Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind

Episode #91  Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind

In this episode I explore my new course, "8 Strategies to Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind.

These strategies are:
Strategy 1: Find your ideal eating plan and learn what compatibility means for you.
Strategy 2: Let Go of Perfection and Learn to Make Your Next-Best Decisions. Embrace Imperfection and Banish Shame
Strategy 3:  Home Base and Course Correction – Never Start Over Again
Strategy 4: Goal-Setting Strategy: Realistic Pathways to Your Dreams
Strategy 5: The Hunger Scale: Your Key to Intuitive and Sustainable Eating
Strategy 6: Transforming Reactions to Cravings and Triggers
Strategy 7: Keeping a Successful Food Journal
Strategy 8: Change Your Mindset, Change Your Life

I also give you a bonus strategy: Transform Dance Lessons into Plate Lessons: Enjoy your Eating Plan
 * Living an eating plan absolutely should not mean the drudgery of weighing, measuring, and tracking every morsel that goes into your mouth.
 *With over 30 years of experience as a belly dancer and teacher, I have learned how to use the metaphor of dancing to bring success to your eating plan.

As always there is also ACTIONABLE COACHING ADVICE for the week.

Get all my free guides
Take a look at three great new courses
Join me on Facebook
Follow me on Instagram
Check out Pinterest
And don't forget my book!

Transcript

Episode #91  Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind

You’re Listening to the Nourish and Nurture Podcast, Episode #91, Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind.

Introduction

 Did you know that you don't have to spend money on a diet program or even weigh, measure and track your food unless you want to? What if you could learn to have success by learning how to change your mindset so that you can believe in yourself, which is the cornerstone to weight loss success? What if you could learn about what foods work best in your body for weight loss and why they work? Join me, Miriam Hatoum, health coach, course creator and author, as I give you actionable coaching advice that is sure to empower you so that you will finally find peace with food and learn to trust your body’s signals. You’ve got this, girl.

I am celebrating Season 4 with a brand-new party dress, Nourish and Nurture. The title has changed but not the insightful advice and tips that you enjoy and look forward to. And now, you can get all my free guides that are designed to help you in your journey, in one place, at Miriamhatoum.com/resources.

Oh, and before we start, I want to let you know that the primary purpose of this podcast is to educate and does not constitute medical advice or services. And please know that I’m keeping up with the science as fast as I can so I can share with you the latest breaking research in this area to help you achieve your dreams!

Before I go on to the episode, I want to mention that there is a whole new look and feel to miriamhatoum.com, and I would love you to go over and take a look. If you go to freebies, you will get all 9-bonus guides that I have given out over the course of this podcast, and now they are all in one place. Sign up for the newsletter and get an instant link!

 Now on to the Episode…

In my travels as a Keto coach, I realized that not only does not everyone want to eat a Ketogenic – or even a Low Carb – lifestyle, but also not everyone needs to eat Keto or Low Carb. But, what most people I reach are looking for is a way to either lose weight or maintain a weight loss without gimmicks, craziness, or frustration. 

I had a lot of these lessons in my original Keto Success course, and certainly have addressed many of them in this podcast and my blogs, but nothing was curated in a way that made easy, logical, step-by-step sense. What I mean by curated is to say organized. There is so much all over social media or a new book every time you turn around. What I do in this course is pull together the top 8 strategies my clients use along with whatever food plan they are following, to ensure their success with having weight loss success, and maintaining it. However, what is so unique about the strategies I have chosen is that several of them will help you navigate many areas of your life, not just dieting and weight loss. Specifically, I am talking about the strategies for letting go of perfection, setting goals that work, learning to course correct, and how to change your mindset to change your life, how to pick an eating style that is compatible with your likes and dislikes, how to keep a food journal – only to bring awareness and thus bring success – no judgment allowed, and of course strategies on changing your reactions to urges and cravings, and also how to use and understand your hunger scale. 

 In this episode talk a little bit about each strategy. See if anything sings to you that might help you not only make your eating plan more successful, but will help in other areas of your life as well.

 Here is a little bit about how 8 Strategies to Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind came about:

·       When I retired I no longer had my same schedule and I knew I had to escape from being boxed into a diet prison. Weighing, measuring and tracking every morsel of food I was eating, or being on the rollercoaster of on a diet, off a diet, were taking their toll in a life that was already a rollercoaster. 

·      I had to find a way to let perfection go, but still be in charge. I had to find a
way to never have to start over again. I had to find an eating style that would
work now that I lived near my daughter and her children and would be enjoying
many family meals together. I had to wake up every morning with a goal and a
strategy to get me through the day.

·      For those of you who have been following me for a while know that the new season in my life happened
in a split second with my husband’s sudden aortic aneurism in 2018. He
miraculously survived, throwing us both into immediate and unplanned retirement.

·      It turned out it was the best thing that ever happened to us (after the shock wore
off). We sold our home and moved to within a mile of my daughter, which, lucky
for us, was also a mile’s walk to the beach. (Hence all my references to
“navigating the waters”!)

·      It was mostly a happy time because my husband survived without complications, we
were living near my daughter and by the beach, I didn’t have 3 hours of
commuting every day, and well, it was nice. 

But, I had to scramble and find a whole
new strategy for eating and not gaining weight. I also had to find a way to continue on my weight loss journey. I had to do it without frenzy, craziness, or unsustainable diets. And that’s how the content for this course, 8 Strategies for Losing Weight Without Losing Your Mind, came about. 

The added bonus to this course was writing about something I love and did for so many years - belly dancing! I took my teaching and performance strategies and turned dance lessons into “plate lessons”. 

I wrote this particular course to get you to important goals that you need for success. As I have been promising you, you can lose weight without losing your mind. Never have to start over again, and have confidence that the  Land of Good Enough IS good enough!

 When I wrote this course there was no one strategy that was more important than another, and no one strategy that should have gone before another. They all have equal weight in terms of importance, and so the process of ordering them was like spinning a wheel to see where the marker landed. When you listen today keep that in mind. You might go BINGO with one or two strategies that are the most important for you at this stage in your weight loss or life, but know that one is not more important than another.

As you listen to these strategies, you will see that I put the podcast episode numbers in when I have dealt with a strategy in depth. If you want to explore further, be sure to go to my website at Miriamhatoum.com/blog to see any blogs I have written on the subject.

 Strategy 1:Find your ideal eating plan and learn what compatibility means for you. 

For instance, if you really dislike seafood and lean meat, then Mediterranean might not be for you. If you can live without grains and dairy, then Paleo or Primal might be the way for you to go. If you can’t see yourself ever giving up sugar, then Low Carb could be the way for you to go. The video for this lesson explores 8 different eating styles – all healthy and all popular. It is just up to you to also take the lesson in finding what is compatible for you and your family, if their likes and dislikes will factor into what you are comfortable serving. You will also learn about the three layers of compatibility: Physical, Lifestyle/Social, and Cultural.

 There are no diet suggestions or reviews. It is all about eating styles – which means that you make your own plans within the boundaries of what you are choosing to do. I also explore Intuitive Eating – although no foods are off limits, IE still has its own boundaries and bumpers. 

 You will discover that contrary to feeling that you are in a stranglehold because you picked an eating style, you will feel free, because choice means empowerment. You won’t be flubbing around looking for the next best diet or latest hyped up eating style. You will pick what is good for in terms of compatibility.

 Each of the eating styles I explore in this lesson has it’s own podcast episode. If you go to miriamhatoum.com/podcast you will see the list of episodes.

Strategy 2:Let Go of Perfection and Learn to Make Your Next-Best Decisions. Embrace Imperfection and Banish Shame 

·       Learn to make your next-best decisions - being perfect is a myth! The “Land of Good Enough” is good enough!

·       Learn about all types of protocols: what to eat, what
advance decisions to make, and how to construct “if-then” solutions. Banish and
sense of shame because it’s not an “on” or “off” situation.

·       There will always be parties, eating out, vacations, and
“life happens” sorts of situations. Never be worried about any of them again. 

The most recent podcast episode for this topic is #48.

Strategy 3:  Home Base and Course Correction – Never Start Over Again

·       Make home base as “safe” as possible with the foods you want to have and enjoy. Have meals ready and foods you like.

·       Learn about course correction and divide your day into
quarters. Going off plan at lunch does not mean you have to “blow” dinner or
that you have to be stricter the next day.

·       A safe home base and learning to course correct means
that you NEVER have to start over again no matter what happens.

The most recent podcast episode for this topic is #47.

Strategy 4:Goal-Setting Strategy: Realistic Pathways to Your Dreams

·       Learn to set realistic and achievable goals. This module gives you several ways to do this that take you beyond just writing things down.

·       Goals and WHYs are not meant to be static or
one-dimensional. Learn how to layer your goals so that you can take the active
steps to achieve them.

·       Learn to focus and make sure you are heading in the
direction you really want to go in. Be creative with your action
plan. Be willing to change course. It’s all good!

The most recent podcast episode for this topic is #90.

Strategy 5:The Hunger Scale: Your Key to Intuitive and Sustainable Eating

·       This module shows you how to create your own individualized hunger scale that supports weight loss and maintenance.

·       Learn how to identify your hunger cues, which is the
foundation of learning how to ask - and answer - “Am I hungry?” Once you have
this skill, the doors will be open to eating intuitively. 

·       You will build confidence in your choices, know when you
have had enough, and maintain a balanced relationship with food.

The most recent podcast episode for this topic is #52.

Strategy 6:Transforming Reactions to Cravings and Triggers

·       Learn strategies for acknowledging and embracing cravings. You will always have them but you can change your reaction.

·       Explore the psychological and physiological factors
behind cravings, and identify your own personal triggers that cause them. Learn
to observe and experience cravings without judgment.

·       Learn practical strategies for breaking your automatic
response to cravings, urges, and triggers using mindfulness to help you.

The most recent podcast episode for this topic is #78.

Strategy 7:Keeping a Successful Food Journal

·       Maintaining a food journal encourages heightened awareness of your eating patterns and habits. Gain valuable insight into your relationship with food.

·       Armed with this information you can take concrete steps
to modify your eating behaviors and perhaps the foods themselves. Learn to use
this tool the best way.

·       Over time, your food journal becomes a record of your
journey. Learn to align your food journal with your weight loss goals - not by
using food measurements - but by building awareness.

The most recent podcast episode for this topic is #32.

Strategy 8:Change Your Mindset, Change Your Life

·       Learn to recognize the influence of self-talk on thoughts and behaviors, and the connection to self-esteem and weight loss. Catch yourself in the negative loops.

·       Explore the concept of affirmations and how to create and
use them. Learn guidelines for crafting powerful and personalized affirmations
and how to implement them in daily life.

·       Self-compassion and self-forgiveness is the secret sauce
to your lasting success. Let go of judgment and shame and move on. Nothing good
can come from hating yourself.

The most recent podcast episode for this topic is #22.

Bonus Strategy: Transform Dance Lessons into Plate Lessons: Enjoy your Eating Plan

·       Living an eating plan absolutely should not mean the drudgery of weighing, measuring, and tracking every morsel that goes into your mouth.

·       With over 30 years of experience as a belly dancer and
teacher, I have learned how to use the metaphor of dancing to bring success to
your eating plan.

·       Learn to make your eating style something that you can
live with, dance with, and enjoy without effort. If you can’t then go back to
Module 1 and explore other eating styles!

HERE IS YOUR ACTIONABLE COACHING ADVICE FOR THIS WEEK: 

This week I would like you to pick one of the 8 strategies. I have many podcasts and blogs on each. Here they are again:

 Strategy 1: Find your ideal eating plan and learn what compatibility means for you. 

 Strategy 2: Let Go of Perfection and Learn to Make Your Next-Best Decisions. Embrace Imperfection and Banish Shame 

 Strategy 3:  Home Base and Course Correction – Never Start Over Again

 Strategy 4: Goal-Setting Strategy: Realistic Pathways to Your Dreams

 Strategy 5: The Hunger Scale: Your Key to Intuitive and Sustainable Eating

 Strategy 6: Transforming Reactions to Cravings and Triggers

 Strategy 7: Keeping a Successful Food Journal

 Strategy 8: Change Your Mindset, Change Your Life

 Pick the one that interests you the most right now and find the blogs and podcasts that I have written on the subject. 

 Then, in your journal, please write down how you can approach the strategy with what you have learned, and how you will incorporate it into your life. If you want further information to work with, do a Google search for any of the topics. You will find more of what I have presented to you in podcasts and blogs, and you will also find other points of view and other directions to take.

 Please go to my website, miriamhatoum.com/navigate-success, and you will find all the information on this course. And, while you are there, if you are not already on my email list, sign up for my brand new newsletter, Nourish and Nurture so you don’t miss any new blogs, podcasts, or recipes.

  Coming up next week
 
Next week I will tell you about my other brand-new course, Understanding the Impact of the Foods We Eat. This is a great start if you are interested in deciphering a lot of information you have been getting on social media regarding eating sugar and grains. It also addresses stubborn belly fat, how we got here, and how to turn it around. Hint – no amount of sit-ups and crunches will help you if your main source of fuel is sugar! I won’t get too science-y with it all, but be prepared to learn some things. I won’t keep you hanging, though. I will tell you about how to prepare family-friendly meals if you decide to cut back on some of these foods, and also give you ideas for ordering out.

 Please share the new Nourish and Nurture Podcast with your friends, and invite them to tune in with you and learn how to become free from diet prison. Please leave a review wherever you listen to your podcast. It helps other people find it by bringing it up in the various directories. Also, don’t be a stranger. Like or join my Facebook page, Breaking Free From Diet Prison, and let me know if there is anything you would like to hear on the show, and let me know you are a podcast listener. 

 Until then, go live free from diet worry — I’ll see you back here next time. 

 Get all my free guides
Take a look at three great new courses
Join me on Facebook
Follow me on Instagram
Check out Pinterest
And don't forget my book!