JustLoseItwithBerta

Volume 1
Issue 21
05-27-2010

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Welcome back !


Many thanks to those who participated in the Design Your Own Class Reader Survey!  I'm going to leave it posted for one more week in the hope that more of you will take just a moment-really, three to five minutes, tops-to make the e-zines and the next tele-class as helpful as possible for you.  Don't forget that you will receive a discount for participating. That alone might be a wonderful boost to your summer weight loss program!  If you haven't added your thoughts, now is the time!  
 
With the weather getting warmer, I want to remind everyone to drink up!  For some reason, our good intentions around hydration often go down the drain in our frenzy to meet our day-to-day responsibilities. Now is not the time to forget the importance of drinking plenty of water!  It is not only necessary for our energy, our memory, and the functioning of our body, it is also imperative for weight loss! Drinking water will help your body wash away excess sodium and eliminate retained water, the culprit behind the scale that just won't budge!  In warmer weather, especially, our bodies naturally retain, so please keep your water bottle full, and drink at least four of them daily.  Get into this habit-it's free, easy, and essential for health and weight loss!
 
I took the liberty this week of devoting my blog to a discussion of my past and how it provided me with the empathy and understanding necessary to help my clients and my readers. It has been such a long time since I have had issues with my weight that people tend to think I somehow landed where I am on a wing and a prayer. I want you to understand that the state of my body and my health did not just happen; I have worked, and continue to work very hard to see myself honestly and confront the issues that drove me to self-abusive behaviors in the past.  In this blog, I attempt to explain that I totally understand what you are going through because I have been there, too. I want you to know that if I can do it-if I can come from the darkest of places-then so can you! There is a light at the end of this tunnel, and I will do everything in my power to help you get from the place I was to the place I am. Please go to www.justloseit.com/blog  to explore the possibilities.

     
 
 
Tea Time with Berta:
Berta cup of tea photo

 
What to do? Everything is going great, and then you're invited out for dinner at a fabulous restaurant. Now what?  Are you going to throw all your hard work out the window and give in to temptation?  Or....can you go and enjoy yourself without undermining your progress? Is that even possible? Well, of course it is! Not only can you have a good time, but you can also wake the next morning feeling empowered by your newly discovered self-control. But first, you need a game plan.
 
If you have been following my general rules, then you know that nothing has to change, no matter where you are dining.  If you missed the rules, you can check them out here at
  What to Eat the Beginning .  Okay, let's plan for the big night. First of all, you need not panic!  You can do this.  Start by thinking about the menu. Get a heads up by reading it online if you're not familiar with the restaurant, If you can't find it online, don't worry; you can still manage. You need to prepare yourself to choose your meal wisely.  If you scan it ahead of time, you can find all of the items on the menu that might tempt you and mentally prepare to overcome the temptation!  
 
On the day of the dinner, do not plan to eat before going out, thinking that you will eat less, or not at all, once you get to the restaurant.  This is not only cruel and unusual self-abuse, but it also usually backfires, and you end up having two meals instead of one light one.  Instead, prepare yourself by making sure you have a nice, but light, breakfast and lunch. Very little or no snacking, please! Also, be sure that you have plenty of water during the day so you don't arrive at the restaurant hungry!  Once you arrive and are seated, you can ask your friends if they would mind foregoing the breadbasket. If they want the bread, ask them to keep it at their end of the table or just quietly move it away from your seat.  Do not smell the bread or touch it to see if it's warm!  Tell yourself that it's cold and hard.  Remember, you still want to go to bed feeling a little bit hungry, so you have to be diligent. 

Now it's time to order yourself a drink: a glass of wine, a white wine spritzer, a lite beer? Please enjoy this drink and sip it slowly.  I don't want you to feel restricted, and not being able to have a drink tends to push many over the edge.  So, while everyone is eating bread, just sip your wine and savor it; this should get you through the first challenge.  Time to place your order! What will you eat?  You need to make a choice here.  You should start with a small house salad and choose either a healthy appetizer for your entr�e or a regular main course of fish with a side of veggies. If asked to select a starch, substitute an extra side of veggies. This will be plenty of food.  Think about how you used to feel after a nice dinner out. Bloated and uncomfortable would be my guess because the portions contain more than twice as much as you should eat.  So, two courses, one of which is salad, are the way to go. Also, you should avoid the soups, no matter how healthy they look: they are usually full of sodium.
 
If your friends are sharing appetizers, just enjoy your salad-and eat it slowly. The key here is to keep busy, not to sit watching what everyone else is eating. After you do this once, you will find that it's not as hard as you think; you just have to be on top of the evening. The key is to stay busy; never just sit there salivating. Try to talk more than usual, putting down your fork every few minutes. This will slow your eating and allow you to gauge how satisfied you are. Once you are almost full, don't keep eating! Ask the waiter to wrap the leftovers right away so you don't mindlessly pick at them.  Remember the portions are huge-far bigger than one woman needs! Uh, oh. Dessert time. There is no reason to panic! This is the time to just order a cup of tea, or finish that glass of wine you might still be drinking.  In the worst-case scenario, you can order fresh fruit, but it would be better if you could get by with just the tea. 
 

Remember, the first time is the hardest, but wherever you go, there will be a simple fish or chicken option with some veggies on the side. You know what you weaknesses are, so before you go, prepare for that moment; then you will find it easier to get through the evening wearing a smile. The high point of the night will come when you lie down to sleep and notice that you are a bit hungry-you have been victorious! You have proven to yourself social situations can be enjoyable without overeating. No more will sitting at home be an option because you know you don't have to. And why take the risk that the deprivation of not going out could be enough to push you into binge.  Go! Plan your evening and enjoy your friends. You can do this. 
 
When you wake up the next morning, you will open your eyes and quickly remember the night before. However, on this bright morning, you will not awaken to thoughts like, "Oh my! What have I done?"  Instead, you will feel pride knowing you were true to yourself. You will smile, feeling confident that you are really on the path to achieving your goal weight!  This is how it's done: honoring yourself one moment at a time.  
 
Just lose it!
 



Did you know... 


That foods labeled "low fat," "low sodium," "low sugar," or "lean" might only contain less of the ingredient than the original product. Deciding whether or not these "healthy" versions are any better than the original can be tricky, so I thought I would explain what the labels mean.
 
Always keep in mind that when manufacturers take something out of a product, invariably they add something to make up for the flavor supplied by the missing or reduced ingredient. If a product is advertised to be "low" in some ingredient, you can bet it is "high" in something else-usually sugar or sodium. Don't let the advertisements fool you! Read the labels carefully. You just might be surprised at what they try to pass off as healthy!
 
The following is a list of labels food manufacturers use in an effort to convince you that their product is a wise choice:
 
Lean Meats should contain fewer than 10 grams of total fat (saturated and unsaturated) and 95 mg of cholesterol per serving. Lean does not mean low fat!
Reduced Fat foods contain 25% less fat per serving than the original product.  Do not trust reduced fat foods to be low in fat!
Low Fat foods contain 3 or fewer grams of fat per serving. Low fat is almost always a better choice than lean or reduced!
Reduced Cholesterol foods contain a minimum of 25% less cholesterol and 2 or fewer grams of saturated fat per serving than the original product. So, if an egg has about 213 mg of cholesterol, then 25% less than that is still 159 mg of cholesterol. This is better than the original, but still far too much!
Light foods have 33 % fewer calories, 50 % less fat, or 50 % less sodium than the original product.  Again, the numbers could be a little tricky. Just be sure that the "light" food numbers fall in the acceptable range.
Low Calorie foods contain 100 or fewer calories per serving. Low calorie does not mean low sodium, so check all ingredients!!
Reduced Calorie foods contain a minimum of 25% fewer calories per serving than the original product.  Once again, foods with 25% fewer calories could still have a very high caloric value.
Low Sodium foods contain 140 mg of sodium or less per serving. Check out the sodium level in all processed food you purchase. If it is higher than 140 mg-and almost all of it will be-then it really is too much! Best tip-stay away from processed food.
Cholesterol-Free foods contain fewer than 2 mg of cholesterol and 2 grams of saturated fat.
Reduced-Sugar foods contain a minimum of 25% less sugar per serving than the original product. If you're talking about ice cream, 25% less sugar is still a lot of sugar, no? So, if it says reduced sugar, you don't have to go to the original, just check how much sugar is left in the "reduced" version.  If it is more than 0.5 grams per serving, it is too much!
Sugar Free is the better option.  Again, your food should contain fewer than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving. 
 
I hope this helps your understanding of what the labels mean. Use the information to make healthier food choices. 

My favorite things to eat!

Black Bean Chili with Cilantro Pesto  YUM!!
serves 6
 
Beans are clearly one of my favorite foods. I love all kinds of beans, and if you're thinking, Oh boy, I'll bet she's a gassy chickie, know that the trick is in the quantity you consume.  Enjoy small servings and you will be fine.  Beans are a perfect protein-low in fat and high in fiber. They will leave you feeling full and satisfied-and they are so tasty!  Delicious, easy to prepare and store for a week's worth of recipes, make friends with beans: your new and nutritious favorite fast food!
 
What you will need:
 
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/3 cup celery, choppedBlack Bean Chili
2 garlic cloves, minced
One 6-ounce can tomato paste
One 14.5-ounce can plum tomatoes, drained and chopped
2 tbsp. chili powder
� tsp. ground cumin
2 cups water
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 cups cooked or two 15- ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup Cilantro Pesto (recipe below)
 
What to do:
 
1.      Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and garlic. Cover and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the tomato paste, tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, water, and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. 
2.      Add the lemon juice and beans and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Taste and adjust the seasonings.  Just before serving, swirl in the pesto.
 
Cilantro Pesto
 
What you need:
 
1 cup tightly packed fresh cilantro leaves
� cup raw almonds
2 large garlic cloves, peeled
� tsp. salt
� cup olive oil
 
What to do:
 
Combine the cilantro, almonds, garlic, and salt in a food processor and process until smooth.  With the machine running, add the olive oil through the feed tube and process into a smooth paste.  Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator with a thin layer of olive oil on top to prevent discoloration. 
Makes about 1 cup  
 
Bon Appetite!


 Berta by mantle  
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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