Banana Smoothie

3 ice cubes

1 scoop Vanilla Juice Plus+® Complete

½ to 1 sliced frozen banana*

1 cup of Plain “Silk” Organic Soymilk

2 packets Splenda (optional)

Blend in blender until thick and smooth.

Chocolate Smoothie

3 ice cubes

1 scoop Chocolate Juice Plus+ ® Complete

½ cup frozen strawberries*

1 cup of Chocolate “Silk” Organic Soymilk

2 packets Splenda (optional)

Blend in blender until thick and smooth.

Chocolate “Peanut Butter” Smoothie

5 ice cubes

1 scoop Chocolate Juice Plus +®  Complete

2 heaping tablespoons peanut butter

1 cup of Chocolate or Vanilla “Silk” Organic Soymilk

2 packets Splenda (optional)

Blend in blender until thick and smooth.

Enjoy!

*  — You can substitute any “frozen” fruit you like, i.e. peaches, blueberries, raspberries, pineapple, mixed fruit, etc.

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July 16^th:

I went to my first private hypnosis session with Linda on Tuesday, July 14^th, 2009, and I must say, I am truly a believer in what Linda is doing for me.  I have to confess, the first night, July 9^th, at Linda’s, I Can Make You Slim NOW! Hypnosis Seminar, where the six lucky lady participants of the Louisiana Weight Off NOW Challenge were chosen, which was in a group setting, I was NOT hypnotized…I felt relaxed, but I was totally unable to “Let Go…”  The first several times I worked on it at home, I was still not “letting go,” but felt I was getting a little better at it each time.  And, even though I was not where I wanted to be in learning to practice self-hypnosis, I did see changes in my eating behavior, and I did feel like I was more relaxed.  I just kept telling myself to keep practicing “letting go,” and believed that I would eventually get there.  I’ve been feeling for most of my adult life that I was supposed to always be operating at full speed.

This is how I sum it up – I love to have facials.  I get a facial once a month (or at least try to), and look so forward to it.  When I lie on the table, and the lady comes in to get started, I always say to myself, “Okay, go ahead and relax me.”  I do enjoy the session, but am never really relaxed.  Starting Linda’s Weight Off NOW Self-Hypnosis Home Study System has made me RECOGNIZE that it’s not her job to relax me, and even if she tried, she could not relax me.  That state is for me only to achieve, and her role, in my opinion, is to help me enjoy even more the state of relaxation I am in. I CANNOT WAIT TO GO BACK and experience it with this mentality.  I’ll keep you posted on that.

Anyway, by the time I got to Linda’s for my private hypnosis session, I felt I was really making progress, but still not completely where I wanted to be.  In THAT session, for the first time, I REALLY struggled to “open my eyes” when she told me I couldn’t open them.  In the self-hypnosis sessions I have had since, I feel closer and closer to achieving that deep relaxed state that I have been working towards, and I really feel more relaxed overall.  Yesterday afternoon, I even hypnotized myself without listening to Linda, and told myself that I could not open my eyes, and guess what!  I could not!!

I had the Juice Plus+ Complete, chocolate peanut butter smoothie, at Linda’s and it was really delicious.  I’ve already placed my order for some of the Juice Plus+ products – my plan is to have it for my kids’ breakfast when school starts.  Can’t wait!!

By the way, I have three boys – Jacob (10), Micah (7) and Adam (5).  Last night, I had all of them practice slowing down when they ate and chewing their food slowly a bunch of times, and moving it around in their mouth – it was quite funny.  I also gave them all a small glass of vanilla soy milk and they did not puke.  I think they may have even enjoyed it a little.

8/17:

I am still working on Chapter Three. I like the idea of making a list, or a success plan, for the day.  When I was younger, I was really a list maker, and as I’ve gotten older, and busier, I have gotten away from making list, and am enjoying getting back into that.

I have had a really bad week…While I do make healthier choices, I found this week that I just wanted to eat, eat, eat. I hate to admit.  I strayed off of my program, missed several days of listening to my affirmations, etc., and found that I really got off track.  But, today is Monday, and it is another week, so I’m getting back on board! I can tell by the feel of my cloths that I have lost some ground in my weight loss goals. I know that I have a GOOD program at my fingertips, and I am going to take advantage of it.

8/24:

You will recall that last week I really needed to get back on track.  I am still on Chapter Three as I spent the majority of last week focusing on my self hypnosis CD’s and positive affirmation CDs.  I am looking forward to finishing up Chapter Three this week. I found that going back to listening to my affirmations and self hypnosis CDs has helped to curve my appetite.  The weekends are generally very hard because I tend to have the urge to snack a lot.  This past weekend however, I found I was able to overcome that temptation and stay on task, even over the weekend. From the feel of my clothes, I lost weight this week.   The scale says 1.5 pounds.

I find that exercise still seems to be my biggest challenge. The obstacle is simply finding the time to fit it in.  Despite my best intentions, the days go by without having accomplished it.  I did however manage to get a 20 minute workout in over the weekend, and tried listening to the exercise affirmation CD immediately afterwards, while I was still feeling the “high” from the exercise….

School is back in full swing, therefore things have settled down (as much as they settle around here!), so I will have a better opportunity to stay on task and remain focused.  I am looking forward to a VERY good week.

9/17:

GOOD JOB, GOOD JOB Charnel on your two month update.  I know I speak for all of us when I tell you how proud I am of you. Your success story is motivation for me, which is why I think participating in the Louisiana Weight Loss NOW Challenge with these other wonderful ladies is such a fortunate experience for me. All of you are helping me as well. Thank you Linda for that also.

I am also happy to report that I have gotten out of my slump and have gotten back to the good eating habits I had BEGUN to form using Linda’s Weight off NOW Self-Hypnosis Home Study System. I am happy to report that during my SCREW UP I did not do but 1 pound of damage, so my weight loss so far is 11 pounds.  I have finished Chapter Three of Eight, which was a very difficult chapter for me because it required lots of time (which is a rare commodity in my world), and I am looking forward to Chapter Four – and now Chapter 8 since Charnel has just finished the Weight Off NOW Self-Hypnosis Home Study System and commented on how much she liked Chapter 8, my curiosity has been peaked!

Love to you all, and Proud to be one of Linda’s Chosen Five.

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My motto this year has been to just DO something, and so far it’s working!  Logically, I know that things you strive for will NOT happen unless you put forth the effort to perform the action.  But, up until I started Linda’s program, I just did a lot of THINKING about losing weight.  With Linda’s guidance and support throughout this process, I have learned that being accountable to someone while trying to change your lifestyle, form good habits and lose weight is extremely helpful.  I find that I actually DO what I need to do to make this work and no longer just THINK about how it “could be.”  I make healthier choices, eat smaller portions, drink water and unsweetened tea only, tell everyone I know about the program, and read every dang label at the grocery store before anything goes into my cart! I also supplement my meals with a Juice Plus Complete (smoothies)  that helps me get my daily requirements on days that I am unable to grab fresh fruits and veggies.

I will admit, though, that I still need to incorporate more exercise into my routine.  It’s a matter of finding the time!  Though, through Linda’s program, I have also learned to “do the Linda’s 2 step” which I find myself doing at random times and not even realizing I was exercising.  I also learned from Mary Costello, Personal Trainer, of Fitness Matters, in New Roads, LA  for the  Louisiana Weight Loss NOW Challenge, that even 10 minutes of exercise is helpful… you don’t have to “keep your heart rate up for at least 30 minutes” for it to be beneficial… that was GREAT news to hear!  Ha ha.

I can honestly say that I have had some struggles these past 2 months, but for the most part this process has seemed effortless once I actually got “into” it!  I make sure to read my Home Study System manual as much as possible and certainly listen to the CD’s often.  The results to me have been phenomenal… 17 pounds in 2 months!  I feel that I am able to stick to the program because I do not at ALL feel like I am depriving myself or starving AND because of the wonderful support from Linda and the other Challenge participants.

I could tell so many stories of how many times I’ve started and stopped diets over the years, but this time I truly feel that I have made a lifestyle change!!  I have friends that still do all of those fad diets, and they’ll say to me, “Oh, I lost 15 pounds in 2 weeks!”  I used to be jealous of that, but now I know that I’m the one they should be jealous of… my weight will STAY off because I eat what I want but just make smarter choices on portions and what goes into my body now.  As soon as those friends on a fad diet eat a piece of bread or a fat gram or whatever it is that they were totally eliminating from their diet, their weight is going to re-appear just as fast (or faster) than it left!

I know that with what I am learning and accomplishing on Linda’s program, I WILL be the “slim and trim lady” I’ve always known was deep down inside of me, under all of those “layers”.  Ha ha.  I still have a long way to go, but each step so far has been a great one.

I do certainly still have “those days.”  In fact, I had one of “those days” yesterday… and then today I was planning to attend a BNI networking advanced training seminar.  Well, I knew it was going to be at a catering facility who serves a delicious buffet-style lunch.  I thought, “Well, I’m paying $15 for this meal today so I may as well go ahead and get my money’s worth… I ate more than I should have yesterday, so I’ll just do it again today and start again fresh tomorrow.”

Well, don’t you know I walked into that seminar and there was Linda!!  She was attending the same event.  It was like God sent her to remind me to be on my best behavior.  Ha ha.  So, while I did still probably put more on my plate than I should have, I did not eat all of it, even though it was one of my favorite meals:  meatloaf, mashed potatoes, broccoli and BREAD!  My little inner critic was thinking, “Oh NO, Linda is here so I can’t go forward with my evil little plan to eat like a pig today!”  But, my waistline and brain were thanking God for sending Linda to me today to remind me of how far I’ve come and how much I don’t want to go backwards.  Hey, whatever works, God… keep sending me those reminders, because it completely helped me today!!!  In fact, the same thing happened a couple of weeks ago when I also ran into Meredith Eicher, one of the lucky lady Challenge participants, at one of these same events that I saw Linda at today… I think God is watching out for me on this journey!

Sorry, Linda.  I know you asked for a paragraph-or-so long update, but when I start writing, I sometimes can’t stop myself!

To everyone’s success…

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