Mom's Heartache - With Your Online Weight Loss Coach

My Mom was very beautiful. She was a trained vocalist and pianist. She had perfect olive skin and shiny mouton hair, which even now only has a touch of silver. She had dark chocolate eyes, perfect features, and J. Lo curves.

She and my Father had many challenges raising nine children. Her worst unspoken heartache? Her weight.

My sisters and I watched painfully as Mom went from one weight loss program to another; weighing and measuring, drinking gallons of water, eating cabbage soup all day. The list goes on. That is likely why we all became fitness enthusiasts. Lets see; a weight-loss chain supervisor, a college basketball coach, two pilates instructors, one of them a wellness coach, all prioritizing fitness.

Being the oldest, I retained the most acute feeling of needing to care for Mom. At 71 she is still active in the church, caring for grandchildren, passing along all the latest funny and alarming emails, and 70 lbs overweight.

I’ve tried everything I can to coach her. She still goes from one diet plan to the next.

Why tell you about my mother? Her all-too-common story illustrates the fact that losing weight and keeping it off requires a fundamental change in the way our mind and body work; our psychology and our physiology.

This is the mantra of my blog. We need to train our brain to think differently and our body to reduce cravings. The terrific news is that I am proof that it works. It takes some effort, but without the effort we can never have those delicious feelings of worthiness, accomplishment, and joy in feeling healthy and beautiful!

There is no hidden formula. My winning philosophy is based on learning to:

• keep your blood sugar stable throughout the day
• consistently visualize your body the way that you want it to be

My four week video coaching program is designed to shift your thinking and wake up muscles you never knew you had. Beginning with week one, “Pilates for Weight Loss,” is only part of the  Great Pilates Now membership.

The blog is always free and provides practical advice for keeping weight off and maintaining maximum energy.

Let's begin feeling beautiful and healthy now!

A Calorie is No Longer a Calorie

Many of us were raised counting calories. We bought calorie books and tried to calculate the amount on our plate only to find ourselves hungry shortly after the meal.

During the eighties new science began showing us that the method we were so comfortable with was becoming obsolete. Dr Jenkins' work published in the JAMA began to rock the diet world and flip the food pyramid. The great news is that we now know how to avoid weight and health problems better that our parents did, if we choose to use it.

For example we now understand that two foods with the same amount of calories my have very different effects on the body. A white bagel with fat free cream cheese and a caesar salad have the same amount of calories yet one will spike your blood sugar as quickly as a large candy bar. And that baked potato with fat free sour cream? Same as eating ice-cream. Want more? That fat free yogurt with fruit with that name brand tasty fat free health bar? Regarding the effect on blood sugar you may as well have a piece of apple pie for lunch.

Many of us are unknowingly eating this way several times a day, and becoming addicted to it. In his book, Healthy for Life, Dr. Ray Strand explains that when we become resistant to our own insulin "a calorie is no longer a calorie".  Let me put it in a simple way. Our pancreas was not made to put out insulin at the rate our eating demands it. Insulin is a storage hormone. As we over-produce it after eating, the calories that should be used for energy are converted to belly fat. Then the process begins over again with cravings and more stored fat.

For the next two weeks we will discuss glycemic index and glycemic load. We will learn to begin using this to maintain mental clarity, lasting energy, reduce cravings, and move toward your perfect weight for a lifetime!

Won't that feel good?