Here's a question posted as a comment, that I thought would be better answered if I post it for everyone to see. . .
I have been following your blog since I have been put on the waiting list in December. I received the call last week and I will be going to see Julie for my first visit on May 24th. I am a bundle of nerves about everything. I am nervous because I have been overweight most of my life, and I want this to work. I am worried because the person I live with has very bad eating habits, and I am worried about spending all of this money and not being successful.

Do you have any advice for someone like me who has not yet been to a session and is very nervous? Thank you.

Anonymous
May 08, 2012 
My  advice: ask Julie for help with your roommate mojo; she may be able to help you with this. Say it upfront when you first start talking and then answer the questions she asks, so you don't forget or run out of time.

I try to remember, I can only change me. I can't change anyone else.

Have a great first (second, and third) session - and please come back to this blog and tell us about your story

May 08, 2012
My dad, who was a professional painter, always said painting is the easy part, the hard work is all the preparation you have to do before you paint.
Last week, I started a really big home project: painting my kitchen. I've been thinking about my Dad all week, as I remove the cupboard doors and the hardware, as I move my china and tea pots from the shelves to the kitchen table, and as I fill the holes with wood glue. All this and I haven't even sanded or cleaned. Never mind that I have yet to open a can of paint! My dad was right: the hardest work is the prep.

Is it just me, or is the prep work the hardest part of this weight loss program? For me, staying on program isn't the hard part, it's having things lined up ahead of time: planning my meals, making a shopping list, going grocery shopping, preparing the meals, getting up early enough to have breakfast and pack my lunch before I start my day, and having something lined up for dinner before I get home. If I do the prep work, the program is so much easier.

During my prep work this morning, I had an "ah ha" moment. After filling holes, where the hinges used to be and a number of holes inside the cupboards, I climbed up and down the chair to clean the top of the refrigerator. As I quickly climbed the chair, I realized that I'd been up and down that chair for over an hour effortlessly! It wasn't until that moment that I realized why I had put off painting the kitchen for almost a year: it would have been  too much for me physically.

I never thought about all the restrictions that my weight placed upon me when I was heavier. It's when I encounter moments like this, that  I am reminded that this journey is a process of self-discovery. It's so easy for me to focus on not losing weight "fast enough" and meanwhile miss seeing the many positive ways my weight loss has affected my life. An hour of climbing the chair didn't draw my attention to how I could not have done this a year ago. It was when I climbed up and down from the chair four times quickly that I suddenly realized: hey - last year I couldn't get up on the chair once, never mind several times in a row - or repeatedly for a hour!

I look forward to many more new discoveries in my life!

Another great discovery - reconnecting with my inner runner. Last weekend I ran another 5k (which is a little over 3 miles). This one was in Amherst and it had killer hills. My total running time was the same as the Hot Chocolate Run in Dec., which was just under 45 minutes, but given the hills involved - this is great progress!

Here are some photos I took before and during the race...
Warm up before the race
I need to get a better running outfit!
Me on left; Aime on right.
Coming up to Emily Dickinson house and the last of the hills.
Self-portrait while running; me in yellow, Aime in pink. My favorite photo of the day!
May 05, 2012
Quick question: I have a flight coming up soon and it will be at an awkward time during the day, I don't eat breakfast, but get hungry around 11:00. I will be on a plane. Any suggestions as to what to pack to eat? Obviously I can't bring deviled eggs, I think I would get thrown off the plane!! LOL

I am afraid of beef jerky with all the sodium and then just sitting. Just looking for some ideas for a light meal that won't smell up the plane. My sister suggested ham roll ups but again, the sodium problem. Just wondering what you all would have in mind!
May 05, 2012
Like many of you, I have times when I am impatient with my weight loss process. I feel like my hips are not changing at all. I just had this photo taken of me so I can compare how this blouse looked a few months ago to how it looks today. I can't deny the change that has happened!
05/05/12        |        01/16/12
I'm still not happy with how big my hips and belly look, but I know this will change if I keep doing what I'm doing. I try to focus on my success rather than wishing to be my ideal size. Being present is an important part of my journey. If I can accept where I am today, I can and will move forward.

Recently someone asked about having vivid dream while on this program. I've always been able to recall my dreams and they are quite detailed. That said, I definitely see a correlation to going in for a session and vivid dreams.

Speaking of dreams, I've been dreaming about fitting into three pair of size 20 blue jeans, which my friend Aime gave me many months ago, but each time I tried them on I couldn't pull them above my hips. The night before last, I had a dream that I tried on the blue jeans and they fit. I had forgotten about my dream until I was getting dressed; I decided to give them a try.

I tried on the first pair. I pulled them up over my hips (YAHOO), zipped them up, and then I sat down in my office chair for a few minutes.

They did not pass my "can I sit in a chair and be comfortable?" test, so I tried the second pair.

I was uncomfortable sitting in the second pair as well.

I moved on to the third pair and (drum roll please) they passed the test! I wore them to work and I felt fabulous all day!

Patience pays off. If  I keep moving forward and doing the best I can to stay on program, regardless of how much time passes, I will reach my ideal size. This doesn't happen on a calendar that I have control over, in as much as I want that kind of control. So, I let go of the controls and keep moving forward.
May 04, 2012
Ok everyone out there-big question of the day: Can we have avocado?
April 28, 2012
In one of my beginning classes with Julie, I remember her saying that our dreams could become very vivid. WOW! She wasn't kidding! Has anyone else experienced this?

And I am curious, why do you think this happens? It really is amazing to me how vivid my dreams have become. Last night I dreamed someone close to my family gently yelled at me in church, I was in the front bench with another friend and she made a comment to me during the service and this other friend reprimanded us, in front of many people, for talking during the service. I actually could feel embarrassed and mortified. When I woke up this morning I really had to think about it to realize that it didn't happen.

Or I have had dreams about cheating on this plan. Now I have never cheated. But sometimes I really think I could feel and taste whatever it was I was eating in my dream. The next day I would get this feeling over me like good grief how could I have eaten that, I blew it, and then realize it was a dream. I don't know if I am explaining it right, maybe even dumb examples, but so real, my dreams have become quite intense. Anyone else??????
April 28, 2012
Good evening everyone!

I have a pearl of wisdom that I heard from a co-worker who has been able to keep her weight in check, and not "listen" to the "food-talk." One sentence, and very powerful one more for us to tuck away and use when we need to: "I don't need to eat that, because I have tasted it before, and I remember what it tastes like"

It really hit home with me.  I do remember what food tastes like, and I am glad I have my memories of them....So, I think about it, and then move on!

I am now into month 2 of maintenance. I am eating more potato-I have had fried, mashed, puffs, baked, and some sweet potato. Just a little, with less veggies to compensate, and more meat. I still eat the Siggis, once or twice a week, and I am exercising maybe 1-3 times a week-I am really still struggling with fitting it in, but I am working on it.

This weekend hubby and I are going to Maine for a couple of days-Watch out lobster, cause here I come! lol! I am not one bit "afraid" of going away and eating out in restaurants, because I have found my "voice" to let the waiter know exactly what I want. If they look at me funny, I just say I have a lot of allergies-which is not a lie, if you think about it, because I have bad reactions to lots of food-meaning, I blow up like a balloon. But, there are so many true allergies out there, that they will never question you anyways.

For those of you that may be worrying about maintenance, DONT! I still have no food talking to me, I still enjoy what I eat, and I still check myself with my "measurement" ribbons to make sure I am still on track. For the most part, they show me that I am not gaining or losing.  Success! I have no interest in stepping off and eating things that I shouldn't, I still use my "don't wanna want it" mantra. It really works! I am very satisfied with the meat-veggie rule, and stepping off onto the potato shore 3-4 times a week. I am focusing more on living, not what I am going to eat.

I will still schedule a refresher the next time I get a call-I last went in February, and put down for June. From what I have read on this blog, I am expecting maybe July, as it sounds like Julie is maybe a month off with not being well, and moving. I so highly believe in them, because you pick up so much advice, and I love seeing and listening to people-Anyone that has gone to her new place, tell us what you think about it. Then, I will stretch it out-6 or 8 months-so I can keep on doing this on my own. It is nice to know that Julie is there for us when we feel the need-

Have a great night,
Jen
April 24, 2012
I'm finally catching up on my photo uploads. We have a laptop upstairs, but that's a few years old. We have a new computer in the basement, and my husband is keeping the kids happy, so I am able to upload about 300 + photos that I never get a chance to. Kids! Anyways...Never in a million years would I have ever posted photos of myself. I'm the photographer. No one takes pictures of me! I was so disgusted with the way I looked, that was never going to happen! Now, I will oblige to photos, but generally grab a kid and have them right in front of me. Whatever works, right?!?

The first photo is from the summer of 2011. I was not yet on the Julie diet. This was camping with my family:


The next photo is about a month into the diet, taken in August of 2011:


This photo was taken around the holidays...November or so of 2011:


And this latest photo was taken last week(April 2012):


I'm thrilled with what I see to be honest. I look in the mirror sometimes, or I look down, and I still see fat. My ob/gyn says another 20-30 lbs to go. At that rate, there would be nothing left of me. There is no way I'm going to get to a 140, which is what I was in high school, since having kids, etc. Maybe if I have surgery to get rid of the excess skin, I could be a step closer. Time will tell. Now, I'm going for maybe another 10 lbs or so. I said a size 8. It's where I am. I want a lose 8. But maybe, just maybe, a size 6 is where I really want to be....
April 22, 2012