PEERtrainer Diet

Some Early Results and Feedback From The New PEERtrainer Cheat System

We are about two weeks into the "test phase" of the new PEERtrainer Cheat System, and I wanted to share some of the feedback with you.

1. We are seeing a lot of success from people right out of the gate, especially from people who know the basics of portion control, and know the benefits of vegetables. Here is one email that I just got this morning, and it contains some pretty interesting observations:

"The cheat system is working really well for me.

I don't follow it religiously, but the principles of it are really helpful. I generally am a fan of vegetables, but my policy was to try and cut down on portions, including vegetables, in order to get into the habit of eating less in general.

The problem was, after skipping the salad that went along with dinner, I would become hungry a couple of hours later, and find an excuse to eat a slice of bread with cheese or something of that sort. With your system, there are multiple advantages for me:

1. I eat a lot more vegetables so I do get more energy, like you said.

2. I don't eat more than I need in meals in order to not be hungry later, because I know I can always eat later at any time, as long as it's  on the "left column".

3. I don't have to spend so much energy resisting the urge to eat, and I can focus on my work a lot more."

2. Some people who have not read the PDF are resisting use of the word cheat. As we explain in the guide, our intention here is to turn a negative into a positive. So many people on a variety of plans fall off track and very often use the word "cheating" in a negative way. Our two main objectives here is to present something that people  a) wouldn't feel badly about, and b) be able to do. 

We know from hearing from so many of you that you can do this "for life" and as this mornings emailer said, you don't have to follow it religiously.

3. Guys are a huge surprise. We have tended to be a little "touchy feely" with a lot of things we have done at PEERtrainer. Emotions are a big deal, and we have paid close attention to them. But with the Cheat System, we are hearing from guys who are saying, "I read it, understood the basic principles, and I just do a lot of it." Guys like easy and uncomplicated.

4. The athletes love this and are getting more energy from the plan. We are getting strong feedback from people who exercise a lot that they are finding the system easy to follow, and are getting more energy. We will work to post some detailed feedback and insights from them. In general, many people are feeling more energized.

5. People who have already been healthy eaters but have not embraced the concept of portion control, are finding it harder to follow than others. We are paying very close attention to this group, and will be posting more detailed feedback from them. 

6. People are sharing this system with others. What is interesting about this is the first thing we have done that is not about emotions or support or any of that. Which makes it easier to tell others about. Because of the focus on health and energy, it makes it much easier to share.

If you do share, please use this link:

http://blog.peertrainer.com/tip_of_the_day/2011/02/the-peertrainer-cheat-system.html

We are rolling out new versions of the PDF as we make changes. (Which we did this morning) and will be sending that new link out to the people who signed up for the download.

If you have some feedback you would like to share, please hit reply to this email and tell me or please post it on our Facebook Wall.

7. Finally, we know people have a LOT of questions about why we have done certain things with this system. We are going to be awaiting feedback, but we will start "spilling the beans." Stay tuned!!

 

How To Stop Eating Ice Cream: A Three Step Process

I saw the following thread in the PEERtrainer community:

how do I stop eating ice cream? The person wrote that:

"I can order a salad for lunch but then all I want is icecream. Same thing happens after dinner. Ill have a piece of chicken and veggies and then the ice cream craving comes. Help! Should I eat it anyway because I'm eating so well all the other time?"

There are three steps one can take to reduce these cravings:

1. You are not eating enough vegetables for your meal. If you eat enough vegetables, especially greens you will feel less hungry. Your body is craving more nutrients and is telling you to eat more. Dr. Joel Fuhrman explains that as you feed your body more cooked, pureed or juiced greens, your body will feel full finally and these cravings will shut off.

2. Eat a big, high nutrient breakfast. Often we see that when people experience what they think is "emotional eating" later in the day, they did not eat a good breakfast. Or they did eat a breakfast that was full of "approved diet foods" like lowfat yogurt or high fiber cereal or low carb crackers. None of these foods give you the nutrient boost that you'd get by having a bowl of energy soup with a side of avocado or some healthy fat.

3. Sometimes it actually IS in your head! After you address the nutrition component, definitely explore the psychological component. Joshua Wayne goes deep into this issue in week 4 of the PEERtrainer Point of No Return Program. In this session he advises you to ask yourself if the RESULT of eating ice cream after dinner has become intolerable to you.

If you are worried about eating too much ice cream, odds are that you are gaining weight as a result of this behavior. You need to think about the mental or emotional comfort you get from eating ice cream and weigh that against the result. If the result (added weight) is truly intolerable to you, then you may have a powerful motivator. You can read more about weight loss motivation here.

Joshua has written extensively on the issue of the emotional satisfaction of food. That hyperlink will take you to a fairly long article where he addresses the following observation:

"I think most people enjoy food to at least some extent some of the time, but my experience is that some people develop a level of attachment - something that borders on emotional reliance - to food that goes way beyond normal appreciation for the food that is in front of you.

Often this comes from rich tasting foods.  Whether it's creamy sauces, heavy starches like pasta and bread, lots of sweets, salty snack foods or fast food that may combine all of these, they don't feel emotionally satisfied unless they have them.  If they have to eat food other than this richer stuff they've grown attached to, they feel bored and dissatisfied.    

It is almost like food is a primary source of happiness.  I don't mean that food provides a deep seated, grounded lasting sense of happiness because I don't think food can do that - ever.  Its way too temporary by nature.  Food cannot bring us anything more than temporary, sensory pleasure - a sense of pleasure that is inevitably short-lived and will frankly never be anything more than that.  It will never give us a true deeper happiness or sense of satisfaction in life, but that doesn't stop so many of us from trying over and over again to make it do so - of course with futility.  Its like trying to put a round peg through a square hole.  No matter how much we try, it will never fit.

I'm not saying you shouldn't enjoy your food.  But what I am suggesting is that if you are really struggling to get your weight where you want it, you probably need to look at the way you use food as an ongoing way to provide stimulation, excitement and even happiness in your life.  How is your desire to avoid boredom and seek satisfaction in familiar foods (that don't help your weight loss) standing in your way?"

continue reading: http://www.peertrainer.com/enjoyment_of_food_preventing_weight_loss.aspx