My Bright Line Life

So what do I eat to continue losing weight and love doing it? I’ll tell you exactly what I do as long as you promise to keep reading to get to all the benefits I’m also going to list.

I follow several boundaries referred to as “bright lines”:

• No flour of any kind including almond meal, coconut flour, etc.
• No sugar of any kind including artificial sweeteners including stevia, honey, syrup, agave, dried fruits, fruit juices and alcohol.
• Three meals per day comprised of bounded quantities eaten at roughly the same time each day; never skip a meal, no snacks.
•  Plan and commit to my meals for the next day.
• Time meals to allow for an overnight fast of at least twelve hours.

So while these bright lines might strike you as overly restrictive, there are some key benefits. And unlike other times I've diet, staying on plan is actually getting easier and easier with each passing day! I've even given up my Diet Pepsi habit with a smile on my face.

I don’t, for example, count calories or carbs or eat meal replacements, but I do eat wonderful and filling meals. 

I don’t run into situations where I’m staring into the refrigerator trying to figure out what I’m going to have for dinner or waste money on fast-food.

I engage in physical activities and exercise to improve my overall mood, increase body strength and balance, and for the enjoyment of it, not for the sole purpose of losing weight. I walked to and from work several times a week all summer because I found it was a great way to start and end my workday!  I now average 8,000 steps per day, go to a fitness class once weekly, and do strength training at home once or twice weekly.  I'm planning on trying yoga soon.

I don’t worry whether I’ll need a seat belt extender on an airplane or if there will be enough room for me to slide into a tight restaurant booth. And I do still eat in restaurants.

I don’t have achy joints, headaches or heartburn, nor have I had so much as a cold. 

I’m no longer constantly on the prowl for the next weight loss solution be it a pill, a diet or therapy.

I can go to any clothing store and find something in my size; and I’m doing that a lot lately because I’ve got to replace all my clothes from last fall and winter.  How fun is that?

And I don’t worry what my doctor is going to say about my weight or blood test results when I go in for a check-up; in fact, when I last saw her in July she hugged and congratulated me!

Bright Line Eating is about so much more than just what you do and don’t eat or how much weight you can lose.  It’s how to set yourself up for success over the long-haul by creating a healthy lifestyle with emphasis on development, self-care, emotional health and, most importantly, and being part of a supportive community of others who also finding success in managing their food struggles and addictions.  I participate in twice monthly coaching calls led by Susan Pierce Thompson. I’m in touch with a small group of women on a near-daily basis to share successes and challenges, and I participate in a very active Facebook group comprised of hundreds of women and men across the globe.  I have access to tools and materials to help me learn and be prepared in case I cross one of my bright lines.  I can reach someone on Susan Pierce Thompson’s staff with any question or need; her staff of 22 is very responsive.

I cannot emphasize enough that this is not a diet. I don’t worry about when I’ll reach my right-sized body or exactly what weight that will be, but I do know that the Bright Line program will be there to guide me forever as I maintain a happy, thin and free life.

**  Update October 9, 2016:  the video series is no longer available, and the registration for the October bootcamp has closed.  I'll update here when the video series is available again. The next bootcamp is likely to be January or February 2017.  **

If you’re interested in learning more about Bright Line Eating I encourage you to get it straight from the founder, Susan Pierce Thompson, in her video Rewire Your Brain For Food Freedom.  This is the 3^rd video in her series The Psychology and Brain Science of Sustainable Weight Loss.  She’ll explain more about the Bright Line Eating and why it works. She also provides info about the quickly approaching October bootcamp which is how I got involved and kicked off my weight loss.  

The bootcamp registration will be open for only a few days beginning Monday, September 26^th.  The registration period is short because the bootcamp is an intense, high-touch program that can only accommodate a certain number of participants.  

You might be wondering about the price to get started; I’ll let Susan deliver that information.  I didn’t know it when signing up of course, but seeing where I am today compared with February, I would have gladly shelled out three times this much! So realize it might be the very last time you spend money on a weight loss solution. In addition, since I’m now a “Bright Lifer” I’m able to offer any family, friend or acquaintance a $150 discount; just get in touch with me before the registration deadline. I'd love to be your buddy as you start your bright life!

The Food Freedom Quiz which includes the 1^st video in the series and the 2^nd video are still available for a few more days; I’ve included links to them in the right siderail of this blog page.

Willpower And Weight Loss

Countless times I would proclaim that I'm going to start making better food choices and stick to a plan once and for all.  I'd get all organized about it, trying to get myself psyched up for "day 1", and I could generally get through three or four days of making healthy choices morning, noon and night. But as Friday approached I'd feel myself slipping, relying on snacks during the day to prop myself up, the fast food drive-thrus looking more and more tempting than the dinner foods I already had at home, and often feeling unsatisfied after I'd already eaten dinner to the point of returning to the kitchen to find a snack.

Sometimes I'd make it through the weekend and somehow feel energized enough to continue sticking to my new food plan right through that second week.  But instead of getting easier, it felt like I was pushing a boulder uphill all the way.  I'd feel tired of it, deprived, and asking "why me?"  It seemed that with each new day I could get off on the right foot with breakfast and even do well at lunch time, but by late afternoon and certainly by dinner time I would start to cave. Soon enough my choices would just spiraled back to my poor but familiar old habits.  By this point my inner voice was not only giving me permission to eat whatever I wanted at meals or snack time, it also seemed to urge me to indulge more because, after all, I'd been so "good" in the hours or days prior.

So then I would also feel blindly upset and disgusted with myself. I felt inept, unworthy, and in a very blue mood.  I'd say to myself over and over some variation of this: "You're a fairly intelligent, motivated and goal oriented person in many other aspects of your life so what the heck is WRONG with you?!"

**  Update October 9, 2016:  the video series is no longer available, and the registration for the October bootcamp has closed.  I'll update here when the video series is available again. The next bootcamp is likely to be January or February 2017.  **

When I watched the second video in Susan Pierce Thompson's free series I finally understood what was going on and why I couldn't stick to a plan even though intellectually I knew how vital it was to my long-term well-being. In this video she points out that I mistakenly thought my willpower would get me through until new, good eating habits would be instilled. She helped me realize that there is nothing wrong with me!  Instead the assumptions I had about how to diet and make good choices would not and could not work for me and in fact were often working against me.

Click here to watch this video.

When you go on a diet do you end up in a cycle similar to what I was?  Do you find you just can't seem to "be good" over the long-haul no matter how committed you were at the start?  Do you attribute all your extra weight to those late afternoon snacks or night-time eating as a way to unwind after a long day?  If so, this video titled "Don't Make The One Mistake Most People Do When Trying To Lose Weight." will likely uncover the fatal mistake you're making. While this video is about 40 minutes long, it's worth the time investment as no doubt you'll have a few "a-ha!" moments and be able to see the cycle of "good" and "bad" choices (what I like to refer to the "hamster wheel of dieting") in a new light.  And like me, you'll probably end up feeling better about yourself just from having the truth shared in this video.

The first video "Conquer Your Hunger and Cravings" is still available, and you can reach it by taking the Food Freedom Quiz.  Yes, you need to provide your email address, but you can opt out anytime, even right after you've watched the video.

Thank-you for reading this and hearing my story. I received many comments from my first post and feel so humbled and grateful for each and every one of you!

I've lost over 880 pounds

Yes, that's what right:  eight hundred-eighty.  Instead of being a source of pride, it represents the most significant disappointment and shame of my life because I struggled desperately to lose it, and once I did see some progress I simply couldn't hold on to it very long.

Overweight since my teen years and put on my first diet by the family doctor at 13, I conservatively estimate I've lost hundreds upon hundreds of pounds over the course of 42 years.  At six times during my life I lost a significant amount but each time returned to my pre-diet weight plus some additional pounds.  I was perpetually on a diet, or over-eating between diets, and very likely started new diet regimens more than 300 times.  I don't think I could even name all the different diet plans I tried over the years.

By all other accounts I think I'm a productive and successful middle class, middle-age woman living in a large Midwest metropolitan area.  I finished college in a weekend program in my thirties, have done well career-wise and earn a consistently comfortable living.  I raised two amazing sons who are now independent adults and are also successful in their educations, careers and lives, and I remain a close part of their lives.  And if it weren't for the weight issue I might be a success story and "living the dream."

But exactly who was I fooling?  Anyone with half a brain in my life over the course of a few years or more didn't need to be told I was struggling with weight issues.  Perhaps they saw me as a wounded, suffering individual who didn't value herself very much.  The phrase "she carries her heart on her sleeve" comes to mind because I seem to be the opposite, shrouding my frame with excess weight as if to hide what was so very evident to the world.  And I did not think I could ever, not ever, make any significant and lasting dent in my weight problem.  I had all but given up three years ago.

Fast forward to 2014 when I had hit a new phase of my life.  I was well settled into my new job having been let go from Star Tribune after 29+ years. While I had always felt satisfaction from the many hats I wore there over those years, I was perpetually stressed. My new job as Business Analyst was closer to 40 hours per week and with no staff and fewer demands.  My sons were well on their way toward total independence, and I had moved out of our family home in 2012. I decided to make another weight loss journey.

I managed to piece together a customized approach to improving my health and lost 100 pounds over the course of a year. But it was a struggle every single day.

But just as I reached that milestone, and before I had adequately prepared myself to continue on the weight loss journey, I ran into a tough year.  My job heated up with longer hours and more demands, leaving me with far less personal time. And my mother nearly passed away from an infection and related complications.  I was relieved she pulled through, and I stepped up the amount of time and attention I devoted to my parents during her long recovery and moving them into a new home. While it was truly a privilege and honor to have provided this support to them during perhaps the roughest time of their lives, it took a toll on me.  The combination of my job and the situation with my parents left me with little personal time or energy, and many personal projects and needs unanswered.  Then after my mom passed away in November 2015 I was emotionally drained and totally lacking any motivation for self-care.  True to what I had experienced my entire life, I found myself back up 40lbs by the time my son married in January 2016. 

I began again to desperately search for the weight loss magic.  I re-evaluated having weight loss surgery like gastric bypass, but again reached the conclusion it wasn't right for me.  My problem was less about food and more about my brain.  Even in my darkest moments I knew could lose weight... I was a pro at it.  I knew what to eat and how much; I JUST DIDN'T DO IT.  Why in all other areas of my life did I have the will to accomplish things yet with my own body I seemed powerless?  Without fully realizing it, what I sought was freedom from spiraling out of control, the discontent in my head, and the rampant self-doubts.  I wanted to be normal with food. 

Two weeks before my February birthday I was checking my junk e-mail and by chance opened one that referenced Susan Pierce Thompson's video series on the Psychology and Neuroscience of Sustainable Weight Loss that included the Food Freedom Quiz.  The video series helped me understand that food addiction is real-- as real as alcohol or drug addiction, and what drives it.

She explained the science behind it and why willpower doesn't work. I learned that obesity is just a symptom of the addiction, and there many normal- weight people dealing with food addiction, too.  The quiz helped me realize how susceptible I was to this addiction.  I didn't know it at the time, but that click from an email was likely the most profound one of my entire life online.  I believe it saved my life both physically and emotionally. I'm finding my way through this life challenge and have lost nearly 80lbs since. And I'm still losing.  I've found the magic-- like a switch has been flipped in my head.  While I still have to work at sticking to a sensible diet, it's never been this easy before. Most importantly though is that I am on my way to being healthier, happier and freer than I have been in decades!

I'm still working toward finding my right-size body, but I feel like I've already arrived.  I'm thrilled with my progress and feel truly blessed.  I am compelled and so excited to share what I have learned with others living with the same hopelessness of yo-yo dieting and food insanity that I have.

Regardless of the number on your bathroom scale, you might feel some craziness or emotional ties to food. If so I encourage you to take the five-minute Food Freedom Quiz.  You'll enter your email address to get your results as well as access to the first of three videos in the series Psychology and Neuroscience of Sustainable Weight Loss that explains the science behind this craziness in terms you'll understand, why you haven't been successful managing it, and what you can do about it.

Each week the next video in the series will be released, and I'll be sure to post a link here. These videos are short-- about 20 minutes each-- and are not a hyped-up internet sales pitch.  There's real and valuable content here delivered by Susan Pierce Thompson with not only the credentials and the research to back her up. She's also someone who has lived the hell of several addictions her entire life.

Invest in yourself.  And if you do I'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback.  If you take the quiz and share your score with me by commenting here, email, or private Facebook message I'll share my score with you.