Lose The Diet: Transform Your Body By Connecting With Your Soul
- By Kathy Balland
- Published by Blissful Publications, LLC; 3116 S. Mill Avenue # 429
- Copyright (C) 2009
- ISBN: 978-0-9821831-0-6
Lose The Diet
delves into the complexities of human emotion, connection and mental power that few people are willing to tackle when looking for a weight loss answer.
I often tell my clients that I can provide them with an exercise plan and give nutrition facts, but that 70% of their success is in the mind. Lose The Diet is filled with realistic advice and excellent “how to” exercises to begin the process of healing for successful long term weight loss.
“Most of us have lost connection–the connection with ourselves, our inner power, and with other people. When the body is treated as a separate system from our mind and our soul, then permanent weight change cannot occur.” (10)
Lose The Diet breaks down into six main components:
- Chapter 1: Overview
- Chapters 2-4: Food
- Chapter 5: Stress
- Chapter 6: Body
- Chapters 7-9: Mind & Emotion
- Chapters 10-12: Spirit/Inner Self/God
Food
Kathy briefly touches on the basics. The detail on sugar is due to it’s “temporary “fix” to fill the emptiness” (27) of the soul.
I disagree with the premise that calorie counting is unnecessary. This belief is based on an individual truly understanding the basics of nutrition. Foundations need to be built first to understand how food and it’s composition fuels the body. With the overload of “do this, don’t do that” quick fixes in our in society, the basics are lost. Without this knowledge, lack of nutrition will be a major obstacle in the weight loss journey.
Calorie counting makes people aware of what they are putting in their body and helps them formulate more questions about how their body is functioning. Initially, it’s important to understand the foundations of the mathematical aspect of eating. As you become educated in what the foods are, then the need of calorie counting becomes less necessary.
Good pointers that she shares in regards to food are:
- 30 to 90 days to reset taste sensation
- 15 second cravings
- Balance by choice
- My favorite mantra: Everything in moderation
- “Focus on quality, instead of food quantity.” (22)
Stress
In our high paced, go-go society, stress and lack of sleep are quickly overwhelming the majority of adults and children. Lose the Diet provides great tips for coping with stress in eating and in general. Kath shows how to create your own action plan by facing your unique stresses.
Body
The section on the body has one major flaw and I disagree with a couple points.
While she makes excellent points about resistance training, “keep in mind that muscles weighs more than fat” (102) is inaccurate. 1 lb of fat = 1 lb of muscle. The difference is in the density. Muscle is more dense, so it fills less space.
I disagree with weekly body measurements because just as the scale becomes an obsession, the inches become a new crutch. Feel the changes in your clothing. The changes in body fat loss and creation of muscle are occurring on a level we cannot see. Everyone’s body is different and a good rule of thumb is to weigh and complete measurements once a month, right after your period, first thing in the morning and naked.
I also disagree with the recommendation on how little to exercise. First of all, if overweight, it is imperative that exercise is regular and consistent. “Never train more than two times weekly” (100) and “[l]ess is more” (100) are statements that do not fit the body’s need to move. People are already doing less outside, moving daily in life, enjoying of parks, trails and our own neighborhoods.
The “[s]tudies have show that over time, working out two days per week (w/ a couple of days in between workouts) has the same benefit as working out three days per week” (100) does not make me comfortable. I need to know more about “these studies,” what their goals were, and what the expectation of benefits was in order to validate the claims. There are so many studies that can be used to refute or make a point.
We are made to move. Two times a week for 30 minute sessions is not enough exercise to lose weight or improve flexibility, cardiovascular and muscular strength. These sessions may be enough to maintain current health, but not to combat the changes in age, stress, eating, and daily habits that will continually challenge the body. This argument gives too many an excuse to “not really” have to exercise.
I do believe in moderation for exercise and I don’t think it’s too much to expect people to devote 3 to 4 hours of their 168 hours in a week to physical fitness. How those hours break up in a week is dependent on goals, likes, and time management.
Mind, Emotion, & Spirit
Lose The Diet shines in Chapters 7-12. The explanations of the mind-body connection and spiritual needs are focused and detailed. The Self Hypnosis Guide on page 140 questions you to find out why you feel, what happened in the past, and what unresolved emotions are inside. There are several exercises provided in this section to help you delve deep within for answers.
Everyone is unique. One exercise that is perfect for you may have no answers for the next person. The goal to succeed is the same: Find happiness in yourself and the rest will follow. Make health a priority and you will seek the knowledge foundation that will strengthen your food choices, exercise decisions, and mental connection to a healthy, long-term weight loss for a fit lifestyle. Kathy sums it up perfectly,
“…we do not need to deprive ourselves of entire food groups or even certain sweets or “fattening” foods that we love. It’s a matter of finding the natural balance that our bodies will automatically go to once we have resolved what is going on “inside” of us. At which time the “outside” will naturally be come balanced, without having to check the numbers on a scale or count calories.”
If you are battling internal emotions or feel you’ve come to a mental standstill, check out Lose The Diet: Transform Your Body By Connecting With Your Soul. You will not be disappointed.
Taking clients to the grocery store was quite the eye opener for me. I had covered a lot of the information during sessions and in consultations, but walking through the aisles and showing clients made the exercise invaluable.
As I walked through our new PUBLIX (Yeah!!! It’s a few minutes around the house), I saw this vegetable root called YUCCA. I had no idea what it was, but the price was right (0.79 cent a pound) and I figured an 
