Just Lose it with Berta Newsletter
Issue 52 12/30/2010
Hi
Happy New Year!
We are finally at the end of the year! I say finally because I am assuming that you have been waiting for this final weekend of 2010 to put aside all of your bad, unwanted habits and start anew, right? You might already know how I feel about this time of year. Not to say that I don't look forward to it, but I know that this 24-hour span of time is not enough to allow me to start or finish what I didn't do all year. Nor will it miraculously transform me into the strong-willed chicky that I am betting on becoming in the New Year! At the risk of creating envy among the masses, I know there are a few of you out there who will make a resolution and stick to it for the rest of your life based on the passing of one evening and the dropping of one ball, and bully for you! Alas, the rest of us are again waiting for the final minutes before midnight to transform us into Cinderella on her way to meet Prince Charming at the ball. Oh wait! Strike that, and reverse it! Cinderella turned into her old raggedy self after midnight, and all she had was her pumpkin and a few field mice to take her home. Silly girl! She should have just carved up that pumpkin and made some nice soup!
Seriously, at midnight on December 31st we will not be transformed for better or worse. Dreams do come true, but you are the one who must wave that magic wand. If I could do it for you, I would line up the lot of you, wave the wand and grant that all your weight loss dreams be realized! Ah, if only... But there is good news! You see, the only one who can transform your state of mind and body is you! You have only to convince yourself that you can do it!
Therefore, whatever your story is at the end of 2010, be you where you hoped to be or not, understand that the story never really ends. It truly is the journey that is important. I do wish you would reflect on this past year, focusing on the good: your strengths, your proud moments and achievements. Please lay aside the sorrows and supposed failures and self-recriminations. Move forward this year with the intention of enjoying your days, your meals, yourselves. What a concept, eh? Put aside beating yourself up and putting yourself down. Life is really too good for that, too rich for that, and you are too amazing to continue doing that. Besides, it really does get old, doesn't it?
I usually abstain from making New Year's Resolutions since I have never kept one of them, but I am making one this year in honor of my first Just Lose It anniversary!
I, Berta, resolve never again to ask another human being to answer the question "Do I look fat today?" Truthfully, I am tired of asking, and it has gotten quite boring. This year, I vow to accept myself and the way I look. Fat, bloated, or not, I am no better or worse than any other person walking about this earth; I am merely human. This year I will enjoy what I eat because I vow to choose food that nourishes and sustains my body, and refuse food that poisons and weakens it.
That is my resolution, and I also vow to keep it.
How about you?
Happy New Year Girls and Boys! May it be a Great One!!
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Tea Time with Berta
Resolve to Evolve
In reflecting on 2010-inevitable at this time of year-I find myself going not to things that were not, but more to things that shall be. I am not dwelling on that which I did not achieve; instead, I am focusing, with gratitude, on all that I have and all of the opportunities that lay before me to add even more joy to my life.
Despite my positive mindset, I have been troubled by many conversations I had this week with family, friends and clients whose outlook is far different from my own. It suddenly occurred to me that while most of us are evolved enough to recognize that we are our worst enemies, how many of us have stumbled on the deeper truth, the truth that we are our only enemies?
Most of us think and speak as though outside forces control the flow of our lives, and we seem to find comfort in this way of thinking, allowing us, as it does, to excuse our perceived failures by blaming others. As a result, we devote much time to deceiving ourselves about why tomorrow's plans never come to fruition, to deluding ourselves about how busy we are, to rationalizing our anger at those who take our time, our energy, our love, our selves. Why do we lose ourselves in this blame game? I believe it's because we spend far too much time judging and condemning ourselves. The condemnation is too painful, so we take the next step and rationalize away our "failures" as events caused by others and and beyond our control.
In truth, our only failure is that we don't give to ourselves. We don't give ourselves the time of day, so why should anyone else? We don't treat ourselves with love and kindness, so why should anyone else love us and treat us well? We spend all of our time doing for others, caring for others, giving to others, and we expect them to give back to us, but why would they after all we have taught them, after we have shown them how little we deserve? We are the real enemy, lying and deceiving ourselves and blaming everyone else for what we lack. We are hypocrites, liars, cheaters, and thieves. Ah, what a group are we human beings?
In the spirit of new beginnings, this year I promise to bring kindness into my life by giving to myself first, not last. I will not wait for others to be kind to me so I can feel validated. I will be kind to me, and I will experience validation from within. I vow that I will neither give to others what I don't really have to give, nor will I give that which I need to bring peace to my own life. I promise to honor my truths, and speak them without shame! I will enjoy every day, but if unhappiness arises, I will not blame others. I will take credit for my joy and responsibility for my unhappiness.
In the spirit of fresh starts, this year I will listen to my body and nourish it as it deserves to be nourished. Without exception, I will eat only foods that bring me life and health and my taste buds joy, and I will take great pleasure in consciously creating health, happiness, and fulfillment. I renew my promise to reject food that hurts my body, depletes it of nutrients and steals its vitality. I will not be seduced by deceptive advertisements for bogus products that guarantee renewed youth, incredible good fortune, and rapid, effortless weight loss!
In the spirit of self-acceptance, this year I will not abuse my body and soul with negative thoughts, negative behavior, negative beliefs. I will not ridicule or diminish myself. I will not deceive myself with false promises about what tomorrow will bring. I will be thankful for all that I have, and I will not be envious of what others have achieved. I will know myself and accept who I am
In the spirit of generosity, this year I will put myself first. This does not mean that you will come second. Rather, it means that I will nurture myself so I can give to you from a place of abundance and not depletion. This year I will take my commitment to help others to a new level by helping myself to the first-place ribbon with my name on it. While I used to think that this race we call life pit me against others, in reality, I am the only one in my race, and there are only two ribbons bearing my name: first-place and last-place. I used to think that my reaching for the first-place ribbon would have the effect of denying someone else, someone more deserving, of her shot at the prize, so I always went for the last last-place ribbon...Only now do I see how wrong I have been.
In the spirit of growth, I vow accept that there is a first-place ribbon for everyone to choose. I promise to learn that if I choose mine, yours will still be there waiting for you. This means that the winner's circle is open and waiting for all of us to enter! This year, I am going to change my mind about how I see my place in the world. I will choose the first-place ribbon and embrace my place in the winner's circle. This year I resolve to evolve. Will you join me?
Happy New Year Everyone!!
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Did you know...
that what a manufacturer prints on a label might be somewhat misleading? In fact, don't the labels often seem daunting, making you wish you had a degree in label reading to figure out the mystery behind what's in the bag or box? Allow me to take you over the basics. Serving Size - The FDA sets an arbitrary size for a "standard" serving of each type of food. The standard serving of junk food is often very small. For example, when the label indicates that one ounce of chips is the standard serving, it could mean that the "nutritional" information is based on your eating six or fewer chips, depending on the weight of one chip! Lays had it right when they challenged America with "Bet you can't eat just one!" Calories/Calories From Fat - This pertains to the amount of energy one serving provides. This includes calories from fat, carbohydrates, and proteins. Therefore, if a food provides 50 or fewer calories, you can consider it a low caloric food. If it has more than 300 calories, it can be considered a high caloric food. Total Fat/Saturated Fat/Trans Fat/Cholesterol - All of these are to be avoided like the plague! These fats will clog your arteries, create disease and imbalance, and contribute to certain weight gain! Sodium - This is Salt! Salt is also to be avoided like the plague! Salt can be disguised as sodium chloride, sodium caseinate, monosodium glutamate, trisodium phosphate, sodium stearoyl lactylate, sodium bicarbonate, and sodium acscorbate. Wow! So, when trying to figure out how much to consume-other than the none that you should aim for-follow these guidelines: very low sodium foods have fewer than 50mg per serving, low sodium foods have fewer than 200mg, and very high sodium foods have 300mg or more. The FDA is cracking down a bit on companies who produce high salt foods, so it might be easier to make lower salt choices in the near future. Remember that sea salt is a healthier choice, but it is still salt; therefore, little to none is best. Total Carbohydrates - This includes fiber and sugars. It does not matter if they are natural or not. Dietary Fiber - This number tells you how many indigestible carbohydrates your food contains. Try to keep this number as high as you can! Percent Daily Value (%DV) - You can find this on the right side of the chart. This number tells you the percentage of the recommended daily intake the product provides. Put more simply, this scale tells you if there is a small or large percentage of the particular nutrient in one serving. If one serving provides between 5 and 15 percent of a nutrient, the food is a marginal source of that nutrient. If it provides between 15 and 25 percent then it is a good source of that nutrient. If it provides over 25 percent then it is an excellent source of the nutrient. Vitamin C is an exception: it should exceed 30% to be rated good, and 50% to be rated excellent. I hope this helps decipher those labels; however, to be honest, it would be a whole lot easier to get proper nutrition if you decided to just eat whole foods. How do you know what is whole and what is not? Well, a whole food has not been processed; it is grown from the ground. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and beans are all whole foods that are good for you, will never harm you, and can be enjoyed without reading the label. However, if you were to read the label, you would be able to pronounce all the words-like apple, artichoke, and almond! Whole foods: simple ingredients, simply delicious, made by God for the good of you!
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My Favorite Things to Eat!
Ginger Poached Salmon with Lime Basil Cream!
I truly believe that to be success in any venture regardless of what it is, you must love it! That goes twice for what you are eating. You will surely lose this battle with your weight and health if you do not love your food! So, in the spirit of loving your food, here is one that I adore! This meal will satisfy your taste buds and nutritionally give you everything that your body needs. By doing so, you might find that you are satisfied on all levels. Stop depriving yourself of good food, of real food, and enjoy!
What you need:
2 limes
6 cups water
1 (4-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped, about 1/4 cup
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
4 (6-ounce) boneless skinless salmon fillets
1/3 cup packed fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
What to do:
Halve one lime and squeeze the juice into a large straight-sided skillet or pot with a lid. Add 6 cups water, the squeezed lime halves, ginger, and peppercorns and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes to infuse the water with flavor; reduce heat to lowest setting, carefully slide salmon into the water, cover, and poach until fish is just cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the fish with a slotted spoon and cool completely before transferring to an airtight container. Add about 1/2 cup poaching liquid to the container to keep the fish moist and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Meanwhile, zest the remaining lime and add about 1/2 teaspoon zest to the bowl of a food processor; add the juice from half the lime to the bowl (should be about 1 teaspoon juice). Add the basil leaves, a pinch of salt and a few grinds black pepper and pulse until it begins to turn into a paste. Add the creme fraiche and puree until very smooth. Transfer to a serving bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
To serve, plate the cold salmon with a drizzle of lime basil cream over the top and serve on top of a nice fresh green salad! Serve hot or cold.
* Recipe from the Food Network Magazine
Bon Appétit!
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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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If you can say Yes! I am ready to get started! this 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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Manifest Destiny LLC P.O. Box 1292 Stratford, CT 06615 USA
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