berta uses in her successful private practice, at a fraction
of the cost. If you liked today's issue, you'll love her blog and the main site as it is being built, which you can find at JustLoseIt.com.
DON'T LET ANOTHER DAY GO BY!
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Manifest Destiny Limited Liability Company
P.O. Box 1292
Stratford, CT 06615 USA
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Want to use this article in your E-zine or website? You can, as long as
you include this complete
sentence with it: Weight loss expert Berta 
Prevosti publishes the free weekly e-zine Just Lose It with Berta,
to
support, inspire and educate women to reach their weight loss goals.
If you have "given up" on weight loss, or
know some one who has,
JustLoseIt.com is the place for them to turn for the
explanations of
why nothing has worked before, and better yet, the reason why
it will
work now.
Copyright 2010. Manifest Destiny LLC.
All Rights Reserved
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