"How many of your clients keep the weight off?"

As I have been sharing information this week about our outstanding weight loss program, and encouraging new clients to participate in it, I have been asked this question many times over .."But are your clients keeping their weight off?"

I'd love to answer that question here this morning.

I have spent 30 years helping people lose weight. I have watched MANY weight loss programs come and go, some that I believed in more than others. I have watched people lose weight and I have welcomed them back to the program when they have gained their weight back.

After years of experience, I have come to this important conclusion...How you lose weight has little to do with how or why you gain weight back. Losing weight means that you cut calories and ate or consumed less than your body needed to maintain your weight. Gaining it back means you consumed more calories than your body needed to maintain it's self. It's really that simple!

I've also had enough experience to know that how you lose weight has a lot to do with the probability of you making permanent changes because THAT'S how you keep weight off!

The probability of you following a cabbage soup diet for the rest of your life is not real great! The chances that you will continue to eat a healthy balanced diet with all the food groups is very probable. So HOW you chose to lose weight has more to do with the changes that you are making than it does with the temporary DIET that you are following.

More important than the diet you chose to lose weight, is the thinking that you chose to lose weight! Your thoughts will always dictate your actions! So, if you have followed a diet...any diet, and have not changed your thinking about food, about health, about your worthiness to care for yourself, chances are, your unhealthy thinking will cause you to act in a way that will put weight back on.

I am a firm believer that being at GOAL weight is another big key to permanent weight loss. When you are stepping on the scale to monitor your weight, and you've never been happy with the weight you see, you will lack the motivation to stay there. On the other hand, when you step on the scale and see your goal, there will be a different level of motivation to help you keep your weight off for life!

The Healthy Weigh nutritional plan is by far the best weight loss plan I have ever seen. Losing weight on our plan, is guaranteed! Keeping it off, depends on you!

Are you willing to accept the truth about the amount of calories it takes to maintain your body at goal weight? Are you willing to make permanent changes in your thinking so that food is fuel for your body and not your drug of choice? If you can answer yes to these questions, you will keep your weight off for life!

I am proud to offer a program that deals with permanent changes on every level. Permanent change is where it's at...and a lot of that is going on at The Healthy Weigh!

Always encouraging you,
Letha

Based on a 2000 Calorie Diet...really?

If you are an inactive person who weighs 200 pounds, every nutritional label in America is written for you! If not...they aren't!

I write this blog this morning after spending time last night with 20 or so of my Healthy Weigh friends who just reached goal weight and are now learning what it takes to stay there. I walked them through a process of stabilization; a 6 week process where you increase your calories week by week until you reach your calorie limit based on your goal weight.

Being highly effective people, we began the evening with the end in mind, in this case goal weight. Each client wrote down their ideal maintenance weight and then calculated their approximate calorie intake for that weight based on this chart.

Multiply your ideal maintenance weight by:

10 if you are inactive (sitting most of the day, no regular physical exercise)

11 if you are moderately active (sitting most of the day but do engage in physical exercise regularly or at least 3 to 4 times per week for 1/2 hour or more)

12 if you are active (standing and/ or walking most of the day and engage in regular physical exercise)

13 if you are very active (walking or involved in strenuous physical labor most of the day and engage in regular physical exercise)

That number is your approximate total calories to maintain your goal weight.

Now I know that there are many more complicated ways to estimate and discover your appropriate calorie intake for your goal weight...the truth is, you will find the same answer at the end of every story problem. I've done them!

So, you've done the math??? What's your number???

Last night there were three men in our group. Only two of them were going to be able to eat 2000 calories to maintain their weight. Everyone else in the room ranged from 1250 calories to 1750. So why does every nutritional label in America say..."Based on a 2000 diet."? Good question! The only people that can and should be eating 2000 calories per day are men weighing close to 200 pounds, or a woman who weighs 155 and works in a job performing physical labor all day and then drops by the club to work out on the way home!

I've spent over 30 years helping people lose weight. I am proud to say that I administer one of the greatest weight loss programs available any where...but losing weight has never been the hard part. People knuckle down, eat less, move more and then lose weight.
Keeping if off for life is the struggle. I believe that our nutritional labels aren't helping matters. It would make sense that most people in America would believe that they should eat 2000 calories...right? It says that on the back of every food label everywhere!!!

I read an article the other day in search of an answer to this problem. It said that 2000 calories per day was used as a standard because that is how many calories it would take to maintain the average American. Wow, how sad is that? What if our labels said "Based on a 1500 calorie diet?" What would the average American look like then?

I am a 120 pound 53 year old woman. I exercise 3 to 4 times a week for 1/2 or more. My maintenance calories are 1320. That's it...no more. No matter what a label says, I am responsible for consuming the amount of healthy calories that my body needs to maintain this healthy weight.

Do the math. Accept the truth. Be responsible. Reach your goal weight and keep it off for life...eating just the amount of calories that YOU need to maintain your ideal maintenance weight!

Always encouraging you...and hopefully enlightening you too,

Letha

Can You Really Re-Wire Your Brain?

"The power of positive thinking."

How many times have you heard that phrase thrown around? It’s so much a part of our ordinary language now that it’s almost become meaningless. I think we all agree that thinking positively is a good thing. Especially when we’re feeling positive. When you’re feeling good, how much trouble is it to think, “Hey, I like me. My life is cool. Things are going great.”

But what about when things are difficult? What about those days when you’re so stressed the veins pop out of your forehead? When you hate your job — or you’ve lost it? What about those days when you are faced with a series of unfortunate events that makes the life of Job look like a garden party?

I’ve met people who remain positive during really bad times. Sometimes it's hard to be around them, however, I’ve come to learn that these people know something that changes a life! We can learn a lot from people who have mastered positive thinking.

Here’s the secret that’s not really a secret. It’s revolutionary, exciting science.

Positive thinking really does change your brain. Not in some magical, woo woo kind of way, but in a real physical way.
The science is called neuroplasticity. It means that our thoughts can change the structure and function of our brains. The idea was first introduced by William James in 1890, but it was soundly rejected by scientists who uniformly believed the brain is rigidly mapped out, with certain parts of the brain controlling certain functions. If that part is dead or damaged, the function is altered or lost. Well, it appears they were wrong.

Neuroplasticity now enjoys wide acceptance as scientists are proving the brain is endlessly adaptable and dynamic.
It has the power to change its own structure, even for those with the severe neurological afflictions. People with problems like strokes, cerebral palsy, and mental illness can train other areas of their brains through repetitive mental and physical activities. It is completely life-altering.

So what does this have to do with positive thinking and with you?
It means that repetitive positive thought and positive activity can rewire your brain and strengthen brain areas that stimulate positive feelings. It means positive thinking can change your life!

In his book, "The Brain That Changes Itself", Norman Doidge M.D. states plainly that the brain has the capacity to rewire itself and/or form new neural pathways — if we do the work. Just like exercise, the work requires repetition and activity to reinforce new learning.

Here are some actions you can take to change your own brain during the bad times.
Fear of failure.

Everyone fears doing something new because we don’t wait to fail. The truth is, we can do most anything if we take action, stop negative thinking, and shift our perceptions of the truth about our abilities.

Action steps: Force yourself to stop thinking about reasons you can’t do something, even if you don’t feel brave or capable. Every time a negative thought creeps in, retrain your brain to think a positive thought about your abilities instead. Then take small actions every day toward achieving your goal or desired change. Nike’s slogan, “Just do it,” has real validity.

Over-thinking/Worrying

Have you ever found yourself trapped in obsessive over-thinking about a problem or in a state of anxiety or worry that lasts for days or even weeks? It drains your energy, affects your sleep, and spirals your mood and outlook on life. Focusing on your problem only strengthens the worry function in your brain.

Action steps: When you find yourself in that cycle of worry or compulsive thinking, remember the three R’s — rename, re-frame, and redirect. When the worry begins, mentally yell “Stop!” Rename the issue by reminding yourself that worry isn’t real. Rename it as a compulsive reaction, not reality. Re-frame your thinking by focusing on positive or distracting thoughts, even if you still feel anxious. Force yourself to think different thoughts. Redirect your actions. Go do something uplifting, fun or mentally engaging. The key is following these steps repeatedly, every time you worry obsessively, to break the pattern and rewire your brain.

Mood Disorders/Phobias

Sometimes we might feel blue or out-of-sorts, and it’s just a temporary fog that settles in and lifts after a few days. Some mood disorders, like depression or serious anxieties that morph into phobias, can be debilitating and unrelenting. Psychologists and therapists have used treatments based on neuroplasticity to get to the cognitive root of these disorders and put a patient’s life back on track.

Action steps: A serious mood disorder or phobia requires the help of a trained counselor. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is a type of treatment that helps people learn how to identify and change destructive thought patterns that have a negative influence on behavior and feelings. If you suffer from severe anxiety or depression, you need someone skilled to help you get to the root of these thoughts and to show you how to change them. Ask them about CBT.

The more I read and understand about the power of our minds, the more encouraged I get. Changing your thinking, will change your life...and changing your thinking...IS possible!

Always encouraging you,
Letha

Announcing Our Spring Team Challenge!

We're going on a CAMP OUT! That's right! The Healthy Weigh announced Tuesday that our Spring Team Challenge theme is "CAMP OUT!" Not only are we going to spend 10 weeks in the spring using that as our Team Challenge theme, but we're going to rally the troops at the end of the challenge and go on a camp out together! What a blast!

One of my favorite things about my job is being able to use creativity and inspiration to help people live their best lives! Losing weight might have been a boring thing in the past, but at The Healthy Weigh it's anything but that! I do everything I can to bring joy and energy into the serious, personal work that I do. Losing weight and keeping it off can be difficult at times but if you can have fun, and celebrate along the way, you'll be more likely to 1. stick with it and 2. keep it off for life! That's what we're about at The Healthy Weigh!

We are currently on our last two weeks of our climb to the summit of Mt. Everest! Our Winter Team Challenge "BEYOND THE LIMITS" has taken us places that we never thought we'd go. We've had courageous spirits, attitudes with altitude, a willingness to change and we've made decisions to NEVER GIVE UP! It's not easy to climb a mountain, but together we have accomplished amazing things! We are two weeks away from breaking the all time record, this 11th season of our team challenge! We will have a greater % of weight loss than all the challenges before this one! It just keeps getting better!

This group of over 80 teams has shown amazing support to each other. From our Facebook closed group to the activities outside of the Tuesday challenge, these outstanding people have bonded together. It has been said that 'It is not good for man to be alone'...this groups knows that and has been there for each other through many difficult times in the last 10 weeks. Going BEYOND THE LIMITS can feel impossible when you try to go it alone, but with the love and support of people around you...anything's possible!

Sometimes you reach goals in life by going beyond the limits, pushing until it hurts and feeling the fear and doing it any way...other times you reach goals by refueling, getting refreshed and finding ways to rejuvenate. That's what the Spring Team Challenge is all about, "CAMP OUT!" At The Healthy Weigh, we believe in living a balanced life and after reaching the summit of Mt. Everest, we're going to need a change of scenery!

April 10th we will begin our 12th Team Challenge with "CAMP OUT" as our theme. The weight loss, the changed thinking and the education that will happen at The Healthy Weigh this spring is inevitable. The experiences we'll have with the theme "CAMP OUT" are soon to be unfolded. I can't wait!

If you've been a part of the Team Challenge before, you know what's ahead of you...if not, I invite you to join us on a "CAMP OUT!" We begin April 10th and will have our finale on June 19th with clients celebrating 20, 30 40, 60 or more pounds of weight loss that night! It's going to be a camp out to remember! For more information, or to register...go on line to www.healthyweigh.com

We'll reserve you a camp site!!

Always encouraging you...because that's what I love to do,
Letha

"It's Beginning to be a Habit With Me"

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. Good habits are our best friends. Because we perform them unconsciously, they allow us to concentrate on other important endeavors.

On the other hand, the opposite is true for bad habits. They encumber us, enslave us, and ensnare us, preventing us from moving forward in our lives.
Nathaniel Emons wrote, "Habit is either the best of servants or the worst of masters." The paradox is, we make our habits and then they turn around and make us.

Habits form the engine beneath the hood of a car. Good habits move us forward, bad habits set the car in reverse. It's important to continually look out the window and see which direction we are moving.

If we want to improve our lives, we've got to replace bad habits with good ones.
Here are 5 steps to making that process a little easier:

1. Become aware of your bad habits.
Since we perform them automatically or without thinking, we first have to bring them into our consciousness before we can change them.

2. Monitor the seriousness of your bad habit.
"I'm watching TV 2.5 hours a day...not bad. That's 17.5 hours a week, 3 days a month, or almost one month a year" Wow, I didn't know how much time I was waisting. (Now you're ready to move on to the next step.)

3. Examine the motivation.
Why do I watch so much TV? To escape, numb the pain, procrastinate?

4. Examine the consequences.
What am I losing by watching too much TV? Be specific.

5. DECISION time.
Now that you've gathered the facts, its time to unleash the power of a decision. The minute you make a decision, you set in motion a new cause, a new direction and a new destination for your life!

Some more thoughts on changing habits:

Change is temporary unless we make is permanent.

New habits are formed by repetition, replacing the old with the new.

It takes 21 to 30 days of repetition to form a new habit. Don't skip a day... and start over if you do!

Habits are subconscious; the part of the brain they come from is called the basal ganglia. Research shows that the basal ganglia responds greatly to the reward system!

Strong positive motivators help develop or break bad habits; rewards, positive self talk, visualization.

Sow a thought, reap an action
Sow an acton, reap a habit
Sow a habit, reap a character
Sow a character, reap a destiny!

We are what we repeatedly do! Choose today what you will repeatedly do.

Here's a visual for you to use in your imagery exercises:

It's a beautiful spring day. The sun is shining and the leaves are popping out on all the trees. You walk out to your car and get in to go for a drive. You are so aware when you slip into the drivers seat that you are 20 pounds lighter than you were 8 weeks ago. You feel great! As you start the car, you remember that your habits are the engine under the hood. The car starts and you are definitely moving forward. As you drive you think about all the habits that you have chosen to change. All the habits that have been newly formed to bring you to this place.
You feel proud, confident and sure of yourself. The choices you are making every day are getting you what you want! You come to a red light and stop. You look down at your body. Your thighs, your abdomen...you realize how slim you feel. Your new habits are paying off. You are excited that you are in charge of your own body and you are walking in self control. The discipline you've shown is yielding peace, contentment and joy. You believe for the first time in your life that you can really keep this weight off, that you really are changing.
The light turns green, you put your foot on the gas pedal, out of habit, and you move forward. The direction you've always wanted to go.

Always encouraging you,
Letha