Jennifer shared this wonderful recipe with us. I haven't made it yet, but it has all my favorite ingredients. Serve this as a side dish with you meat. Remember veggies should be eaten bite for bite with protein.
To prepare Grilled Blue Cheese & Bacon Stuffed Onions:
  • 4 large-sized sweet onions (Vidalia, Maui sweets, sweet yellows)
  • 1 stick of butter, room temperature
  • 2/3 cup blue cheese, crumbled
  • 4 strips bacon, crumbled
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • salt and pepper to taste
Trim the ends off of the onions, and peel. Using a melon baller or small spoon, scoop out the inside of the onion to create a cavity. Be careful not to dig all the way through the bottom.

In a small bowl mix together butter, cheese, bacon, and thyme. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Blue cheese is a bit salty, so go easy.

Using a spatula or small spoon, stuff the mixture into the onions, completely filling the center.

Place each onion on a square of aluminum foil. Draw foil up to create a sealed pouch. Keep the foil from touching the sides of the onion, and make sure the top is sealed to hold in steam.

Heat your grill on high. Reduce heat to medium low and place the foil pouches directly over the heat. Close the lid of the grill and cook for 30 – 40 minutes. (Cooking time will vary upon size of onions).

Resist the temptation to open the grill and the pouches. Remove from grill and allow to stand for a full 5 minutes before opening the pouches.

Caution: the steam from the pouches will be hot. Using tongs or a spoon carefully transfer the onion onto a plate or bowl.

Use a spoon to drizzle any remaining butter from the bottom of the pouch over the onion.

Source: jamesandeverett.com
July 08, 2013
Today's hero story is from Linda. Linda sees changes in her weight in her clothing size and in her ring size too. Life has been challenging recently for Linda, but she is determined to continue the program. Here's her story...
Nov. 2012 (left) May 2013 (right)
Started program: Oct. 2012
Starting size: 24 pants and 2x top
Current size: 16/18

I finished hypnosis on Nov. 28 2012. I started at size 24 pants and 2x top. Rather quickly my face got smaller and then my tummy. I put on my jeans thinking they were 24, but discovered it was my size 22 jeans! They fit for awhile and then my butt must have gotten smaller as well as my tummy again...because my jeans were so loose they were grazing the tops of my shoes. Now they slide down so far on my hips that I can't wear them.
Oct. 2012
Then my thighs got narrow and my ring became so loose I had to get a tightener. I went from size 8 ring to size 7! That is the ring size I had when 14 yrs old!
Nov. 2012
People started to notice and the compliments started coming. Digging in closet for the smaller sizes is a lot of fun. I began to feel better about myself and to clean and organize my much neglected house.
May 2012
Often hard to accept this success. But I cannot deny the facts. My hubbie is always telling me I look so different and that I am getting skinny. Friends have been inspired from my success enough to check out Julie for themselves.

I started at 24 and now I can wear 20's and some XL's, which the Internet tells me is a 16/18!!! My goal is size 14, but maybe now I'll shoot for size 12. I'm 5'9" and hope to get back to 140 or even 130 pounds; I started at about 260. Of course I don't know what I weigh now.

I love to cook, so trying Julie recipes and others is fun. Just wish it did not take so long.


Read more Hero stories... or share your story - send me an email by clicking on my name (Theresa) on the bottom of the list of contributors in the left column of any page.

July 07, 2013
Today's Hero story comes from an anonymous couple who are having great success with this program. They're taking a closer look at what they're eating (too much cheese?) and how they can go back to eating clean, so they can reach their goal sizes.

Anonymous couple. Photo by Theresa; taken in Italy - not the couple in this story.
BTW, if you think you're eating too much cheese - you probably are! Remember, cheese takes a long time to process through our system, so we must eat it with a protein and it should be treated as a condiment. The latest news I've heard about cheese: don't eat it unless it's on food you're eating out.

Anonymous Heroes

I love this website! All the questions that come up are the same as everyone else, and it is so helpful to know we are not alone.

I started in November of 2012 and made my husband do this with me through the holidays. I thought he was going to kill me! But he was on two blood pressure meds, one cholesterol med, and stomach medicine. His blood pressure and cholesterol are great and his doctor may take him off all of it soon. That alone makes it all worth it.

We both did great the first three months, losing 2 pants sizes. Then nothing.... I thought it was a plateau, because we have not cheated. But now we are 5-6 month into this "plateau" and I have snapped out of denial. It's time for a refresher. We go in a few weeks.

As I take a closer look at our eating habits, I think my problem is too much cheese, and I should just focus on eating meat. I hope to get back on track. I have no desire to go back to what we used to eat, but I want to finish what we started and lose another two pant sizes.

Read more Hero stories... or share your story - send me an email by clicking on my name (Theresa) on the bottom of the list of contributors in the left column of any page.
July 05, 2013
Today, I'd like to tell you about a secret happening in your life. You may not even be aware of this yet, but I want to encourage you to pause for a moment to see what's happening. If you just started this program, you may not have experienced this yet, but you will.
You are the driver in your life - you choose what direction you want to go!
After a few months of applying what you've learned on Julie's program, without being consciously aware, your life takes on a new direction. As we lose weight, we focus a lot of time and energy on the changes is our size. All the while, things are changing in ways you may not see: your habits have changed over time in subtle ways.

Think about this: how many of those hard program concepts are now autopilot actions for you? Remember all those foods did you thought you could never give up - how long has it been since you thought about them? What's it like when you eat out now? Perhaps you order a sandwich and toss the bread (or ask for it without bread). Or you order black coffee or add whole milk instead of half and half. You tell the wait person not to leave the bread or chips. Pause for a moment and think about what else is different in your life today that you hadn't anticipated?

I no longer ask for a seat belt extension when I board a plane. I don't have to scan a room to make sure there's a chair I will fit into. I sit with my legs crossed. There are many other ways I've changed, including how I order food. I ask a lot of questions when I order out "is their any sugar or flour in that?" or "how is that made?"

I often order off-menu when I eat out these days. I view this part of myself like the character Sally in the movie "When Harry Met Sally." I used to feel uncomfortable and aware that others in line may be listening in, but I don't anymore. It's how I live my life: on my terms.

I order a sandwich and automatically tell the clerk "I know the price is the same without the bread. Just let the cook know 'no bread' and ring it up like a regular sandwich."

When was the last time you did something that made you realize you did it automatically, without thinking about it or making an issue? Success on this program is measured in many ways.
July 05, 2013
This video accompanied an online article from Upworthy:

She Had A ‘Pretty Woman’ Moment At A Dress Shop, But Her Response Is Way Better Than Julia Roberts’

What do you do when a dress shop manager basically tells you that you don't belong there because you're too big? Well, if you're Clare, you cry a little bit, and then you do a TED talk.

Get ready to cringe and get angry at 3:00, when you hear what happened when Clare went prom dress shopping. But no worries, by 6:08 she's singing Lady Gaga and showing us all how to love ourselves... no matter what anyone has to say about us.

July 05, 2013
Here's another one of those recipes for seasoning blends I wrote about a few days ago. This seasoning blend is delicious on steaks, burger and chops. I haven't mad this yet, but when I do, I'll add a photo!

Janie’s Gourmet Pepper Rub

¾ Cup Three Color Peppercorns
¼ Cup Pink Peppercorns
1/3 Cup Coarse Salt
1/3 Cup dehydrated Garlic Flakes
  1. In small batches, grind all ingredients, coarse to fine, your preference. 
  2. Combine all ground ingredients. 
  3. Store in air-tight container. 
July 03, 2013
One of the focuses of this blog is to look at the positive changes our weight loss journey has brought into our lives and to shine a light on them. These moments in time, where we discover a change in our lives directly related to our weight loss, allows us to reflect on how far we've come in more ways than dropping sizes. 
photo by Theresa
Our stories are not all the same, but sharing and celebrating such abstract moments, moments Oprah refers to as "ah ha moments," inspires the rest of us who are on this journey. Linda's recent posts have been about these kinds of moments in time, moments where she discovered a positive change in her life that resulted from her weight loss journey

Yesterday Linda wrote "I think we all need to look at positive changes in our behaviors and current sizes and remember where we have come from" (see Positive AHA Moment - Doctors Visit).

Today's moment in time story comes from Jennifer. She shared this story this morning and I immediately asked her permission to post it here.

Jennifer's moment:

I went in to CVS this evening to pick up a few things.

 A nice woman who works there handed me a coupon for the nail polish I was buying.

 She says "I just bought this bag of crunchy candy blahblahblah, would you like a piece? I don't know why I bought this huge bag-it was talking to me I guess!"

 I say "no thank you."

 She proceeds to say "Oh come on, one piece! It won't hurt you!"...............

 I look her in the eye, and say "70 pounds" (I really don't know my weight, this is a guess!), and "yeah, it can hurt me. I don't think it would be worth me eating it-I'm not giving up those 70 pounds for a piece of candy!"

 She says "yeah, I wouldn't eat it either! Good for you!"

 Ladies (and gent) THAT was a TEST! lol!
July 03, 2013
I went to my doctors a few days back. I had some questions.

I had some lumps and bumps that I JUST didn’t know if they were normal or not and was worried about them. By the time I got to my appointment, I was convinced I had bone cancer, cancer or whatever diseases came to mind. (yes I am one of those worriers)

I got weighed in backwards, this office is wonderful! VERY respectful of me not wanting to know my weight!!

When my dr. came in she was VERY pleased with my weight and we talked about it. She was thrilled with my weight and while talking she realized she has a few patients doing Julie’s plan. She asked for Julie’s number so she could talk with her, so she could legally recommend her program to patients.

Then I proceeded to show her my lumps, bumps, tumors what have you!

As she was checking each one with a deadpan face I was convinced I was going to get the death sentence.

When she was done she turned to me and smiled a great big smile, I wondered what is up with this.

She proceeded to tell me what each thing was and how normal they all are and the reason I never saw or felt them before was because of my weight.

We had a good laugh! I was relieved I wasn’t dieing!!! LOL

So I guess my positive change is finding things on my body I didn’t know existed!!!

From a 26/28 sized woman to a size 12 woman, things are actually going to start showing that never ever were visible before or feelable before!

I actually have a collar bone, hip bones, bones in my hand, on my throat and other places!!

I am not at my goal size, and am really looking to find positive changes. I think we all need to look at positive changes in our behaviors and current sizes and remember where we have come from. WE will get where we are going, we are all just running a different pace race!

How wonderful for my body to be molding itself slowly to become more normal!
July 02, 2013