PEERtrainer

How Better Hormone Balance Can Improve Thyroid Function...And Help You Lose Weight

In response to our blog post yesterday, someone unsubscribed from the Tip Of The Day email list with the comment, "I want weight loss tips, how does a blog post on digestion have ANYTHING to do with losing weight???"

This was an interesting comment, because it seems obvious that if you improve your digestion your whole system will be working better. You are going to be converting a lot more food to energy, and storing a lot less of it as fat. Which will likely lead to weight loss!

However, it does seem that many of us view weight loss only as a process where we burn more calories or consume fewer of them. At PEERtrainer, our focus is on long term weight loss, better health and energy. The reality is that all of these are connected. When one makes the proper fundamental changes, these areas of focus all start to improve at the same time. These benefits are usually highly interrelated!

For example, tip #7 yesterday was to find a way of naturally detoxing on a regular basis. Some of the best ways to do this are to drink fresh vegetable juice and consume plenty of greens. This is "Dr. Fuhrman 101", who teaches that greens and vegetables are the single best way to lose weight over the long term. A "side effect" of this advice is that people also tend to prevent or reverse some pretty nasty diseases and ways of dying.

In another video, Dr. Mark Stengler discussed the importance of hormone balance, why hormone balance is important, and how to get your hormones back in balance. One of the key benefits to better hormone balance is proper thyroid function.

According to Dr. Stengler, a poorly functioning thyroid "leads to weight gain." This is something that anyone with a poorly functioning thyroid knows all too well. Hormone imbalance can ALSO cause anxiety and depression, as well as sleep problems.

So, if you seek to improve your thyroid function with the objective of losing some weight, you also just maybe will feel a touch better, maybe get a little more sleep.

Two Suggestions To Help Get Your Hormones Back In Balance:

1) The single most important cause of hormone imbalance according to Dr. Stengler is a poor diet. In particular many of the foods we eat are laden with pesticides. Pesticides are something that we know to be "scary" and "bad for us" and can cause cancer.

But what is really evil and interesting about pesticides is that they "mimic" certain hormones, throwing you off balance. This can happen to both men and women.  Eating organic can help to avoid these pesticides. Green vegetables can also help you detox and eliminate these pesticides, bringing you back in balance.

The "usual suspects" like Broccoli, Cauliflower, Kale and Bok Choy in particular can help you a great deal in this detox process. (Click here for the awesome Asian Fusion Chicken Salad recipe, featuring Bok Choy.)

2) The second suggestion that Dr. Stengler made was to target and help support your adrenal gland through the use of supplements. We poked around for a "second opinion" on this suggestion, and found a book called "From Fatigued To Fantastic" by Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum. 

Dr. Teitelbaum is a chronic fatigue specialist and leading researcher into fibromyalgia and had this to say about the adrenal glad:

"If the adrenal gland is suppressed and cannot make sufficient adrenal hormone, a variety of fatigue symptoms can result."

Dr. Stengler suggests the use of Ginseng as well as an herb called Ashwaganda to help with hormone balance. Ginseng is a well known energy boosting supplement, that has been used for thousands of years. Ashwaganda is lesser known but has also been used for thousand of years.

Dr. Teitelbaum suggests that one take Ribose and Coenzyme Q10 to help balance out hormonal deficiencies and also improve energy production. We did some poking around on Ribose and found some very credible sources, outlining a variety of possible benefits.

According to Dr. Andrew Weil, ribose can benefit people with congestive heart failure, "speed muscle tissue recovery after exercise", and "help ease the pain and fatigue of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia."

Both of these suggestions, diet and supplement appear to be fairly well founded. The suggestion to eat more green vegetables is a bulletproof one. It would be very interesting to hear from those of you who have taken any of these supplements.

The key to supplements is figuring out what you cannot get from your diet, or get enough of. In addition, you need to figure out what you need a lot extra of, if it is safe and effective. You'll always need to do your own research.

But it is interesting, especially for those of us who walk through the vitamin and supplement aisles of stores and really have no idea what all the fuss is about, beyond things like Vitamin C!

Please post any feedback below or on our Facebook Wall!

 

 

 

 

What Successful Weight Loss REALLY Looks Like

Hint: It's not the weekly 7 - 20 pound loss you see on reality television!

We tend to see the same thing over and over at PEERtrainer: people can actually be on a successful weight loss track, but because they don't KNOW what a successful track looks like, they think they are failing.

Once they believe they have screwed up, then they say "screw it" and really screw up. If only they knew how well they were doing! While success does depend on your specific goals, starting point, body type and regimen, there are a few things that are consistent across the board. Once you measure your weekly weigh in against this checklist, you'll know if you're on the right track.

1. Weight loss does NOT come in the form of losing 2 pounds every week until you reach your goal, no matter how well you've stuck to your food and exercise plan.

When you were gaining, you didn't gain 2 pounds every single week in a measured fashion. You're not going to lose it in a measured fashion no matter how well you stick to your plan.  You might lose 2 pounds one week.  You might even lose three pounds in a week.  Then, you might lose 1 pound the next week.

Some weeks you might lose zero and there are weeks you even gain.  These weeks are the most frustrating and we all have these kinds of weeks where we feel like we're doing everything right and the scale doesn't give us what we want.

Keep track of the weekly weigh-ins but take a look at the month and see the overall trend. You might have gained a 1/2 pound one of the weeks but take note if you lost 4 pounds overall for the month. If the month is trending downwards, you are in the right place.  

2. Nobody is perfect 100% of the time.

Sure, there are a few people that are perfect.  I haven't seen them but I'm sure they're out there.  There are also a few people who can eat 3000 calories a day and have a perfect figure and that's just the way it goes. Just because you went out drinking and ate all the bread, stuffed your face with pasta, and had 2 desserts, and then woke up and had a cheese omelet the next day does not mean you have failed.

Everyone does this.

We all make a committment and we all slip up.  Just like Vince Lombardi says, it's not if you fall, it's if you get back up. You fell. So what? Learn what will work for you to get back on track. You can fall and still be on a successful weight loss track by simply making the decision to get back there.

3. You've been doing everything right and you're not losing anything. (aka The Dreaded Plateau)

We rarely see members who don't hit a plateau in the weight loss process. Some can last for a few weeks. I was on one for an entire year!

It's so easy to say to yourself, "I'm doing everything right so this is where my weight should be."  That might be true, but it might not be true. It wasn't for me. Once I changed my approach and made the decision to be thinner, no matter how long that would take, I dropped the weight. I increased the nutrients. I changed my exercise approach. I kept the principles of optimism by Martin Seligman in mind. Plateaus do not mean you are done. They are usually a sign that you need to make a change. Do you have the courage to figure it out and keep on going?

Keep in mind that a real weight loss track of ordinary fluctuations are boring to watch. The double digit weekly losses you see have to be created somehow, which is why it's television. Sometimes the loss is real and lasting. Many times, the weight loss results are usually over once the 6 week "sprint" has come to an end.

Real life is more like a marathon, some miles are effortless, some are excruciating and the only way you really fail is if you quit.

Jackie

How To Get The Motivation To Sign Up For Weight Watchers In 3 Days! (True Story From A PEERtrainer Member)

This email was just sent to us by someone who is on Day 3 of our course to Help Stop Emotional Eating. We are sharing it to show how quickly one can get back on track, EVEN if you have fallen WAY off track and gained a BUNCH of weight back"

"Hi, Peertrainer is helping me immensely. It gave me the motivation to sign up for Weight Watchers Online. I am a lifetime member but gained back 45 lbs now I have lost nine and feel empowered thanks to Peertrainer. WW has always worked for me when I work the plan, and with Peertrainer also, I feel very positive about my ability to lose those 45 lbs.

Peertrainer calls, (I am on call three,) helped me to re-frame how I define myself. I learned the importance of how we think about ourselves, and now I say I am not an emotional eater, I eat at times to avoid an emotion that I don't want to deal with. YAY, that is progress!

The second call stressed this and it is working for me. I stop myself before I eat and examine what I am feeling. I substitute exercise, journaling, or go to my list of activities I keep on my refrigerator and pick one. And, wow! It works!

It hit me when I scrolled down to see all the people in the group, and one member really caught my eye....2fat2lose I think that that person is setting herself up for failure, because she believes she is to fat to lose the weight, and this caused me to really think hard on all areas of my life, as to what I am saying as opposed to what I really want.

Thanks very much, love Peertrainer! 

How To Have the Willpower To Stop Eating After Dinner

I saw this question the other day in the Point Of No Return team and it's one I see over and over so I'm sharing the answer.  I hope you find it as helpful as I did when I fully understood the concept.

"I'm thinking I don't have the willpower to allow myself any "points" after dinner. Any ideas how I can hold myself accountable? I don't have anyone in the house on a regular basis to help me out. Forget the 3 bite rule- I currently only do "devour everything in sight". My cravings do not go away in a couple of minutes. I hold on to them for days, then attack."

Here is the answer:

The secret is this:  It doesn't take willpower at all.  The answer is that you are simply not full. If you are hungry after dinner, your body isn't getting enough nutrients. Discipline, such as the 3 bite rule, works when you're happy and you have a specific goal like a date or a reunion but the second you've had a stressful day or you've worked out, discipline goes out the window. 

That's why the Weight Watchers Points System is a great way to understand portion control but it's only 33% of it. You've got to fill up on nutrients, aka vegetables.

Yummy vegetable soups are a great way to fill up on vegetables. You have it in the fridge, you grab a bowl before you go out, or have instant nutrients with lunch or dinner. Have you made the PT energy soup?  Sometimes just one recipe can help you think of new ideas about how to make vegetables you like and want to eat every day.

I remember meeting with a client who was so frustrated by her lack of discipline with snacking at night.  "I run a business, I run my family and I'm successful at it all!  Why don't I have control over this??"

I had to help her find a food she loved that would also be full of nutrients and keep her full.  We uncovered her long lost love of gazpacho. 

I asked, "If both a brownie and and gazpacho were sitting eye-level in the refrigerator, would you have gazpacho or the brownie?"  She answered, "I want to eat healthy and I love gazpacho.  I would choose the gazpacho every time."

This is the key concept:  High nutrient foods are the only way to feel full.  Find some high nutrient soups or salads you love and you have unlocked the secret to lasting weight loss.  Because there will be no more hunger.  No more discipline.  You will feel full.  You will lose the weight because you will no longer be "great all day" while you mess up at night.

Salads, greens and vegetables.  I can't emphasize this enough.  At a certain age, only high nutrient foods will make you feel full.   You can spend your time lamenting over why you can't stop at one slice of pizza anymore or you can step up your vegetables.   This is how I do it.  Want to come over for dinner?? :) 

Jackie

How To Be More Powerfully In Control Of Your Choices By Living Without Apology

We were recently sent the following question:

"I feel like I'm always apologizing for everything. I apologize when I order a salad instead of a cheeseburger by always saying, well I have a big event coming up, so I really need to watch what I’m eating".

I see other people do this as well. They "apologize" for their order with this: "I'm ordering a salad with grilled chicken because you should see what I ate last night! Margaritas, chips and salsa - I must have eaten three bowls of chips alone!" Why say anything?

It's everyone's dream to live without apology but no matter how many quotes we see, we take a step in that direction and we get hit so hard with a snarky comment that we go back to making excuses and "living with apology". How do you start to have the confidence - what is the first step to living life without apology?"

Joshua Wayne has created a detailed response to this question. Here is his answer:

http://www.peertrainer.com/how_to_live_without_apology.aspx

Do You Feel As If You Are Truly Capable Of Losing Weight?

This is something we emailed out Sunday, May 2nd: We are working on a "mission statement" at PEERtrainer, and in the process trying to hone in on "the thing we do best." It is a tough question to answer because we do a lot of things in response to the needs of different people.

From Habib's perspective the thing we do best is simply foster communication and conversation. Ideally we ask questions in a way that really gets you thinking.

Joshua Wayne is focused on the coaching aspect of PEERtrainer, and his response was very interesting. We had asked him "what is the single thing we do best with the coaching program and what have been the results?"

As an exercise this Sunday, read his response, and then think for a few moments about the question asked in the subject of this email:

"One of the key things we have set out to accomplish, from my perspective, is helping people feel like they are in control of their relationship to food so they can get where they want to go.

Feeling out of control is one of the worst feelings in life. Desperately wanting something, like to lose weight, and not feeling capable of getting there is a terrible feeling. Feeling like you'll always be overwhelmed by your lousy habits and that you'll never really be in control of them. Feeling like no matter how hard you try, and no matter how many times you try, that your negative emotions will ultimately derail you. These feelings build and build and build which leads to hopelessness.

So one of our main goals was to help people get back in control. One of the key ways we do that is to teach them to start being easy on themselves - not beating themselves up endlessly. People add insult to injury when they beat themselves up after they "screw up" on their diet. We see that many people have this "perfectionist"streak and we start to break that up by teaching them to be patient with themselves.

Simultaneously we're giving them REALLY good diet info. Not fad type stuff - in fact exactly the opposite. We help them lay the foundation for healthy, sustainable lifestyle change.

We also really embed this whole program smack dab in the middle of their lives too. This is crucial. We're not forcing them to create an alternate reality in their life where they can get healthy. They have to be able to do it in the middle of the crazy day with job, boss, kids, husband/wife because that's their reality and that's where they live.

If they have to attend to all that stuff, AND THEN have to go and carve out time for 3 elaborate meals per day (plus all the shopping and prep) so they can eat pistacio- crusted tilapia with carmelized onion asparagus consomme for dinner it's just not going to happen. Same with the exercise piece. It has to be centrally located in their life.

Not an alternate reality where they have to now squeeze 5 trips to the gym into their life.

Building on that, they have to be able to deal with: work dinners out, frenemies sabotaging them, the "crappy" food inertia of their family when they go home to visit. All that comes up and you have to have a "tool-kit" to deal with it. We give them that tool-kit.

Lastly, we provide consistent support. We're there for 12 weeks, at least a couple times a week. Sometimes with an email saying hi and a friendly reminder to look at the bright side, sometimes with a video or an article and of course the weekly calls.

Everyone needs consistency to make things happen, whether it's building a business, making a relationship work well or losing weight. We provide that consistent support which helps people internalize this optimism and get back to that place of self-control.

Fostering self-control is the key."

I thought that this was a very helpful observation for us, and a great question to ask everyone. This "Tip Of The Day" list that you are reading right now is designed to communicate with you and get you thinking.

And if you are one of those people looking to get in control, I would highly encourage you to try the first month of the Point Of No Return, and let Joshua work some of his magic. We often find ourselves "soft-selling" his work, but as we go through all the feedback from people who finish the program we see that he is very good at accomplishing his objective.

This isn't the kind of situation where we are promising this crazy quick weight loss. This is the complete opposite of all that. Joshua helps you take a step back, and helps you examine all of your assumptions.

At the core it is really about your relationship to yourself. So often at PEERtrainer we soft pedal what we do. But this is something we are doing well, and for many people it is the most important thing in their life that they can be working on.

When we help people to make better decisions for the rest of their life, the ripple effect that has is powerful. Frankly, if you are struggling with food and then do the work to gain control, there is almost nothing in life you cannot successfully tackle. The belief that you develop in yourself will be the new fuel that you can use in all parts of your life.

-Jackie 

P.S. One more thing I want to add here. Joshua wrote a book about emotional eating based entirely on what he saw in the PEERtrainer community, and we turned it into a downloadable digital guide. We sell it for $27, but we thought it made sense to offer it free to people who have opened this email and read the whole message for the next two days or so. If you are still reading this particular email, we have said something that has resonated with you.

Even if you decide to opt out of the program during the $1 month one trial period, Joshua's guide to emotional eating is yours to keep. The book is 175 pages, so there is a LOT in there to digest. Lots of ideas.

When you sign up via this link for the program, you will be sent the book in three days. There is a lot we throw at you, and we want to make sure you get acclimated.

http://www.peertrainer.com/coaching

A Nice Note About Our Emotional Eating Program

Jackie,

I loved the talk today. Totally in the context of the season.

Remembering to be hopeful - so important and so great to be reminded!
Love the stacking the good things done, etc. and focusing on the positive.

The Voltaire quote was great, in fact my Dad taught me to ride a bicycle
that way. Put on at the top of a hill and pushed me down the hill.

I will use the idea of 'what gives me hope today' as Today's Affirmation
in one of my groups today.

- Emily

Thank you Emily!  Here's the link to sign up for the program - it's free and it's a series of 8 audio calls over the course of a month to help you combat and solve this problem. 

Conversation With Matt Hoover, Winner of Biggest Loser Season Two

We had a chance to interview Matt Hoover who many of you know as the winner of season two of "The Biggest Loser." It ended up being a pretty interesting interview, especially from the perspective of keeping weight off, what happens after the weight loss. He talks about his upcoming Iron Man competition in Hawaii and his training for the 2012 Olympics. He was a member of 4 national championship wrestling teams in college, so the guy is a pretty amazing athlete.

We spoke for about an hour, so if you want to listen to the entire interview map out some time ahead of time. This is the link to the interview. It is pretty cool.

Matt mentioned in the call that he uses hypnosis as one of the tools to help keep the weight off. He uses the CDs from Roberta Temes, who we have known for a few years and who has written some articles for PEERtrainer in the past. We asked him to follow up on this subject, something we are increasingly interested in, because it works really well. But it is something that most of us have not tried. Here is his take on it:

"To be honest I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  I had used hypnosis when I was competing in wrestling.  It helped me tremendously in sports but wasn't sure what would happen with weight loss. When I got Dr. Roberta CD's I did a session immediately.  

I didn't really feel different, but  I quickly noticed that many of the cravings I had, especially for Taco Bell were gone.  I didn't even think about it anymore. The biggest thing I notice was how rather than crave diet pop, I began to want water.  The sessions helped me to realize that I didn't have to be on a diet, I could program myself to crave healthy foods in moderation. In the past I would eat until I was full, even if it was healthy food.  

Now I eat until I am satisfied and I don't have to "force" myself to remamber to eat.  I just do it. I used the CD's nearly everyday when I first got them, now I use them a couple of times a month to remind myself of the tools I now have. Recently I used them before I left for vacation to help keep myself in the right state of mind to be consistent during a time when many people fall off track.  I use them anytime I am traveling, usually on the plane.  I have found that to be a great time to relax and get myself ready for my upcoming stay, wherever that may be. 

I am really lucky because my wife really supports my use of the program.  She will say when she thinks I need a session.  She has seen tremendous progress since I started the program and knows that it helps me to stay on track. I have lost 30 pounds so far and have reset my goal to get even leaner using Dr. Roberta's CD's. I love the CD's and have recommended them to everyone I know who is dealing with weight issues.  I know that with the success I have had that others will achieve their goals as well with the use of the tools I have learned from Dr. Roberta. These discs truly have helped me to develop a healthy mind set when it comes to my relationship with food and I fully expect to have continued success on my new weight loss journey with the knowledge I have gained from Dr. Roberta Temes."

We were first introduced to Roberta I think in 2006, and we need to circle back with her. We have recommended this product in the Tip Of The Day program, and it is nice to see a "celebrity" endorse something like this. Sort of a nice validation of something we had seen work. You can get the CD set through the Hypnosis Network. 

Btw, I personally use hypnosis for other areas of my life. Different products from different companies, but the bottom line is that these things really work. Be open to it!

"Strength For My Mind And Spirit"

We just got a very profound email from one of the members of the PEERtrainer community, and I thought it would be helpful to share some of the comments. It is an excellent articulation of the value of our Point Of No Return concept, and helps to show that we are able to deliver on the central premise with both our Tip of The Day And Point Of No Return Program:

"The things I am learning from the 'tip of the day' and also the 'point of no return intensive' is what makes me think that this will be the time that matters....the time I can reach my goals. I realize that there will be no more "times" after this because over the past 2.5 months my whole life has started to change."

This is really the whole point. Most of us have been through things like Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, South Beach. We own copies of Dr. Oz's books. We have Oprah Magazine sitting in our bathrooms and living rooms. Yet we don't make the progress we desire and we don't become the person we want to become.

We built the PEERtrainer coaching program with this problem in mind, and engaged with a talented therapist who is familiar with both the mind- and the spirit. And the email contained a great recognition of that, that we help move people to a different way of thinking about themselves which can trigger immense personal change:

"I knew how to get an awesome workout....I knew how to eat to lose weight....what I needed all these years is the strength for my mind and my spirit....all the tips and exercises and thoughts that I am totally addicted to now! Health and weight loss is not just a physical journey and I am so happy that I finally realize this."

This was one of the best emails we have ever received at PEERtrainer, and are very grateful for it.

Tips On Combating Emotional Eating

This is a video I put together on emotional eating and some strategies and tips that I use to combat some of the everyday stresses or challenges that come up. This clip covers something I have written about previously on emotional eating on the PEERtrainer site. 

For those of you who want to dive a little deeper into this subject, we have also written an article that explores a very sound, scientific strategy of working to put space between stimulus and response. Here is a section of that article that people have found both helpful and challenging:

"Our lives are a function of the decisions that we make. We as humans have the ability to control our responses to stimulus, which in our world often comes in the form of negative human interaction. Between the stimulus and response, there is a space. Some of us are born with a very large space, and some with a small space. But it is the use of that space that is important and with focus and self-awareness we can work to enlarge it.

As one works on this idea over time they can become more of function of their decisions rather than their conditions. The reality however, is that this can be difficult. A common cultural narrative illustrates how imbedded conditioning is in our psyche. It is often asked if we are a product of "nature or nurture"? According to Covey, this "very question itself is based on a false dichotomy. We are a product of neither nature or nurture; we are a product of choice, because there is always a space between stimulus and response."