No problem. The weight issue is under control. (Sure it is.)

Now there are more overweight people in America than average-weight people. So overweight people are now average. Which means you’ve met your New Year’s resolution. – Jay Leno

If you look at today’s society, you’ll become aware of how overweight people have generally become. From talk shows to news programs, weight is a constant topic. Obesity has continued to be on the rise, becoming one of the main threats to health. The Obesity Action Coalition reports that obesity impacts one in four Americans. It is estimated that more than 93 million Americans are obese, and that number is predicted to increase to 120 million in the next five years.

The resulting healthcare costs are enormous (in the hundreds of billions). But why is there increasing obesity when there are more diet books and programs on the market every day? There is a ton (excuse the pun) of information out there. But, why isn’t it working?

Dieting people are focused on the numbers— the pounds, calories, carbs, fat grams, etc. obesity still seems to be a problem. Maybe it is time to lose the diet and throw away the scale and forget the numbers. The obsession with numbers is not really controlling the weight problem instead it is a loss of control.

Excerpt from the award-winning book Lose the Diet. Copyright by Kathy Balland. Get Lose the Diet now on Amazon!

Blogging Lose the Diet Book Excerpts

I’m going to be blogging excerpts from my award-winning book Lose the Diet! This way I can “spoon feed” the information to you in little bits and pieces, which makes it very easy to digest!! So, enjoy the info… I hope that it feeds your soul, as writing it did for me!

Bon Appetit,

Kathy

CARBS VS. FAT, OR PERHAPS SOMETHING ELSE

Recently I was taking a look at a vending machine to see if there were any worthwhile snacks in it. Considering the shelf life of the treats (which is probably much longer than the date stamped on the package) I figured there wasn’t much that was worthwhile in there. After all, I once heard a nutritionist say “if it doesn’t rot or sprout, throw it out,” referring to all of the unhealthy processed foods and the additives that come with them.

What I saw in the machine made me chuckle. (At least I got a little stress relief from it.) Before me was a package of fried pork rinds. The label proclaimed: “Zero net carbs per serving”. Wow, give me some of those! What was even more interesting was the package of pretzels nearby. The package on these little carb-filled gems stated: “Fat Free”. So the question is: Is it best to go with the solid-fat-no-carb snack, or the fat-free-full-carb snack. Surely the marketing experts know what they are talking about, right? No wonder obesity is still on the rise.

When we look at the physical and psychological aspect of weight management, the more important ingredient is actually protein. This is because protein has the highest satiation effect and the highest thermic effect. In other words, protein is the best at satisfying hunger and helps us to feel more full.
In addition, the thermic effect has to do with the amount of energy the body uses to digest the high-protein food. When you eat protein, your body uses more energy to digest it than it uses to digest fats and carbs.

If you consider that fat is stored energy, you actually burn more fat when you eat proteins.
However, always keep in mind the following: Everything in moderation. Too much of anything can be detrimental to your health, so there is no need to go overboard with the protein. And, we can’t expect ourselves to eat “perfectly” all of the time. But above all, never neglect the mind-body-soul connection for permanent weight balance.

Get the award-winning book Lose the Diet now at: http://www.amazon.com/Lose-Diet-Transform-Connecting-Soul/dp/0982183100/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277594052&sr=8-1

LOSE CONTROL and LOSE THE WEIGHT

Just the other day, someone asked me “how do we control our weight?” The answer is: There is no control. If you understand the power of the mind and the law of attraction, then you know that the more you focus on something, the more you will attract it. In other words, if you keep focusing on losing weight then you will actually get more of it.

When we try to control our eating by denying ourselves some of the foods that we love, it will generally “backfire”. So, reverse psychology is actually the name of the game. If you let go of your grip on deprivation and say to yourself “I can have that”, then you will feel a release of the temptation. When that feeling of deprivation is gone, then you may lose the desire to eat whatever it is that you were denying yourself in the first place.

In fact, there was a study in which two groups of women were given a plate of cookies. The first group of women were on a “diet”, and their intention was to not allow themselves to have any of the cookies. The second group were allowing themselves to go ahead and enjoy the cookies. In the end, the second group actually ate less of the cookies than the first group, because the desire to eat the cookies was not as strong as the group of women who were denying themselves.

The point is that if you try to allow yourself to enjoy foods that you love, and release the need to control your eating, you may find that you experience less emotional eating. Ultimately it is important to be good to yourself, and enjoy the foods you love. At the same time you can feed your soul in ways that will fill your heart and not just your stomach. As a result, the body will find its own natural weight balance.

Get the award-winning book Lose the Diet now at: http://www.amazon.com/Lose-Diet-Transform-Connecting-Soul/dp/0982183100/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277594052&sr=8-1

Support can be Beautiful, especially when it comes to Losing Weight

It’s been proven that people (particularly women) are greatly benefitted by support groups. The support from others can be in person, over the phone, on the internet or any other way that two or more people can connect to support each other. In fact, it has been shown that women with breast cancer have a higher survival rate when they have the support of friends and family, in addition to others who are also healing from the disease (or dis-ease).

Throughout history, it has been shown that the connection between two or more people creates an added power that allows people to reach their goal more quickly and effectively. The best-selling book “Think and Grow Rich” (originally published in 1937) was written by Napoleon Hill. Mr. Hill wrote the book after spending years interviewing successful people in order to gather information on how they achieved their success. In the book he states that one of the important keys to success is the Mastermind group, which is a group of two or more people that have a similar goal.

In my book Lose the Diet, I wrote about Nancy Makin who sort of “stumbled” upon the support that she was craving when she began networking with people on the internet. After years of feeling lonely and isolated after her divorce, Nancy had gained over 500 pounds and did not leave her apartment. But when her sister gave her a computer, she become so busy connecting with other people that the excess weight gradually disappeared without the use of a scale, counting calories, or feeling deprived.

On the contrary, when Nancy began to feel more fulfilled, she no longer needed to fill herself with the food that was not ultimately satisfying her soul. Connecting with others helped her to improve her self esteem, and also helped to improve her health – from the inside out.

So whatever your goal may be; whether it is weight loss or something else, try connecting with others for support. There is no need to discuss calories, pounds, carbs, fats or anything diet related. But fill each other with the connection that you are craving, and your body will find balance from the inside out.

Get the award-winning book Lose the Diet now at: http://www.amazon.com/Lose-Diet-Transform-Connecting-Soul/dp/0982183100/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277594052&sr=8-1

Love Yourself and Lose the Weight

First of all, just a friendly reminder: The more we tell ourselves not to eat something the more we want it. Whether you call it the Law of Attraction, or the workings of the subconscious mind, the more you say “no, no, no!” the more the mind hears “yes, yes, yes!” So, stop depriving yourself. Let go. Enjoy. And above all, don’t feel bad when you do. The result is that you will have less of a chance of going overboard with the goodies that you feel so desperate to eat due to deprivation.

Be yourself. In other words, be realistic. Some people cannot physically be a size two, including me. (I’m simply not built for it.) After all, some of us have the bone structure of a bulldozer. But what’s wrong with that? Isn’t it great that we are all different?

Love thyself: It’s time we love ourselves for who we are. And when we do, we magically become more able to achieve a healthy weight. Perhaps it’s a hard lesson to learn, but it’s a great one.

Enjoy the food with those you love. And if they cannot be here with you, remember them in spirit. Cherish the memories. Savor the foods that you enjoyed in the past, and be true to yourself.

Above all: Connect with yourself. Connect with those you care about. Breathe, relax, let go and enjoy. And when you do, your mind, body and soul will thank you.

“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” – Lucille Ball

Get the award-winning book Lose the Diet now at: http://www.amazon.com/Lose-Diet-Transform-Connecting-Soul/dp/0982183100/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277594052&sr=8-1

For weight loss success, take a breath and feel better: ONE STEP AT A TIME

Sometimes we are not feeling like ourselves. We may feel angry, lonely, depressed, or a number of other emotions. When this happens, we may wish that we could feel happy, and we may wonder why we cannot change the way we feel – instantly.

But if we look at the process of feeling better as gradual steps, it can seem much easier. Just try feeling a “little” better. And step by step, slowly work your way up to feeling somewhat better. With each step that you take, you are creating balance in the way that you feel. And when you feel more balanced, you are less likely to stuff the negative emotions with food.

Remember that we naturally love ourselves. Not in an arrogant way, but with a sense of self-respect. What gets in the way of that natural positive feeling, is when we feel bad about ourselves which counter-acts that natural sense of balance.

So take a deep breath, and if you are feeling sad, then just try to bring it up a “notch” so that you feel a little better. And then try to go up another small notch, so that you feel slightly better. You can also use appreciation to help improve the way you feel. That sense of appreciation can help to lift your spirits, so just think of something that you can be appreciative of. And hopefully, you will gradually find those negative emotions lifting and creating that natural balance that you have been craving.

Get the award-winning book Lose the Diet now at: http://www.amazon.com/Lose-Diet-Transform-Connecting-Soul/dp/0982183100/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277592174&sr=8-1

WHEN IT COMES TO WEIGHT LOSS, THE BIGGEST LOSER IS THE BIGGEST WINNER

Michelle Aguillar, winner of the Biggest Loser said: “I remember standing on the scale, trembling on the inside, thinking, I hope nobody sees how freaked out I am. Now I’m like, you want to put my weight on my shirt? I’ll do it. It’s just a number, it doesn’t define me.”

In our society, It can be very easy to get caught up in the numbers. After all, almost everything we eat is labeled. (Except for natural whole foods.) We can become obsessed with the calories, carbs, fat grams, etc. Did our ancestors from years ago have that information? Of course not. And the level of obesity back then was less than it is now.

It would seem that the most “important” number of all, is the number on your bathroom scale. But what does that number signify? Gravity? Even nutritionists admit the body mass index (which tells us what our weight “should” be) is innacurate. That index does not take into account your muscle mass and bone density. After all, you are unique. There is absolutely no one like you.

The truth is, you are a powerful spiritual being with dignity, direction and purpose. And in reality – you are three parts: Mind, Body and Soul. But when you become highly focused on the numbers, it can become easy to lose sight of who you really are. That sense of being disconnected from who you are can lead to the weight imbalance.

The key to finding balance is to start by letting go of your grip on the numbers and the deprivation, which can negatively impact your body/mind/soul, and will result in the yo-yo effect if weight loss followed by weight gain. Instead, take a look at your needs, and how you feel on the inside. That will help you to begin to satisfy yourself from the inside out. And ultimately, your eating habits will become more balanced and so will your weight.

It’s time to lose the diet. Stop calculating, and start connecting.

Get the award-winning book Lose the Diet now at: http://www.amazon.com/Lose-Diet-Transform-Connecting-Soul/dp/0982183100/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277592174&sr=8-1

Lose the Scale and Lose the Weight

I own a lovely bathroom scale. It’s digital. It’s attractive. It looks ultra-modern. And, my laundry hamper is sitting on top of it. Believe it or not, that’s where I intend to leave it. I’m reminded of this every now and then when I lift the hamper. Most likely it will eventually be donated to charity, or sold in a garage sale if I move or become motivated enough to have one.

You may be thinking, why is such an important and useful device hidden from view, wasting away without use? Because I have learned, through trial and error and the study of the mind-body-soul connection, that this gravity measuring contraption is not our friend.

When we use the scale, we start to identify ourselves by a number. And then the slightest fluctuation of that number sends us into a self-esteem spiral. At which time we may continue to binge in self-pity, which is counter-productive. (What is the perfect number anyway?)

When we let go of the scale, we let go of our need to attempt to control something that can be difficult to control. Besides, we need to look inside of ourselves, because that is where the answer is. When we feed our soul, we fill the need that was filled with food. Then we no longer care about the numbers, and instead, we focus on the most important thing: Ourselves.

Does that seem selfish? I don’t believe so. It’s kind of like when you are on a plane and the flight attendant says that in case of a change in cabin pressure, you should take some oxygen first. In other words, when you help yourself, you are better able to help others. (Such as your family.)

So, remember to take care of you – and not the scale.

Get the award-winning book Lose the Diet now at: http://www.amazon.com/Lose-Diet-Transform-Connecting-Soul/dp/0982183100/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277592174&sr=8-1

WHY DIETING BACKFIRES, and why you must reconnect for weight loss success

The Yo-Yo affect of weight loss followed by weight gain is more detrimental to the body than simply remaining obese. (The weight loss followed by weight gain is actually more stressful to the body than staying overweight.) Here is why dieting causes the yo-yo effect:

At the physical level, when we stop eating the body creates a genesis enzyme that “sticks” the fat together, making it more difficult to release the fat into the bloodstream so that it can be used as energy. (The body does this because it is trying to conserve energy due to the lack of food.) This is why it is important to eat regularly to keep the metabolism going.

At the mental level, we are really being driven by the subconscious mind which is 88% of our mind. The subconscious is where our habits and emotions are, and those emotions really drive the binge-eating. But also, the subconscious mind does not process negatives. So if you tell yourself “I’m not going to eat that” the subconscious hears “I am going to eat that”, so the more you try to deprive yourself, the more you are going to crave it. And even though you may not consciously want something, the subconscious will want it – and it will win every time.

This is why it is important to let go of the diets and deprivation, and simply get in touch with the emotions, stress, lack of sleep, or whatever it is that is actually driving the binge-eating. When we learn to let go of the diet pills, diet food and fad diets (the not-so-quick fixes) and get in touch with ourselves, then we can find the real answers. The book Lose the Diet can show you how. Get it now at: http://www.amazon.com/Lose-Diet-Transform-Connecting-Soul/dp/0982183100/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277592174&sr=8-1

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