I finished the book and wanted to share the information that i got from it. There's a lot of information, so bear with me. I think that, however, this could help a lot of people, especially those who have struggled to lose weight like I have. Also, the reason it's called weight "release" is because once you get rid of the weight, you don't want it back! So you "release" it instead of "lose" it.
The book starts off by explaining itself and whatnot. Eventually, you'll get to an exercise. The point is to be as detailed as you can about the questions that it asks so you can better paint the image you want of yourself. It should be easy for others to see how you're picturing yourself by reading it.
Here are the questions:
- Why do you want to release weight?
- In what ways will your life be different when you have reached your ideal weight?
- 3 Wishes - What do you dare to dream about your weight release if you are guaranteed not to fail?
- What one thing are you looking forward to most when you reach your ideal weight?
- What have you always wanted to do, but were afraid to try?
- Assume for a moment that money is no object and you are at your perfect weight. What does your perfect wardrobe look like?
- Who do you want to be - How do you want to see yourself?
- What are your talents and how are you using them? How do you want to use them?
- What would make you jump out of bed every morning, excited about the day ahead?
After you answer these questions in as great of detail as you can, the book then moves on to "Imagineering". In this exercise, you write as if you've already met your goal. You talk about how you feel, what you love about it and whatnot. You'll start out the sentence as "I am so happy and grateful now that..." and finish that off. The more detail, the better!
Next, you write down 3 habits that are holding you back. The book gives some examples of this (Such as not enough water, excuses, etc). What is holding YOU back from achieving your weight "release" goals?
Write down 3 ways you can turn things in a more positive direction. For example, one of my problems is saying "I can't" so instead of that, I'll try and do one thing that will lead me in the right direction.
Their "Diet" (Which they call a lifestyle choice, as according to the book, Diets don't work. They get in to the science of why that is and everything) is simple. They give you a list of what is okay to eat for the Weight Release plan. I'll create another blog post with the foods that are okay and the sample meals they have for their days, just so this one isn't as long.
One thing I LOVE about this "program" is the "Free Day/Free Week" you get. Every 4 months, you get a week where you get to eat whatever you want and do whatever you want (Meaning, you don't have to exercise if you don't want to, etc). Every week, you get 1 day that is your "Free Day" that you can eat whatever you want (So those cravings you've been having all week... indulge yourself!). You want to double your normal calorie intake at this point. It spikes your metabolism by changing what your body has grown accustomed to. This way, we're not depriving ourselves of our favorite foods and sweets, as once a week, we get to indulge in them.
The meals that they have planned (That they follow and that has worked for them for more than 12 years) involve 2 "drank" meals (Protein shake, etc). They have planned menus for the week and they cook once, eat twice/thrice. They explain it in steps.
Step 1
Planning: Every (Insert day here), plan your menu for the week. Buy needed groceries and prep for easy cooking.
Step 2
Drink at least 2 meals: Protein shakes (breakfast meal replacement and/or lunch meal replacement and/or before bed snack). They suggest doing a shake before bed because it provides adequate protein to rebuild and regenerate muscle during the night, when our bodies are repairing ourselves. Make sure there is adequate protein (15g per serving) and balanced carbs (roughly = to the amount of protein). The shake needs to be low in sugar. Read the ingredients (How far can you read before you can't pronounce the words? You don't want to fill your body with chemicals). And finally, you want it to taste good, obviously.
Step 3
Cook once, eat twice (or thrice): Double or triple the recipe for multiple meals. This gives you "leftovers" you can use for your meals throughout the day (I'll post more about the meal plan itself later).
The book eventually talks about how life can throw you curve balls, such as an unanticipated meal at a restaurant, the club (church, school, neighborhood, etc) potluck dinner, a business lunch or Happy Hour. They give ways to deal with these sometimes unexpected situations.
Restaurant: Order an appetizer (Shrimp cocktail and a side salad); You can order off menu (Boiled/grilled chicken/fish, no butter, baked potato, rice, steamed veggie, etc); Portion your meal (As we all know that restaurant meals are NOT correct portion sizes!) and order a "to-go" box with your meal right away. To correctly portion your meal, you want a "Fist" of carbs and a "palm" of protein. As a bonus, you'll get a meal or two for tomorrow if you portion ahead of time!
Potluck Dinner: Everyone brings something. Bring a plan-friendly dish and you're golden.
The Business Lunch: Check an online menu ahead of time; Eat before your meeting then order a water/tea and a side salad; portion your order or order off-menu.
Happy Hour: Limit yourself to one drink; eat something before you go!
The release plan is designed to be a flexible LIFESTYLE change, not a 1 month, 2 month, 1 year, etc diet. You can't strive for perfect... there will be off days. One mess up doesn't ruin everything.
The book then goes in to "Advanced Decision Making". These are the questions you ask yourself:
- Do I want to be, to do or to have this?
- Will being, doing or having this move me in the direction of my goals?
- Is being, doing or having this in harmony with God's laws or the laws of the Universe?
- will being, doing or having this violate the rights of others?
If you answer "Yes" to 1-3 and "No" to 4, then GO FOR IT!
IMAGINEERING
This is a HUGE part of changing the way you perceive yourself, which is crucial to release your weight. Here's the way they suggest doing it.
- 30 minutes a day of "Imagineering" your end result (In the case of the book, your ideal body)
- 15 minutes writing about it (Details, details, details!)
- 15 minutes reading and thinking about what you wrote and FEELING it.
- Let go of Logic/Circumstantial (Don't think about how you're going to get there, just that you're there and what you want)!
- Dream Big!
- "I am so happy and grateful now that..."
- Detail how you feel (You have already achieved your goal)
- Use a Pen and Paper... NO KEYBOARD OR COMPUTER! Your mind has more time to think and process the images (Which is how our minds work)
- "HOW" is not important right now.
A good example of good Imagineering:
"I am so happy and grateful now that I have reached my ideal weight. I love the way my body feels, looks and performs. It is a true pleasure to walk into my closet and choose what to wear each day, knowing that every piece fits me perfectly! I love the admiring looks I get from my husband/wife, realizing that they are so proud of what I have accomplished. I crave nutritious food and vigorous exercise and I know that with each day I am creating a better, healthier, more vibrant body. I love my body and care for it in all ways."
Here's an example of bad Imagineering:
"I am so happy and grateful now that I have lost all the weight I was carrying around on my body. All the fat rolls are gone and I can actually touch my toes again. It feels so good now that my thighs don't rub together any longer when I walk and I can actually walk up a flight of stairs without getting out of breath. I actually threw away all my fat clothes last week. I am so happy that people don't make rude comments about how fat I am anymore."
The good example is all about the present and positive terms. The second paragraph is imagery of what used to be. Our minds work by images. If I say to imagine a pink elephant, you'll see a pink elephant, not the words "pink elephant", right? The same way works when you write what you are imagineering. In the second paragraph (the bad one), your mind will pick up "Fat", "Fat Rolls", etc, thus causing your subconscious to absorb that and slowing or even halting your weight release.
Imagineer every day!
- Buy a nice notebook and a special pen
- Make it special for YOU!
- 15 minutes free-flow/writing, 15 minutes visualizing
- "I am so happy and grateful now that..."
- Describe your ideal body, health, fitness level, nutritional choices, goals, success, etc in the present tense as if it were already a fact (And you can apply this to more than just your health, such as to your business or your relationships as well)
- Discuss what you WANT! Don't put any energy to what you DON'T WANT.
Eventually, they get in to how you need to inundate yourself with your goal. Here's how they say to do that.
- Imagineering - best way to drive images in to your subconscious mind. Writing causes thinking, thinking creates images, images stir emotions, emotional responses drive the body in to action, action creates a result.
- Carry a goal card - small card (like a business card) you write your goal on and carry with you.
- Write "I am so happy and grateful now that..." and finish with something you REALLY want. (EX: I am so happy and grateful now I have reached my ideal weight of 138 lbs. I wear a size 4/6 and love the way my body looks, feels and performs. I am strong, healthy and unstoppable.)
- Read it as often as possible.
- Use Affirmations - Positive statements that describe a desired situation.
- I am so happy and grateful now that my mind, body and spirit are strong
- I am so happy and grateful now that I always make healthy choices and only fuel my body with the highest quality food.
- I am so happy and grateful now that I always have time for the people and things that are important to me.
- Physically inundate yourself with your goal
- Place pictures or post-it notes on your mirror (Picture of the body you want)
- Create vision boards
- Use your goal card (Read it, touch it, say it out loud as much as possible)
- "Photoshop" your head on to a picture of a body you want.
- Rig your scale to always show your ideal weight (Tape your weight over the measurement).
They then talk about how the scale is sometimes what keeps us stagnant. If you absolutely need to weigh yourself, have someone else do it and record it and not tell you, that way you're not putting so much of your self-worth to a number on a scale. Take Before and After pictures to SEE your results. Sometimes the scale doesn't show you how much your body has changed.
That's the basic summary of the various parts of the book. There's a lot more detail in the book about this, but I thought I'd share the points that stood out to me the most. The next post I make will be with the meal plans and exercise plans they suggest doing. Definitely won't be as long as this one!
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