There are days I want to shout from the roof tops about Julie and her program! I want to tell every overweight person I see about it and tell them how it works!!

But, like my friend Richard Simmons, I do not say anything to anybody unless they ask me first. And even then, I am careful what I say.

I have always felt a bond with morbidly obese people. I could feel their shame, embarrassment and know how they were feeling walking into a room or restaurant or where ever. Not looking people in the eye or not wanting to attract attention, hoping people wouldn't notice us or make a comment. Hoping we would fit into a chair, seat or down an aisle. Not going to the doctors because of the lectures we would get. Hoping no one would make a comment to our spouse or our children or our parents about our weight, then hearing the comment and the utter horror and embarrassment that they have to put up with comments about our weight.

But now I really feel for them and all of us. It makes me so sad at how we are tricked into thinking we are eating healthy, and we are not.

I feel sad that morbidly obese people are viewed as lazy, no will power, when I now know that isn’t true. It is the so called healthy food we are eating that make us out of control. Granted, there is always an exception to the rule.

How can our government allow so much junk in our foods. High fructose corn syrup is poison. All types of flour is not good for us. Sugar is deadly. Artificial sweetener is poison. And the list goes on…
and don't even get me going on all the quick weight loss, money grabbing empty promise weight loss programs out there!! That is a topic for a whole other post...

Makes me sad. I thought I was feeding my sweet innocent babies so healthy as they were growing up.

I see people in the grocery stores talking about how this is healthy because it is low cal or fat free. Makes me want to cry.
Advertisements for some foods just makes me stare in disbelief!! It is thrown at us from all sides...

I never knew how deceived we were until I went to Julie's classes. I am SO VERY THANKFUL that I was led to Julie’s office and program!

There are so many articles, doctors reports, reports from scientists and so much proof that this is the way to eat. I am amazed.

Makes me want to shout out from the roof tops.

Makes me wish there were more Julie’s around to spread the word and her gift.

Makes me certainly not trust the food industry.

Makes me want to hug all the people out there who are suffering as I did most of my life with their weight.
April 30, 2013


Last week I had fun. My dear cousin got married and a picnic turned into a reception/family reunion.


Lots of fun when many Italians get together to celebrate a happy occasion.

So my parents and brother were flying in from Texas. My parents had been there visiting my brother and one of my sisters for 2 weeks. I told them when they got to Bradley airport I would pick them up as I was so excited.

Hadn’t seen my brother for 1 year, and hadn’t seen my parents since Christmas.They all knew I was loosing weight.

I got the text saying they had landed, and they were outside waiting.

I drove up to the waiting area, I saw them and waved, and had to keep driving to find a place to park.

I got out of the car expecting them to be following me.

Where were they?

I saw them looking around waiting for someone.

I called my brother and asked him if they had seen me. He said mom thought she did, but then realized she didn’t.

I told my brother where to walk to. I saw them all approaching and I started waving.

I was so excited! BUT Not one of them waved back.

Hmmm what is up with this.

I see my mom looking all around and I hear her say, "I thought you said Linda was here. I don't see her!"

WHAT?

As they got closer I kept waving and started jumping up and down to get their attention.

I see them look, and they had quite the confused looks on their faces. My dad finally realized that it was me making all the commotion.

The shock that registered on their faces as they came over, and their repeated comment- “I didn’t recognize you” “Wow! We didn’t recognize you!”

Between you and me, my dad had something in his eyes that made them water and he kept hugging me and saying you look good!

I was so happy!

Kind of funny to have my parents not recognize me!

I heard comments all week and at the reunion! Makes a person feel pretty good!!!!

This is my dad and mom and sisters and brother, I love them dearly!!!!
April 25, 2013
Anyone who has ever worn pantyhose will know what I am talking about! Now, try being 100 pounds over weight and put pantyhose on. Sorry guys, but this post will make more sense to women!
Photo source: deviantart.com
You start at your feet, pull them tight, pull them up to your calves, then come the thighs, this is hard, you lift one leg like giving it strength, then lift the other, you twist and turn and pull the pantyhose to get them up and over the thighs. Then comes the hips and belly, at this point you become a contortionist!

You bend at the waist to gather more of the pantyhose. You pull, tug, twist, bend, groan, jump, jiggle and whatever else you have to do to get those dumb things on.

I was so out of breath getting those dumb things on. And I certainly didn’t want my dear husband to witness my pantyhose jiggle!

So I started wearing knee highs. Oh dear! To me that is such an old lady thing to do, but I could not deal with the pantyhose dance.

Instead, here's what I would do: I would buy control top pantyhose, cut the legs off and wear the pantie part with the knee highs. Not a pretty picture at all!

Last week, I realized my new church skirt needed pantyhose and not knee highs, as there was a small slit on the side that would look hideous with knee highs under them.

I bit the bullet and went to buy pantyhose.

Immediately I wondered What size do I get? I had no clue. The size charts all go by your weight and I don’t know how much I weighed! So, I did the best I could and some old habits do not die quickly, I got control top.

I got home and pulled them out of the package.

WOW--they look so small!

Oh dear, will I get them on? 

I didn’t want to do the secret dance, but I had to wear them with my skirt! So I started...
Feet OK.
Calves OK.
Thighs OK.
OK? Wow!
Hips and belly, oh my--they went on without too much dancing.
The next thing I knew, I had them up and on--and I wasn’t out of breath!

I didn’t have to dance to get my pantyhose on! This time I didn't have to be a contortionist!

Wow, oh wow--this program is really working for me in more ways than I knew!

Pantyhose, who in the world invented them?

Well at least now I know: I can wear these dumb things and they fit me right!

Another non-scale victory for me! LOL!
April 23, 2013
I'm heading off this afternoon for vacation in a few minutes. During the three weeks I'm away, a couple of my blog contributor friends will post to the blog and moderate comments. I'm taking the program with me and will stay in the river while I'm there. I'll be in Holland, France, and Italy. I will be back on May 9, 2013.
April 20, 2013
It's amazing how one can lose nearly a hundred pounds (9-10 sizes; my actual weight loss is not known) and how one little photo can leave you feeling like you haven't lost any weight at all. I had a situation last weekend that left me feeling like I hadn't lost an ounce of weight, but I have been able to put things into perspective and get over myself.
This blurry photo inspired me to buy a new camera.
Last weekend I had a great day visiting a cousin with my brothers in RI who we hadn't seen in years. We spent most of our visit talking family history. We went to Bridget Crowley's grave, our first relative from Ireland to come to America. A few years ago relatives donated money to put a headstone on her grave. It's hard to believe someone didn't do this 60 or 70 years ago, but I was happy to be part of making it happen at long last. I'd heard about Bridget over the years and I'm looking forward to learning more about her life and her family from my cousin.

While visiting we took a few photos of each other. Nobody can ever take a sharp photo with my iPhone, but I uploaded the photo anyhow because this is what I want to talk about this morning.

I was feeling great that day and then I saw this photo and my mood quickly changed. As blurry as the picture is - all I could see was my belly! Note to self: wear longer blouses with these jeans. I was so bummed about my belly hanging out like that and I felt embarrassed that I left the house in that outfit.

A few days later, I saw the obituary of my friend's husband, George Gladir and that helped pull things into perspective. Life isn't measured by the size of our belly or the size of our body. It's measure by the size of what we do with our lives.

We're all doing incredible things with our lives: changing them for the better and helping each other do the same. Today we focus on our bodies, but at some point, we get to move beyond this focus an on to bigger things in life. That's what I'm excited about, when I find the next big thing I can use all my energy to focus on instead of myself.

A friend once told me "If you don't know what you want, how can you possibly get it?" She's right. And it's time for me to figure out what I want next.

What about you? Do you have the next big thing lined up to do when your weight is no longer the focus of you life? You don't have to know what it is today, but you can start dreaming today. If you can't dream it - it won't happen, so dream big.
April 20, 2013
An act of terrorism happened in our backyard on Monday when bombs went off at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. My friends and family are all safe and I hope yours are too. I talked with my key hypnosis friends and many said they ate more than usual on Monday night, but they stayed on program. One friend said her response was to turn to what she learned over the years would comfort her: food. But her story has a happy ending.
My friend's new mantra
Overwhelmed with emotion about the Boston tragedy, unable to find the face-to-face support she needed, one of my key hypnosis friends turned to her old friend---food. Tuesday morning she told me "It was a very quick minimal visit, and it ended with a tall glass of milk--a new friend. So it's behind me, but the sadness of yesterday is not. I wasn't going to tell anyone, but I believe asking for support will help me through this."

She was encouraged by words from another key friend "this is only a test." My friend embraced these words and created a new mantra for herself, which she carries with her on her iPhone:
This is a test
Off the Wheel
Reveal to heal
Plan
Hugs
Breathe
There we have it - a happy ending for my friend!

My reaction Monday night: I ate two dinners Monday night; all foods on program. I don't have non-program foods in the house; one benefit of living alone. I got caught up in the news until late in the night and again all morning. I couldn't turn it off even there was so little new information. The news was so sensationalized and hypnotic that I couldn't pull myself away. Being in a this kind of hypnotic state like this is akin to getting drunk: both leave you vulnerable to eating out of control.

If you went off program in reaction to Monday's tragedy, it's time to get back in the river right now. No amount of food dissolves pain or changes acts of terrorism. But there is something each of us can do: be successful in our lives, live happy lives, and take care of ourselves and our families - this is our best agent against terrorism.

Each day you stay in the river (on program), you teach yourself new ways to react to what life throws at you. Your automatic response will change over time, because you are training your mind to react in new ways. You will be tested along the way; it is part of the journey.

You should know that after the marathon bombing, good people did random acts of compassion. Things you should read about. Things to help soften the pain, to help us heal from that which we are at a loss of words to express. Here are a few stories you should know about:
April 17, 2013
Last week Linda wrote about following Julie's advice to get off the hamster wheel in her post "Letting My Inner Animal Out." In reading her story, I was inspired to do the same. I want to share what this experience looked like for me, so I created a few short videos in hopes to inspire you all to get off your hamster wheel too. Or, at least provide some comedy for you.
image source: Big & Small: My Cartoon Collection
In my first video, I capture what we look like when we fail to switch up our exercise routines: we look like and act like hamsters spinning round and round going nowhere. Just like our foods, which we mix up instead of eating the same foods over and over, allowing our minds to think we're on a diet, which halts our weight loss, our bodies want us to mix things up too. Do something different for exercise this week, rather than the same exercise week after week.

Get off the Hamster Wheel (5 seconds)


It's so painful to watch oursleves looking like a rat in a cage, I ended it quickly.

This is next video is me jogging. I did three takes and I crack myself up. I hope you get a good laugh too.

Jogging: Take One (1 minute 57 seconds)


Take Two (36 seconds)

Take Three (1 minute 12 seconds)


If you've been having a hard time getting off the hamster wheel, read this inspiring article
Get Off the Hamster Wheel, in which author Karen Kimsey-House writes deep and profound thoughts about how to see the difference between doing something because it comes from a a genuine desire inside us rather than the hamster wheel approach.

Here's an excerpt from Get Off the Hamster Wheel:
We need to be in action to make dreams real in the world, but action needs to be connected to a larger sense of meaning. Why are you doing what you're doing? Are you doing it because you should or is it coming from inside you from a genuine desire? The Hamster Wheel approach: If I exercise three times a week, I'm "good." Or, if I go to see my mother-in-law twice a month, I'm "good." The Co-Active approach I am advocating for you: I care deeply about my health and well-being, so I devote time to nurture my body. My relationship with my mother-in-law is important to me, therefore I'm going to invest in it. See the difference?
Now go outside and get moving in the real world!
April 14, 2013
Here a couple question about what to do if you have a stomach bug that someone asked on the FAQ page. I want to bring to this to the surface, so those of you who have had this issue can share your experiences.

Anonymous, March 30, 2013:
This week my family had the stomach bug that lasted for days. Myself included. I am now over two months with the hypnosis and have been doing great...up to this point. I tried just eating chicken broth and staying hydrated with water. I just found that I was not getting my energy back. The thought of eating protein made me nauseous. I finally broke down and started to eat some saltines and drank Pedialyte. I quickly got my energy back but sure enough that made those darn Army men come running out. 3 days off (and I would love to say I just ate saltines but I would be lying) and today I am back on and feeling better.

What is done is done and I hope I have not messed up my hypnosis too much. I live far away and do not want to have to travel (or pay!) for a refresher.

Has anyone else faced this? Is there a way to stay on the plan yet be able to get better?

April 10, 2013