And then we don’t let love in.”
- John Maxwell,
author of “How Successful People Think”
Chapter 2 The 8 to Your IdealWeight Program
Making the Food Program Work for You
“I’ve released my first 20 pounds and the best part is I no longer think, ‘I can’t wait until I can have this again,’ because I don’t even want that stuff any more. I’ve found a new healthy lifestyle based on delicious real foods and I know I will stick with it for a lifetime!”
- Katy L.
I’m about to ask you to replace some of your favorite foods with foods that you’ll fall in love with within a week or two. Can you do it? Of course you can. The only question is how quickly.
Every person is different. Some Ideals ease into this program, spending a week eating the last of their off-program foods and cleaning out their cupboards before they get started. Others make all the changes in one day. You get to decide.
If you’re one who would like to make changes gradually, start with these 12 Replace-to-Release options on your own timetable:
12 Replace-to-Release Options
1. Replace fruit juices with real fruit.
(Avoid dried or sugar-added fruits such as Craisins.)
2. Substitute sweet potatoes for white potatoes.
(A good-sized sweet potato takes just 6 minutes to cook in the microwave. Add all the butter and cinnamon you want, and within a week it will taste like dessert.)
3. Replace ice cream with 1/4 c. of whipped cream, real fruit and nuts (cinnamon optional). (My favorite is Reddi Wip original dairy whipped topping.)
4. Replace flavored coffees or artificial sweeteners in your coffee with 1 tsp. of table sugar and real cream. (One tsp. of sugar is about 4 grams.)
5. Replace artificial sweetener on your oatmeal with two chopped dates. (Steel Cut oatmeal is preferred.)
6. Replace chips with Mary’s Gone Crackers or nuts.
7. Replace diet or regular sodas with tea (+ 1 tsp. table sugar you add yourself), Perrier, or LaCroix flavored waters. (They will taste sweeter every day that you’re on program.)
8. Replace bread with lettuce wraps (a la Jimmy John’s unwich) or simply release bread completely. (You will be so full and so satisfied after every meal, you’ll wonder why you ever traded your waistline for sandwiches.)
9. Replace eating pizza with eating pizza toppings. (You’ll enjoy 3-5 pieces of pizza toppings, not feel stuffed or tired after the meal, and release weight the next day!)
10. Replace alcohol with Perrier or San Pellegrino when you’re eating out. (Sometimes I’ll even drink it from a wine glass!)
11. Replace chocolate bars with low sugar Kind bars. (Be sure to check the label and only select the ones with 6 g. or less of sugar in each bar, and limit yourself to one per day.)
12. Replace desserts with a piece of sugar free gum after your meals. (Most have just trace amounts of artificial sweeteners.)
S.A.A.B. Full Program
General Guidelines
1) KISS: Keep it Simple Sweetheart! This program limits added sugars, not calories, fats, or fiber. Release any need to check calories ever again. That will only slow down your progress. An easy, although oversimplified way to remember this is, “Fat makes us thin. Sugar makes us fat.” We promise this program will get you off sugar addiction and cravings for good!
2) A Get Real Food Program for Life. This is not a “First this, but later that” food program. It offers one simple program for life. Real food will soon taste so good, you won’t ever want anything else.
3) No Measuring, just Mindfulness.
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has an acronym - H.A.L.T.
For this program, we add an “s” - H.A.L.T.S.
Instead of Measuring, we use Mindfulness and ask ourselves: Am I Hungry? Angry? Lonely? Tired? Sad?
It is healthy to eat between meals. I encourage it. Simply be aware - if one handful of on-program foods satisfies you, then you were Hungry. When you find yourself wanting more than one handful, you’re either:
Angry - You could journal or have a talk with someone.
Lonely - You could call someone or join a meetup on www.meetup.com.
Tired - You could take a nap, shut off media earlier, or go to bed earlier.
or Sad - You could journal, rest, or contact a friend.
One handful of nuts, a little cottage cheese and fruit, a cheese stick, or a few gluten-free crackers will satisfy you if it’s hunger you’re feeling.
4) Get Real. Get Healthy. Get Empowered. This “Get Real” program recommends eating whole, unprocessed foods whenever possible. Choose real foods, such as sliced roast beef instead of bologna or a hotdog, real cream for your coffee instead of creamer, and Swiss cheese rather than highly processed American cheese.
NOTE: If you suffer from any medical conditions, such as high blood pressure, before starting, be sure to check your personal food program with a nutritionist, your primary care physician, or a medical professional. Blood pressure has been known to decrease significantly on this program, and needs to be monitored for those who have had issues or are under a doctor’s care for this condition.
S.A.A.B. stands for the 4 food groups we release or reduce:
Sugar - Artificial Sweeteners - Alcohol - Bread
SUGAR (You may enjoy 5-6 grams added sugar* per meal maximum)
Examples of high sugar foods we release:
Sweet drinks: all fruit juices, sweet teas, sugared lemonade or waters, diet and regular sodas, tonic waters, etc.
Sugar added foods: candies, desserts, many salad dressings or yogurts, etc.
Low-fat anything (because sugar amounts are tripled or quadrupled when fat is removed)
*You can check for added sugar by the ingredients list. A package of frozen blueberries may indicate 12 g. of sugar per cup, but those are natural sugars within the fruit because the only ingredient is “blueberries.”
