52 Week Weight Loss Program

The 52 Week Coaching Program for Weight Loss!

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Welcome to The 52 Week Coaching Program for

Weight Loss!

Hello. My name is Carolyn Spencer, and I am a 35-year-old mother of three,

who has undergone a massive transformation. It is fair to say that I have

changed my life completely. And you can too!

This program is about weight loss, but it could just as easily be about any

single aspect of your life that you want to improve, work on or eradicate. For

me, losing weight was my biggest battle. Until I did that, I could never have

the life I wanted. I needed to lose weight and tried everything I could to get

there, including trying a variety of programs, almost nonstop (when I wasn‟t

pregnant) for ten years.

Yet despite my very best intentions, I was still the same size as I started out,

at times even more! And it wasn‟t for lack of trying, I can tell you. For ten

long years, through children, marriage and work commitments, I gritted my

teeth, summed up all the will power I could and starved, sweated and, in

some cases, screamed my way through almost every diet and weight loss

program out there. And they still didn‟t work. Talk about feeling cheated!

What I found was that they all had something missing, or they just didn‟t

work for me.

It‟s not as if I asked for all that much, either. I just wanted something that

was easy and that any mom could do. I have a 13 year old, and two little

ones, four and six now. It‟s an understatement to say that they keep me busy.


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All I wanted was a weight loss program that would work and one that

wouldn‟t take over my life but would enhance it. I was keen to lose weight

for myself, my family and my health. While I wouldn‟t class myself as

morbidly obese, I wasn‟t as active as a mother of three young children

would want to be either. I wanted to run around the garden with my

daughters, play football with my son (or at least stand in for my husband

when he wasn‟t around); I didn‟t want to run after a bus only to feel

exhausted because I was hefting around a hell of a lot of extra weight that I

didn‟t need.

I know that there are many other moms out there like me - in their endeavor

to lose weight, they start on a weight loss program and half way through,

lose steam. That‟s happened to me. I‟ve also tried a structured program,

thinking that it would help discipline me, but that just lost its charm after a

while and I was soon back to my old self.

I started to think that, like Brad and Jennifer, some things just aren‟t meant

to be. Think about it...There may be many weight loss programs out there,

but are they worth it? Do they have the sizzle that they claim to have? Or

does the sizzle, fizzle off, in no time?

Can you relate to this? Then you must read on…

The truth is; it never dawned on me that my weight problems may not even

have anything to do with my weight per se, but might instead have

everything to do with my thinking. That was a revelation. Who would have

thought? And that‟s when I realized the simple truth – I could continue to


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follow pointless diets for the rest of my life, or I could create one of my

own, a weight loss program that DOES work. If you‟re reading this,

congratulations! You‟ve found it!

In order to create the perfect weight loss program for me (and every other

aspiring dieter out there who wants long-lasting results!), I looked at every

program that I could find, and made notes about what I didn‟t like about

them. I then looked at coaching books that talked about change and how to

make permanent changes in your life. I realized this probably meant that

there was a way to put the two together.

How Is My 52 Week Program Different?

Weight loss programs are a dime a dozen. However, I‟d stake my newly

svelte figure on the fact that most weight loss programs are not worth their

salt. They say that you will lose weight and you probably will, but you will

not keep it off because you didn‟t get anything from the program to help

keep it off. I could find nothing in any of the books about what to do to keep

off your weight once you‟ve done the hard work to lose it. And I looked, oh

how I looked. I cried many a night because I couldn‟t understand why I was

gaining my weight back when I did everything I was supposed to do.

My friends were the same. They had tried programs that they thought were

going to work and they too kept struggling with their weight. Most people

start a weight loss program by using one that makes them starve themselves,

or make them do hours and hours of exercise. With the best will in the


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world, that level of sheer effort just isn‟t sustainable for „real‟ people. We‟re

not all Madonna with hours to spare, nannies to look after the children and a

gym downstairs in the basement. So once you stop the weight piles on again.

When all is said and done, you find yourself back exactly where you started

and there‟s nothing more frustrating than rebound.

I made sure my weight loss program solved this problem. I decided that if all

these other people could write a program that did not work, I could write one

that DID. So I wrote a 52 week program with FREE coaching to help you

lose weight and keep it off.

No Will Power Needed!

My program is about making permanent change in your life. We take the

emphasis off the weight per se, and focus instead on the issues that made

you put on the weight in the first place.

Yes, it‟s 52 weeks. And right now, if you‟re worrying about your bikini

body or whether you‟ll fit into your little black dress at the party next month,

it probably sounds like an eternity. But if you don‟t want to be worrying

about exactly the same thing this time next year, then this is the program for

you. You probably didn‟t take a year to put the weight on – bad habits form

over long periods of time - and you‟ll need to take some time to „reprogram‟

yourself out of them.


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The good news is that you should see rapid weight loss in the first 12 weeks

of the plan anyway, so why not give it a try? By then I guarantee that you‟ll

be so thrilled with the results that you‟ll want to continue. You won‟t need to

starve or nearly kill yourself with exercise either; we‟re talking careful baby

steps, help and advice all the way, easy to make changes that will have a

long term effect on your life and help tackling your inner weight loss

demons. Simply put, we‟ll help you identify and tackle all of that self-

sabotaging behavior that usually puts you back on the road to misery.

Inside my 52 Week Coaching Program for Weight Loss, you will find

SIMPLE things that you can do each month to make a real difference to

your life. These small things will lead to your own creations over time and

you will find that your weight just falls off.

I will not lie to you; you have to create the life you want, step by step. You

will have exercise and proper nutrition as part of the 52 Week Coaching

Program for Weight Loss, but not in the way you think. I will teach you to

have fun and get the best out of your life and your world.

And, best of all, no will power needed! I say again, no will power needed!

With my 52 Week Coaching Program for Weight Loss, you won‟t believe

just how easy it is to train yourself to do the right thing.

My program is so effective that you can now read on, and START TODAY.

At the end of my program, you will find that weight loss is no longer a

negative chore. Instead, it is a way to live your life more fully. You will stop

guessing and fully understand through my step-by-step tactics just how easy


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it can be to manage your weight. These tactics will start to become so

automatic, you won‟t even know you‟re doing them. This is no band-aid

quick fix solution that only lasts for a week; this is permanent change.

Changing your life forever doesn‟t happen overnight. The good news is that,

as well as our week by week guide, you can judge your progress yourself by

The Six Stages to Change that I will lay out for you in my program. These

strategies are at the core of the program. Once you understand these stages

of change, you can apply these to any part of your life. Read on for an

explanation.

I sincerely wish that this program is the start of a journey of self-discovery.

A discovery of how to control your weight, break awful habits, and achieve

the success you‟ve always dreamed of. And I am confident that you will

make this program your passport to a better future, one that seemed

impossible before.

Once you read this program, I advise you to go back, and re-read it again.

By doing so, you will be in a better position to absorb the information, and

learn what I did. You’ll realize that weight loss is no longer an effort, it’s

part of your life.

In the meanwhile, I look forward to sharing my personal experiences with

you, through the 52 Week Program, and hope that it brings you success in

developing a healthy „you‟.

Sincerely,

Carolyn Spencer


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The Six Stages of Change

Change, we are told, is inevitable. Those who succeed in life are those who

can embrace change and integrate it in their lives. Better yet, take advantage

of it. This applies as much to weight loss as it does to divorce, losing a job or

dealing with the myriad of other important changes and developments in

your life.

There are six stages of change and each one can explain why you react to

change in the way that you do, how to accept it and, in some cases, how to

get over it. Here we look at each stage in turn so you can understand and

recognize each as you go through the plan. You‟ll hear me refer to these

stages often as we go through week by week.

Precontemplation (Resisting Change)

This is the initial stage, when the natural inclination is to resist moving away

from the comfortable groove we have created for ourselves. We know and

understand that change is needed, but find ways to rationalize why it cannot

happen. A typical example of this is finding you are overweight. You know

it is bad for you, but find reasons why you cannot do anything about it – you

have no time to exercise, your job causes you to eat out a lot, you work so

hard you deserve to relax with junk food on holidays and so on. Sound

familiar?


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Precontemplation is a stage of demoralization where you accept defeat

before it happens – you think you will fail in your efforts to change and so

find reason to justify your lack of effort to even try. Take me for example; I

always had excuses for not wanting to change. I told myself that, as a mom

of three kids, I had no time to begin a weight loss program; I was overweight

because I had no time to do anything about it.

Understanding this reticence is the first step to overcoming it. It is harder to

continue this behavior once you realize why you are doing it. Once you

appreciate that you are being precontemplative and what it is doing to you,

you can then move on to the next stage.

Contemplation (Accepting That Change Is Needed but Not Willing To

Do Anything Immediately)

In the contemplative stage, you accept that there is a problem that needs to

be dealt with. In this stage, you try to see what caused the situation in the

first place and begin to look at solutions. However, being a contemplator

does not mean that you are yet ready to change.

For example, at this stage, I accepted that I needed to lose weight, but had no

plan as to how to proceed. Should I exercise, diet or do a combination of

both? I was undecided.

Being contemplative is far from being ready for change. It often happens

that you will accept the need for change and then place it on the agenda for

the future – often a future that will never come. Once again, an

understanding of what the contemplation stage is and the acceptance that


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you are in it, is the precondition to your being able to move on to the third

stage. As the saying goes, never put off until tomorrow what you can do

today!

Preparation (Accepting That Change Is Needed Immediately)

Having accepted that the need for change is immediate, you are in the

preparation stage. Now you are looking beyond the problem to the options

before you. You are examining dieting, jogging and going to the gym as

options and weighing the pros and cons of each. However, since you have

not yet embarked on any course of action, it is still possible to revert to an

earlier stage. This is why making a public commitment to the change you are

going to undertake is important. It places you in a position where slipping

back is extremely difficult.

In this stage, you may already have started some background preparation for

change, like counting your calories to see where your food intake needs to

be modified. But again, this is not action – only initial planning for it. In this

stage, it is important to develop a detailed plan for change – one that will

guide you through the whole process. It‟s not enough to say you will

consume 500 less calories a day. How can you do that without a plan? You

must plan what you will eat, where it will come from, who will prepare it

and everything else involved with your diet. If you plan to visit the gym, you

must know which gym, what time of day, how often you will go there and

what exercises you will be doing to achieve the change you want. Suddenly

reducing your diet by half or running for 30 minutes a day with no long term

plan will never lead to the results you want. In my 52 week program you

will find help to plan all of these things.


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Action (Implementing Your Plans for Change)

This is when you implement your plans for change. This is where your

behavior changes. Now, you are actively following a diet or exercise regime

in pursuit of the change you want. This is the period of the change process

where you will have to devote the greatest amount of time and energy to

achieving the change. Because of this, your actions will be noticed by others

– say when you order just a salad for lunch or skip alcohol to avoid the

empty calories – and you will receive recognition for your efforts. This will

only serve to strengthen your resolve to change.

It is important, however, not to let the means become the end. Dieting or

exercising is not the change you want – losing weight is. Allowing the action

for change to become more important than the change itself, will mean that

you lose focus and become unsuccessful. Always remember in this stage that

you are progressing, but progress is not your aim. Results and change are.

Maintenance (Change Has Been Achieved, But You Need To Maintain)

What happens once you reach your desired weight? If you stop your dieting

or exercise, you will revert to where you were. The failure of all too many

weight loss programs! That‟s why you need to enter the maintenance stage.

The change has been achieved, and no more is required. You are at your

target weight. So now, you modify the actions you took to make the change

happen, making them now work for you as you try to retain your weight

loss. This is where other weight loss plans stop. Mine doesn‟t. In the 52

Week Coaching Program for Weight Loss, you will find tips, hints and

advice on how to retain your new figure and lifestyle well after your target


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has been achieved. Perhaps you change your diet or exercise routine. Or

drop the diet and stick to only exercise. Whatever you do, keep in mind that

this is something that you will have to continue with so that the effects of

change are not lost.

Unless you commit to this maintenance stage, the change will be lost and

you will revert to the precontemplative(first) stage, where you tell yourself

that your attempt to change was doomed to failure because of things beyond

your control. I learned this the hard way; as I mentioned earlier, one reason

why crash diets fail is because they do not address the issue of what to do

when the diet is over. Maintenance is like consolidation – the longer you

maintain your change, the more solidly entrenched in your life it becomes.

Termination

This is the final stage of change. Now you no longer have to lose weight –

that was the past. You are just slim. This is the new you and there is no

danger of putting the weight back on. Because you have spent time in the

maintenance phase, you know how to keep the weight off and your bad

habits at bay. Life has surely changed forever.

Please take note of these six stages of change and over the next weeks, see

how they play out. We‟ll refer to these often in your 52 week plan.


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Now it‟s time to start your 52 week weight loss program. As well as the

stages of change above, you‟ll see that the program is also split into three

phases. This is so you can monitor your progress:

Phase One: Weeks 1 – 14: This is where you‟ll learn the program and its

principles, taking small but crucial steps in the right direction. This is THE

most important stage of the plan. Before you can change your life, you need

to understand what got you into trouble in the first place. We‟ll do this in the

first 14 weeks.

Phase Two: Weeks 15- 28: Now that you have „reprogrammed‟ yourself

out of the bad habits discovered in Phase One, it‟s time to put the new you to

the test – we‟ll now be implementing advanced programs that will improve

your diet and get you moving. Because Phase One prepared you to accept

new programs and go with it, Phase Two will feel easy. This is a very

exciting phase; you won‟t believe how strong you truly are.

Phase Three: Weeks 29-52: Building on the lessons learnt in phases one

and two, Phase Three gives you time for reflection. Here you‟ll look back at

how far you‟ve come and look forward to maintaining your lifestyle change.

This is the time to look deep into your psyche and get rid of those barriers to

long-term change, to remove that self-sabotaging behavior that will

otherwise send you right back to the beginning. Using self administered

techniques, I‟ll show you how to truly make the new you last.

Excited? Me too! Next step, week one!


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Week 1: New You - Day One

Congratulations. You are starting week one of your change for life. For the

next 14 weeks, you will be in Stage One, learning the program and its

principles, understanding how they can influence all aspects of your life and

making small changes that will make it easier for you to adopt the bigger

ones later.

Let's start by getting the coaching part of our program off and running, so

that you can see what this is going to be like. We want to first discuss what

you're going to do, and how this is going to work. This program is about

looking at those things that keep you stuck where you are, and do not move

you forward. What do you want out of your life? What do you need to do to

get there? These are some things to think about in the coming weeks.

One of the challenges we will give you this month is to think about the old

habits that you have, that you want to break. What are the new habits that

you want to create? There are several ways that you can begin to change bad

habits and acquire new ones that we will be discussing this month.

But first, what's your motivation? If you have picked up this 52 Week

Coaching Program on Weight Loss then it is probably on your mind; you

want to do something different with your life. You already have the

motivation to do it because you've taken the first step. Pick up a pen and

write it down, commit it to paper. Write down your motivation. Already

starting to think of reasons why you shouldn‟t, can‟t or won‟t do this


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program? Remember, that‟s the precontemplation talking, stage one of the

Six Stages of Change. Don‟t let it win.

Make a start and write down your motivation. Good, now look at what you

have just written. Is it realistic, optimistic or downright impossible?

When some people decide they want to lose weight, they put too much

emphasis on the weight loss itself. If they do not lose what they want to lose

within a certain amount of time, they think they have failed.

Failure is only there if you did not try. Take it from Thomas Edison. We

have light bulbs because of him, but it took him thousands of failures before

he got his project to work. He is always quoted as saying something to the

tune of “I haven't failed. I just found 10,000 ways that it didn’t work.”

Edison obviously never saw failure as we perceive it today. Instead he saw it

as a way to get success.

It‟s all too easy to predict failure and never try as a result. Recognize your

inbuilt hesitation and make the choice to move past it.

Remember: Today is the start of a brand new day for you.


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Week 2: Motivation/Inspiration

If you have been a person who traditionally struggles with their weight, it is

time to stop struggling. You are not alone, but there is a different way to

look at the situation. Your weight is a part of your life, but it is not the only

part of it. So, take stock and make sure you inject some fun into your

everyday: likewise, combat any precontemplation jitters by looking for

inspiration in the greats.

Here are some things you can do to get started:

Go to the library and research books on something fun. If you have a

hobby or are looking for one this is a great time to find out more about

it.

Get a book about people who have triumphed over adversity. People

like Wilma Rudolph, Einstein, Thomas Edison and others had

something that made them different from the rest of the world, and

they overcame it to achieve.

Check out meditation tapes. This is so that you can research and

understand more about it.

Take everything back home and go through it. Decide what you like

and what you don't like.

Have a great dinner and remember that your weight is only part of

your life -- not all of it.


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Also during this week, find a reason to lose weight that has nothing to do

with what you think you should feel; forcing yourself to do something is no

fun and it can get annoying. Find a reason that works for you that will

motivate you to lose weight no matter what happens along the way.

Tip: Be inspired by what other people do -- take their inspiration and turn it

into something that works for you. As an example, Hilary Clinton has come

a long way in her political pursuits. She had to deal with her husband Bill's

digressions, the loss of the presidency and many things we don't know. She

never let anyone stop her from her pursuit. Now, she has the very big job of

Secretary of State. She understood it was her journey and no one else's. You

too must understand that this is your journey and yours alone. If you want

permanent change for good you will want to find your motivation from

within and carry it on through the 52 week program.

Remember: “Don't go through life, grow through life.” Eric Butterworth


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Week 3: Making Changes

Last week you found your motivation and you spent time in the library. Now

it's time to move forward. It's time to think about making permanent changes

for your life.

Change is best done in small steps. When you first think about managing

your weight take little measures. A common mistake is to try to change too

much too soon. You might want to start out by taking your measurements so

you will have a baseline of information to work from as you move towards

your goal weight.

Here are some little steps to start:

Start a journal. This doesn't have to talk about food but it can talk about your

journey to your ideal weight. Put lots of pictures and things that make you

laugh into it. Start it like a scrap book in a 3-ring binder. Put things that

make you happy in it so that you have something to go back and look at if

you are feeling a little down.

Here are some other things you can do:

When you get up in the morning take a big stretch. Stretching is part

of getting ready for exercise.

Walk around your back yard or garden.


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Go to the recreation center and see if they have any neat classes.

While you are there check out the swimming pool.

Add a piece of fruit to your lunch if you don't eat a lot of fruit. Add a

few veggies or a salad. Simple steps DO make a difference.

Search the Internet for information on nutrition. Also check out the

Glycemic Index, The Food Pyramid and the Guidelines on Exercise

from the HealthierUS.gov. These are all excellent sources for ideas.

You don't have to do any of this alone. You can get your family involved. In

fact, it‟s probably a good idea. Change isn‟t easily done in isolation; when

you change, your family will have to also change in ways that they can't

imagine now. Your kids will love it if you can find ways to play games with

them that turns walking into an adventure. Ask a friend, your spouse or your

significant other to walk with you for more fun and someone to talk with

along the way.

Janice started this program and bought an above ground pool for her

backyard. During the summer months she and the kids had a place to swim

all the time. When it got colder she went to the local recreation center and

the kids took part in swim classes while she attended adult swim. Everyone

had a great time and lots of things to talk about when they left the pool.

If your family doesn't jump at the chance to work with you right away don't

get discouraged. Discouragement doesn't have to be all your life; it only

happens for the moment. If Oprah Winfrey had let discouragement stop her

at any time in her life, she would not be where she is today. The more you


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move forward in your life, the more you will see change for good. This is

your opportunity to start that change this week.

Remember: "If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on

change, you will get results." Jack Dixon


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Week 4: Breaking Free of Bad Habits

Now that you are motivated and you are moving toward change, this week

we'll focus on breaking free of bad habits.

Everyone has them. You know those things that you do day after day that get

you nowhere. Things like not eating breakfast, having soda with every meal

(even if it is diet), eating chocolate when you feel a little down or biting your

nails. Whatever it is, your habits are what have gotten you where you are

now. This might be a time to take a look at your eating and drinking habits

to see where you might want to make changes. As painful as this can be,

remember that no one will see this but you.

Write them down in your journal. Watch yourself all week to identify those

little habits that cause problems – some you may not even be aware of.

Here are some habits you might think about when you are breaking free:

Not drinking enough liquid--drinking water or other low calorie liquids are

very important to weight loss. This is a little step you can make. If you don't

like the taste of water, try distilled. Add a little lemon or lime juice to make

it more refreshing and tasty. Try other low calorie and sugar free drinks.

Drink herbal teas --they are tasty hot or cold. Stay away from diet and other

sodas because they can make you gain weight.

Standing on the scale too often--many people become obsessed with the

scale only to find out that their weight fluctuates on a moment to moment


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basis. What most people don't think about is that a scale is just a machine

and it does not measure fat. It measures the full mass of whatever is on it.

Throw out your scale! If you want to know what is going on check the

change in the inches on your body instead.

Eating fast food - most people are busy and they don't have time to stop and

eat. Fast food is easy, somewhat tasty and always available. Fast food adds

sugar and chemicals to its food in order to make it tasty. This adds weight

and other things to your body that are not nutritionally good. Better to take

fruit or veggies or other healthy snacks with you instead.

If you want to change for good you have to be sure that you break free of the

habits that hold you back.

After all, you can't lose weight if you are constantly creating more of it. If

you want your life to change for good you have to be active in that change.

You have probably heard the saying the definition of crazy is doing the same

thing over and over and expecting a different result. This is why it‟s a good

idea to break free of bad habits, so you are moving your life forward instead

of spinning your wheels.

Many people say that it takes 30 days to change a habit. I've found that it

depends on the habit and how ingrained it is or how much you enjoy it.

Some of my habits took more than 30 days while others took less time. It all

depends on how much I liked the habit as to how long it took to overcome it.

You may find the same. The point is that if you want to see permanent

change in your life, you will want to remember these two key points:


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1. Don't listen to what anyone else says. This is your journey and yours

alone.

2. Your motivation comes from within, not from things outside your Self.

Concentrate on these two strategies as you move into week five.

Remember: "First we form habits, then they form us. Conquer your bad

habits or they will conquer you." - Rob Gilbert


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Week 5: Planning Your Weight Loss Plan

You are now a third of a way through Phase One of the program and by

now, you should be feeling pretty good. You are motivated and inspired, you

have glimpsed the new you and you are creating a space for yourself. You

have started at least looking at your bad habits and may have even started

changing some of them. Now, it's time to start planning.

When you decide to lose weight, at some point in time, you will need to plan

in order to get yourself psychologically ready for changing your habits. The

purpose of planning is to get everything ready so that you have a basic plan.

This is the phase where it is important to think about what you want to do

and how it will impact your life. Remember the Preparation Phase of change

mentioned at the beginning of the book – you are here now. Having accepted

that the need for change is immediate, it is important to develop a detailed

plan for change. Not least so you don‟t fall back into earlier phases of

indecision or reticence.

I‟ve found that nothing works out well for me if I don‟t plan in advance. It

could be something as simple as planning and preparing for the week.

Planning is like trying a new recipe. The first couple of times you will do it

exactly as the recipe says. Once you understand it, you will start to

experiment with adding a little of this, taking out a little of that and generally

finding out what makes it delicious for you. This is what you will do as you

plan your weight loss. It's all about clear thinking. Develop clear thinking so

that you will always know what you want. The more you plan, the more you


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will develop clear thinking and get a handle on exactly what you want.

When you do this in one area of your life it will happen in all other areas so

you can generate the opportunity for permanent change throughout all

aspects of your life.

Some things you might consider doing in planning include:

1. Decide if you want to keep a diary – Many weight loss programs have

advised keeping a food diary. I did start it, but got fed up of it pretty

soon. What worked better for me was keeping a general diary. It was

good fun as well. After a couple of months, I would look at it, and

reminisce about those days. Many people turn this into an eBook later

that talks about their weight loss journey. And that‟s exactly what

inspired me to write this program as well. I had put down my thoughts

and ideas as to what was working for me and what was not. And then

I started seeing things that were actually working for me.

2. Develop a plan of action -- decide what you will do, and when. This

plan can include the things that are necessary for you to make the

changes you want to make.

3. Research - Take some time to research about weight loss and the

different types of things you want to do. I say do some research,

because once you do, you get inspired reading people‟s success

stories. It‟s great motivation. Decide on which aspects will be most

effective for you.

4. Make a list of those people who you can count on to be supportive and

not judgmental. If you do not have people in your life like that,


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consider researching weight loss support groups. Check with your

doctor because hospitals sometimes have them run by nutritionists.

As you think about your weight loss, also put in some fun things to do when

you have achieved certain goal weights. This will keep you going as you

reach each level and it can be a fun way to set up a little competition with

yourself. Beware of your bad habits here however – if your traditional treat

is a slap-up calorie-laden meal out, you will want to think of other options.

Some fun ideas include:

Taking a dancing class just to see how you like it.

Finding an exercise that the family can do together each week.

Take the kids on a walk to the library or to a bike ride to the park.

Weight Watchers has a Family First program that is worth checking

out

Take a nutrition class with the entire family so they can understand

how to eat better

These are just a few of the fun things you can do with your family so that

everyone learns.

Remember: “Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can

do something about it now” – Alan Lakein

http://thinkexist.com/quotation/planning_is_bringing_the_future_into_the_present/194902.html




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Week 6: Let Inspiration Be Your Guide

In week two we talked about motivation and inspiration and in week six

we‟re going to talk about it more. Inspiration is what people do in order to

gain more in their own lives. Remember my earlier tip: Be inspired by what

other people do. Take their inspiration and turn it into something that works

for you. The best way to do this is to gather stories that inspire you from

other people that are similar to your own life.

Inspiration is a funny thing because it works differently for different people.

As an example, some people are inspired by quotes and others are inspired

by what people do. What creates inspiration for one person may not create

the same inspiration for someone else.

A good idea is to post inspiring quotes around your house where you can see

them, so they can keep you going when you are feeling less inspired to

continue the work. Another idea is to keep a 3-ring binder of success stores

you see in the news. They do not all have to be about weight loss but more

about what people have done to inspire their success.

Here are some to get you started:

Harriet Beecher Stowe Quote

When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems

as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that

is just the place and time that the tide will turn.


27

My Take: This is great quote to put on your bathroom mirror or in your

kitchen. Let it inspire you when you get to those plateaus of weight loss or

when you feel you just can't seem to do it the way you want. Remember:

nothing has happened when a person gives up…it always happens when they

stick to it and continue.

Benjamin Mays Quote

The tragedy in life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in

having no goal to reach.

My Take: Benjamin Mays was an educator and a Doctor of Philosophy. He

was the president of a college. His quote is particularly poignant because if

you are wandering around without goals you will never know when you

reach them. This is a great quote when you want to remember that gaining

weight didn't happen overnight, so losing it will be a process that takes time.

Calorie Counter Website Quote of the Day

You will reach your goal for sure if you break a complicated task into small

actionable steps. Do just one step at a time. To get started, choose something

you know you can do easily. That can get the ball rolling for getting more

done. These small steps will get you where you need to go.

My Take: This is a great quote and one to put all over your house, so that

you remember this as you go throughout your coaching program. This can

help you value what you are doing more.


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Having inspirational quotes can keep you moving towards your weight loss

goal. Gathering stories of successful people whether it is in weight loss or

other successful ventures will ensure that you have something to read and be

inspired by as you go through your days to your goal.

Have your kids help put the quotes up around the house. This can be

inspirational for the whole family and it might get them motivated to change

something they have been working on.

One more thing: inspiration is like our relationships: some will come and go

while others will last a lifetime. Take the things that inspire you and let go of

the things that hold you back.


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Week 7: Getting Into the Groove of Your Weight Loss

Plan

This is the half-way mark of Phase One of the program – you should feel as

if you are really learning what makes this program unique by now. So let‟s

have a quick recap of what you‟ve learnt so far:

Recap: By now you‟ve started to learn the principles behind the 52 week

program and hopefully you‟re really starting to see why it pays to take the

time to change your life forever. So far, you‟ve examined the six stages of

change and learnt to understand why you‟ve done what you‟ve done in the

past. You understand how easy it is to put things off, because you fear

failure, but you‟ve now moved past that. You understand your motivation;

hopefully by now you‟ve also found your inspiration and you‟ve started to

make a plan.

More concretely, you have already started to introduce little changes to your

diet and mindset – adding a piece of fruit to your lunch, involving the kids in

your plan, identifying those bad habits that will always get you in trouble -

that will make a big difference later on. You‟ve done a lot, haven‟t you?

And you‟ve done it all without needing to find a huge amount of will power.

Yes, I said it would be that easy! Now you‟re half way through Phase One,

so let‟s carry on. Onto week seven...

Now is the time to start getting into your weight loss plan. You've made

your list and you have begun to take little steps already. Now it is time to

really get into it. Remember that you are taking steps towards a stronger


30

healthier you. As you get into the grove, here are some suggestions to keep

you going:

1. Learn to breathe better -- Your body needs oxygen to your cells and

most people are shallow breathers. Take five minutes out of your day

to sit down and focus on your breathing. Your schedule is hectic, I

know, even taking off five minutes can be difficult. But try and find

time to do it. During this time focus on your breathing -- inhale

deeply, exhale slowly, and repeat. Do this several times. Use this

exercise to relax when you are stressed or just to get your body in the

habit of breathing more easily. Check how you feel afterwards by

making a mental note. It sure works wonders for me.

2. Take a walk -- use your neighborhood, your backyard or the walk in

front of your house to take a short 20 minute walk. Focus on walking

at a leisurely pace and on breathing easily. Notice how you feel

afterwards. Do this as many times as you want to. Whenever I feel

things getting out of hand and too much to handle, I just take off to

my backyard, and walk up and down. It helps me get a grip on things.

3. Talk to your friends about it -- If you have friends or family that are

supportive of your efforts, have a conversation about what you are

doing and how it makes you feel. Sometimes they can give you

inspiration about certain areas where you feel stuck or as if they are

not moving. Try and avoid people who are negative and have nothing

good to say.

4. Spend time alone -- sometimes it is a good idea to spend time alone.

Go to a movie by yourself, sit in the mall and people watch, go out to

the park and just take time to be with yourself and contemplate


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nothing at all. This is a great stress release. As a mother of three, I

count my blessings whenever I get some time out on my own.

5. Get a massage, get your nails done or both -- as you are going

throughout your weight loss program make sure that you take time to

give yourself a change in many ways. You are embarking on a

different type of lifestyle so putting in a way to relax is certainly part

of it. Pamper yourself! You‟ll feel good and motivated to change.

Handling my three kids leaves me hardly any time for myself. But I

make it a point to get a massage every two weeks, and leave my

husband in charge of the kids. I come back feeling totally relaxed and

ready to take on anything!


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Week 8: Changing Your Diet

In the old days, calorie counting and weighing food was the proper way to

go on a diet. Unfortunately this method didn't work well for me. I tried it for

some time and soon found myself getting frustrated with weighing and

counting everything that I ate. (I was never good at math anyway!)

Instead of counting calories, I found something that helped me change my

diet in easy ways.

Here are some hints to how to change what you currently eat:

1. Take a look at the food you currently have in your home. Is it

nutritious or full of chemicals and calories? If it is like most homes it

is the latter. When your house is full of chips, processed foods and

lots of sugar, you can take simple steps to change it.

2. Put more fruits into your diet. If you look at any nutritional program

you will find that fruit comes up as a better way to eat. Fruit gives you

energy and can fill you up. Some fresh fruits are sweet enough that

they take away the craving for sweets. Fruits also provide antioxidants

and other nutrients that your body needs. We encourage our kids to

eat fruits all the time, but do we do it ourselves? No.

3. Eat more veggies. Many people do not like eating veggies but you can

experiment because there are so many types around. Instead of trying

to put several veggies into your diet at once try for one or two a week.

As you get to know them you will find some that you like and others


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that you won't try again. Veggies give you the natural vitamins and

minerals that your body needs to function.

4. Include some nuts and seeds in your diet. Nuts and seeds are great

nutrition and they give your body some things it needs naturally. Nuts

are a great source of protein and they help keep your cholesterol under

control because you get polyunsaturated fats (the good fats).

Moreover, I‟ve discovered that nuts taste great in salads, and my kids

love it too. So, it makes me feel good, that I can extend my healthy

diet to my kids as well.

5. Drink water. Water is a source that your body needs and if you like

bottled water, buy distilled. Although many people think that distilled

water is not drinkable it is actually more palatable to some people.

However you get your water, drink plenty of it throughout the day to

stay hydrated.

Instead of trying to change your diet quickly, do it gradually. This will help

you see how your body responds to this change over time. It will also help

you identify new foods that you love. Ditch the processed foods as soon as

you can because they carry chemicals and are high in sugar content. I know,

I know, processed food seems the easy way out, especially after a hard day.

But it‟s the same as putting your money down the drain. There‟s simply no

good in eating processed food!

Also, if you can, try and get some whole foods and organic foods. They taste

better than the irradiated foods and they keep you full longer.


34

The great part of incorporating these changes is that you can include it for

your whole family. This change in your diet does not have to be restricted

just to you. At the same time, they are all easy, simple and useful things to

do.


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Week 9: Shopping for Nutritional Food

Ahh...this is exciting, I mean shopping! I love shopping. Over the course of

my weight loss program, I took a good look at what we were eating. And of

course a lot of the stuff were quick fixes. This was mainly due to the lack of

time, or so I told myself. But, I realized that we had to start eating good,

nutritious food. This would help my family as well.

Now, nutritional food can be found in many different locations, but you have

to look for it. The challenge with nutrition is that it means that you have to

cook it instead of buying it out of a box. Whole foods like meats, fish,

poultry and a little pork are better if they are organic. In most cases, you will

find that they are tastier and will stay with you longer to keep you from

getting hungry.

Vegetables and fruits that have not been irradiated taste like real food. These

are the type of foods that will help you in your weight loss program. Here

are tips for finding the best food:

1. Whenever you can, buy food that is fresh. Go to a green grocer if you

can or an organic food market to get fresh meats and vegetables.

Although this may be a little more expensive than the regular grocery

store, it is usually free of harmful chemicals and will taste better.

2. When you go to the regular grocery store look at the packaging before

you buy it. Some meats will have been radiated and these can be

detrimental to ingest. Check the sugar content on packaged meals and


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check out the amount of fat that they contain. Some names for added

sugars (caloric sweeteners) include sucrose, glucose, high fructose

corn syrup, corn syrup, maple syrup, and fructose. Look at the %

Daily Value (DV) column on the label where possible. The United

States Department of Agriculture cites a 5% daily fat value as low, 20

% as high.

3. Buy leafy vegetables and legumes. These will make sure that your

body gets the nutrition it needs. Also experiment with different types

of vegetables for your diet like brussel sprouts, asparagus, root

vegetables like carrots or rutabaga and others.

4. Try to buy whole foods versus packaged foods because they are more

nutritionally balanced.

A good way to make sure you buy nutritionally is to create menus for a week

at a time. I found this to be particularly helpful to me. This will also tell you

what to buy, and it will keep you from buying some of the less nutritious

foods.

Use the Internet, you can find a lot of shopping lists that you can use that

will help you to create more nutritious meals. If you‟re running out of ideas

where recipes are concerned you can find these on the Internet as well.


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Week 10: Change and Moving Out of Your Comfort

Zone

Change is difficult for many people, but it doesn't have to be something that

stops you. You didn‟t gain weight overnight and it will take some time to get

to your goal weight. Whether you have a little weight to lose or a lot it is

time to think about change. In this week it is time to look at your comfort

zone and step out of it. This has to be done before you are able to properly

step into the Action Phase of change and implement the plans you decided

on above.

Your comfort zone is the place where you feel comfortable. It is the weight

that you have been at for a very long time and it is all the things that you

have done or not done to get you to this place in your life.

You might be in a dead-end job, you may have found that you no longer like

your life circumstances or it could be that you looking for ways to simplify

your life. No matter what it is that you are seeing now, it is time to leave

your comfort zone and do more for your life.

I remember, I had my own comfort zone that I needed to breach. I am a firm

believer in sticking to a strict schedule, yet I was constantly telling my kids

how we had to be flexible with things. You see, my husband works on shifts,

and sometimes he‟s not always around when the whole family is together.

My comfort zone is naturally when my husband is with me, so we were

constantly putting off things until he returned. This was frustrating for the


38

kids at times. It also meant that it was almost impossible to arrange healthy

sit down meals for the five of us – it was just as likely to be a pizza or

something thrown together without much thought. I learned that I too needed

to change and step out of my comfort zone.

Here are some quick tips to move forward:

1. You don't have to change everything at once. Take small steps

towards change and it will show you how to take it further..

2. Pick small things first that you can change immediately. Small

changes will lead to larger changes later.

3. Decide what is most important to change. You don't have to change

every aspect of your life but you do need to know which aspects are

most important for you.

4. Look for change not just in weight loss but check to see if there are

other changes you want to make. This may be the time to at least start

thinking about other areas. Perhaps the two go together; if you are

unhappy or unfulfilled in one part of your life, it is very likely to spill

over into other areas as well. Perhaps it is directly contributing to a

habit you need to break – eating chocolate when you feel down, for

instance.

5. Create a plan as to how you will move forward.

6. Take one step at a time and change at least one thing a day or one

thing a week. This will give you momentum. You are getting ready to

enter the Action Phase of change.

Remember: “The key to change... is to let go of fear.” – Rosanne Cash

http://thinkexist.com/quotation/the-key-to-change-is-to-let-go-of-fear/391151.html


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Week 11: Starting Exercise

Now it's time to start exercise! Yes, be enthusiastic about it! You don't have

to worry about going out and exercising every single day to start with, but it

is most important to choose something that you like to do. If you can't think

of anything specific right now, try many things. Remember that it doesn‟t

matter what you do, just do something. This is your first real step into the

Action phase of change – you have made your plan in the Preparation Stage

beforehand, now you are putting it into action. You are starting to actively

follow a diet and exercise regime.

1. Start out by walking a bit. You can walk around your backyard if you

have one, down the block or out to the mall. The beauty of walking is

that you can walk just about anywhere just to do something. Walking

is long recognized as a healthy form of exercise, helping you to burn

calories without doing anything too strenuous. You may want to start

walking now and introduce further exercise later.

2. Change little habits like taking the stairs instead of the elevator when

you can. Walk to work if you live near it instead of driving. Get a

bicycle and ride your bike to work if you can. These are small things

that you‟ve probably heard before, but they do help.

3. As you start walking start exploring other activities that you might

enjoy. Check out the local YMCA or recreation center for programs.

Learn to play tennis, racquet ball, swim or take a fitness class in

something that seems like fun. These are short classes to get you

started. Find something that you enjoy.


40

4. Start moving up your fitness program and you might think about

adding weight training. As we women get older we need strength

training to make sure our muscles don't poop out on use.

5. Purchase a fitness ball with a videotape. These can be a great way to

start stretching and getting fit in a fun way at home.

6. Go to the public library either online or in person and check out their

fitness videos and DVDs. When you find a few you like buy them. It's

great to have a variety in your exercise program.

Think of exercise as an activity rather than as a chore. In fact, the U.S.

Department of Human Services has created Physical Activity Guidelines for

Americans that gives great ideas for activities for each age group. Check

them out!

http://www.health.gov/paguidelines/




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Week 12: Should You Count Calories Or Not?

Nearly at the end of Phase One! I hope you feel like you‟ve learnt a lot so far

– there‟s far more to come! By now you‟ve probably seen changes to your

body as the small daily changes you‟ve made start to hit home. Now the big

question – should you count your calories?

Counting calories is a matter of choice and some people have had a bad

experience with them. I personally don‟t like doing it. For some people

counting calories seems too much like dieting and they will not do it for

long.

When you ask the experts, there are all different kinds of ways to work with

carbs and calories, but the truth of the matter is that you do not have to

watch calories if you make sure that you eat a healthy diet.

Think about it this way: your body needs so many calories to keep it going

and it is true that your body will need to burn more calories than it takes in if

you want to lose weight. However, this is not a reason to stress. Instead of

worrying about counting calories make sure that you eat a healthier diet all

the way around. There are several ways to do this:

1. The Food Pyramid by the United States Department of Agriculture

gives a simple breakdown of the types of foods that you should

include in your diet every day. Study this guideline to make sure you

get your daily nutrition.

http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=4&tax_level=2&tax_subject=256&topic_id=1348


42

2. The Glycemic Index gives another good breakdown of foods that you

can eat according to a specific breakdown. This ranks carbohydrates

according to how quickly they release energy within the body. Here

you can see what carbohydrates to eat with a low GI (which means

they release energy within your body for longer). This can help weight

loss by controlling appetite and delaying hunger.

3. The Former Fat Guy gives a breakdown in his free eBook about what

to include in your diet to get rid of the excess weight and keep it off

(this is great information!)

The point is that if you start eating healthily and ridding yourself of bad

habits, you can be sure that you will lose weight without driving yourself

crazy by counting calories.

http://www.glycemicindex.com/

http://www.formerfatguy.com/


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Week 13: Massage

Over the next few weeks, you need to take care of YOU. I always find a way

to pamper myself and I am passing on my idea. All work and no play, makes

your life really dull. So, I spice it up by pampering myself. I get my nails

done, my hair done in one of the expensive salons, and I go soak in mineral

springs. All are geared towards making me feel great.

Massage! You haven't lived until you have had one. This is one of the best

ways to pamper yourself on the planet, and by week 13 it‟s time to take

yourself out for a day of pampering. Most big cities have day spas and you

can get a package that includes massage, facials, getting your nails done and

more. Spend the money. You're worth it. My rule is: take the kids to

grandmas once a month and take yourself for a full day of pampering.

Sometimes, it‟s difficult being a mom and having a family to look after, and

I find that people do not appreciate me as much if I don‟t appreciate myself.

When I am fully in appreciating mode, other people appreciate me more.

Weird I know, but that's what I see happening again and again. When I feel

underappreciated, upset about something or just kind of dull, I pamper

myself with a trip to the spa. People say you should take care of your Self

first -- they even tell you when you are on an airplane and something

happens to put the mask over your face first and then over your kid's face.

There is a reason for that -- you can't take care of them unless you take care

of you first. So, that's the deal with taking care of yourself with a day of


44

pampering. If you take care of you, you can take care of others better. Trust

me on this!


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Week 14: Stretching

Wow! At the end of Phase One already! Doesn‟t time fly? You‟ve used the

first 14 weeks of the plan to get used to the program, to understand the key

principles behind it and to get yourself ready for more intense change. So

far, I haven‟t asked you to do too much – you shouldn‟t be starving,

desperate or unhappy. (All signs of bad diets in my book!). Instead, you

should be living your life to the full, just without all those bad habits that it

was all too easy to fall into. Phase Two is where it really gets going - get

ready to love the action phase of the program. But first, something more

sedate… stretching.

Ahhhh. There is nothing like a big, long, stretch. I do it first thing in the

morning before I get out of bed. This is how I begin my day. As I stretch, I

begin my deep breathing. I hope you are stretching before doing any

exercise because it loosens up the muscles and allows your body to

understand that it is about to do a lot more movement. It is a good idea to

stretch before going out for a walk or any other activity. I love to stretch my

body as far as I can. I will stand and stretch my arms and hands up to the

ceiling. I love to stand on my toes to get the fullest stretch. I stretch my legs

in a straddle and then do bends: arms out, bend down, bend up -- like a ballet

dancer. Stretching is important and it gets me relaxed and ready for my day.

Your task this week: Try stretching…see how it works for you.


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Week 15: Incorporate Cardio

Welcome to Phase Two of the 52 Week Coaching Plan for Weight Loss.

You should be feeling proud of yourself right now; you‟ve come far. Now

we up the game as you truly enter the Action phase of change. But don‟t

worry, you‟ll find it just as easy and as fun as the first 14 weeks. Task for

week 15 – incorporate Cardio.

I know what you're thinking. Cardio seems like a pain, but it can be a lot of

fun. Most people go to a gym and get on a stair climber or treadmill or they

get one of these torture devices at home. You can do that, but there is an

easier way. What I learned when I got to this part was to do the things I love

to do, and it works just as well as walking on a treadmill.

I choose different things that are fun: Jazzercise, water aerobics, tennis,

swimming for fun. All of these things get my cardio up in no time and I

enjoy doing them. I love music so jazzercise and water aerobics worked well

for those.

I just learned how to play tennis so I am never going to be a pro but I have a

few people from my class that I go out and play with sometimes. These are

all great workouts for me. I don't worry about what people say about how

you must do so much blah, blah, blah. I just found out what worked for me

and I continue to do those things. Everyone is different so I encourage you to

move forward and embrace your life.


47

Do the things that make sense to you for cardio and leave it at that. You'll

definitely have more fun.


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Week 16: Get Workout DVDs and Get Inspired

When I first started thinking about cardio and about working out, I did not

want to go to a gym. I was happier at home, thank you very much, and I

didn't want to be a part of those spandex queens turned fitness freaks. Okay,

so I know that not everyone is like that, but I can tell you it wasn't what I

wanted. Instead, I decided to workout at home. I don‟t know about you, but I

don't like to spend a lot of money on things until I know they are going to

work so I am the queen of free trials. I found that going to the library was a

great way to find good workout DVDs and videos. I go online first with my

library card and browse through what they have to offer then pick them up at

a local branch.

I also go to Amazon and find ones I like, and then see if I can get them in the

library. I get a bunch of them, take them home and try them out (our library

gives you three weeks on these items) and then buy the ones I like. This

way, I get a variety of workout videos and I don't have to worry about

getting bored (which I do easily). I like to concentrate on certain areas. As

an example, I took out several stretching videos to find the ones I liked.

Then, I took out several cardio ones. I also have them for using the fitness

ball and the fitness resistance bands. I pick the ones that work for me

because I love mixing up my routines! So, my challenge to you this week:

Go to the library, get a library card (if you don't have one already) and

browse for fitness videos. Take a few home, and see which ones you like.


49

Just take a couple at a time and soon you will be working out at home as if

you've been doing it forever.


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Week 17: Do Something Totally Different

As women, we have the opportunity to decide what we want and when we

want it. This week I challenge you to find a different way to do something.

Make it a positive step towards one of your goals. It can be anything that

will be fun and it doesn‟t have to be big either. I sometimes go to a card

shop or a grocery store and pick up several cards that play music. They are a

lot of fun, they are silly and they give you a great laugh. They also take you

back into memory lane with some fun tunes.

You can take a trip to the grocery store going a different route or you can

sing in the shower if you have never done that before. These are just things

to change your focus a bit and make you feel good. Life is about feeling

good and it should be about doing those things you love. Doing something

totally different will generate new creative ideas. You never know what will

come up! Whatever comes up, no matter how crazy, go do it! I have found

all kinds of interesting things to do when I am in my do something totally

different mode.


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Month 5: Gaining Momentum

You‟re in month five already, do you realize that? Easy to forget when

you‟re counting in weeks. I call this whole month „Gaining Momentum‟

because it was in this month that I realized I had come a long way. I looked

back over everything I had done to achieve my weight loss thus far and

decided what I wanted to do next. It was also in this month that I realized

that weight loss is not only physical, but mental, emotional and spiritual too.

In the old days (according to my mom) they used to say that people did not

lose weight if they still had fat between their ears. What they meant was that

if you are still thinking like you are a fat person, you can't embrace the new

you. I thought about these things and made my moves forward. This is the

point in my program that I want you to think about how you can modify,

diversify and make everything in this program work for you. Don't be afraid

to experiment with your own ideas in addition to what you learn here.

Quick recap: Look back again at the six stages of change to see how far

you‟ve come. You‟re past precontemplation, well through contemplation.

You‟ve made plans in the preparation phase (although this can be revisited

often) and you‟re well into action now. Four of the six stages of change.

Action, of course, accounts for the biggest period of change so far.


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Week 18: Should You Create a Plan for Weekly

Exercise?

I don‟t always like to exercise so I decided to do something different: I make

it an adventure. I look for interesting ways to do things that will involve

some type of physical activity. Okay, you already know that I do Jazzercise

and other regulated activities, but I also look for ways to improve on things I

already do that have some movement in them. As an example, I might walk

briskly through the grocery store before I make my purchases. You should

see the reaction of the people in the stores!

I also play a lot with my kids. They are always creating fantasy adventures

of which mom is a part. We spend a lot of time running around our backyard

chasing each other for no good reason. They love running and I get my

exercise. I do not plan for the weekly exercise except for a tennis date or a

day I want to go swimming.

So I say to you -- don't worry about planning it weekly…just get out there

and have fun. By doing it this way you won't beat yourself up if you miss a

day.


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Week 19: Be Present-Now!

You‟re almost a third of your way through Phase Two!

You know how your mind goes all over the place a lot of the time? This

used to bother me because I thought it was a bad thing that couldn‟t be fixed.

Every time I wanted to move forward I lost focus with these negative

thoughts. Then a friend of mine taught me to hold my focus. She had been

studying different religions and had learnt the art of keeping her focus on the

things she wants. So, I decided to try it. Instead of being caught up with

what wasn't working, I shifted my focus to what I was doing in the moment.

I become the observer of the world around me and realized that things

weren't as tough as I thought.

I check in with my physical body to see what it needs and I make sure that I

eat when I need to do so. I also check in with my thoughts to see why my

mind has gone too negative, and I correct it with something positive. I don't

want you to think that I do this perfectly because I don't, but I find that when

I can do it I benefit in wonderfully positive ways.

So, my challenge for you this week is to take a few minutes out of your day

to stop and focus on your present moment. See what happens.


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Week 20: Eating So That You Don't Starve

Whenever I started a diet in the past I was afraid that I would starve. I love

food as I told you, but I knew that I had to change some of my eating habits.

When you have kids, your major food groups are found in McDonald's,

whether it is healthy eating or not. When you find out that you can eat even

better with just a few changes it can literally change your life. I decided to

eat healthier and I began to explore. I was not someone who ate a lot of

veggies or fruit so I started doing so.

I eat an enormous (at least for me) amount of veggies and fruits now. I

snack on the stuff. I have learned to eat all different types of veggies by

introducing a different one into my diet each week. I have found that brussel

sprouts and broccoli don't taste too bad if they are steamed. I now love

asparagus and artichokes. I also have found that you can roast roots like

Rutabaga, carrots, parsnips and sweet potatoes to make a wonderfully

tasteful dish; add a little olive oil in the pan before you roast. Experiment: if

you hate the thought of eating more vegetables (and a lot of people have

negative connotations after being forced to eat them as a child), find unusual

or different ways to serve them up. Same for fruit. Fruit is seasonal for fresh

fruit but I love organic frozen fruit. I like to make smoothies from them or

eat them with a little low fat ice cream or topping.

Eating more veggies and fruits decreased my need for a lot of meat. I have

added poultry and fish (which I never liked) to my diet and I lost my weight

and am keeping it off by following these habits I created. This week, my


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challenge for you is to find one vegetable and one fruit that you haven't tried

before, and try them. Add a little more each week. You'll soon find that the

fast food doesn't taste as good as real food, like I did. Try them steamed,

sautéed, roasted and boiled. See which way you like them best.


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Week 21: Walking With Purpose

At week 21, you are now half way through Phase Two of the program and

well into the action stage of your change. Here I will continue to give you

tips to help you make the most of your new lifestyle. Week 21 – Walking

with purpose.

Walking is something we do every day and some people walk for exercise. I

walk because it is necessary, but I walk with purpose. Try this the next time

you go out for a walk whether it is for shopping or just because you want a

walk: hold your head up, put your shoulders back, and swing your arms

naturally. Walk assertively and put a smile on your face. Put a little attitude

in it. Do it for the heck of it and see what happens for you. When I started

walking with purpose I found I had more confidence. Now I walk with

purpose when I feel down or anxious and anytime I just want to feel full of

myself. As well as the health benefits of regular exercise, it is a great ego

booster because of the looks you get from other people! Have fun!


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Month 6: Tools to Keep You Going

You've learned a lot in these first six months about yourself and about your

needs. Now it's time to look at tools that you can use to enhance what you're

doing. I will share with you what I use and how it works for me. This is the

month to experiment and take your weight loss program to a higher level. If

you haven‟t already, you should realize that weight loss is about your

psyche, as much as your body. Here we look at how to hone your self-

esteem and really get that psyche in shape.


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Week 22: Pay Attention to Your Words

After I learned how to focus on the now moment, I started hearing the words

that I said to myself. I was shocked at how quickly negative thoughts were

available to me and how self-defeating they sounded. I was saying things

like, "That was dumb." Or "Why am I so stupid?" I realized this was not as

productive as I wanted to be, and that this was an old habit.

I had heard a lot about power words and phrases and I realized it‟s just a

matter of changing how you think about yourself. You see, we all have a

negative look at ourselves because this is how we are born and brought up.

We spend a lot of time thinking we aren't worthy and we say things to

ourselves consciously and unconsciously that tear down our self-esteem. I

was doing that, so I started changing the phrases I used. As an example,

instead of "That was dumb" I say, "Boy, that was a unique way of doing

that!" I replaced "Why am I so stupid?" with “I bet no one else does that the

way I do it!" These words were more empowering to me.

After a month I was beginning to automatically talk better to myself. I have

a new confidence and I started looking for more change in my life. My

challenge to you this week - Change one negative phrase you use each day.

Listen for it in your everyday conversation (particularly when you start to

speak to yourself!). There‟s bound to be at least one negative phrase you tell

yourself often without realizing. Turn it around, make it positive and use

your new phrase every time instead.


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Week 23: Take the Guess Work Out of Your Heart

Rate

I have to tell you that I hated having to stop and take my heart rate to make

sure it was at a certain level as I did exercise. I thought that was a pretty

dumb thing to do. But all the fitness books and fitness trainers say that you

have to be in the zone while you exercise to burn your fat. Well, I do believe

this but I hated having to stop, put my fingers at my neck and take my pulse.

I just stopped doing it because it was confusing and I wasn't in the mood. I

never was sure whether it was accurate and sometimes I couldn‟t find my

pulse! I knew there had to be a better way and I finally found it: A heart rate

monitor. This is really a great gadget. It looks like a watch and you wear it

on your wrist. It keeps track of your heart rate for you and all you have to do

is push a button to see where you are at any time. This is way more effective

for me and I can stay in the zone a lot easier. I recommend that you buy one

and try it out the next time you do your cardio.


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Week 24: Private Sweat with Resistance Bands

Okay, so the title is weird, but this is my introduction to resistance bands and

strength training. As you know, I don‟t like to go out to a gym so I used

several pieces of equipment at home. I have one of those large fitness balls

but sometimes I get bored with it and want something different. This is

where resistance bands come in because I can do a full strength training

workout at home. The resistance bands come in different weights like

barbells and they are easy to use. I can tie one end to a door knob and get

plenty of resistance. I can also use them to stretch and I can take them

anywhere and use them. I started with a few bands and a DVD to show me

how to use them. The experts say that you can get as good a strength training

with them as you could with a machine. I like that idea! So, I recommend

these highly this month as a way to get a general strength training workout.

You can probably find a video at the library for these because I did.


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Week 25: Clothing Styles

Let's face it girls -- we don't all look good in spandex. I know I don't and I

don't want to spend the money on special workout clothes just to go to a

gym and sweat. Since I don't go to the gym anyway, I don't think this is

necessary no matter what people say. Instead, I love a pair of sweat pants

and a loose men's tee shirt. I just want to be comfortable and I want my body

to be able to breathe. I suggest finding something that is comfortable to work

out in, so you have the most fun. When you're feeling comfortable you aren't

worried about what people will think. You just are out there to make

yourself feel better. My suggestion to you is to find a comfortable clothing

style that works for you, and that makes you feel good about yourself. For

me it's sweatpants and a tee shirt -- for you it could be something else.

Halfway there!

Give yourself a round of applause. You have just passed the halfway point in

your program and made several changes to your life. These changes are just

the beginning, so this month we're going to look at change on a deeper level.

This month we are going to start exploring the stages of change that we‟ve

already talked about in more detail, looking at how you can move through

these changes easily. For now, continue all the things you have been doing

while you think about these stages of change. Let's get started.


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Week 26: Change Is Natural

When I think of change I think about the old George Benson song,

Everything Must Change. In it, he talks about the fact that everything and

everyone must change. He points out that the new becomes the old, winter

turns to spring and you have to go with it because that is how life works.

This is a great song for those of us who are going through change. It's like

the metamorphosis that insects go through, or the cocoon that releases the

butterfly. All of these things are aspects of change. The difference between

us and them is that they accept change as a natural part of their life cycle.

As humans, it's difficult for us because we get into a comfort zone. We‟ve

already talked about this briefly. I had to come to terms with change as a

natural part of life. I looked at the various things I had changed before I

started and some were as simple as changing from renting a house to owning

one. Others were changing from one eye shadow color to another. I realized

that change was about preference and choice. No matter what you do in life

you have choices. Even if change seems forced upon you – a job loss, for

instance, or the unwilling partner in a divorce – you can determine how you

react to it. You can make choices. One choice takes you to one place, another

to a different place. When I realized this, I started making my choices more

consciously. I realized also that if I wanted permanent change I had to

understand how change worked.

My challenge to you this week: Reflect on the changes you've made in your

life thus far. Don't just look at the weight loss changes, but all the things that


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have brought you to where you are now. Check out a book or an audio book

from the library about change to do a little research. You'll be surprised at

what you find.


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Week 27: The Stages of Change

I‟ve already mentioned that we all go through stages of change depending on

what we do. Some stages can seem longer than others especially if we are

going through a major change. Some people have made labels for these

changes that didn't work for me. I realized that you actually start changing

before you take the action to change. In week 28 we will begin to look at

change and how it affects us on a deeper level. I know that change is

difficult for just about everyone but it is the courage to make the changes

that sticks with us and moves us forward. Change can be scary and it can be

outrageous; sometimes we just have to close our eyes, hang on, and take the

step forward.


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Week 28: Stage 1: Thinking About Change

Okay you know we are all guilty of this: we spend a lot of time thinking

about change before we actually do it. We think about how we want to

change our lives, but we don't take any action to do anything about it.

Suddenly one day we are ready to move forward. I don't know what takes us

so long, but I think everyone just has their own rhythm. I know I have mine,

and I used to take my time about change; now it is second nature. In this first

stage I was really tired of people telling me that I should change. My doctor

would tell me I had to lower my cholesterol. My family would tell me You

should lose weight because you have such a pretty face, as though I didn't

have a pretty fat face. Never understood what that was about. I was thinking

about this, but I was looking for a reason to make the change that I could

totally own myself. What I found at this stage was unlimited possibilities

and I began to look around for more.

Think about your own examples of this. You should have already have given

it some thought earlier. Now think about all the things that held you back

specifically. Was it simply fear of failure, as is common in the preconception

stage, or was it something more? Write a list of all those things that made

you worry or fear change. This is a useful list to keep nearby for whenever

you want to change something else about your life; chances are, the same

fears may still apply. Once you recognize that, you will already know that

you can overcome them – you‟ve done it here, haven‟t you?


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Week 29: Stage 2: Preparing For Change But Feeling

Stuck

This stage was difficult for me because I understood that I wanted to change,

but I wasn't sure how to do it. The Contemplation Stage. I felt stuck in my

own life, but not sure what to do to move forward. I wasn‟t quite ready to

take action because I was afraid I would fail. The first change I made during

this stage was to stop allowing negative friends to influence me. I stopped

talking to them and now I only talk to people who are positive (at least most

of the time). This may sound drastic, but it is an important lesson to learn. If

friends do not have your best interests at heart, then why are they your

friends in the first place? You can do better.

I also continued my research on change so that I could be sure that it was

something I wanted. I know it sounds crazy to take so long but many people

feel stuck most of their lives. It is difficult to look at yourself and realize that

you have kept things inside a comfort zone that is now crumbling. I looked

at the commitment it would take for me to change and it seemed

overwhelming, what with the demands of family on top, but I decided to

make the change anyway. I began to listen with new ears and see with new

eyes. This was the greatest help to my self-esteem.

Add to your list from last week. If you haven‟t already, list the negative

people that you currently surround yourself with, whether friends or foe.

Have a long, hard think about these people – can their behavior be turned


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around? If it can‟t, do something positive and cut down their influence on

your life.


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Week 30: Stage 3: Getting Ready to Take Action

The Preparation Stage. Hey, I'm only human and humans take a very long

time to make a life change. I was getting ready for change because I knew it

was going to be big. This change was going to influence every aspect of my

life. What would my husband say? Would he look at me differently? Of

course he would. If I lost weight he would probably lust after me again and I

would have to deal with those feelings. What about my kids? As I was able

to do more with the kids would they love it or hate it? Would my friends

begin to ask me out to do things with them again? These were issues I had to

think about and deal with while I was getting ready to take action. I could

feel that my life would depend on these changes and if I were going to do

them I would need support. My husband and kids were always supportive,

but I called a couple of friends about therapists just in case I needed a little

extra help. The power of being present would have helped a lot during this

stage. I'm just happy that I finally figured it out.

Spend some time really thinking about what you have finally figured out

too; this program should have taught you a lot.


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Week 31: Stage 4: Taking Action

I was finally at a point where I had to do something so I started my first

exploration into fitness. I looked at gyms, I studied different activities and I

chose some. I looked at lots of information on nutrition and what made

sense. I devised a plan for the first few months and I took baby steps. I did

exactly what I have told you about in this program. I had to get clearance

from my doctor to do some of the programs (they didn't want me falling out

or dropping dead!) but I got through it. This was my way to get started and I

haven't looked back.

Your challenge for this month: Look at these stages and see where you are in

the process now. If you are stuck in one of these stages, resolve to take

action on the next stage as soon as possible.

Making Better Choices as the Holidays Are Coming

Oh, I should have mentioned. You are now well into Phase Three of the

plan, the final stage, weeks 29 to 52. Kind of sneaks up on you, doesn‟t it?

Here you will continue some of the actions you have already started, add

others and slowly move towards the final two stages of change –

maintenance and termination. But first…


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Week 32: Have A Holiday Adventure Instead Of

Drudgery

The holidays always get everybody excited because it is a time when

families come together and eat. We eat more per capita than any other

country on our holidays. I found that I had to create an adventure for my Self

and ignore what my family and friends were saying about what I should do.

My immediate family understood that I was going through a lifestyle

change, but my parents and friends -- well that's another story. I guess we're

like any other family…when you're moving through change there is always

someone who wants to stop you even though they are well meaning. The

holidays don't have to be a problem if you remember to take care of

yourself. This month we are going to talk about what you can do to eat

through the holidays without getting the blues.

At first I thought the holidays were going to be the worst time for me

because I couldn't eat anything. You know, I worried and fretted about this a

good couple of months. I realized I was mostly afraid of being laughed at, or

ignored because I had changed my eating habits. I came upon an idea to turn

it into an adventure instead of drudgery and it works very well. Instead of

taking large portions, I get a small saucer and I take a little bit of this and a

little bit of that. I taste everything I want to taste. I am fully conscious of

what I am eating so I start by smelling the aroma, and then by taking a little

taste and savoring it, I eat the rest of the portion. It may sound silly, but it

works very well. I eat what I want, when I want and by savoring the food I

get the full experience.


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Your challenge this week: Take a small portion of any food that you really

love. Smell it, bite into it, savor it. Roll it around in your mouth and take

your time swallowing. This method of food tasting is almost as good as an

orgasm!


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Week 33: Eating At Family Gatherings Without

Blowing Your Food Plan

Families can be worse than friends when you make a change in your eating

habits. They want everyone to get lots of food, and when you take a small

plate they sometimes get upset with you. They think a small plate means you

are being polite instead of enjoying the food. My rule: Tell them ahead of

time. Tell them that you are not going to eat a lot and that you are going to

bring some of your own food. That's what I do. At first they wanted to

challenge me on it, but I held my ground. Now they just accept that I am

going to bring my own snack packs of food and eat a little of what they

offer. At family gatherings I use my small saucer and taste idea. It really

works for any occasion. In my snack pack I take fruit, nuts, raw veggies so

when everyone else is eating, I eat. Instead of cookies I might take a quarter

of one and then add my fruit to it. I've learned to eat the way I want to and

ignore what other people think. It‟s a very useful skill to learn.

Your task for this week: Talk to your family about the changes you are

making but be careful to do it in an assertive but not aggressive way. If you

are wimpy about it they will try to push you. If you come from a place of

power (using your now moment strategy) they will understand. Telling them

ahead of time really works!


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Week 34: Moving Through The Holidays With Ease

Remember to breathe. Holidays can be difficult because you have lots of

parties to go to and lots of food. Now is the time to spend with your family.

This does not mean you have to eat or buy lots of presents, but it is a time to

talk with them and reconnect. Your immediate family comes first because

you want them to understand they are loved. For the rest of the family it may

be a good time to mend fences if they need mending. The point is to spend

the time with family that makes sense to you.

As you move through the holidays your next step will be to look towards the

New Year. By now you're feeling and looking better than you have in years

so it's time to look for more. I used this time to create the look I wanted in

my body. I had lost a significant amount of weight by this time, and now I

wanted to sculpt something different. It wasn't about getting into that fitness

geek stage but I wanted to have a shapelier figure. I also decided I wanted to

try other activities so I learned racquet ball, ice skating and tried to learn

how to ski -- that one just didn't work out. Uhhhh….I upgraded my exercise

and thought about going back to school.

During this week it's time to decide what you want to do next for your life.

Do you want to go back to school? Climb a mountain? Entertain the

President? What is interesting and fun to you? This is the week to explore

those areas that you will put into action in the next few weeks.


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Week 35: Making New Year's Resolutions That Work

I don't know about you, but every time I make New Year's Resolutions I

ignore them about three months into the New Year. If that! I either don't

make time for them or I lose interest. I realized that the problem with

resolutions is that they are always out of my reach. This was an eye opener. I

was always making resolutions about things that were not really that

important to me that other people thought everyone should do or that were

the usual and customary things that people suggest. Well, I said, no more. I

do not make resolutions like that anymore. Instead, I make a commitment to

my Self for the New Year. I resolved to be a better person (but how can you

improve on perfection!), to help others and to be open to new experiences. I

find that these resolutions resonate with me and they are easier to keep.

I think resolutions are about learning not to play games with your Self, and

embracing life to the fullest. The only way you embrace life is to be active

within it. Being active in your life goes back to the Now moment. You can

be involved with nature around you, with volunteering for a cause that

makes sense to you or with your family in new ways. We get so busy with

our lives that we forget to stop and smell the flowers. All of these things

help generate a better life and your weight loss will help you do all of these

things.

Your challenge this month - Think about two or three things that you can

resolve for your Self for the New Year. Make them things that you can

commit to over time that are not pressure sensitive. In other words, they are


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things you can do year after year, without worry. I'll be interested to see

what you decide.


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Week 36: Changing Problem Behaviors to Healthy

Ones

You've made it through many positive changes and now you must keep

going. Your success will depend on how much of a commitment you've

made to your Self and how open you are to looking a little deeper inside

yourself. For me this was one of the most difficult months because I literally

saw the person I was leaving behind and the person I was becoming--

showing me what my life could be like if I embraced my new life. Talk

about weird! I knew I had to push for more change if I was going to have

permanent change.

How could I do this on my own? Would I have to go to therapy? What

would that look like? I started with a self-evaluation. A self-evaluation is

just taking a look at your life and looking at what you want it to look like in

the future. For me it was a full and loving life. My life would be full of

opportunity, it would be open to possibilities and I would be very active. By

doing this self-evaluation I was able to make a stronger commitment to my

own change. I made a list of all the benefits I would get from change and

kept it by my computer so I could add to the list when I found another

benefit.

This stage encourages you to stop the behavior that holds you back and

embrace those behaviors that move you forward. For me, this meant

stopping old behaviors but also getting rid of old beliefs about myself and

my situation. I started looking at my old behaviors as opportunities to find


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something new. They allowed me to put more benefits on my list and to see

how much I had accomplished.

The bottom line for this stage is to make the commitment to your Self for

change in such a way that you won't turn back no matter what. Change

within yourself has to become a priority and it has to start with small steps.

It means that you:

1) Believe in your full ability to change and

2) You embrace the change for your life.

This also means you develop a faith in yourself and it will surely bring out

your confidence that your life will be better because of the change. This is

how I began to move forward and followed my life to where I am now.

This week, it‟s time to make even more change as it relates to any problems

you might have left. Don‟t get me wrong, you'll always have problems, but

how you perceive them will determine how they affect you. I have a couple

of friends who believe in eastern religions and they have taught me many

things. I could not have done this stage without them because they helped

me find answers.

I changed my behaviors by just doing something different. At first, if I felt

like I was resisting change, I did something different. I went to a movie,

went for a walk at the Mall (and people watched) or sat down and wrote this

program. I consciously changed my focus so I could get into the creative

zone where answers happen. This also helped me put my program into

perspective. I learned not to dwell on problems but to see them as


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opportunities to do more of my own internal work. The challenge for you for

this week -- when you sense resistance, do something different. Go for a

walk, sit and relax for a few hours or go to a movie. Stop the stress where it

lives so that you can allow the creative process that will resolve the

challenge to come to you quickly and easily.


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Week 37: Techniques to Move Past Stress

Stress is scary to me! Especially, since it can do so much damage to the

body over time. I have read so much about it that I work very hard to stay

out of it. I realized that staying in the moment was the only way to totally

alleviate stress, though it is not something that I can do all the time -- yet. A

lot of the time in the old days, I would be stressed out and not know it. I

would be feeling anxious, depressed, my brain would seem to fall out at

times and I found out this was all due to stress. Keeping the kids going and

my husband happy were also somewhat stressful because I didn‟t have time

for myself.

When I began to change I found the kids and my husband more supportive

than I thought they would be -- my husband even cooks sometimes!

Relieving stress is very important and here are some ways that I use. I use a

lot of laughter - just laughing from a little giggle, to a big guffaw. I start out

with a smile, then a giggle and then the full laugh. Try it right now while

you are reading this (even if people are around and they think you're weird!)

Another technique I use is to stop whatever I am doing and come back to the

present moment.

I can tell you that the present moment is all that is important right now and

it's all that you need to think about so getting back to it should be a priority.

If I am worried or stressed it means I'm in the past or the future and neither

of these can help me NOW. Once I have come back to the Now moment I


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think of a different way to approach whatever my thinking was at the time. I

take a few deep breathes to relax my body and mind.

The next thing I have for you is to find a place to play. There are video

arcades and other family places with lots of games and fun. Find one of

these near you and go once in awhile. There is one where I am and I have

learned to play video games and I'm pretty good with Skeeball. I can get

lunch at my play palace and play games as long as I want.

Your challenge this week is to find one in your area and start to play. Also,

laugh as much as you can.


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Week 38: What To Do When You Go Back To Your

Old Ways

Sometimes change happens so fast that we can go back to our old ways

because they hold comfort for us. I used to have that happen in the old days

when I would get scared or stressed. I would pull back into what was once

comfortable. The funny thing is that after a couple of times of doing that, the

experience didn't feel the same. When this happens to you, understand that it

is a natural thing that happens and don't sweat it. Just move on by it because

it is a normal occurrence. Remember you are making permanent change so it

will be up and down sometimes. Forget the guilt, forget the stress; allow a

short time in the comfort zone and move on.


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Week 39: What To Do If You Need More Help

We all get to a place sometimes when we find ourselves needing more help.

I found myself needing to get unstuck in a particular area. I talked to a friend

about it and she gave me the name of her therapist. This was a kick butt kind

of therapist who helped me get unstuck within a few sessions. I also have a

strong network of supportive friends to help me when things get crazy. If

you think you want some help, get it. Don‟t be afraid of therapy because it

doesn‟t mean you're crazy. Ask your good friends because they will know

who is good and who is not.

You don't have to spend a lot of money and you don't have to spend years

doing it. Go in, get unstuck and leave after you're done. One of the best

therapies you can use is Cognitive Behavior Therapy. This is what I used

and it helped me change my thinking on a lot of levels.

This month we have looked at change on a deeper level. Now we move onto

another area that is often forgotten: Organization.

Organize Your Life For More Change

Another step in your forward momentum towards change is organization.

When change is in the air, organization has to be next. The reason? I am not

sure, but it's just something that seems to go with it. By the way, I hope that

you are still doing your exercise and your eating habits have changed. After

this month we are going to kick up exercise another notch. I can't wait for

you to see what's next!


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Week 40: Begin The Great Clean Out

Have you ever said to yourself, Everything is going this time-- I'm tired of

the clutter! Only to let things sit because it takes too much effort and energy

to go through everything? Well guess what? Now you have the effort and the

energy! It's time to take the bull by the horns and conquer that clutter. I

suggest starting with your closets because they tend to be where everything

gets stashed that you don't know where else to put. You would be amazed at

what I found when I started with my closets. As I continued to de-clutter my

house I ended up with 25 bags of really nice stuff to give to charity. I cleared

out anything that I had been holding on to that I didn't love, use or need. You

know, like the green sequined pillow that my grandmother gave me a few

Christmas' ago that I didn‟t want her to know I didn't like. This is the time to

look around your house and start clearing the clutter everywhere. As with

this program, start with little steps and don't try to do everything in one day.


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Week 41: Clean Out More Closets

Start in your bedroom with the closets because you can get rid of all the

clothes you aren't going to wear and that are too big for you now. This can

be a lovely therapeutic feeling if you let it be. Use the same questions: Do I

need/love/use this anymore? Will I use it in the next few days or weeks? If

not, toss it. Be brutal with this as you move on. Don't feel guilty about

giving away Aunt Betty's lamp made out of coconut that she brought back as

a souvenir for you from some unknown island vacation - there is someone

who will find that at a charity thrift store that will just love it --it might even

be a collector's item. Let go of your old fat clothes (how far you‟ve come!),

anything you don‟t like and anything that is totally out of date -- it will make

you feel better. Get rid of it. Clear your clutter, clear your mind.

Move on to the other closets and get rid of old magazines (so what if they

are National Geographic!), broken toys or tools that you were going to fix,

the end table that your hubby put in the closet three years ago with the

broken leg and [you fill in the blank]. You finished all your closets in these

two weeks and now it‟s time to reward yourself with a nice dinner out, a spa

trip or a night of fun with your hubby!


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Week 42: Clean Out Your Desk and Office Space

Whether you have an office at home, or outside your home it's time to de-

clutter. Start with your desk and throw away anything you are not using or

haven't used in a long time. Get rid of those papers sitting around your office

and anything in the files you don‟t use anymore. Use the same technique--

are you going to use it, do you need it or is it something you love-- throw out

or donate everything you can. Spend just a little time each day working on it.

Focus on what you have accomplished not on how much more you have to

do; also focus on how much better you feel after doing all of that.


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Week 43: Organize Your Schedule

Chances are you are doing more than you did before your weight loss and

now it's time to organize your schedule. Don‟t be afraid to cancel something

you really don‟t want to do and to say No to new or old opportunities that

come your way. I have been flattered by all the invitations I now get since

I've lost my weight and sometimes it really makes me angry. After all, I'm

the same person, but some people just don‟t get that, I guess. Anyway, I

started saying No because I found I didn't have any time left for me. I

stopped feeling guilty about it and said No anytime it was an activity that

sounded boring, was something I hated doing or that would not move me

forward. I learned to take care of me first (remember that from the airplane

example?) Taking care of self means you create a schedule that works for

you and you don't compromise your time for someone else.

How does a married lady do this? I told you my family is supportive and

they are on board with me. Because of this it makes life easier. We have a

calendar on the computer that is synched to everyone's cell phone that has all

our appointments on it. We negotiate some things (mommy time alone is

NOT negotiable) and we work around things that come up like concerts or

school plays. We do a lot of fun things together so no one feels neglected

when mommy time comes. It may sound complicated but once we got used

to it this works like a charm. Everyone knows what is going on and no one

gets their feelings hurt if something can be changed.


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Your challenge this week? Find a way to make your schedule work for you.

Don't be afraid to say No or to cancel activities you really don't want to do.


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Week 44: Checking Out New Activities

Now that your weight is down it's time to try other activities. This will help

you as you enter the maintenance stage of change in a few weeks. Keeping

things exciting and new is the best way to ensure you‟ll never go back to

what you were. Try something you've never tried before or something fun. I

decided to try dance and line dancing was first. I learned how to do it, I

loved it and now I do square dancing and sometimes a little Swing. My

husband found out that he loves it too so we are regulars when there is a

dance. Check around your area to see what they have to offer. Check the

community recreation centers or the community colleges. They usually have

something fun to do.

In the next few weeks I'm going to show you what I did to tone up, lighten

up and maintain my fabulous figure for the rest of my life.


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Month 11: Stepping Up Your Exercise

Now that you have reached your goal weight or you are close to it, you may

find that there are certain areas of your body that you want to tone or make

stronger. This week I will tell you what I have done to make a stronger body

and how I have toned my body over time. It is important to note that as you

move through weight loss you will feel which areas are weaker than others.

This is normal because most of us don't use our bodies correctly. When you

start working out there are areas that will be more noticeable and these will

be the ones you may want to tone. This month will be about strengthening

and toning your body.

Week 45: Strengthening Your Core

You have already strengthened your core emotions and created new

opportunities. Now you will start to strengthen your core muscles. "What the

heck is she talking about?" I know that's what you're wondering. So I'll tell

you -- your core is your torso and the muscles that make your back and

stomach work well. Your core is how you're able to stand, sit, walk and

move your body at any given time. Your core also affects your posture and

your balance. Strengthening your core can actually help you in all your daily

activities.

Creating a stronger core will help your arms and legs do a better job for you

when you are swimming, biking or doing other activities that need a more


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coordinated movement. You can start with simple exercise for the core and

then move on to more advanced ones.

I found that the best way for me to do core strength training was to use my

fitness ball. I have a video that shows me what to do to work in this area and

I suggest that this is one of the easiest and most effective ways to do core

exercise. The ball is very stable which is important to me when I use any

exercise equipment. This seems like a strenuous exercise at first but as you

get into it you can literally feel yourself become stronger. Your back, knees

and legs will thank you. Stretching also helps strengthen your core because

your muscles get a chance to relax.


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Week 46: Toning up

Many people think that doing cardiovascular only will help them tone but it

really requires an overall workout. You can isolate certain muscle groups but

this only makes that muscle group better. An overall workout will increase

your chances of toning the muscles, because to tone your body it all has to

work together. As an example, I tried crunches and sit-ups for my belly fat

but nothing happened until I really worked my entire body. I started

advanced strength training methods and purchased a DVD dance program

and I followed that plan. It toned me faster than anything I was doing on my

own. Your task this week: Look into toning areas of your body and find a

video or two to help.


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Week 47: Making Workouts More Challenging:

Interval Training

I just love interval training now because it is a quick and easy way to burn

fat and to make you feel like you have accomplished something. It is not for

the faint of heart I will tell you. It is strenuous but it is one way to challenge

your body and make it fit at the same time. Intervals work together with your

regular exercise. For example, if you were a runner, you might spend 10

minutes running very fast and then slow it down for 10 minutes and go back

to running fast for another 10 minutes. You would repeat this until you were

tired. This is a part of what interval training is like. In other words you do

bursts of intensity and then bursts of rest. Your body is forced to work

harder and it burns fat and calories while you're doing it. Some women don't

like to do this because they think it will build too much muscle but it really

doesn't; it just makes your body work better.

Your task this week is to learn more about interval training and try it at least

once this week.


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Week 48: Preparing for Maintenance

You are very nearly at the end of the 52 week weight loss program. You

now have everything I can give you to help you on your journey to reach

your weight loss goal and you have a great start towards overall change in

your life. Don't stop now though because you have a few weeks of the

program to go and they will give you valuable information about

maintaining your weight loss and lifestyle. Change is going to fluctuate

sometimes and you will want to pick up this gauntlet and keep going. As you

prepare for maintenance, ask yourself, "Why did I do this?" "Why am I still

doing it?" These are important questions to ask yourself any time you feel

like going back to the old ways.

In order to maintain a new habit it has to become a priority. By this time in

the program you've made your choices and you have made weight loss a

priority. Now you just have to hang in there. You are going to be in social

situations that will tempt you to return to the old eating behaviors so you

have to be prepared for them when they happen. I had to confront certain

issues with my family and friends head on because there are some who just

want to keep you in the old place. You know the feeling -- when no matter

how old you are you mother still treats you like a kid? I had to ignore many

of them and take myself away from those who kept bugging me. I realized

that I am the one responsible for changing myself and no one else has the

right to influence my choices. This was a big revelation for me.


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As you prepare for maintenance this week reflect on all you have

accomplished so far and give yourself credit for doing such a great job. It

takes courage to make a lifestyle change -- so much courage that many

people stop before they access the change.


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Month 12: Maintaining Your Weight Loss

You Have Reached Your Goal!

This is the stage that was most emotionally surprising and revealing for me

because I realized I had accomplished my goal. This was a goal that I had

tried many times before and failed at. I knew I never wanted to go back to

where I had been before but I wasn't sure what to do next. I knew it was a

matter of staying motivated. The challenge is that when you are doing a

program you are totally engaged in the process but when you are

finished…it's finished. You were in competition with yourself for a while

and now the competition is done--at least this phase if it. In my experience

most programs say Sayonara at this point but they don't tell you how to

maintain your loss. This is why I have incorporated it into this program

because you need to know what to look out for and how to handle these

situations.

During this final month I will tell you what to do to maintain your weight

loss despite social pressures and in times when it seems as if your own self-

esteem has gone to the toilet for a minute. Remember it is a matter of

lifestyle change and that is a huge thing to do. We move into the

maintenance and termination stage of change.


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Week 49: A Plan for Relapse

The most important idea to remember at this stage is that you are not perfect.

There will be times when you will go back to your old lifestyle just because

it is comforting and you are human. Stress can send you back for awhile or

something that a family member or friend says can make you feel like all

your hard work was for nothing. This is a normal way of feeling so don't

sweat it. After I did this a couple of times I decided I needed a plan for when

this stuff happened. When this happens to you (and it will at one point or

another) here is my advice:

Don't beat yourself up about it because it's not worth it. Instead,

understand it is a human thing and can happen.

Ask yourself what happened. Why did you feel the need to binge or

walk away from the program? Was your day or week particularly

stressful? Was it something around family or friends? Were you

feeling overwhelmed? All of these things can make it difficult to

maintain your new lifestyle.

Take steps to alleviate the immediate problem. This is where pulling

back into the Now moment will help. Bring yourself back to where

you want to be instead of where you don't want to be.

When you have challenges like this it may be time for a mini-vacation, a trip

to your play palace or a nice day out at the spa. These activities will clear

your head, give you a break in routine and get you back on track. As long as


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you see yourself improvising over time, you're still on your way to the

healthier you. As the book says, Don't sweat the small stuff.


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Week 50: Check In With Your Thoughts

As I said earlier in the program, your thoughts can be a problem if they are

dwelling in the past or longing for the future. They are what holds you in

your lifestyle change or keeps you from moving forward. When you feel like

you're going backwards check in with your thoughts. If you are worrying,

upset or feeling other negative emotions, chances are you are in the past or

the future.

I had to check my thoughts a lot in the earlier days. I spend more of my time

in the Now moment today but that is not always how it is for me every day. I

realized that it takes your brain longer to catch up with your weight loss than

it takes your body. Checking my thoughts helped me realize that I wasn't

being completely honest with myself at times. When I started to stress or

feel overwhelmed, I had to stop, take a deep breath and pull myself back into

the Now moment. Not always easy but it helped maintain my perspective

and continue on my program.

This week be on the lookout for those thoughts that stop you. Pull into the

Now moment as much as possible.


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Week 51: Setting Your Self Free

Setting your Self free is about learning to live your life so that you continue

the momentum you have already built. It means finding those things that are

interesting to you to do or to incorporate into your daily, weekly or monthly

activities. It also means letting go of anything or anyone that stops you. Here

are some of the things I do to set my Self free:

I only keep positive people around me whether they are friends or

family. I stay away from the naysayers and the people who are stuck

and not moving forward. I surround myself with friends and family

who are positive and supportive.

I keep busy doing those things that move me forward in my life. I

read, watch great movies, and look for success stories in the news.

These help me become aware of all that is positive in the world.

I listen to music and I still dance, dance, dance.

I participate in fitness competitions that the community offers. As an

example, I walk for breast cancer and I run in short local

competitions. These are fun and I always get to meet new people.

I volunteer at our food bank to keep me humble and knowing that my

circumstances aren't as bad as I think.


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I take care of any emotional issues that come up using the CBT tools I

learned in therapy; if I need therapy to get unstuck, I go again.

I spend lots of time with my family.

All of these things help keep me sane and give me a purpose in life. I accept

that life is about enjoyment and fulfillment and I do as much of both as I

can.

Your task this week is to be aware of the things that set your Self free and

what you can do to enhance your life even more.


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Week 52: You've Made IT!

You've made it through the 52 week program and you are on your way. You

presented yourself with tasks that were challenging. You learned to eat

healthier, you developed tools you could use at home to workout and you

learned to make better choices. You also learned that your life is your own

and only you can determine what it looks like. As you go forward remember

to live in the Now moment as much as possible and that life is meant to be

lived. You are ready to terminate the program knowing that if you stick to all

you have learnt, especially in the final month, you will never put on the

weight again.

What a fantastic feeling!

Enjoy it and good luck!

52 Week Weight Loss Program

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