Weight

Introduction

Welcome to 29 DAYS ... to your perfect weight. “We are the result of our thoughts; and by changing our thoughts we can create or break our habits.”

Thank you for agreeing to take this exciting journey. In the next four weeks you will be pleasantly surprised at the radical changes in your awareness and how you think about your weight, about eating and physical activity. These new thoughts will lead to a lifetime of living your perfect weight without regrets, anxiety or sacrifice.

There is one requirement on your part for the above statement to come true: You must really want to lose your excess weight. If you do, your thoughts and lifestyle will be radically different in just twenty-nine days and you’ll never look back.

I’ve Been Where You Probably Are Right Now

Several years ago I was overweight and frustrated with myself. I think the biggest frustration was that there didn’t seem to be any solutions to my dilemma. The insane world of diets and the latest weight-loss fads turned my stomach. I knew in my heart that if diets and fads were the only answer I would have to accept being overweight for the rest of my life. I couldn’t see myself participating in that madness one more time. Then it happened. Using the principles of this course, I’m at a place I’m happy to be at ... for the rest of my life. This course will take you there too.

I must begin with a confession. If this confession sounds like a recording from an AA meeting forgive me but I have to say it: “My name is Michele and I’ve never been thin.” Okay, there, I’ve said it.

Actually I’ve always had what I like to call an athlete’s body type. I’m large boned. I have my mother’s hips, gee thanks Mom. Muscle weighs more than fat. I was a competitive swimmer in my youth, hence the size of my thighs. These are some of the excuses I’ve used all of my life to justify my weight. Now, some of them may be relevant, like my hips for instance. They are what they are. Really and truly I will never have a body like Kate Moss. Come to think of it I don’t want a body like Kate Moss. I just want to be a healthy weight ... for me.

When I was in my early forties I finally admitted to myself that my weight was getting out of control so I hired a physical trainer thinking this would help. I was willing to do anything she asked except for one small caveat; I refused to change my eating habits. From the beginning I made it very clear to her that I would work out four to five days a week, whatever was necessary, but under no circumstances was I going to change my eating habits. I just love food too much. I love to make it, eat it, and I thoroughly enjoy watching other people eat it. I think about food from the moment I wake up in the morning until I go to bed at night.That doesn’t mean that I necessarily eat food all day long, I just think about it all day long. By mid-morning I was thinking about what I was going to eat for lunch. By mid-afternoon I was mulling over what I was going to eat for dinner. I’m having company over on the weekend, hmm, I better think about that. What shall we eat?

So, my workout with my personal trainer began. My muscle tone became a little more defined. I grew a little stronger over time. I worked with her twice a week for almost two years. I would work out twice a week with her and twice a week on my own. After a good workout I would treat myself to something delicious. I earned it, I was working out! Hmm, I could justify that, unfortunately my body didn’t seem to be buying into it since the one thing that didn’t change was my weight. I did not lose one single pound!

So, what did I do? I did what any logical person would do ... I dropped my trainer. I didn’t want to create more muscle, I wanted to shed the thirty pounds of excess weight. I felt frumpy, uncomfortable, and I had low self-esteem. I hated shopping for new clothes because I was embarrassed about the size I had to buy. I would look in the mirror with my clothes on and ask myself “What happened to me?” Don’t even ask what I would say to myself while standing in front of the mirror naked!

Over a fifteen year period I had gained thirty plus pounds. That’s equivalent to just two pounds a year, which doesn’t really sound like much does it? Until you get on the scale one day and suddenly realize you are out of control. If I kept this up in a few years I’ll be the size of my carport!

I dreaded the annual physicals. My doctor would raise her eyebrow and ever so gently mention that I had gained another five or ten pounds, and to think I went through the effort of not eating a crumb all day long before my afternoon appointment! When my doctor inquired about my daily habits I would naturally blush and tell her how much I worked out, how I ate healthy food and that I just couldn’t understand why I wasn’t able to lose any weight.

At some point I hit the wall. I decided to take action and do something about my weight once and for all. I finally realized that I actually did have to change my eating habits in order to lose weight. My challenge, and my deep inner fear was this: “Do I have to live the rest of my life feeling deprived? I love food, do I have to give up what I love? Do I have to live the rest of my life in a constant battle of willpower? Do I have to live the life of a deprived monk in order to lose weight? The moment I realized that answer was NO to each of those questions, my entire life changed.

I had an epiphany. I knew I had to change the way I thought about food, but it didn’t mean feeling deprived. It didn’t mean I had to give up one single thing. With this realization I got excited. Really excited. I strongly believe that the worst thing anyone can do when attempting to lose weight and improve one’s health is to go on a diet. Your diet is just what you eat, and any improvement should be a step forward.

I had researched many weight-loss programs in the past, and I tried all the diets. By now I knew that I would never follow them, certainly not long term. To me these programs were about taking certain foods out of your life completely, and I knew I couldn’t do that. Never have bread, pasta or chocolate again? Are you kidding me? As soon as you tell me I can’t have something, my brain (that would be my amygdala) says I must have it, and have it in large quantities ... now!

Years earlier I had tried a program that stated: You can eat whatever you want but mind the size of the portions. I knew from experience that to lose weight, and keep it off, I had to:

Do it slowly over time.
Train my brain.
Forget trying to totally eliminate my favorite foods.

So I begin, by writing down everything I ate, everyday, for the next week. I didn’t change my eating habits. I wanted to know what my habits were. I found out two important things. I was a grazer. Yep, I unconsciously munched on something for most of the day. The second thing I discovered was that I had no concept of portion size.You mean a “platter” of pasta is not considered a single serving? Oh. Who would have thought?

Although I learned that it’s a good idea to eat every two or three hours, it is not a good idea to eat an entire bag of chips, followed by a Snickers bar, and then round that off with a few handfuls of cashews.

This simple act of awareness really opened my eyes. I quickly began to consider the number of calories in a tablespoon of olive oil, a handful of salted nuts, a 14oz. steak. None of these things are necessarily good or bad yet it’s important to be aware of “the facts, and nothing but the facts.”

After I realized my habits, I started to deal with them one at a time ... slowly but surely. Although I would wake up and think about food, I was never a breakfast eater. I knew it was “the most important meal of the day,” however I usually didn’t start my grazing until around nine. With my new awareness, I didn’t change my eating schedule but I did change what I ate. I still had my same lunch that I’d always brought to work, but instead of eating it all at noon, I would start into it around nine, and usually not finish it until three. This new pattern did a number of things

I wasn't randomly munching on whatever was in reach since I had already considered or screened what was going into my lunch when I made it. I never allowed myself to feel the sensation of hunger. It curbed my appetite before dinner.

Before becoming aware, I would get home from work and head straight for the refrigerator and grab a hunk of cheese or some deli meat to subside me. I didn’t need to do that anymore because of my afternoon snack. I would keep a piece of fruit handy for my drive home as well. This simple act played a huge part in curbing my appetite. Now, there was one other habit that I did notice while writing down everything I ate. I was an after dinner snacker. Okay, who isn’t? Personally I’m a salt craver not a sweet craver. What I did to combat my salt craving was to eat a little healthier and a little less. Instead of potato chips, I’d munch on some homemade popcorn. Instead of tortilla chips, I would eat a few crackers. If I really “needed” chips, I would take some out of the bag and put them in a bowl. Have you ever eaten chips out of the bag when you put your hand back into the bag and realize there is nothing left but the crumbs? It’s happened to me more times than I care to admit.

Another small change I made was my intake of water. I’ve always enjoyed water however I upped my intake. I had done quite a bit of research on water and its benefits, and as you’ll see in this course, it’s an incredibly powerful tool to health and weight loss.

About two or three months after I changed my daily habits, I “suddenly” had that indescribably delicious feeling, my clothes were becoming looser. I had more energy and when I stood on the scale (only once a week and on the same day) I was losing weight. At last! I had found the answer and it didn’t hurt a bit!

After three or four months into my new lifestyle change, my best friend, whom I hadn’t seen for a couple of months asked me the big question: “Have you lost weight?” I was so grateful to her. Someone actually noticed! This was really working! Hallelujah! I was ecstatic. I was so proud of myself.

Long story short, I lost thirty pounds over a period of nine months. That’s an average of just over three pounds a month. Losing the weight is one thing, the real thrill, and daily joy, is that I’ve kept it off without the slightest discomfort and very little effort. I never feel deprived. What I feel is pride. It’s hard to express how changing my thoughts and simple eating habits have affected my self-confidence and my self-esteem. Going on a diet is a very debilitating experience. You spend your entire day counting calories and thinking about what you can’t have. That is not living. What joy and freedom it is to forget the diet fiasco and instead adopt a healthy lifestyle that will enhance your life both physically and emotionally.

I’ve keep the weight off because I changed my mind set. I changed the way I thought about food. Don’t get me wrong, I still love to eat, and I do eat. I still love to cook, and I eat what I cook. All I did was make a few minor adjustments that over a short period of time literally transformed my life.

I want you to enjoy food, health and happiness the way I do. I want you to discover a new way of living that allows you to have everything you want and deprives you of nothing.

This course will interact with you twice a day making each day a step closer toward your goal – a lifetime of enjoying your perfect weight. It is a universal law of nature that we are the result of our thoughts and so for that reason, the first part of this course is designed for you to discover why you think the way you think about this area of your life. The cause of excess weight – barring a physical condition, is the result of the food we eat and the amount of physical activity we perform.

I will be your coach over the next twenty-nine days. I should add that although I’ll be your coach, it’s really you who will be discovering, and coaching your inner-self to permanent change and lasting results. I’ll just be hanging around to offer a little guidance and moral support. As we said in the first section, the Habits book, you’re going to learn how to do this all by yourself. Remember our motto from the Chinese Proverb:

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.

Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

Nothing of value can ever be created instantly. It doesn’t matter if we are building a great business, learning to play an instrument, designing a building, getting an education, or even learning to ride a bicycle; each endeavor requires two things:

1. Patience/Perseverance and

2. Self-confidence.

You will need patience when it seems like you’re moving too slowly and perseverance when it appears that no change is taking place. Without self-confidence we would never bother attempting anything because we would assume it would result in failure anyway. The greater your self-confidence, the greater the challenge you will attempt. If you commit to staying with us for the entire 29 DAYS ... to your perfect weight course, it is an absolute promise that you will have all the patience, perseverance and self-confidence to achieve a lifetime of perfect weight.

Your program/course has been divided into four weeks, with each week building on the previous week. Each week you will be creating new neuron tracks/pathways, and embedding new ways of thinking and acting when it comes to food and physical activity.

Here’s how the Four Week Program works...

Week One: Commitment and Awareness Week

In the first week you will establish two things: commitment and awareness. You have to be committed to losing your excess weight, or no power in the universe can cause this change. Through simple observation and awareness, you will begin to understand how you think about food and your overall health habits. You will simultaneously begin to build a strong foundation of commitment that will support you when the inevitable self-defeating excuses crop up that say, “This isn’t working,” or “This is taking too long.”

Week Two: Preparation Week

Now that you have established awareness of your habits, and you know your inner-self is committed to achieving your goal, week two is designed to prepare you for action. You will begin to ask yourself simple but vital questions about how you might begin to make minor, but permanent changes to your behaviors. These are changes that will almost seem too trivial to matter, but over time they will produce significant results. By day ten or eleven, the daily reminders, your visualization and simple affirmations will already be forming powerful new neuron tracks. These new thought patterns will begin to produce deep-seated lifelong changes. Your self-confidence and personal power will begin to show signs of life!

Week Three: Taking Action

By now you’ll be wanting to take action, and that is precisely the time to take it! You will have spent the previous two weeks in awareness, decision and preparation. By day fifteen you will have a number of ideas and ways that you can tweak your lifestyle that will be painless but will simultaneously produce big results in a short period of time.

Week Four: Staying the Course

Beginning in week four you will be taking action steps that will be life transforming. This week is really about driving home the concept that by maintaining the simple, yet painless changes you made in week three, you are on track to a new life of effortlessly losing the rest of your excess weight, and most importantly to keeping it off forever. This is the week that you alter your thinking from a goal to a life-long commitment. Your goal may still be to lose twenty, thirty, forty or more extra pounds, but by now you will be making a commitment and a deep-seated promise to live a life with new thought patterns and new awareness. In fact, after you have taken the entire 29 DAYS course, it will no longer be possible for you to return to your old eating habits and thought patterns.