Friend of Julie: Embrace Change

Success is not measured by how fast you lose weight, or by reaching your goal size, and it's not even about leaning how to maintain that size. It's about going one step further than you've ever gone before: it's about living your life without being food-focused. Success is achieved when we embrace this way of eating as a lifestyle change and we turn our focus to living full lives.

Embrace Change. Photo by Theresa, Ostia Antica, Italy

For many, that kind of success is what we dream of, but have never experienced. There are many who followed this program and are living that dream. The rest of us are on our way. You may know people who follow Julie's program and dropped straight down to their goal size in an amazing short time. There are others whose weight loss journey is not as fast. The transition from our old ways of thinking to a new way seems easier for some than others.

Regardless of how long this journey takes, I've learned from posts to this blog, from others I've talked to, and from my own experience, there are specific issues many struggle with that slow down our weight loss and cause plateaus. Those who don't have these issues or are able to work them out are the most successful.

Let's put a light on these issues so we too can be successful. We all learned the same program, but some of us are resistant to parts of the program. It's that resistance that gets us into trouble. We don't get to pick and choose what parts of the program we want to follow. As we explore these issues, remember that success is measured by embracing change--so we never have to be on the diet merry-go-round again. Remember too that it's never too late to reprogram yourself and evolve your ways of thinking.

Boring Food

This program is a lifestyle change and switching up what we eat is essential. We can't afford to be bored with our foods. Eating the same foods several days in a row or the same meals week after week is not embracing change. Also, our bodies think we are on a diet when we eat the same foods again and again. When our bodies think we're on a diet, the old programming kicks in and our body stores fat.

If you're eating the same foods all the time, it may be time for you to do some reprogramming. Even after two-plus years of following this program, I am doing some reprogramming. I was making the same handful of recipes week after week and this slowed down my weight loss. In the past few months I've been making new recipes and eating foods that are in season.

What about you? Are you eating the same frozen veggies week after week? When is the last time you ate a fresh veggie that was grown in your area? Do you need to tweak your programming?

The Voice in Your Head

Don't allow the voice in your head to label something a problem, instead see it for what it really is: your old way of thinking, which is to resist change. Tap those thoughts away and embrace your desire to change your life forever.

Don't allow the voice in your head to feel sorry for you that you can't eat like everyone else. Don't accept the sympathy of others who feel sorry for you because you can't indulge. Push away those voices too. Take a look around--how healthy are those who indulge? Do you really want to be like them? Embrace your decision to be different. A time will come when those same people will be amazed at your ability to change your life; even if you never hear this from them. You're on an amazing journey - stay the course.

Forget the Numbers

Tap away the urge to get on the scale - success is not measured by the scale. At the doctors tell them again and again that you do not want to know your weight. Say it when you first walk in the door. Say it to each person who greets you. Okay, so the receptionist probably doesn't need to know this, but everyone else does. Ask them to put it on your chart or write it on a piece of paper for them to add to the front of your chart. You have to take charge of this or the medical experts will tell you how much weight you've lost. When you go online to look a your medical information, be aware that your weight is probably somewhere in those records. Ask the doctor's office not to add it to the online medical information, so you don't stumble upon your weight (or go looking for it).

If you do your best and the number is revealed to you, forget the numbers. Don't share the number with anyone, no matter how excited or disappointed you may be. Saying it aloud (or typing it) disturbs your programming. We are programmed not to know the numbers because it messes with our head. Let me repeat: forget the numbers. I don't want to know them either, because it will mess with my head. I'll start thinking "she lost xx in xx months, so I wonder how much I've lost." Then I have to work on forgetting your numbers.

Diets that have us step on the scale, tell our us what our top weight was so we know not only how much weight we lost, but also how much weight to gain after the diet ends. Do you really want to tell your body how much weight to gain? Tap it away. Tap away the urge to know the numbers in the same way you tap away thoughts of having something sweet or something off-program. This program doesn't have a start and end, it evolves. We evolve beyond a number. We evolve beyond being food obsessed.

Eating Clean

I'm not going to name names here, but how much cheese did you eat this week? You know what is too much cheese--it's the opposite of "a little bit of cheese," which is all we're allowed. Give it up folks. I mean this literally. If you can't tap away the urge to eat too much cheese, back off from eating cheese entirely. You can add cheese back when you're confident you will have just "a little bit."

Do you have yogurt more than twice a week? You don't have to eat yogurt ever, but if you do, twice a week is all that's allowed. You aren't having yogurt alone for breakfast or for a snack - are you? You must have meat with yogurt.

After following the program for a long time, Linda decided to look closer at what she was eating. After "eating clean" she started dropping sizes again. She removed things that were blocking her from reaching her goal. She has inspired me to follow her lead.

Meat to Veggie Ratio

Do you always have a balanced meat-to-veggie ratio: bite for bite or less veggie than meat? Make sure you are eating veggies with meat and that you're not eating more veggie than meat.

Are you ignoring vegetables entirely? Don't! Vegetables are full of vitamins and minerals that our bodies need. Are you enjoying tomato juice with an equal amount of meat? Yes, we can have tomato juice, but only with meat!

Eating Out

One of the great things about this program is that we can eat just about anywhere. The key is asking questions. Even places like Wendy's, McDonald's, and Dunkin Donuts will make their sandwiches without bread, we just have to ask. You'll find most restaurants accommodating. I don't tell them I have food allergies, because they then offer all kinds of options that are not on program.I just say it like it is: I don't eat carbs.

Do you have a plan as to what to do if they serve more veggies than meat? If there's too many vegetables on you're plate, you may eat them because that's how your old programming worked. My mom told us to eat everything on our plates, something about kids starving in China, as if eating everything on our plate helped starving kids somewhere else! I order a larger size steak at Outback Steakhouse so that I have enough meat to enjoy their wedge salad and a veggie. If I'm not that hungry, I decline the veggie. Nobody is going to starve because I passed on a vegetable and it's not going to break my bank.

There are restaurants known for adding sugars to their foods, which we can avoid entirely or ask if they can make the dish without adding sugar; sometimes they can and sometimes they can't. Reading the menu online before going to the restaurant helps too. We can have barbecue sauce and catsup, but not foods with gravies or peanut sauce. This is an area you don't have to think about much to know what isn't on program.

Not Enough

What aren't you getting enough of in your life? Are you getting enough protein? Remember - protein sources used to have a face. Cheese and yogurt never had faces and are not considered protein, which is why you must have them with protein. If you're a vegetarian, work with Julie on your protein options, as this is a meat intense program.

Are you getting enough exercise? Are you getting any exercise? Some of us didn't start exercising until several months into the program. We don't all have to run marathons, or run at all, but it's in our DNA to be active. Our bodies are meant to move. If you aren't ready to start exercising today, visualize exercise becoming a part of your life, embrace this aspect even if you can't imagine it to be true today. Begin to visualize the kinds of activities you want to be involved in your life and program/visualize yourself embracing this kind of change.

Are you getting enough sleep? I read an article that said one night of sleep deprivation can put you in fat storing mode. That is not good! I also read that as people drop weight their sleep issues disappear. I don't have sleep issues, but if you do, see a doctor or at least go online to research ways to try and resolve your sleep issues.