Shift Weekly: Confessions of a Junk Food Junkie and her Veggie-Filled Redemption

THIS COMING SUNDAY FROM 5-7PM! THE SHIFT HOLIDAY SHOW AND HAPPY HOUR

Where: Club 705, 705 Pier Avenue, Hermosa Beach, CA  90254 Phone: 310-372-9705 www.club705.com

-Get ready to Shift through the holidays unscathed at this fun-filled community event that will include a holiday eating strategies, hypnosis, calorie bingo and prizes, discounts on upcoming events and products, and more! 

-Please RSVP (if you haven’t) we want to make sure we have enough “stuff” or contact me for more details.

Shift Weekly: Confessions of a Junk Food Junkie and her Veggie-Filled Redemption

Is there hope for a junk food junkie?  Is there a path to recovery for a candy-bar-holic? Can a former Mc Donald’s disciple be redeemed? Should the Betty Ford Clinic open a “Fast Food” wing?  When it comes to junk food (or GAK as we like to say at SHIFT) sometimes it can feel like an uncurable addiction.

Learn the inside secrets of how Shifter Linda Buffington made her amazing transformation from a “McDonalds Munching Mama” to a “Wellness Coordinator” who helped her husband improve his diabetes and now helps others make the same healthy changes in their own lives in this Shift Talk Radio session. (see ideas to infuse your life with veggies below)

Click for Shifting Diabetes Interview with Linda Buffington

Listen and learn:

-how Linda helped her husband improve his diabetes

-how she transformed from fast food and chocolate bars to a plant-based diet

-tactical ideas about getting more fruits and vegetables in your life including the fruits and vegetable supplement JUICE PLUS

Click for Shifting Diabetes interview with Linda Buffington

If you are interested in learning more please go to www.LindaLovesJuicePlus.com.

BRAINY NO-BRAINER WAYS TO INFUSE YOUR LIFE WITH MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

-Have at a little fruit with each meal. It's easy. For instance, have blueberries or

a banana on some 0% fat Greek yogurt or oatmeal in the morning, a piece of fresh fruit with your lunch and/or as a snack and a fruit serving with dinner. (If you don't feel like cooking a vegetable or making a salad, slice up some cantaloupe or a few apples.)

-Challenge yourself to try at least one new vegetable or fruit each week. Shake things up with a veggie swap out at dinner by switching from the old familiar green beans, apples and bananas to kale, winter squash, mango and kiwi.

-Eat more salads as “meals”. Use a large salad as the base, but, throw in meat

"condiments"— several ounces of cooked chicken, turkey, tuna or some low-fat cheese

and/or legumes. (this alone would equal about 4-5 serving of veggies).

-Mix fruit and vegetables. Add sliced or chopped apples, pears, grapes, melon, kiwi and

orange sections to tossed, spinach and cabbage salads.

-Take advantage of ready-made bag salads and precut and cleaned fruits and vegetables (melons; salad greens, shredded cabbage for coleslaw, grated carrots, stir-fry vegetables, and baby carrots). These are great when you're in a time crunch have worked all day and just want to throw something together.

-If you're in the dessert habit, try substituting fruit in place of dessert. For instance, try an apple baked with some cinnamon and a few raisins or a sliced up banana with a couple teaspoons of chocolate sauce drizzled over it.

-Put vegetables in everything: eggs, soups, sandwiches, stews, or mix green beans or broccoli with pasta or substitute the pasta altogether with a bowl of greens topped with marinara sauce and Parmesan.

Click for Shifting Diabetes Interview with Linda Buffington

Again, to contact Linda and read her Newsletter: www.LindaLovesJuicePlus.com.

Please post some of your "add veggies" ideas or sordid "junk food junkie" stories below or just say "hi!" below.

Have a green and Shifted week!

Oxox Rita

Shift Weekly: Thanksgiving--3 Strategies and Shift TV

Hi Shifters--Happy Pre-Thanksgiving.

COMING UP SOON!

Worried about packing on the pounds this Holiday season?? Come to the Shift Holiday Show and Happy Hour and receive a free Holiday Hypnosis CD and discounts off the next Re Shift coming January 2012 as well as other discounts and prizes for Holiday Calorie Bingo.  This event will not only prepare you to release weight through the holidays but be a fun chance to experience the fabulous, fun Shift Community.( Please RSVP by replying to this email).

The Next 30 Day Shift Weight Mastery Process and Re-Shift begins January 21st 2012.  Sign up now and receive pre-end of year discounts and bonus gifts. 
SHIFT WEEKLY: Thanksgiving Mantra “Know-no-know!”

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year.  No pressure to buy presents, no eggs to hide, no fireworks to fight the crowds to watch, just family, friends and food—it’s just so simple and nice.

CLICK HERE for SHIFT TV—Thanksgiving 15-50 (a fun video of how I challenged myself to finish last year's Thanksgiving under 1550 calories! Great starategies included!

Since I love to cook and entertain and Shift I have been thinking ahead somewhat to this coming weekend.  I actually love the planning ahead, cooking and shopping for this day as much as I do the sitting down with everyone and eating.

One thing I do not love is feeling stuffed and bloated after Thanksgiving—and I am sure neither do you.  There is one thing to celebrate all we are grateful for, to dine and connect with others and ourselves—it is another (unfortunately easy thing to do) thing to eat too much, drink too much and finish the day disconnected from ourselves in a food fog.

So here is some coaching as we head into one of the food-i-est holidays of the year.

There seems to be a general consensus in the world of masters of long-term permanent weight release as to how to get through Thanksgiving and while maintaining or releasing weight. I have boiled these pearls of wisdom down into a do-able mantra that you can repeat to yourself through the entire weekend.  Unfortunately saying the mantra doesn't burn calories but it may keep some extra ones from hopping onto your plate--into your mouth and down to your tummy--remember the turkey gets stuffed so you don't have to.

THE MANTRA AND FAIL PROOF SYSTEM: Know-No -Know!!!

Part 1) Know roughly what you are going to eat on the big day and plan for it.  Mr Stacey—my sex-ed teacher in high school had a saying which applies to both birth control and calorie control: "HOPE IS NOT A METHOD"--you cannot hope that you'll get through the weekend unscathed. "Hope" or "trying to be good” is for future pregnant teens and failed dieters!  C'mon masters--this is one holiday where you can't use the lame excuse “gee I didn't know what we were going to have…”—because ya know!—okay!?  There's going to be turkey—right? --then there’s going to be the carbs--the potatoes--the sweet potatoes--the stuffing--the parker house rolls (is there a rehab facility for these--please advise), then the attempts at veggies--peas? beans? jello mold (remember those? that was my mom's whip it out and surprise them with the lime cream cheese jello mold! wow!), there's going to be some cranberry thing and probably some dessert-hmmmm what could that be?? I wonder!!!

So here's the thing my darling Shifters--look up the calories of these things ahead of time then you can choose what you truly want and what will be wasted calories --like the lime cream cheese Jello thing (sorry mom).  Sure, you can leave room for surprises but plan ahead and you will be ahead. Start the dialog with your Inner Coach now instead of after the appetizer plate has arrived and you are starving.

Which brings me to my next piece of coaching: come prepared with a not so starving tummy—eat some protein before heading over the river and through the woods.  Bring some light appetizers to the party to nosh on.  Don’t arrive starving and then spend the next hour sitting in front of a bowl of potato chips and onion dip.

Next--- and most importantly---create your Thanksgiving vision. Yes creating a vision of how you want to wake up feeling Friday morning and how you want to head into the following week feeling—having stayed connected to yourself all weekend long and not diving head first into the dreary and major buzz killer--food fog. Make Mr. Stacey proud people!


Part 2) “NO”--practice saying “no” it in the mirror, visualize saying it in your head. Be kind, be firm, say what you mean and don't be mean but say “no thank you” when you don’t want it or need it –say it sweetly but firmly to your mom--your aunt--your friend--your Inner Rebel. Say, “No thank you--I've had enough, I’m pacing myself, I can't eat sugar, I am driving no more wine etc.”  Say, “that looks beautiful but no”.  Say,“Hell no!”  No to extra food--yes to extra conversations--yes to connecting to others and yourself--yes to helping out--yes to having your feet rubbed--yes to watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  But when it comes to food that will take you outside your body’s energy needs for maintenance or weight release--just say, “No!”

Part 3) Know--this is a big one masters. Know. Know what and how much you ate.  Write it own it.  “Know” without the k = “now”.  When you “know” you can live in the “now”--you are present to yourself and not your Inner Critic who will be harsh or your Inner Rebel who will say “screw it” (I remember one year pre Shift I ate the entire top off of a pecan pie and then forgot that I had done it that was probably 1200 calories right there--before the stuffing)--you will be staying powerfully connected to your Inner Coach and live in the now.  “Now” mixed up spells “OWN”.  Know what you ate so you can own it and live in the now.

CLICK HERE for SHIFT TV—Thanksgiving 15-50--can Rita finish her Thanksgiving day under 1550 calories? Watch and see and learn great strategies to get you through your TG in Shifted style.

I am grateful for everyone in the Shift Community and wish you all a happy day of thanks and a relaxing weekend!!!!
Love,
Rita

Shift Weekly: Mind over Exercise

Remember we will be celebrating and preparing for holiday weight release success at the:

SHIFT HOLIDAY SHOW AND HAPPY HOUR DECEMBER 4^TH FROM 5-7PM (SEE DETAILS AT BOTTOM OF THIS POST)

The next Shift Weight Mastery Process begins January 21^st, 2011 sign up now and receive discounts and bonuses.

The Shift in a Box 30 day Weight Mastery Process will be available in December at pre-launch prices—a great gift for those out of town friends and family who need the gift of good health this year.

Dear Shifters,

If you have been resistant to exercise chances are you have not been watching enough TV!  Mind T.V. that is.  This is the time of year that a lot of times our exercise takes a nose dive.  The holidays suck our time from our schedules and the shorter days make it less desirable to get out and move.  Now you can get moving again with the help of a self-hypnosis technique that I call Mind TV.

When I struggled with my weight every night I would go to bed swearing I would wake up early the next morning and get up and exercise.  “I will get up and exercise!” I would say to myself, but that was about it.  I went to bed without another thought about it until the next morning when the alarm sounded and I groggily remember in some hazy distant memory something about exercise. “Hmmm,” I would say as I hit the alarm, “let me just think about that for a moment…” as I drifted back to sleep as my barely worn sneakers would spend another lonely morning in the back of my closet.

Why was it so hard for me to get started on my new exercise routine?  My intentions were good.  A part of me, my conscious mind, would say, “Rita, get up and exercise!”  The problem was that there was a bigger part of me, my unconscious mind that had gotten used to sleeping in and really could only see me staying in bed and hitting the snooze button on my alarm.  Consequently, the smaller part of my brain saying, “exercise” and the bigger part of my brain was seeing, “stay asleep”.

It was a case of “say” versus “see”.

Seeing ourselves doing something engages our imagination.  It forces the brain to create a picture.  Our unconscious brain works less effectively with language than it does pictures, metaphor and symbol.  Seeing myself getting up and exercising forces my brain to see it and then proceed to figure out how to achieve that outcome. That’s why “seeing” yourself doing something is a much more effective way to get your resistant unconscious brain motivated and eager to achieve the outcome than just saying “I have to exercise” which is saying, and saying has very little impact on the unconscious mind.

When I finally understood this and started seeing myself wake up and exercise I was able to begin to get up and exercise. Now you can too.  I am going to teach you a super simple self-hypnosis technique that I call MIND TV that you can use to get yourself “seeing” and begin an exercise routine.

MIND T.V. SELF HYPNOSIS

1)      Get comfortable in a chair or in your bed (you can do this before you drift off to sleep at night or in the morning as you are waking up).

2)      Close your eyes.

3)      Breathe in deeply and fully, and then exhale.  Repeat this two more times.

4)      Tense every muscle in your body tightly and hold for the count of three.  Relax.  Repeat this twice.

5)      Create an image of yourself sitting in a comfortable chair and also imagine that in front of you is a large screen T.V. 

6)      Imagine that you have a remote control device in your hand and that you now turn the T.V. on.

7)      Imagine on the T.V. is an image of you just before you would get ready to exercise.  Make sure you are very specific about when and where this would be, what time of day it is and what you are wearing BEFORE you get ready to exercise.

8)      Now see yourself in the chair press START on the remote device and see the image on the screen of yourself beginning to get dressed to exercise and starting out exercising.

9)      Continue to PLAY the image of yourself as your move through your exercise, see yourself feeling good, looking happy performing the exercise. Be specific as to how long you will exercise for and what exactly you are doing. (NOTE: You do not have to imagine the exercise for the length that you will perform it in real life.  Just be specific.)

10)   See the image of you in the chair watching the scenario of you on the screen finishing your exercise and feeling proud of yourself for having shown up for yourself.

11)   Now see the image of you hitting REPEAT on the remote device and PLAY the same exercise scenario on the T.V. screen again.  Repeat this same scenario three more times for a total of 5 times.

12)   Take a nice deep breath and open your eyes. (If this is before sleep just continue to drift off to sleep.)

There you have the technique to begin your very own exercise channel.  Us e this technique often and soon you will find that it is much easier to engage yourself willingly in moving your body.  You can also use this technique to create a powerful vision of seeing yourself a year from now exercising at (or closer to) your ideal weight, this will also help keep you motivated.

The Mind TV self hypnosis technique is also useful for other things you may be resisting as well, such as; pushing the plate away when you have had enough, walking by the candy jar at work or stopping after one glass of wine.

-Do keep trying this technique, it may take a few times to get the result.

-Do try to also feel the feeling of how good the outcome will feel when you achieve it.  This also helps the brain to create the outcome.  See it and FEEL it!

-Do have fun!

-Don’t do this while driving.

Enjoy the show!  Enjoy the results!

Oxox Rita

I am including the Shift into Exercise interview that I did with exercise and movement expert Marilyn McLaughlin.

CLICK LINK TO EXERCISE INTERVIEW

SHIFT HOLIDAY SHOW AND HAPPY HOUR DETAILS

Where: Club 705

                  705 Pier Avenue

                  Hermosa Beach, CA  90254

                  Phone: 310-372-9705

                  www.club705.com

You are cordially invited to partake in the fun of the

SHIFT Holiday Party, benefiting SHIFT KIDS

Come celebrate! Come support a great cause!

♪ Learn how to party the SHIFT way by ordering low calorie drinks and foods

♪ Develop Shifting strategies for handling holiday eating

♪ Hear holiday eating stories

♪ Play “Holiday Calorie Bingo” and “Name that Calorie” game

♪ Get hypnosis to support you through the holidays

♪ Participate in group strategizing for success

♪ Sing “Shifted” holiday songs and receive a special holiday present

Bring your family and friends to join in the fun (discount coupons for Shift courses and products will be available to welcome newcomers)

Suggested $20 donation benefiting SHIFT KIDS (tax deductible)

Cash Bar and Food are reasonably priced

Shift Weekly:Shifting into Maintenance--Shannon's Story

Mark Your Calendar!!! The Shift Holiday Show and Happy Hour will be at Club 705 in Hermosa Beach on Sunday December 4th from 5-7--come play Holiday Calorie Bingo, get strategies and hypnosis to keep "Shifting" through the holidays, hear funny holiday eating stories and more!  All proceeds will benefit SHIFT KIDS.

Dear Shifters,

When we struggle with weight most of our energy is usually focused on weight release—winning the epic battle with those extra pounds that come and go and come and go.  The idea of maintenance as a new skill set to be learned and mastered once one has reached their ideal weight is rarely considered.  Yet, it is our inability to sustain maintenance that really keeps us gaining back the weight and staying in the perpetual struggle.  Therefore, even before we get to our ideal weight it is a good idea to glean some ideas about what maintenance is all about.

When I struggled with my weight maintenance seemed like something other shiny, lucky people achieved.  I never believed that I could wake up day after day, year after year at my ideal weight and go to my closet and pull out the same size clothes and wear them.  I never believed that getting on the scale could not be some drama of high and low emotions and that someday getting on the scale every morning could be as predictable and dull but as necessary as brushing my teeth.  Once I made the Shift and took back my power from the old Fat thinking mindset I was able to envision maintaining before I even got there—because I finally understood—maintenance was not some lucky thing bestowed upon the privileged few, but a skill set that could be learned and repeated over and over again.

Reaching your ideal weight, deciding to maintain, and then maintaining over time is the focus of the wonderful Shift Radio interview with Shannon Marraffino who released 25 lbs with a Shift-in-a-Box Process that she received at a Shift Party in Vermont last year.  She has been maintaining her ideal weight since June and has a lot of great insight into what it takes to:

-decide you are at your ideal weight

-transition into maintenance

-keep yourself motivated to stay in maintenance mode.

Click here to listen to Shannon's Story

Here are a few things to practice so maintenance will come easily for you:

-envision getting to your ideal weight and accepting that weight rather than trying to go lower (a common mistake)

-practice holding the same weight for a few weeks by adjusting your food and exercise to stabilize rather than release—try to stay within a 3 lb range on either side of the scale

-practice enjoying getting on the scale and being happy that it is the same weight as the day before, the week before, the month before, the year before!

-create a powerful vision on you at your ideal weight one year, the following year, 5 years from now, 20 years from now.

Send this to a friend and share the radio show—it’s a wonderful way to share the Shift!

Get ready because the Shift-in-a-Box Weight Mastery Process 2.0 that empowered Shannon to release 25lbs is coming soon!

Have a great week and let your friends and family know that if they sign up for the Shift Weight Mastery Seminar for January 21^st 2012 they will receive early bird discounts and a “Get Shifting Early” CD kit worth $75.

oxoxRita