SHIFT WEEKLY: 70 lbs worth of support

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Also Coming: New Shift Mastery Member's Circle--A Monthly Subscription Support Group--get weekly support, coaching, and inspiration with a group that holds you accountable.

Dear Shifters,

How much support do you have in your journey to weight loss and maintenance?  

Twice a week my 10 year old daughter and I go out for a run/walk.  This is a pretty new habit.  We started this about 4 months ago to prepare for the Shift Kids 5 K run and it just stuck.  We have a great time, she and I, going for a jog with our dog Mac in the 'hood near our home.  It's solid mother daughter time and the best time to talk about "things".  One thing we talk about is being healthy as my daughter is at the age where she is noticing what her friends eat and also what their developing bodies look like and has lots of questions. I am glad to have the answers to the questions and to give feedback in this non-stressed atmosphere.   It is nice to spend quality time that adds another dimension to our relationship and best of all--my daughter is ONE TOUGH COACH!!!!  I say--"hmmm I worked hard today what do you say we take the shorter route today?" and she will reply , "C'mon mom--you know how much better we feel going 3 miles, the other route is for wimps!"  I don't want to be seen as a wimp and I hop to it, and you know what, she is right, we feel so much better going the longer route.

Having support in your long term journey to weight release is critical.  Studies show that people who have support groups get twice the results and keep the weight off twice as long.

This week I interviewed Leslie and Lauren, two fabulous Shifted women from Irvine who not only own a successful business together, but did the Shift 30 Day Weight Mastery Process together and have released a combined 70 lbs so far!  This interview is chock full of motivation and inspiration and great ideas for how to support can really add an advantage to your weight release success!  Give it a listen--you can also download it to listen to later.

70lbs worth of support interview

By asking those in your life for support it will help you to create a powerful team around you that will add to your mastery for the long term because you are investing in a vision together.  This partnership of health creates a synergy that is powerful and paves the way for lasting results.  When you just tell people you are starting on some “plan,” you are more or less giving them a ticket to the “watch me either fail or succeed show” which makes you feel lonely and them excluded.

What is the best way to ask someone to support you, especially those people who may be resistant to help or may have even sabotaged you in the past? 

The following HAMBURGER TECHNIQUE is a solid method because it keeps the person you are asking out of the defensive, “not another diet!” mode and really invites them to join you in something special.

Here is a scenario: Jane, the company bookkeeper, brings in densely caloric baked goods every week that everyone eats but nobody feels good about. 

1)      TOP SOFT BUN: The soft bun is your initial approach and tone in asking for support.  The soft bun approach, i.e. lightness and sweetness keeps the person you are asking out of the defensive “what do you want now?” mode.  Tell the person how much they mean to you, how great you think they are, and how supportive they are already in your life (even if you don’t think they are that supportive if you tell them they are and give them an example) this will really open them up to listening to you with new ears. 

Example: “Hey Jane, you are so great.  Everyone here at the office just thinks you are so generous, bringing in those home-baked treats every week.  I want to let you know how generous I think you are and what a great baker you are, too.”

2)      THE MEATY MIDDLE (OR VEGETARIAN BURGER MIDDLE): This meaty middle is now the time to make your request.  When you do this make sure you are focusing on yourself and the changes you want to make and not on them and their problems.  Invite them to help you, to be on your team in some way.

Example: “So Jane, I was wondering if you could help me.  I am starting to make some healthy changes and one of the things I need to make changes in is trying to eat more fruits and vegetables, and I was wondering, since you cook and bring stuff in every week, if you had any ideas for bringing in fruits and vegetables to snack on?  Do you have any ideas for snacks that have less sugar and fat?  What are your favorite fruits and vegetables?  What kinds could I bring in that you would like to eat as well so that we can make it an office project to eat more fruits and vegetables?”

3)      SOFT BUN BOTTOM: The soft finish.  Now that you have made your request, finish it with more softness and praise.

Example: “Thanks Jane, I knew I was right in coming to you first.  You are a great problem solver and those are great ideas.  I am so much more excited now that I have some ideas from you and that you are going to help me on this project. Do you know who else might be interested in joining us?  Great!  I am so glad we had this chat. Thanks! I look forward to getting healthier with you.”

Do: Think through your request ahead of time.  This will help you feel confident in asking.

Do: Keep things on your side of the street, the support is for you.

Don’t : Blame them or make it about them and the fact that you may think they are unhealthy, too. 

Okay, so there you have it, a three-step request for support, hot off the grill, that you can begin to implement into your own life starting today (ketchup, mustard, and pickles are optional).  Turn the numbers to your favor, and start turning those saboteurs into your biggest allies on your journey to weight mastery today!

To whom are you going to give your first hamburger??

oxox Rita

Shift Weekly: Craving Kale--an interview on eating more healthfully

Dear Shifters,
I went with my son a few weeks ago on a field trip to Whole Foods and had a wonderful time.  It’s kind of interesting being in a grocery store for the purposes of education rather than frantically running around trying to find what you need in order to get home and get dinner started.  Believe me Whole foods did it’s best to put forth the Whole Foods brand in an amazing light. 

The man who was the tour guide was very passionate about healthy eating.  I have never seen anyone wave around a bunch of Kale so lovingly and speak about it so eloquently to a group of 6 year olds staring with wide eyes.  You watched them watch him jump up and down about organic foods and the dangers of high fructose corn syrup and you could see these little minds being molded—the seeds of awareness were being planted, and a new crop of healthy eaters being grown.  Our tour guide at Whole Foods was a great hypnotist!

When we left the store my son said, “Mommy I don’t ever want to shop anywhere else except Whole Foods.”  “Why is that honey?” I asked nervously knowing Whole foods also meant whole paycheck.   “Well, because the man said nothing at Whole Foods has anything bad in it—no high fructose corn syrup and no GMOs and the food is full of health and I want to be healthy.”  Okay now here is my son, who a week earlier would pass by a Mc Donald’s and beg to be taken through the drive thru only for me to say no again and again and when he asked why am I so mean to deny him a Happy Meal I would tell him simply “because that food is full of crap!”.  So why is it now after this nice young man has convinced my son in one hour what I have spent 6 years trying to do?  Two reasons 1—the nice young man was not his mom and 2-The nice young man (gosh that makes me sound old saying it like that but he was young!) really focused on what was good and why it was good and how good it was to be good.

I figured this would be the best time to debut a wonderful and tip-filled interview I had with Health Coach, Lora Goodpasture who does the same thing in our talk—she really seduces you into wanting to eat healthfully!  In this inspiring interview Lora and I discuss Shifting into eating a more whole and balanced diet and how to manage that given our busy lives.  I hope you will take the time to listen to this 30 minute Shift Talk Radio Show—Lora was a great guest!

CLICK HERE FOR HEALTHY EATING INTERVIEW

Lora and I will also explore healthy eating further as a feature at our LIVE SHIFT WEIGHT RELEASE PARTY WEBCAST MAY 20^TH FROM 10-2PM.  Mark your calendars!

Lora has generously offered the following for all Shifters!

Free Gift Health Consultation 

To set up your complimentary one-on-one consultation contact Lora:

310-594-7956 or click here to visit her website Lora's Website

Have a healthy, greens filled week!

oxox Rita

PS SHIFT HAS A NEW PAGE ON FACEBOOK--LOTS OF FUN STUFF--PLEASE LIKE US AND CHECK IT OUT  Shift on Facebook

SHIFT WEEKLY: IS YOUR WILLPOWER FLABBY OR BUFF?

SHIFT HAS A NEW FACEBOOK PAGE—PLEASE LIKE US!!!

LIKE SHIFT ON FACEBOOK

I NEED YOUR QUESTIONS AND IDEAS FOR MONTHLY THEMES

Please send me your questions and challenges—I would like to address them.  I also would love your ideas for monthly themes as I will be rolling out more focused training on based on themes for the month.  Examples: Body Image, Night Eating, Saying No etc. please contribute your ideas on our Facebook page and LIKE us while you are at it!.

SHIFT COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS Reminder: The next Shift Seminar has been moved to September 22^nd, 2012.

FREE VIDEO TRAINING SERIES coming in May: I will be introducing a free 3 part video training series to motivate and inspire you and reinvigorate your Shift.  This training series is also something that can be passed on to friends and relatives who may be interested in the Shift Process but want to understand more what “Making the Shift” is all about.  COMING SOON!

COME PARTY WITH US ONLINE!  On Sunday May 20^th from 10am-2pm PST we will be kicking off the official launch of the SHIFT-IN-A-BOX with an online webcast party that will be chock full of coaching, interviews, prizes and more.  Mark your calendar and invite your friends and family on for this LIVE online event!

SMOKING CESSATION TAX SEASON IS OVER SPECIAL  To celebrate the end of tax season I am offering a friends and family discount of $50 dollars off my STOP SMOKING GUARANTEED session. 

"As a 2 pack a day smoker, I had tried everything to quit. I had reached the end my options. Then I tried Rita's quit smoking program. It took one session with Rita and I haven't smoked in over 2 years. Unbelievable! God Bless you, Rita. You saved my life!"Gloria Friedman, Bakersfield CA

Here is the link to the site.  stop smoking guaranteed

Interested parties should call Rita at 323 988 4574

Dear Shifters,
Is Your Willpower Flabby or Buff?

 “I can’t lose weight because I have no willpower at night.”  Carol Samson explained her daily dilemma in careful detail to me as she sat down for a Shift appointment.  Every morning she would wake up and eat a measured amount of cereal and fruit, pack a healthy lunch to take to work and even brought some almonds for when she got hungry in between meals.  At work she was good about avoiding the vending machine, drinking water, and even using the stairs instead of the elevator occasionally.  Up until 5pm Carol felt like she had it together in the weight loss department.

But then, every night, she told me, “It seems like I would go into this strange trance as I would enter my home.  I would have the thought ‘I should exercise’ but then that thought was immediately overridden by this automatic urge to walk to my fridge, pull over the wine pour myself a glass and slice off 3 slices of cheese and shove then in my mouth.  Once I do that I am a goner, it’s like I am not even there.  I become this grazing machine.  By the time my husband comes home for dinner I am pretty full but I still manage to sit down and eat a full meal with him!  What is wrong with me!  I want to be good.  I want to eat right and exercise but why can’t I seem to pull myself together?”

Carol’s dilemma is a common and frustrating issue among many people who struggle with their weight.  We can be “good” the first part of the day but it all falls apart at night.  It seems as though our willpower goes from buff to flabby as the day goes along—why is that and what can we do??

SAVING UP YOUR WILLPOWER

It seems that willpower becomes depleted over the course of a day.  Studies done at Case Western by Mark Murhaven and his group of psychology PhD candidates claim that, “willpower isn’t a skill, it’s a muscle, like the muscles in your arms or legs and it gets tired as it works harder, so there’s less power left over for other things.”[RB1] 

In short, the harder and longer your day is the less willpower you have by the end of the day—hence the 5pm dilemma with the wine and cheese or whatever your drink and munchies of choice is.

The good news is that this muscle can be strengthened over time but it works best when conscious thought is put into preparing for the “point of weakness” and coming up with a solution ahead of time and then practicing a better outcome to the situation.

SOLVE IT LIKE STARBUCKS

Ever think about how it must be to make 200 lattes over a shift and deal with 50 complaints an hour and still be expected to keep your cool and not throw a Frappichino on some snotty customer?  Starbucks trains its employees in willpower.  They actually have created a training exercise, much like my “think through” exercise below that has employees write out anticipated points of weakness in their shift (snotty customers screaming, long line out the door, etc) and think through and practice their reactions ahead of time, therefore strengthening that muscle in their mind ahead of time for the moment that they really need the “always happy and polite Starbuck’s branded employee behavior” to be more automatic. 

THINKING IT THROUGH AND WRITING IT OUT ARE LIKE BENCHPRESSES FOR YOUR WILLPOWER

Carol and I walked through her routine as she went through her night.  We looked at what her thoughts did automatically and pinpointed her “point of weakness” (when the thought to exercise gets pushed out by the thought to drink wine) and looked for ways to interject new more powerful thoughts and then practiced having those thoughts override the old thought process.  Next I gave her the home work of writing out her new behaviors at her “point of weakness” which were her walking through the front door, go to fridge, get a glass of tomato juice instead of wine and put on her sneakers and go for a walk.  Next, we had her practice thinking through the new improved and powerful routine 5 times before she got out of bed in the morning and started her day—thus lifting those mind muscle weights and getting them ready for that day’s 5 pm challenge to come.  She also put the wine in the back of her fridge and the tomato juice in front and put her tennis shoes where she could see them when she came home.

A week later she reported to me that after 2 days of consciously coming home and going through her new night plan it began to feel natural and effortless.  The willpower needed to get “over the hump” was now turning into full brainpower because the conscious pattern was on its way to becoming subconscious.  A month later she had released 8lbs with ease and more importantly felt confident and pleased with being able to “show up for herself” in such a powerful way.

COACHING: PUT YOUR WILLPOWER THROUGH SOME CIRCUIT TRAINING

This coming week I invite you to focus on strengthening just one “point of weakness” with a new powerful thought process and behavior and see the power in this.

1)    Write down a habit that undermines your weight release on a daily or weekly basis, maybe it’s something similar to Carol’s situation or when you go out to dinner or lunch or when someone brings bagels into the office. 

2)    Write down your “point of weakness” in that scenario.

3)     Think through the thoughts you would rather have, such as, “I choose to avoid those bagels today”.  Write out how the winning thought process would occur in your mind 5 times.

4)    Write down the actions you would take after the thoughts. Such as, I will walk away from the bagels and go make myself a cup of tea instead.

5)    Create a strong vision of what the winning outcome would look like (sitting at my desk, without a bagel stuffed in my belly while everyone around me complains about just eating too much bagel!)

I believe writing this out—especially with resistant behaviors helpful but even thinking it through and really practicing your new willpower action plan will be like doing 12 reps with 50 lb weights with your mind’s willpower muscle!

Have a great week Shifting your willpower!

Oxox Rita

P.S. I highly recommend “The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg which was thi source of some of the cool studies in this coaching session.

P.P.S. If you want some coaching and hypnosis to help I recommend the following CDs found at the Shift Store. LINK

-Shift into Exercise (has a great “come home and exercise” session)
-Graze -less (focuses on strategies and hypnosis for mindless eating)
-Inner Coach (coaching and hypnosis to build a more powerful inner dialog with yourself in this area)

---

 [RB1]

Shift Weekly: "Shop Shifting"-ideas, inspiration and shopping lists

SHIFT COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS 

This coming Saturday April 14^th is the beginning of the new Shift Saturday Support Series from 10am-1130am.  Come for all or come for one.  This Saturday’s focus will be on creating aversions to your trigger foods.  There will be hypnosis.  Email Rita or call 323 988 4574 to save your seat and get directions.  Seating is limited.

NO MAY 2012 SHIFT: The next Shift Weight Mastery Seminar has moved to September 22, 2012!  Since we are officially launching the Shift-in-a-Box 30 Day Weight Mastery Process in May and need to focus on that --there will be no Spring Shift Seminar.  There are other ways to get your SHIFT FIX coming your way through various media, classes and events. 
The Shift Out of Cravings Show and Happy Hour is Friday May 11^th at 7pm at the Fanatic Salon in Culver City.  A fun night out for Shifters and their friends that focuses on CRAVINGS: How to get rid of the bad ones and adopt new good ones.  There will be Calorie Bingo with prizes, hypnosis, and support and Shiftinis. $20 at door will be donated to Shift Kids.  Seating is limited so save the date and save your seat now by emailing Rita or calling 323 988 4574 and leaving a message.
Shift Community Clothing Swap is coming—hold on to those “too big” clothes!  Coming up in June (date TBD) We will be holding a Community Clothing Swap and Shopping for Your Body Type/Love Your Body with coaching and stylist Juliana Chang.  This will be a chance to get rid of those clothes that have gotten saggy and pick up some new smaller duds for free!  Please let me know if you would like to volunteer to help out with preparations or at the event.  There will be a $25 charge at the door that will benefit Shift Kids.  Start cleaning your closet now!

Dear Shifters,  I hope you survived the holidays and are feeling Shiftier than ever.  The pre-summer get fit season has certainly descended upon us and it got me thinking about one of the most important elements of my long term weight release…shopping!  Not just any shopping, mind you, but grocery shopping.  Did I hear a groan??  Ah it’s not that bad.  In fact when you shift your mind around grocery shopping the promise is that you can actually start to enjoy it.  I know for me when my refrigerator is stocked with tasty and healthy meal options I can whip up in minutes and the my cupboards are bereft of gakky trigger foods that make me want to eat more—managing my weight is much easier—almost mindless!   The time to engage your brain is before and during your grocery shopping experience—not after.
I deal with so many clients who despair about grocery shopping because

1)      They get into the store and are overwhelmed and don’t know what to buy.

2)      They get bamboozled either by the stores’ or products’ seductive labeling that they buy stuff that turns out to be not that good for them or not taste that good—a waste of money and calories!

3)      They go to the store not knowing what they need and end of letting their Inner Rebel do the shopping for them and come home with a lot of trigger food items that now they either have to exert willpower over (not fun) or they end up compulsively or mindlessly eating and then feel bad (doubly not fun!).

What is going on in the examples above is that the client is being driven EXTERNALLY and not INTERNALLY.  They are entering the grocery store without an INNER plan for so that they fall victim to the overwhelming stimulus of the grocery store and get overwhelmed.

Successful shopping begins with an INTERNAL strategy system that is created by engaging with your Inner Coach.  Let’s head down the aisle together in that grocery store in your mind. Shopping can be an overwhelming task when you are not prepared and are doing it last minute—especially when you are hungry and/ or don’t have a plan. Here are some dos and don’ts that masters have learned over the years.

Do: Make a habit of shopping a couple of specific times during the week. What will help you is to keep the time and days consistent so it literally becomes a habit.  Tune into what things you need to purchase at those specific times. Usually one shop will be you big one for the week and the other to supplement fresh fruits and vegetables and milk and other supplies that run low.

Don’t: Shop last minute—especially on an empty stomach.  Your brain is in a stressed state when you are hungry-not a great time to make sound and healthy decisions.

Do: Make a list based on ideas of meals you are going to eat that week.  Take a moment and really ask yourself the question—how do I want to feed myself these next few days?  What kind of fruits and vegetables do I need?  What kind of whole grains and lean proteins will you need?  Make a list and think which areas of the store you need to shop in and which you don’t—this will give you a feeling of confidence when you enter the store.

Don’t: Go to the store unprepared with a list and “hope” you’ll get inspired. This will be a disaster—stores are notorious for marketing gakky food items to unprepared shoppers—go in with a plan—keep your eyes peeled for new low cal products and closed to the gak—as the song says just walk on by… this is important—really see yourself passing by the ice-cream aisle in your mind ahead of time so that it will be much easier to do once you are there.

Do: Shop for fruits and veggies first and gak last. In fact avoid gak aisles all together and just shop the perimeter of the store only going down the aisle for a specific item.

Don’t: Put trigger foods or gak in your cart for other people that you “think” you can handle having around.  Guess what --9 times out of 10 it more will end up in you and less in them.

Do: Stock up on frozen veggies and easy precooked, pre portioned protein sources.  That way

Don’t: Think eating healthfully is expensive—in the long run it always costs less to be healthy and eat healthy than unhealthfully. Remember the time you spend feeling bloated stuffed and lacking in energy because of the foods you eat or the money spent on medications for being overweight or the hours of time lost sitting in doctor’s offices is really a bigger cost isn’t it?  You can’t put a price tag on feeling healthy and vibrant or you family feeling fit and nourished.  Many shifters have told me they save money eating more healthfully.

Here is a link to food ideas and shopping lists for Trader Joes, Whole Foods and Hungry Girl.

click here for list PDFs

I hope that these lists inspire you and give your Inner coach some strategies to begin with.
Think about these strategies as you head out to shop this week.  How are you going to create a winning strategy?  The opportunity is to create a way of shopping that allows you to consistently have healthy foods that honor you and your unique taste palate within reach at all times as you continue to eat within your “gas tank” for weight release or maintenance.

Happy “Shop Shifting”! 

Oxox Rita

PS Remember to let me know if you can come to the Friday night May 11th Shift Out of Cravings Show at the Fanatic Salon.

PPS  Also let me know if we will see you this Saturday at the Shift Support Session on trigger food aversion from 10-1130 am--I will get you details when I hear from you.