Skills for Mindful Eating

Skills for Mindful Eating Check out my next Mindful Eating class at Oshman 2/1. Get ready to eat mindfully at Superbowl parties later that day.

Re-Wire Your Brain for Happiness

Re-Wire Your Brain for Happiness

Shrink and Juice™: No More Soggy Salads

If you thought Lucy and Ethel are funny, you've got to check out

Shrink and Juice™: No More Soggy Salads

 for our version of an I Love Lucy Adventure

On the more serious side, Toni Bloom RD at Center for Thoughtful Weight Loss (www.thoughtfulweightloss.com) tells us the pros and cons of Juicing in…

To Juice or Not to Juice…That is the Question

Juicing sure is popular these days and when my clients ask me for recipes and tips, they seem shocked I’m not a “juicer”.  I don’t mean to disappoint, it’s just that I like to eat and chewing makes me happy.  So long as a food tastes yummy and has some nutritional value, it’s on my list of go-to items.

Since I’ve shocked a few more clients than I care to this past month, I thought I’d put my juicing thoughts into a simple pro/con layout.  Here goes and you can decide for yourself what you want to eat (or juice); you usually do!

Pro-Juicing

- You include fruits and/or vegetables you may not ever otherwise buy and consume.
- You start juicing when you decide to start exercising and that 1-2 punch can be effective.
- You eat breakfast (an easy time to juice) and that’s been shown to help with weight loss.
- You feel “good” about juicing, are motivated and empowered, all things that help health.
- Your vitamin, mineral, phytonutrient (beneficial plant compounds) and fiber intake increases, all great nutrition improvements.

Con-Juicing

- It requires another kitchen apparatus and my job is to help change food choices not kitchen equipment.
- You think it’s the juice that helps with weight loss but it’s the switch to low calorie foods.
- You don’t focus on learning portion control on the foods you struggle to eat moderately and that back-fires when the juice interest wanes.
- You miss chewing and some of your favorite foods, and that backfires too.
- You don’t learn how to include those fruits and vegetables in a solid form as part of an everyday breakfast, lunch or dinner.

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Since most people tend to eat more fruits than they do vegetables, consider making vegetables a primary part of your juicing. It’s smart to start out with a small amount of vegetable(s) in your juice and then increase the vegetable to fruit ratio over time as your palate adjusts.  Vegetables (and fruits) with higher water content are the ones that work best for juicing.  The most commonly used juicing vegetables are:
- Cucumbers
- Carrots
- Spinach
- Cabbage
- Kale
- Tomato
- Broccoli (yes, broccoli)

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A few more tips to make it easier to squeeze in the veggies:
- Roll the leafy green leaves into a tight roll for easy placement in your juicer.
- Leave skins on all veggies (and fruits) if they are edible; this adds fiber and more nutrients.
- Add a few cubes of ice; flavors are often more mild when the juice is cold.


Wait 'til Ricky and Fred see this!

- When juicing hard veggies, do it between softer items so the juicer doesn’t clog.
- Get rid of extras by adding vegetable or salad “leftovers” from your last meal or two.

Happy Juicing!

Ellen Resnick, LCSW is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco and Redwood City, California. She specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and incorporates the use of mindfulness into the treatment of depression, anxiety, and emotional overeating. She runs a holistic weight loss program called Center for Thoughtful Weight Loss, www.thoughtfulweightloss.com. You can email Ellen at ellen@thoughtfulweightloss.com and follow her on Twitter at @thoughtfullellen. You can also follow Ellen’s weight loss board on Pinterest at pinterest.com/ellenresnick/

Toni Bloom, MS, RD has been a registered dietitian in private practice for 18 years. Her specialty is helping people improve their eating habits and views of food so that they accomplish their nutrition and health goals. Toni’s typical clients are lowering their weight, blood pressure, cholesterol or glucose levels. In addition to coaching clients, Toni is a sports nutrition instructor at San Jose State. In her spare time, Toni enjoys playing with her three young sons and golfing with her husband.

Copyright © 2013 Ellen N. Resnick, LCSW

The Imperfection Diet – Embracing Your Human Being

I encourage all of my clients to treat themselves like they would treat their best friend.

 I find it especially important for those on a weight loss journey.

It is no surprise that dieters are the worst at self-criticism given the stories they tell me  about how they’ve have been treated by others lifelong: i.e. name calling, food restriction, excluded from teams, denied jobs or promotions, not invited to parties, proms, dates, etc.

It’s no wonder they’ve internalized such harsh self-talk like:  ”You don’t deserve to eat-you’re too fat”;  Who would want you on their team, you’re too slow”;  ”I’m just a fat loser”. “I don’t deserve happiness-I did this to myself”. It’s pretty easy to convince clients to be kinder to others. They know it’s more helpful to say things like:

“Missing one day at the gym isn’t the end of the world.”

“It’s okay that you ate something off plan-you seem down-do you feel like talking?”

The challenge I find is helping dieters extend the same kindness and compassion towards themselves.

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Enter Julie-she lost 65 pounds using the Beck Diet Solution: Train your brain to think like a thin person-(See her blog “65 pounds down and counting. This is not a remodel… It’s a teardown!)

http://takecontrolofyourfood.blogspot.com/2012/06/65-pounds-down-and-counting-this-is-not.html?m=1

Julie developed weight loss fatigue when several stressors hit a once. 

Susan Albers, author of Eat, Drink, and Be Mindful states, “Dealing with stress…can make the most mindful eater slip.”

Her weight started to inch up and her self-talk became harsh again. I first encouraged her to remember how much weight she lost and that she has maintained the majority of that weight loss despite her current struggle.

We strategized about ways to help her have self-compassion, and by doing so, get back on her weight loss journey.

First, I encouraged Julie to listen to Kristen Neff’’s self-compassion and loving-kindness meditations.
http://www.self-compassion.org/guided-self-compassion-meditations-mp3.html

Next, I suggested increased contact with her diet buddy for ongoing motivation, support, and accountability.

Finally, it occurred to me that Julie needed a self-compassion box with a reminder of all of her best tools.

“Understanding and encouragement create the right environment for change”
–Susan Albers, PsyD–Eat, Drink, and Be Mindful.

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In summary, self-compassion involves:
- Being aware of your feelings and needs without judgement;
- Replacing negative self-talk with balanced,supportive,nonjudgemental thoughts
- Recognizing that imperfection is part of being human.

“You’ve been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens”

–Louise Hays

Copyright © 2013 Ellen N. Resnick, LCSW

Ellen is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco and Redwood City, California. She specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and incorporates the use of mindfulness into the treatment of depression, anxiety, and emotional overeating (www.ellenresnick.com) She is the director of a successful weight loss program called the Center for Thoughtful Weight Loss, www.thoughtfulweightloss.com Ellen is also a skilled couples’ therapist. Ellen’s interest in behavior change as it relates to health and well-being grew out of her work with people with diabetes. Ellen is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the department of psychiatry at UCSF where she worked from 1995-2003 specializing in women’s mental health issues and brief treatment. Ellen continues to supervise psychiatry residents at UCSF. She lectures extensively in the Bay Area.

Shrink and Free: Know Your Numbers To Set You Free™

Having a chronic health condition can be very stressful; expecting yourself to be perfect is a set up for feelings of failure, inadequacy and guilt.

Watch as Ellen interviews Taylor to find out how he took off the self-imposed shackles by knowing his numbers and loosening his rigid standards for himself.

Today Taylor is a free man. His numbers are great (weight, cholesterol, HA1c); and equally important, he walks through his life with a joyful and hopeful attitude.

What apps or other tools do you use to improve your health and well-being?

A special thank you to Taylor for sharing his health journey and wisdom with us.

Ellen Resnick, LCSW is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco and Redwood City, California. She specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and incorporates the use of mindfulness into the treatment of depression, anxiety, and emotional overeating. She runs a holistic weight loss program called Center for Thoughtful Weight Loss, http://www.thoughtfulweightloss.com. You can email Ellen at ellenresnick@gmail.com. You can find Ellen on Twitter @thoughtfulellen and follow her weight loss tools on (ellenresnick) on Pinterest.
Copyright © 2013 Ellen N. Resnick, LCSW

Don't Be Shackled By Your Health: Break Free™

It’s hard to believe it’s National Heart Month again.

 I’m joined by Taylor, who you may recall from our popular YouTube video “Shrink and Move: Small Steps That Lead To Big Rewards”.

http://healthywage.wordpress.com/2011/11/14/shrink-and-move-small-steps-that-lead-to-big-rewards/

Taylor has many reasons to monitor his health closely. He has a family history of cardiovascular disease and he has Type 1 diabetes.
This year Taylor wants to remind people that…”KNOWING YOUR NUMBERS” is the first step towards empowering yourself to reach and maintain your optimal health. You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge (remember Dr. Phil)? Choose to be the driver of your health—that’s freedom!

We all have important health related numbers to monitor and use as data points for our wellbeing. They include your weight, cholesterol, Blood Glucose / HbA1C levels (if you have diabetes).

Taylor uses a really simple mix to manage and motivate himself towards a healthier and fuller lifestyle:

• technology,
•  his doctor’s input, and
• his own inner “barometer.”

Prior to truly accepting and managing his condition, Taylor often found himself in a state of turmoil—he didn’t know how to live life as a diabetic with a heart that could be a ticking time bomb. He became literally imprisoned, by his disease.
With the help and guidance of his doctors and family he decided to break free and take back control of his life.

Through education, information and “knowing his numbers” Taylor learned that there was another, more liberating way to live with his conditions. It’s no longer the “I have to be perfect” mentality with regards to his health related goals (and other things too). Through that understanding he no longer feels guilty, frustrated, or that he’s being a “bad” person when he decides to reward himself with a special treat.
Taylor knows that striving to be perfect is the perfect set up for self-sabotage and self-loathing. He also knows the kind of stress that kind of thinking can put on ourselves, all of which is the opposite of mind/body wellness.

Believe it or not, he saysTaylor did it—so can you!

Go out and get the support you need to take yourself out of those self- imposed shackles.

Don’t you deserve one get of jail free card in this game of life?

A special thank you to Taylor for sharing his health journey and wisdom with us.  “it’s a lot simpler and much more enjoyable to learn about and accept your particular health situation, and ultimately get out and get after a better way of living with it”.



Ellen Resnick, LCSW is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco and Redwood City, California. She specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and incorporates the use of mindfulness into the treatment of depression, anxiety, and emotional overeating. She runs a holistic weight loss program called Center for Thoughtful Weight Loss, http://www.thoughtfulweightloss.com. You can email Ellen at ellenresnick@gmail.com.

It’s My Party and I’ll Eat Well If I Plan To…™

Super Bowl is a special day for many people, but for me, it’s even more special this year for two big reasons—I’m from San Francisco and it’s my birthday.

Whether you’re a Niners or Ravens fan, it’s bound to be a great day. Hey, just the unique brother coach duel between John and Jim Harbaugh is bound to be a show in and of itself.

I’ve been thinking about ways to enjoy the day without waking up regretting it on Monday.

What moves will you make to party responsibly? This is what I’m thinking…

•Start with an intention.

•What do you want the scale to say on Monday?

•Be honest – are you the kind of person who can splurge “just this once” without falling off the wagon or regretting your choices?

•Make the day more about enjoying time with family and friends and less about pizza, nachos, chicken wings and beer.

•If you are going to drink, alternate beer with water.

•Get a good workout in before the game.

•Use half time to get some stretching in. You can still watch Beyonce perform (or is that lip sync as rumored)?

Here’s a link with some more great strategies for eating healthier, yet delicious snack alternatives during the Super Bowl (note—this is not just for people with diabetes—it’s great suggestions and delicious alternatives for all of us):

http://www.diabeteseducator.org/export/sites/aade/_resources/pdf/general/AADE_Game_Day.pdf

Here’s a link to the Top Websites for Healthy Super Bowl Sunday Low-Calorie Snack Alternatives:

http://voices.yahoo.com/top-websites-healthy-super-bowl-snack-recipes-7642978.html

So, remember this: the average person consumes 4200 calories on Super Bowl Sunday. It’s the 2nd biggest food consumption day, second only to Thanksgiving. You can be different and still have a great time…

Huddle up, call your plays in advance, march to the goal line and you’ll score just like your favorite NFL team!!

About Ellen N. Resnick, LCSW (Psychotherapist)
Ellen is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco and Redwood City, California. She specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and incorporates the use of mindfulness into the treatment of depression, anxiety, and emotional overeating. She runs a holistic weight loss program called Center for Thoughtful Weight Loss, http://www.thoughtfulweightloss.com Ellen is also a skilled couples’ therapist. Ellen’s interest in behavior change grew out of her work with people with diabetes in 1990 at California Pacific Medical Center. Ellen is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the department of psychiatry at UCSF where she worked from 1995-2003 specializing in women’s mental health issues and brief treatment. She ran the Cognitive Behavioral therapy group program for women with depression. Ellen continues to supervise psychiatry residents at UCSF. She lectures extensively in the Bay Area. You can email Ellen at ellen@thoughtfulweightloss.com and follow her on Twitter at @thoughtfullellen. Watch Ellen demonstrate CBT for permanent weight loss on her YouTube channel,Ellenresnick’s channel.
Copyright © 2013

Eat More Like An Ellie™

On my recent trip to Africa I got to see first-hand the types of things I thought I’d only experience through National Geographic or The Discovery Channel. Watching the elephants, giraffes, and zebras graze peaked my interest in learning more about plant based diets.
I spoke with my colleague Toni Bloom, RD, about it; and she agreed to let me pick her brain.

Here is what I learned:

Ellen: Does a plant based diet mean you have to be 100% vegan (no animal products)?

Toni: No, not necessarily. Selecting most of your foods from plants has many advantages. A plant-based diet is far superior to the average American diet nutritionally. Plants are high in fiber. The average American consumes just 15 grams or so per day–10 grams short of the recommended 25 grams per day. A high fiber diet helps with weight loss and is linked to the prevention of heart disease, high blood pressure, and some cancers.

Ellen: That’s a lot of benefits! Are there other reasons to eat this way?

Toni: Definitely! Another nutritional advantage of a plant-based diet is its lack of saturated fat. Saturated fat comes mostly from animal foods, and Americans consume more than twice the recommended amount. Switching to a more plant-based diet lowers your saturated fat intake which in turn lowers your risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers like breast, colon, and rectal cancer.

Ellen: What can you tell us about phytonutrients? I’ve heard that these plant nutrients are very healthy for us.

Toni: Yes, the phytonutrients are natural components of plant foods. Research shows they are health protective. These benefits are in addition to those we get from vitamins or minerals (which are also found in fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes).

Ellen: What basic guidelines can you give us to begin eating in a more plant-friendly diet way?

Toni: 1) Begin by covering 2/3 of your plate with vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans so that fish, lean poultry or dairy foods only cover 1/3 of the plate. Over time increase the amount of plant-based items on your plate so the animal-based foods are reduced even more or eliminated altogether.
2) Don’t worry too much about protein; Americans eat two times the amount they need, and these plant foods are good sources of protein: legumes and lentils (peas and beans, such as kidney, great northern, pinto, and black beans), nuts and seeds, and foods from soy, such as soy milk, tofu, tempeh, and edamame(soy beans).
3) Eat at least 6 servings per day of fruits and vegetables and vary them from day to day to help increase the types of phytonutrients, or plant nutrients, you consume.
4) Experiment with whole grains and legumes you haven’t tried and invest in a vegetarian cookbook (or smart phone cookbook app) to look for cooking and
recipe ideas.
5) Choose minimally processed foods so that the plants you eat look like the original plant. If you can’t recognize it, it’s too processed!

Ellen: One last question, Toni. People always say you should eat a lot of colorful foods. Can you give us healthy examples of each color?

Toni: Yes. Below is a list of phytonutrients, by color, with examples of foods that contain them.

RED
Tomatoes and tomato products, pink grapefruit, and watermelon
Phytochemical: lycopene
RED/PURPLE
Grapes, grape juice, prunes, cranberries, blackberries, strawberries, red apples, and red wine
Phytochemical: anthrocyanins
ORANGE
Carrots, mangos, apricots, cantaloupe, pumpkin, acorn squash, winter squash,
and sweet potatoes
Phytochemical: carotenoids
ORANGE/YELLOW
Orange juice, oranges, tangerines, peaches, papaya, and nectarines
Phytochemical: beta cryptothanxin
YELLOW/GREEN
Spinach, kale, collard, turnip, and mustard greens; yellow corn, green peas,
avocados, and honeydew melon, green cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts
Phytochemicals: luetin, zeaxanthin, indoles and sulforaphanes
WHITE/GREEN
Leeks, onions, garlic, chives, white grape juice, and white wine
Phytochemicals: allicin, quercetin, and flavinoids.

Ellen: Thank you Toni. This has been a very helpful overview of how to start a plant based diet and how it can benefit everyone.

So, if we could talk to our vegetarian animal friends, they’d likely tell us to start eating more like them.

BUT NO NEED TO TALK WITH THEM, JUST TAKE A LOOK…LEAN, HEALTHY, AND ENERGIZED…ALL ACCOMPLISHED WITH PLANT FOODS!

Ellen Resnick is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco and Redwood City, California. She specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and incorporates the use of mindfulness into the treatment of depression, anxiety, and emotional overeating. She runs a holistic weight loss program called Center for Thoughtful Weight Loss,www.thoughtfulweightloss.com. You can email Ellen at ellen@thoughtfulweightloss.com and follow her on Twitter at @thoughtfullellen. You can also follow Ellen’s weight loss board on Pinterest at pinterest.com/ellenresnick/
Toni Bloom, MS, RD Registered Dietician
Toni has been a registered dietitian in private practice for 18 years. Her specialty is helping people improve their eating habits and views of food so that they accomplish their nutrition and health goals. Toni’s typical clients are lowering their weight, blood pressure, cholesterol or glucose levels. In addition to coaching clients, Toni is a sports nutrition instructor at San Jose State. In her spare time, Toni enjoys playing with her three young sons and golfing with her husband.

Copyright © 2012 Ellen N. Resnick, LCSW

Shrink and Talk: What Zebras Teach Us About Weight Loss™

Ellen Resnick, Director at the Center for Thoughtful Weight Loss is in Ngorongoro Crater in Africa today filming zebras to demonstrate how our thoughts influence what and how much we choose to eat.

Watch as Ellen demonstrates cognitive restructuring with Leslie in her latest video Shrink and Talk: What Zebras Teach Us About Weight Loss.



Ellen says “Our automatic thoughts often bring us further away from what can be truly helpful to us”.
Many of us tend to think in extremes or absolutes. Learning to identify these thoughts that lie just below our level of consciousness gives us the opportunity to respond in ways that support our health and wellness.

Zebras provide us a terrific teaching tool for learning to identify our black and white thinking. This type of thinking mistake is what David Burns , author of the Feeling Good handbook calls a cognitive distortion. With black and white thinking, aka zebra thinking, you see things as all-or-nothing. If your performance falls short of perfect, you see yourself as a total failure, e.g. “I ate a brownie when my computer crashed this afternoon. I blew it! I’ll never be able to lose weight”. It’s easy to see how this thinking style can easily sabotage our weight loss efforts.

Although our thoughts tend to be like the zebras stripes, black and white, the key to weight loss is to figure out how to be comfortable with shades of gray.

In my next blog we’ll see what the elephants can teach us. Stay tuned…

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
~Albert Einstein

A special thank you and congratulations to Leslie for sharing her ideas that have led to an 18 pound weight loss so far. Go Leslie!

Ellen Resnick is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco and Redwood City, California. She specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and incorporates the use of mindfulness into the treatment of depression, anxiety, and emotional overeating. She runs a holistic weight loss program called Center for Thoughtful Weight Loss,www.thoughtfulweightloss.com. You can email Ellen at ellen@thoughtfulweightloss.com and follow her on Twitter at @thoughtfullellen. You can also follow Ellen’s weight loss board on Pinterest at pinterest.com/ellenresnick/

Copyright © 2012 Ellen N. Resnick, LCSW

Save the Bunny and Lose Weight with CBT ™

What happened to the rest of the bunny?

Watch as Ellen Resnick, Director at Center for Thoughtful Weight Loss, does a follow up Youtube to the popular Shrink and Wash:  Using CBT for Permanent Weight Loss™.  The answer to the big question “what happened to the rest of the bunny?”  after that fateful day when Wendy was overly tired and ate the head of her child’s chocolate bunny is revealed for the first time here today.

We all have those days…you know the ones… when you’re overly tired, stressed out, upset, sad, or frustrated, and you soothe yourself with food.

Wendy’s been reading the Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person. Watch as she describes with “kindsight” the lessons she’s learned about permanent weight loss.

• On good days she makes good choices (the day she baked the cookies she felt strong and in control and planned to bring the cookies to work after she and the kids tasted a few). Great plan!
• Even on good days, don’t make your favorite cookies when no one else in the house really enjoys them.
• On challenging days she needs to be especially mindful so that she is not soothing with food on autopilot.  Be present at all times-stay focused!
• Learn to tell the difference between hunger and cravings.
• Stop when you’re satisfied.
• Food is wasted whether it’s in the garbage or on her hips.  Next time the cookies get dumped or given away.
• Look at her reasons to lose weight every day, and especially when she feels tempted to eat something off plan.
• Remember that life is not perfect—it’s a series of good and bad days. Forgive yourself immediately for a slip and get right back on track.

Remember not to lose your head!

Have a great Labor Day everyone.

Ellen Resnick is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco and Redwood City, California. She specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and incorporates the use of mindfulness into the treatment of depression, anxiety, and emotional overeating. She runs a holistic weight loss program called Center for Thoughtful Weight Loss,www.thoughtfulweightloss.com. You can email Ellen at ellen@thoughtfulweightloss.com and follow her on Twitter at @thoughtfullellen. You can also follow Ellen’s weight loss board on Pinterest at pinterest.com/ellenresnick/

Copyright © 2012 Ellen N. Resnick, LCSW

"I Did It Before and I Can Do It Again!"

Sandy is a return guest to my blog. You may remember her from her Youtube debut Shrink and Splash last July. In that video Sandy taught us how she learned to eat healthy and exercise while on vacation. She had lost 52 pounds at the time that video was filmed.



This year, at 78 years old, Sandy faced some major life challenges. Watch as Ellen interviews Sandy to discuss the trials and tribulations she encountered on her weight loss journey. Anyone who has experienced an injury, illness, or stressor that derailed their weight loss efforts will relate — and let’s face it, who hasn’t?

Sandy’s unexpected illness led to her being hospitalized and getting weighed. Her shock at having gained 12 pounds from her lowest weight resulted in her epiphany moment:
                             
                      “I Did It Before and I Can Do It Again…and I will!”.

Sandy is now using an online app to track her food and exercise. She is more committed than ever with the help of her diet buddy Alan, and me, her “über coach”. She has already lost 6 of the 12 pounds she’d gained.

We have to accept that Sandy’s experience is all too common amongst dieters. The good news is she has picked herself right back up. Doesn’t she look great? You can too. Learn how….


Ellen is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco and Redwood City, California. She specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and incorporates the use of mindfulness into the treatment of depression, anxiety, and emotional overeating. She runs a holistic weight loss program called Center for Thoughtful Weight Loss, www.thoughtfulweightloss.com. You can email Ellen at ellen@thoughtfulweightloss.com and follow her on Twitter at @thoughtfullellen. Watch Ellen demonstrate CBT for permanent weight loss on her YouTube channel, Ellenresnick’s channel.
Copyright © 2012 Ellen N. Resnick, LCSW

Get Out and Get It Done!: Using CBT to Lower Cholesterol

Denial is a coping mechanism that helps us manage our anxiety and keeps us from feeling overwhelmed.

Seems good, right?
Sure…until it has us avoiding the very behaviors that keep us healthy.

That’s what happened to Jean who nicknamed herself Nefertiti because she acknowlwdged being “The Queen of De-Nial”.

Jean’s epiphany moment was less like a light bulb going on, and more like being hit between the eyes with a 2 x 4. She found out avoiding her dangerously high cholesterol didn’t make it go away.

Watch Jean’s courageous epiphany journey when the six simple words

                                     “Get out and get it done”

 may very well have saved her life!

What are your epiphany words?

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Ellen is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco and Redwood City, California. She specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and incorporates the use of mindfulness into the treatment of depression, anxiety, and emotional overeating. She runs a holistic weight loss program called Center for Thoughtful Weight Loss, www.thoughtfulweightloss.com. You can email Ellenat ellen@thoughtfulweightloss.com and follow her on Twitter at @thoughtfullellen. Watch Ellen demonstrate CBT for permanent weight loss on her YouTube channel, Ellenresnick’s channel.
Copyright © 2012 Ellen N. Resnick, LCSW

Can Five Words Change Your Life?

Watch as Heidi explains how her epiphany (that light bulb moment when you realize that you have the tools and you CAN do it) changed her relationship with food forever.



Heidi’s magic moment was figuring out that her words, “It’s either this or that…” delineate the decision she can make every time she chooses to eat, chooses what food to eat, and in what portion size.

This is the gist of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for permanent weight loss. You slow down long enough to actively decide…do I want this OR would I prefer to stay the course and get closer to my goals? ”That donut sure looks yummy, but fitting in my old favorite jeans will feel so much better.” ”I’m feeling anxious about this deadline; I want candy,” versus “I’m feeling anxious about this deadline; I’ll take a short run and get back to my work at 3 p.m. Running always calms me down.”
It doesn’t mean you won’t have treats. In fact we encourage you to plan for them and track them daily. It does mean you will DECIDE MINDFULLY each time you eat instead of eating on auto pilot.

Of course you won’t be perfect, so CBT teaches you to use compassion and get right back on track when you have a slip.

Are you paying attention to your words before you eat?

Can you put your epiphany into words? It just may win you a prize. Stay tuned for all the details next week!

Ellen Resnick is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco and Redwood City, California. She specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and incorporates the use of mindfulness into the treatment of depression, anxiety, and emotional overeating. She runs a holistic weight loss program called Center for Thoughtful Weight Loss,
www.thoughtfulweightloss.com. You can email Ellen at ellen@thoughtfulweightloss.com and follow her on Twitter at @thoughtfullellen.
Copyright © 2012 Ellen N. Resnick, LCSW

65 pounds down and counting. This is not a remodel… It’s a teardown!

This is the first in my new blog series on epiphanies-that moment the light bulb goes off and you have a striking realization that allows for a breakthrough with your weight loss goals.

This is Julie’s story:

When Ellen asked me to write this post, I spent a lot of time coming up with illustrations in my head. If the floor’s rotted out, you can’t just throw a carpet over it. If there’s a big wall in the middle of your living room messing up your feng shui, you can’t just
paint it black and pretend it’s not there. If you don’t have a garage, you can’t just park in the kitchen.

And then I started to realize the word I kept coming back to in every
one of these phrases was “can’t”.

I’ve struggled with my weight since I was a child, for over thirty years now, and “can’t” has been my constant companion. I’ve managed to lose weight and then gain it back several times now. I know how to diet. Most of us know how to diet; we usually know what we need to do in order to lose weight. But keep it off?
Every time I embarked on a diet previously, I was doing a remodel. I was making surface changes. Eat this, not that. Drink eight glasses of water. Journal. Weigh-ins. Group Therapy. Boot Camp. These would usually work for a while. There would be a period of time when I would lose weight. I would begin to feel better. I had freshened up the look and feel of me. But eventually, I would get scared, or bored, or tired, or lose my motivation, and return right back to the state in which I began. It was too hard to keep hanging on to these changes, and I just couldn’t do it.

I hadn’t done the foundation work. I hadn’t found the right support
structure. I hadn’t gathered the skills and tools I would need to
succeed.

The difference this time is that I actually found a program that helped me rebuild my entire relationship with food. Ellen worked with me on The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person.
I learned how to combat the negative thought loops in my head. It helped me adjust to normal feelings of fullness and hunger. It gave me useful tools to employ in any situation. It helped me discard the “can’t” that’s been following me around all these years. And it helped me rebuild myself into a person who isn’t on a diet anymore. I’ve rebuilt a person who is a healthy eater and who exercises. And I never (I mean never — ever.) thought that would be something I would be able to say about myself.

My epiphany was that the word ”can’t” was holding me back. But look! Now I can.

What’s your epiphany?

Ellen is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco and Redwood City, California. She specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and incorporates the use of mindfulness into the treatment of depression, anxiety, and emotional overeating. She runs a holistic weight loss program called Center for Thoughtful Weight Loss, www.thoughtfulweightloss.com. You can email Ellen at ellen@thoughtfulweightloss.com and follow her on Twitter at @thoughtfullellen.
Copyright © 2012 Ellen N. Resnick, LCSW

Deconstruct Your Diet

Customize your meals the same way you’d customize a new computer or car and you’ll be able to eat more of your favorite foods without the regret.
Know the nutrition facts when you choose your ingredients. You can start with turkey instead of roast beef and cut calories in half right there. Choose an ounce of Jarlsberg lite over cheddar and save another 46 calories. Don’t be afraid to add ingredients. It’s always more fun to add, and besides, adding can be good for you. For instance you can add yummy fresh vegetables to a sandwich to bulk up on fiber and nutrients in exchange for some of the more fattening choices. Add your favorite mustard (there’s so many great one’s to choose from) to any sandwich instead of mayo and save another 90 calories and 10 grams of fat.
Some of the chain restaurants are helping dieters by allowing for this kind of customization through technology. Specialty’s Cafe and Bakery is a great example. When picking dressings for a large salad you can see (on a computer screen you order from) that most of the dressings pack a whopping 300 + calories except for the balsamic vinegarette which has only 60 calories. Onto the sandwich–you can pick your bread wisely. One would think the wheat bread would be your best choice, but no….it has 80 calories more than the ciabatta. And then you can add sprouts, cucumbers, pepperocini, and tomatoes to make your sandwich exciting without adding many calories at all AND boosting the nutritional value immensely.

My clients at Center for Thoughtful Weight Loss often say things like “it’s impossible to know what’s in the food at restaurants”. Here’s a video taken in Cabo San Lucas Mexico demonstrating how to eat a delicious tortilla soup w/out blowing your #’s–all you have to do is customize it. If you bring your smart phone or a pocket calorie counting guide with you, you’ve got what it takes to stay conscious at all times. Oh, and the skinny margharitas allow for some well needed relaxation without piling on the calories of regular sweet mixed drinks–just beware of how many, or that consciousness will be out in the ocean.

One way to achieve and maintain weight loss is to develop the skills to eat anywhere. It’s easy once you make customization a ritual.
For a refresher on thinking like a thin person while dining out when you don’t have the calorie counts in front of you, see my earlier blog, “I’ll have whatever she’s having”.

Hasta luego!

Ellen is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco and Redwood City, California. She specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and incorporates the use of mindfulness into the treatment of depression, anxiety, and emotional overeating. She runs a holistic weight loss program called Center for Thoughtful Weight Loss, www.thoughtfulweightloss.com. You can email Ellen at ellen@thoughtfulweightloss.com and follow her on Twitter at @thoughtfullellen.
Copyright © 2012 Ellen N. Resnick, LCSW