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JustLoseItwithBerta
Volume 1
Issue 26
07-1 - 2010
Welcome back !
Lots of really good things happening here at
Just Lose It with Berta. Finishing up
the design of my web site means working hard to get it just right. I was expecting to phase out the blog portion
of this e-zine when the site was up and running, but it looks like the building
and organizing will be taking up plenty of my time in the next few weeks, so while
I will continue to send out these e-zines, this will be my last week of
blogging, for the time being. The blog
page will still be accessible, and all of the older blogs, recipes and e-zines
will be there for you, so please feel free to continue checking it out: there is
plenty of information to help you on your journey. I intend always to keep this e-zine free and
available to anyone who has an interest in what I have to say, even after the
web site is up. So please keep reading
and sending your feedback! This being the last blog that I
will be writing for now, I wanted to touch on another nuance in our
struggle toward weight loss and maintenance. I write today about the difficulty of keeping the weight off. So many of us
have lost weight time and again, yet it always seems to come flying back like a
yoyo attached to our finger. Now, who is controlling that yoyo? My goal is to help
you to lose weight, and even more importantly, to keep it off forever, without feeling deprived and
punished. So please check out my final
blog on the perplexities of the yoyo by clicking on www.justloseit.com/blog.
Tea Time with Berta: 
It almost always comes down to searching for inspiration,
doesn't it? Isn't that why we read what
we read - this e-zine included? Isn't that why we watch the movies we watch and
read the magazines we read? When we watch a character in a film overcome an
obstacle, don't we become inspired to mimic his tenacity, to feel something
inside of us move, to want more, to reach for greatness in the face of
adversity? Isn't that why you come back
week after week to read my stories about those before you who have faced their
fears, started on the path, fallen and righted themselves, and ultimately overcome
and conquered their issues with food?
How many of you are looking for someone to utter those
special words that will get you through a day, a week? I just love one of my
clients who is doing an amazing job. Having worked really hard, she is down 70
pounds; however, every week she asks me, "What's it this week? Say something
that will inspire me, that will stay with me and get me through the hard times
this week." And what have I said to
inspire her every week of her journey? I
honestly don't know, because it is so very individual, the things that inspire
people. Usually, my clients are moved
when I express confidence in their strength, in their ability to honor their
commitment to a healthy lifestyle. Ultimately, you see, it's my job to help
them realize that they have the resources to give themselves the all-important
emotional support they initially need from me.
You see, while we tend to look to others for inspiration,
the real stuff, the pot of gold inspiration, lies within. It's like most things: if we keep looking for
someone else to tell us we can fly, and upon hearing it don't believe it, we
will quickly come crashing to the ground. And so, as long as they need it, I am
there to convince my clients of their truth, to be their personal cheerleader
until, eventually, I can hand over the pompoms to them. In truth, though, I often
wonder why these amazing woman and men cannot see what I see. These strong, courageous, kind and loving
people inspire me to keep doing my work. I am in awe of the women and men who,
having dropped 30 of 60 pounds, lose focus and go back up 20, yet refuse to
give up. That they don't quit, that they don't give in to the heartbreak of the
relapse, that they instead dig deeper inside and find greater strength - that
is my daily inspiration!
Every week, I am privileged to witness another amazing person
reach goal and stay there, with the conviction that this is the way life was
meant to be lived. These profound
people, these housewives and salesmen and doctors and teenagers are my
inspiration, not the actors on the big screen, or the characters in some novel. I
have the honor of being present through real people's entire transformations
back the to the women and men they were always intended to be. They, and now you, my readers, are my
inspiration. Thank you.
Did you know...
that eating food loaded with MSG is quite harmful to your health? We have all heard talk about it, but I doubt
many of you are worried, since you know to ask that MSG be omitted from your Chinese
food, right? Well folks, let the worry begin! I have some very bad news for
you!
Do
you know that you are probably consuming MSG, or monosodium glutamate, every
single day of your life without even realizing it? Would you be surprised to know that MSG is a
common ingredient in most processed food? The more I researched this, the more I learned about the danger these
three letters represent. MSG is the salt
of an amino acid and it looks like sugar or salt. The difference is that MSG does not change
the taste of the food we eat, rather it enhances the flavor of food by making our
taste buds more sensitive.
MSG
is usually found in processed foods, and it is an ingredient in many restaurant
dishes. So what's the big deal? I mean,
hey, if it makes food taste better, then why not use it? Well, if you recall, some of the side effects
from MSG that we used to associate with Chinese takeout were migraine
headaches, pain or tightness in the chest, facial swelling, and numbness or
burning in and around the mouth. Do you remember back when this was big news?
Well, these are the more common, visible symptoms, but they are certainly not
the only ones you need worry about!
Adding
MSG to food has been connected with obesity and excitotoxicity, as well as the
appearance of brain lesions in lab animals. That's because the glutamic acid is a neurotoxin: it kills neurons. MSG also causes the pancreas to produce more
insulin, and that excess insulin causes a drop in blood sugar, triggering the
physical sensation of hunger! That's why you're always hungry after eating food
with MSG! If that weren't bad enough, MSG also damages the hypothalamus, the
gland that controls the appetite! This damage can cause feelings of insatiable
hunger! Really? And guess what? Those
most sensitive to this type of damage are the very youngest among us. No surprise there, I guess. Let's just look at the appetites our children
possess: they're always starving! And look at what they clamor for: processed
food and snacks, right? Any wonder that the rate of childhood obesity is a
national crisis?
Although
it was not required in the past, the FDA is now attempting to have all labels
correctly reveal the addition of MSG to the foods we consume. The problem, as I have mentioned in the past,
is that labels are deceiving. Instead of
clearly stating that a product contains MSG, manufacturers are disguising the
fact by listing MSG as hydrolyzed vegetable or plant protein, autolyzed yeast, yeast extract, soy protein
isolate, natural flavors, artificial flavors, or autolyzed plant protein, and
on and on. MSG is actually a component
of at least 36 ingredients commonly found on "nutrition" labels!
What
to do? Well this is a tough one if you
refuse to just accept the fact that every one of us should stop eating processed
foods! Think about it. Knowing what you
know, can you still, in good conscience, feed this stuff to your children? If
you're not yet convinced, at least try to cut back and start educating
yourselves so you can start protecting your children. In all honestly, I am infuriated by the
blatant misuse of words, the constant manipulation of ingredients, and the
unconscionable deception practiced by manufacturers of the products people
consume (notice I did not say food). I
am enraged by the increasing number of sick and obese children whose suffering
I see every day. How about you? Are you sick and tired? Literally? Or are you
sick and tired of all of lies? I know I am.
My favorite things to eat!
Summer Vegetable Soup!
Just about the most perfect thing to eat on a hot summer
night, or afternoon. Light, tasty, high
fiber, low fat!
Enjoy!
What you need:
1
cup dried giant lima beans - you can use canned if that's easier, just drain
and rinse thoroughly
1
tsp. sea salt
2
medium yellow onions
2
tbsp. olive oil
1
medium red pepper
1 ˝
lbs. ripe tomatoes
6
oz. green beans
8
oz. summer squash
6
oz. spinach
6
cloves, peeled and chopped
1/3
cup fresh basil, chopped
1
tbsp. fresh oregano leaves or
1
tbsp. dried oregano leaves
1-2
tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Freshly
ground black pepper
Fruity
green olive oil.
What to do:
Rinse
the dried beans, then put them in a pot with 7 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for an hour
or until beans are completely tender, adding water as needed to keep the beans
covered. Add a teaspoon of salt when
they are tender. (Please do not add salt if using canned beans.)
Meanwhile,
coarsely chop the onions and sauté them in a tablespoon of olive oil, turning
the heat down after the first few minutes and cooking them slowly until they
are soft and beginning to color, about 25 minutes.
Char
the red pepper under a broiler until the skin blisters, turning it once or
twice to char it evenly. Put the pepper
in a paper bag for 2 minutes to sweat, and then slip off the skin. Stem and seed the pepper, and cut it into ˝"
pieces.
Scald
the tomatoes for 45 seconds in a pot of boiling water, drain, and rinse with
cold water: then slip off their skins and cut them into chunks. Trim the green beans and cut them into 1-inch
pieces. Slice or dice the summer squash,
depending on the shape. Wash the spinach
and chop it coarsely: if the leaves are tiny you can leave them whole.
In
a large soup pot, bring 3 cups of water to a simmer and add the green beans and
teaspoon of salt. Cook for 5 minutes,
then add the squash, spinach, bell pepper, tomatoes, and onions. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add
a tablespoon of oil and the garlic to the onion pan and sauté over medium to
high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until the garlic begins to color. Add the garlic to the vegetables, along with
the basil, oregano, and the lima beans with all their cooking water.
Bring
the soup back to a simmer. Add lemon
juice and pepper to taste.
Serve
in big bowls with a swirl of olive oil on top.
Bon Appetite!
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If you can say Yes! I
am ready to get started! then here is the link to the blog page that will
explain how to go about doing it. You don't have to read it all in one
sitting!
Please take your time, absorb my words, and when you fully understand
where I
intend to take you, read on. The journey we will take together might be
a
long one, but it promises to be unforgettable. The first step is
committing to
yourself. From there, you will begin the work of finally identifying why you
are where
you are, and how you got there. The moment you can honestly own your personal truth, you will have reached your goal.
The rest is simply a matter of time. Enjoy the ride!
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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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