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JustLoseItwithBerta
Volume 1
Issue 25
06-25 - 2010
Hi !
Glad you're back! So, I think I have pinpointed why I feel that I have presented my weight
loss program in a rather disjointed fashion. I feel as if after writing for more than six months, my methodology is
not coming across as straightforwardly as I would like. When I started this venture, my plan was to
have my website up and running months ago, so I didn't see the need to organize
my ezine as tightly as, in retrospect, it should have been from the
beginning. In order to rectify this
situation, I am departing from my regular ezine format and using the space to
lay out the steps you need to take to get started on my plan. This, I hope,
will be the easiest format to help you get going. After you read this week's
offering, please continue to come back to the ezine for more great recipes, fun
and inspiring anecdotes, and supportive talks and blogs. Admittedly, this is a lengthy ezine, but I do not intend for
you to read it straight through. Simply follow the steps from one to five and
learn how to get started. It would behoove you to print this out to keep it
handy. Hope this will help those who feel a bit off balance! Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I have written today's blog on
a subject I feel very strongly about. It's
another topic that tends to upset people, so I thought I would let you get to
know me a bit first before I laid it on you! The subject matter is false energy and how your body burns that energy
so quickly that you're left in the predicament of needing more when it's not
yet time to eat. When your body craves energy after a hit of a fast-acting
substance, you believe it's saying it needs food-which is exactly what it
doesn't need. This is an intriguing phenomenon and understanding how it works
will help you make better choices in the future. I am still being gentle with
you, but the subject matter is real, and it does warrant taking a close look.
So, please click on www.justloseit.com/blog and let me open your eyes.
Everything you need to GET STARTED!!
I tried to do this not too
long ago, but I don't think it was organized as best it could have been, so, Here We Go! Also, all this information will be on the
blog Pages section, and I will post this whole thing on the Facebook page, so
if you are new to this site or just need a refresher, this is how it's done.
First step - Listen to the audio: When you sign
up (or if you have been reading for a while and are still not quite sure where
to begin), listen to my audio class. It's a one-hour class where I speak
about how it feels to lose weight. It's the perfect place to start. Just
click here Just Lose It Audio MP3 link and listen to what I think a week should feel like. This is almost more important than anything
you can eat or do. Once you understand how to listen to your body, you will
always know how to lose weight. I warn
you, though, this was my first tele-class, and it starts off a bit slowly. Hang
in there; it picks up!
The following is meant to guide you to past blogs that
tell you step-by-step how to get started.
I am reprinting them in their entirety so that you get the full benefit of
each one. If you have never read them,
perhaps now is the time?
Second step - Read: What to eat - the beginning:
This is
a very simple and methodical way to start eating. Only approach this after you
have listened to the tele-class above and know how you should feel when your
body is losing weight. Only then will you be able to successfully put the food
plan into action.
What to eat - the
beginning Blog post March 4, 2010
As I
begin my third month of this new venture, I feel happy with the way things are
coming together. My original intention centered on introducing my
approach to weight loss by focusing on the all-important emotional aspects that
others in the field do not typically address. Having discussed topics like
Longevity, Consistency, Hunger, and Slippage, I did not find it surprising when
a growing number of readers began to request information about the basics of
getting started. "What should I eat?" became the e-mail refrain. Therefore, in response to your questions, I am going to dedicate this blog to
the meat and potatoes (!) of how to begin your journey to weight loss and
improved health. The information I plan to share today might surprise those of
you who have relied on gimmicks and other outlandish eating regimens in the
past. I do not rely on gimmicks: instead I plan to reintroduce you
to the truth about how your body physically handles food and teach you how to
work with that knowledge. I do not guarantee results based on food
intake: instead I plan to introduce you to the truth of how your psyche handles
the emotional associations around food. I will teach you to use
self-awareness and reflection to understand how your mind complicates what is
essentially a simple biological process. In short, there are no gimmicks and no
miracles, only common sense and truth. Interested?
Before I
begin, then, let's look at a few of those truths. First of all, if weight
loss were easy to achieve, everyone would be thin; therefore, let me be honest
and affirm what you have, no doubt, experienced. Sometimes weight loss
is difficult, and less often it is very difficult. While most
people need a little help and guidance to achieve their goals, they actually
need much more support and guidance to maintain their success. The truth
is, many people reach their goal weight and then, inevitably, find themselves
right back up where they started-and the majority of these find themselves
adding a few additional pounds.
Why?
Well, because they did not learn the Whys of weight loss. Why
are you up in the first place? Why is it so hard to lose? Why
can't you keep the weight off? No matter who you are, if you are more than 30
pounds overweight, I can tell you three things: it is NOT because you have been
very hungry for the last couple of years; it is NOT because you are weak and
worthless; and it is NOT because you haven't tried with every fiber of your
being to lose the weight! Then what is there to do about it? You
can try to accept yourself just the way you are. Surely, that's something we
should all strive for, but can you truly accept what your medical tests
indicate? Can you feel comfortable with the image you see in the mirror? If you
cannot, then allow me to help you understand the truth about the Whys.
First,
let me say a word about support. After I answer your questions about what
you should eat, you will know, intellectually, exactly how to lose
weight. I promise. Here is the thing: you must understand from the start that
very few of us can hear what we should eat, follow the directions without
slipping, and achieve our goal weight without any support. You do not
need support because of inherent weakness on your part. You need support
so you can reeducate yourself about how weight loss occurs. You need support to
help eradicate the misinformation that has bombarded you for a lifetime. You need support to say NO to the "diets" that are not based on healthy eating,
much less healthy lifestyles. You might not want to hear it, but the truth is
that most of what you have learned about losing weight is false. Especially
insidious are the chemical substitutes you have learned to use in place of
fattening foods. Saying no to those diets and chemical substitutes should not
be too difficult. After all, how has saying yes benefited you in the past?
If you
decide to say a whole-hearted YES to my approach, I will break it all down for
you so that you understand not just the basics of proper nutrition, but also
the truth about how our deeply embedded emotional issues are connected to our
use of food and the condition of our bodies. When it gets hard, as it sometimes
will, I will help you. In fact, I have prepared for this moment by publishing
the blogs and e-zines you will find useful in the first weeks of your
commitment to discovering the new you.
Are you
ready?
Wait. Before we get to the food, I need to tell you that you must, must, must, be
Consistent. Your body needs you to commit, from the start, to
Consistency. You must be Consistent in what, when, and how much you eat.
At first, Consistency is going to look like a very repetitive menu. Why? Why not a varied menu plan? I'll tell you why. The moment you accept
the challenge to change your life, you invite obstacles into your day that are
far greater than merely choosing the right foods from among the wrong ones.
Therefore, we are going to head off any stumbling that might arise were you
left to wonder, "What should I make for breakfast/lunch/dinner?" This is not
the time to invite your inner Barefoot Contessa to surface; it is the time to
one-up Rachel Ray every evening and brag, "I make 15-minute meals." Got
it?
Okay,
here it is...
I
believe in a high fiber, low fat diet. Period! This is the way to feed your
body so it functions at its best. Period! In addition, you must drink
four to five 16 oz. bottles of water every day. Drink, drink, and keep
drinking! Lastly, get a notebook and plan to document everything you put into
your mouth starting today. Itemizing your food intake is a crucial step
toward self-awareness! You will be astounded at what you eat without
thinking.
Basically,
I want you to plan a different menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You
will vary the meals from day to day, but only slightly. I want you to eat the
same portion size every day. No matter what! Even if you feel hungrier
one day than you did the day before, you must not eat more. Know in
advance that you will be eating a healthy, nutritious, and well-balanced diet,
a food plan that is healthier than any you have followed in a long time.
Because of this, you will begin to lose weight. Slight feelings of
hunger are the body's signal that it is about to give up some of its excess
weight. Go back to my blogs for a detailed explanation.
Now, the
following are beginning guidelines to direct your menu planning. If you
follow them, you will lose weight because they work; it's as simple as
that. While there are many, many different types of foods that will
support weight loss and keep you balanced and healthy, these guidelines will
get you started and help you begin to explore your relationship to food. In upcoming e-zine and blogs, I will continue to help you explore what has
really been stopping you from achieving your goals; however, for now, this is a
good way to start.
I would
ask one more thing of you: try not to look at this as anything other than an
experiment. If you stick to this simple eating plan, you might see that
many emotions begin to arise. I have asked you to keep a food journal to
encourage awareness about what you eat, and I want you also, and even more
importantly, to keep an emotional journal. In this journal, you will
begin to explore what is really going on when you feel compelled to eat. The idea is for you to distinguish between eating because you are hungry and
eating because you are angry. Writing down what you eat, along with how
you feel emotionally, throughout the week will provide you with the information
you need to take control, finally, of this terrible cycle of gain and
loss. So, no matter how hard it is, do not veer off the path. Explore
within, and write it down.
Breakfast
Choices
Choose
one and have it every morning to pave the way toward Consistency, or mix them
up, if you are so inclined.
Oatmeal. A reasonable portion is
served in a cereal bowl not a mixing bowl! Please sprinkle some fruit on
top-any kind, even a banana, if you like. I prefer berries for their
antioxidant benefits.
High fiber cereal. Look for
something in the healthier section, with low sugar content. The Kashi™cereals are great, but if you don't like them, Whole Grain Cheerios™ will do
the trick. Again, add fruit.
By the
way, it is always fine to add fruit to anything. Many people omit fruits
because they have been taught that some are high in sugar. What you have
not learned is that the sweetness in fruit is a product of nature, not a
chemical created in a laboratory, and your body knows how to process it. In addition, nobody is significantly overweight from having consumed too much
fruit!
Eggs. If you have a cholesterol
issue, use egg whites. Add some spinach or broccoli for fiber.
Chia Seed Pudding! Look for
the recipe for this absolutely delicious treat in e-zine of 1-21-2010.
Chia seeds provide protein, fiber and plenty of omega 3's.
Regardless
of how you feel at breakfast time, do not double up. Eat the same amount
every day, and if you are particularly hungry one morning, be strong knowing
that you are about to lose weight and your body is fighting it! Always
remind yourself that you are now eating for the weight you want to be, not for
the weight that you are now. Hang in there and let your body adjust.
Adjustment looks like weight loss.
Lunch
Choices
1. Dinner leftovers. Something that you can pack up the night before and
have ready to go in the morning. Plan to make extra for dinner, so you
always have a great lunch waiting.
2. Green salad with plenty of veggies. The darker the green the
better. For protein, add some beans, chickpeas, fish, tofu (if you
like it), organic chicken, or tuna fish. Use your imagination. Oil and
vinegar are your best choices for dressing, but if you won't eat salad without
blue cheese dressing, then add some. I want you to enjoy your healthier food
choices so that you are sure to finish every meal. A bit of blue cheese
will do you no harm!
3. Whole
wheat veggie wrap. This looks much like your salad, just wrapped
up! Spread the wrap with a little hummus.
4. Soup.
This is only if you make it yourself with low sodium broth (under 250mg). Try
Trader Joe's low sodium vegetable broth. Please, please, please stay away from
all restaurant or pre- made soups! Actually, I want you to stay away from all
prepared foods. Those Weight Watchers™, Lean Cuisine™, and many other
supposed frozen "diet" meals are all loaded with sodium. It is very
difficult to lose weight when you include sodium in your diet. I will discuss
this in greater detail in future e-zines; please, just trust me on this one.
5.
Sushi. The problem with sushi is the soy sauce. If you can do without that, then
enjoy. If you cannot, forgo it in favor of one of the above choices because the
sodium will do you in.
Dinner
Choices
Dinner
should look very similar to lunch, but it should be the lightest meal of
all. When you go to sleep, your body will continue to burn off some food,
and what it has not burned off, it will store. How will you know if it is
going to burn off enough to lose weight? Well, are you a little bit
hungry? Not starving-that would mean you skipped a meal somewhere-but just a bit
hungry? Well, that's your body telling you that it is on track to lose
while you sleep. How hard is that?
1. Fish
with a side of steamed green veggies.
2.
Chicken with a side of steamed green veggies.
Keep
this simple and on the smaller side. Use a small plate so your serving
looks larger and you don't feel deprived. You do not need a salad, appetizer,
main protein course with more veggies, and a starch. This would be far too much
food! Remember, the last thing you want to feel is full after a
meal. You want to feel just about satisfied-not quite full, but close.
Keep in mind that if you don't have enough calories from your meals to burn
while you sleep, you will burn stored calories and this will result in weight
loss. Keep dinner light!
Please
make sure to space your meals between four and five hours apart. You want
to feel hungry for your next meal, but not out of control! Also, girls, let's
stop using such words as "starving." Look on the Internet to see
photographs of what "starving" looks like. You are not starving; you ate
a mere four hours ago. You are not being victimized; you are proactively
limiting your intake of food so you can lose weight and feel and look
better. What you are doing is a choice: YOUR choice.
Snack
Choices
If you
must go more than 5 hours between lunch and dinner, then have a snack. A snack
gets you from one meal to the next. If it fills you up, then it is
dinner.
1.
Fruit. I don't care what you choose, just be sure it is only one serving: a
small apple, a dozen grapes, 2 slices of pineapple, etc.
2.
Veggies. Celery and carrots with, perhaps, a bit of hummus will do.
3. Nuts.
A SMALL handful! UNSALTED almonds, walnuts, and Brazil nuts are your best
choices.
Again,
these are the guidelines to get you started. Eat the same size meals and
similar types of food every day. Stay away from sodium!! Do not put it on your
food, and do not eat processed foods that are loaded with it.
Okay,
that's how you do it. Simple? Yes and no. If you take out all of
the emotional reasons why you have a hard time sticking to a program, then it's
easy. But...that's the catch. So, get started with this, today and
every day-weekends included. If you hit a bump, read my past e-zines and
blogs, or ask me questions here or on Facebook. And don't forget your food and
emotion journals. I will continue to give you more and more information
about why we eat what we eat, why it's hard to stop eating certain foods, and
what all of this is doing to us internally, emotionally, and physically.
Third step - Read: Don't
Over-think it
After knowing how you will feel during the week
and what to eat, this part will come in very handy right away. This teaches you not to over think what you
are doing.
Don't over-think
it!
Your weight loss
plan needs to be methodical. We both know that the ups and downs of
your weight loss in the past have not survived some of your more stressful
days. I am going to say: STOP THINKING. Listen to
me and let me guide you.
First of all, I
want you to read these words as if I have just handed you a prescription. It says: Please eat three healthy, moderately sized meals four to five
hours apart every day. Drink plenty of water and get plenty of sleep, and
think kind thoughts about yourself!
Now, if I were a
doctor who just handed you a prescription and directed you to take an
antibiotic three times a day, you would do just that. You would wake up
in the morning and take the pill with food (since that is what your
prescription has dictated), and then you would space out the rest, continuing
in the same way every day until you were finished and now healed. Right? Would
you ever decide that perhaps the first pill wasn't strong enough and remedy
that by having two later that afternoon? Would you later worry that you used
too much and therefore skip the next two? I don't think so! You listen to
your doctor. Why? Because you know it's important and doing it the way the
doc tells you to will cure what ails you!
That's how I
want you to look at your weight loss. I want you to stop thinking
about your food and how much and when. It's simple. Just follow my "prescription."
Fourth Step - Read: Longevity
This next step is equally as important as the previous
three. It is the tool we use to get through
the weeks, months, and sometimes years of our weight loss journey. It might not be what we want to hear, but it
is imperative to understand and internalize this next step.
Longevity Blog post 1-21-2010
I love
this word! At first my clients are uneasy about committing to hang in for the
long haul, but once they get it, they realize that the long haul is what they
are going to face no matter what they weigh. It's life changing to
finally understand that you will be at a particular weight in 10 years, no
matter what you do or don't do, so why not do something today to make that a
healthier weight.
In my
first blog I discussed the lies that we tell ourselves. I followed up with a
blog on consistency and how to decide on a plan of eating and then stop
thinking about food and eating. Now I would like to speak about this
amazing word "Longevity" and what it means to my clients when they understand
that there can be no long-term loss without Longevity.
When a
woman comes to see me, there is the inevitable first question: "So, how long do
you think it will take me to lose ___ pounds? " Every woman wants a
guarantee that will align with her distorted idea of how long it should take to
lose a certain amount of weight. Let's face it; on TV they all seem to be able
to lose 20 or 30 pounds in a month! It's interestingly sad to have
someone who has finished her first week with a 3½ pound loss say, "Oh, I
thought it would have been more." Really? That mindset is neither
realistic nor healthy. Having unrealistic expectations is the way most of you
condemn yourselves to failure.
So, what
does this all have to do with Longevity? Here it is: if you admit to
lying to yourself in the past about the level of commitment you have made to
your weight loss program, then you can start anew by first committing to be
consistent with when and how much you eat. Then the next step is accepting to
stay committed for however long it takes. Do you have, or can you embrace, the
Longevity mindset that will allow you to achieve your goals? I know you
already want to stop reading this. "Years," you're thinking. "She's
talking years!"
I am
not. I'm talking realistic, healthy, aggressive weight loss: between one and
two pounds per week. Sound boring? Not fast enough? Have I lost you
already? Well, how much did you lose last week? A pound or two? Nothing?
Possibly gained? In truth, it's the entire stopping and starting that slows you
down.
If you
are consistent and understand what you are eating and why you have chosen to do
so, you set neither a time frame nor an impossible goal. You will then be able
to sustain the commitment to yourself. You will experience the patience
that leads to Longevity, and before you know it, you'll be done!
So, say
you lose two pounds per week-or eight pounds per month. Can you honestly
tell me you wouldn't be happy at the end of that month? Time goes by quickly,
and before you know it, another month is gone and so are another eight
pounds. Now you are down 16 pounds! Well, that's not too bad, and
it is doable because this time you just stopped thinking and comparing and
creating another impossible goal that you could never reach.
Once you
begin to realize your truth-and that perhaps you have never owned it-you will
settle into being consistent in your eating and you will stop thinking. That
will assure your state of Longevity, and suddenly, you're done! In truth, you
will have reached your goal the first day you make this commitment to yourself
because the rest is just a matter of time-Longevity! It's one of my favorite
words.
A Quick
Anecdotal Story
I had a
client who wanted to lose 30 pounds. During her first visit I went through my
regular speech. That first week, she pretty much followed my weight loss
plan. At the end of the week, she got on the scale and had lost .4
pounds. "Yes!" She exclaimed, pumping her arm in a show of victory. It
made me smile to think that she was so excited to have lost less than half a
pound. That same week I thought of her when another client voiced her
disappointment at having lost "only" 3 ½ pounds. Well, to make a long
story short, the first woman consistently lost anywhere from .2 to .8 pounds
per week, and she was always equally enthusiastic. The week she lost a full
pound, she nearly fainted! As expected, she achieved her goal of 30
pounds and has successfully maintained that weight loss for many years
now. How long did it take? Who cares?
The
other woman? Well, she was so disappointed from regularly losing only 3 pounds
each week that she stopped! Amazing, but true.
Longevity
- Do you have it?
Fifth Step - Read: Consistency
Once you have committed to hang in there for
the long haul, there will inevitable be times when you feel yourself start to
slip a little. The next step on your
journey, involves another of my favorite words:
Consistency, baby!
Consistency Blog post 1-15-2010
Now that
you have started on your New Year's resolution to lose weight and take control
of your life, I just want to ask, "Now what?" Getting started is easy; you are
totally motivated, on track, feeling strong and have come to terms with the
lies that have stopped you in the past. Okay, then the next part should be
easy, right?
Well it
is and it isn't. Inconsistency, impatience and over-thinking it are all
waiting to de-rail you.
Consistency
is a word that should become very meaningful to you. Consistency is the
reason I have been successful with my own weight loss and maintenance and it is
the key to your successful weight loss, as well. While it might seem obvious
that you would need "consistency" to lose weight, you might not know exactly
what it looks like.
The
first element of consistency is timing. You might not realize that your
body has been "trained" by your eating habits to expect certain kinds of food
at specific times. It knows it is not necessarily fed relative to hunger or
need. We are very good at talking ourselves into believing anything that suits
us at a given moment, and we often talk ourselves into thinking we can or
should eat. You will need to "re-program" your body by eating your
three meals as close as possible to the same time every day. Yes, this might
not be feasible every day, or for every meal, but it is a goal to aim for.
The
second element of consistency is portion size. Eating about the same
amount every time is invaluable in training your body. You cannot lose weight
when you have under-eaten to the point of "losing it" prior to your next meal,
and then overeating to the point past satisfaction into fullness.
I want
you to think about your food as you would a doctor's prescription. If a Doctor
gave you a prescription to follow, you would follow it to the letter, without
question. Well, I want you to apply the same diligence to your weight loss
prescription! You don't change how many pills you take - because the
Doctor already told you. You don't think about what time and the amount
of times to take your pills because it's written right on the little
bottle! You have no problem following that prescription, even if the
pills are big or you don't like to take pills, because you understand that's
what you have to do to get better. So this is exactly what I want you to
do today: follow my prescription for weight loss, and don't think it; just lose
it!
Your day
might look like this: Around 7:00 a.m., you have a moderately sized
breakfast-perhaps a bowl of a high-fiber cereal with a handful of blueberries.
In between
breakfast and lunch make sure you have plenty of water and herbal teas.
Be aware that it is not necessary to eat between breakfast and lunch, but if
you do, please just let it be a piece of fruit.
Let's
move on to lunch. Since you had breakfast around 7:00 a.m., you should
eat lunch around 12:00 or 1:00 at the latest! You might have a nice spinach
salad with some beans or organic chicken (if possible) for your protein.
Try to keep your meals simple and easy to prepare.
Once
again, there should be four to five hours between your lunch and dinner.
The next period, after lunch and before dinner, is usually the most
challenging. You are hungry and you are not home, or your schedule does not
permit you to eat dinner yet. Hang in there! At this moment I don't want you to think
about anything that you might be feeling;
I want you to trust the process. If you have a snack, it's the same rule
as mid-morning: a small piece of fruit or some veggies. If it's more, it's not
a snack!
A much
better way to handle this is to ask yourself how you could organize a dinner
for yourself by 5:00 or 6:00 pm. I already hear the eyes rolling and the
excuses beginning, but it is so very important not to wait any longer than the
four to five hours between meals because you will get too hungry if you wait
longer. Then, by the time you sit down to eat, you might not be able to control
your appetite! Please give it a try, even if it means eating at work or asking
your family to adjust their schedules just a bit. You will be choosing
something that is high in fiber and low in fat: perhaps some asparagus with a
piece of fish or chicken. This is your last meal of the day, and you
should only enjoy one serving. Try not to eat to fullness. You should feel as
if you could have eaten more, but you are fine, and never full. The after
dinner challenge will come if you are accustomed to having a snack or a drink
before bed. The first day will be the hardest, but then it gets easier. Please
only have a cup of tea and go to bed! You will be happy you did so the next
morning.
If you
follow this prescription, you won't believe the difference it will make in your
weight loss! First of all, you will lose weight because of the consistency
factor. Secondly, you will lose weight because it removes the thinking that
messes you up, you know, the excuses and compromises as to why this time is
different, or why you can allow this craving to overcome you just this once...
Trust
me, once you get through the first week of consistent eating, you will understand
how well it works! So remember, don't think it! Just lose it!
Was that it? Not much
huh? Seriously, this can all be very
confusing, where to begin, what to do, what to eat, how will you feel, so on
and on.
I am hoping that after spelling it out, you will find it
easier to follow along and to stay on track.
There will be a link to this ezine on every ezine from now
on. I will also link this page to my
blog and Facebook pages, so no matter what, you can find your way here and get
back on track.
Let me know how it's going by dropping me a note, or
commenting on one of the blogs. You can also join me on Facebook and let me
know there.
Hope to hear from you soon!
And keep on "losing it"!
Berta
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