“IT’S SORT OF A LUDICROUS CONCEPT”

Kirstie Alley responded to reports that her weight loss company was directly  linked to the Church of Scientology. Appearing on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” one day before the debut episodes of “Kirstie Alley’s Big Life” Sunday night at 10:00 p.m.Eastern Time on A & E, the star actress denied the charges brought by a Hollywood Reporter on the Today Show on NBC. “It’s about as linked to it as “Cheers” was or Pier One or Jenny Craig. It’s sort of [a] ludicrous concept,” Alley, who has been a member of the church for 30 years, said. “It doesn’t even make sense to me how a business is a front for a religion. … It is absolutely not true.”

Kirstie told GMA she fell back on bad eating habits after her fallout with Jenny Craig. “I would love to say some man did me wrong, but it’s not true,” she said. “I had a really bad sugar problem and I still have that.”

As the most highly visible member of her new weight loss company, Organic Liaison, the star actress hopes to lose another 60 pounds in addition to the 20 pounds she has already lost on the program. Being able to help others as a role model, and being seen on a weekly reality television show should give her all the motivation and inspiration she needs to re-create amazing before and after weight loss photos for the world to see.

“I love the challenge,” Alley said. “I think everybody’s got to have the place where they feel good. I don’t feel good when I am really overweight.”

Many persons kick off a diet or fasting program with huge motivation and determination and, indeed, lose large amounts of weight. But, unfortunately, many end up gaining it all back because they have not addressed the psychological aspect of fitness, weight loss and health.
In this article, we will discuss “How Our Brains Work,” specifically as it relates to keeping the weight off for good through re-programming subconscious belief systems. This way the mind supports begins to support your progress rather than sabotage it.
As I have said in other articles, most diets do not produce long-lasting results because they are often seen as temporary rather than permanent changes in lifestyle and eating habits. The key phrase here is “permanent change.” That is what this article aims to help you accomplish.
I spent years in that see-saw of losing weight, gaining weight, losing weight, gaining it back; ad infinitum. Let me tell you, being trapped in this type of vicious cycle – as the years go by and by and by – is extremely crushing and disheartening. It affects the individual physically, mentally and emotionally to the point of hopelessness and total despair.
That is why, after so much trial and failure, I have concluded that my thinking is by far one of the most important elements to successful weight loss. All the fasting in the world will not produce enduring results if my thinking and self-image remain based on negativity and defeatist belief systems.
Beyond Positive Thought
Positive thought is far from being a new concept. Nor is imagining or visualization. A movie came out recently called The Secret which talked in-depth about this process. It is very interesting and offers good information and motivation.
In short, the premise is that keeping a sharp mental image of what you wish to accomplish can in fact attract the desired result into your life. Now believe me, I am not one to simply bring up a nice little tool I learned and offer it as a frothy solution or panacea.
What we will be looking at here is a combination of techniques that saved me from 15 years of obesity, suicidal behavior, self-loathing and total hopelessness and isolation. So we will dabble into a variety of topics and issues so that, you too, can effect powerful changes in your life as they relate to food, eating, as well as physical and emotional health!
Visualization is one of those tools that, through consistent and stubborn practice, have helped me to break very destructive thinking patterns. For example, take some time and visualize yourself in that particular dress or pant size you want to get into.
Spend some time daily perfecting this mental image – preferably at night before going to bed. One technique that worked very nicely was to put-up pictures around the house of myself when I was younger and thinner.
Magazine Decapitation
Other times I would browse through magazines and cut out pictures of sleek and fit male bodies. I then cut out my head from some other picture in my family album and paste it to the fit body image from the magazine. He, He. This actually is very powerful.
I was a chronic food relapser, and just looking at my face in the thin body from the magazine kept me from binging on many occasions. Try it! Paste the pictures in locations such as, the bathroom mirror, the nightstand or desk right next to your bed ( so it is the last thing you see at night and the first image you intake upon awakening), and – of course, the refrigerator door.
Every morning when you get up look at the photos and tell yourself: “This is me. This is how I want to look physically. I can do this.” Build a collage of fit persons taking part in a variety of athletic and recreational activities. Then stick your head into the bodies!
Self Talk
One book that made a huge impact on my life was Shad Helmstetter’s “What To Say When You Talk To Yourself.”
It taught me that I actually have the ability to re-program my subconscious mind and give it direct and to-the-point instructions to support the changes I want to make in my life. I must admit that at first I thought this to be very silly. I am a born skeptic. But pain eventually made me humble and I became willing to try it with an open mind. The results were life-changing.
This is what you can do: *Go to the pharmacy and purchase a package of flashcards. *Fill at least 20 of them with positive affirmations about your weight, health and image. *Write in the present tense so that your mind absorbs the statement as a done deal and not a pie-in-the-sky wish distant in the future.
Here are some examples:
*It is now always easy for me to control my appetite at all times. *It is now always easy for me to say no to _____. (fill it in with your specific trigger foods). Mine was pizza and donuts. Oh, gosh! He-He. *I now lose weight easily and effortlessly at all times. *I now always have supernatural will power to achieve all of my goals at all times. *It is now always easy for me to keep the weight off and I always and easily resist all temptation.
Evaluate the different areas of your life that you wish to change, and form statements directly related to them. These can include self-esteem, spirituality, lifestyle etc… for example:
*I now and always feel great about who I am and am constantly filled with intoxicating passion for life at all times. (Self-Esteem) *I always receive powerful spiritual guidance and discernment to overcome all problems at all times. (Spiritual) *I always am filled with energy and motivation to live and love to be outdoors and active at all times. *It is now easy for me to talk to others and I always feel great about myself in every situation.
You can, of course, add your own. . Once you have them ready, pull them out in the morning in a quiet place and read them to yourself out loud. Allow each word to enter into your mind and imagine the message penetrating into the center of your soul. If you receive negative feedback like: “Yeah, right! Poppycock!” just let the thought pass and continue.
The mind must eventually adhere to the directions you give it! If you practice a specific religion, end the session with the prayer of your choice and whatever other inspirational reading you are accustomed to reading. Repeat the process during the day when the mind starts to fill you with opposing thoughts. Culminate the day by doing a final reading immediately before going to bed. Make sure that the very last message your brain receives is a positive one.
If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes
The point I am trying to make in this article is: Do not start fasting or dieting and go through all of the detox and hunger pains, yet allowing the mind to just sit idly. In other words, dieting and/or fasting while continuing to feed your mind with negativity will lead you back to where you started which is: weight gain.
Make sure that, while fasting and/or dieting, you also are fasting from negativity and giving your mind a constant feeding of powerful thoughts that go against whatever mental blockages you find have always led you to gain all the weight back.
In psychology, the “Bombshell Theory” says that If nothing changes, nothing changes. So the message I want to drive to you with all the force I can muster is that: You can fast for 100 days and emerge clean, thin and feeling great.
But if there are no inner changes in the way you think and believe, then it is very likely that the mind will sabotage your progress and take you back to where you started, or worse. Please, dear reader, do not take this message lightly. If you were anything like me, then you are reading this article because you have health and fitness goals that are important to you.
I learned many years ago that “Freedom Carries Sacrifice.” Fasting and a proper diet are huge parts of the process. But to maintain the freedom gained through these positive changes, it is imperative to directly and forcefully address those internal voices that attempt to destroy your dreams.

Can you rub away the fat?
How I wish such a miracle cream exists. You know what I’m talking about. A cream you can apply on your fatty areas and watch the fat melt away. No exercise or diets required. That’s the stuff fantasies are made of.
How about those spas? You know the weight loss centers where women go in fat and come out skinny months later? They use all kinds of high tech machines to massage the fats away.
I’ve gone to one of those before. Yes, you are put under one of those torture devices that pinch and roll your fat in and attempt to breakdown that fat so that your body flushes it away. They also give you a drink which you take daily, which happens to contain ephedra. I was told to take it for the treatment to work. Ephedra was banned by the FDA in 2004 because it caused increased blood pressure and irregular heart rhythm. Both ephedra and Kava-kava, another slimming herb have been linked to liver failure.
For the treatment to work, to burn the fat away, the client is to skip dinner and take a meal replacemet drink away. On top of that, meals every day throughout the treatment period, lasting for months have to be restricted for the treatments to work. They have impressive photos of success of their treatment, which is probably due to skipping meals and not because the machines successfully massaged the fat away.
There are body wraps that promise instant inch loss. Lots of people look heavier because of water retention so these wraps tackle water retention and not fat. After a wrap, one usually has to go to the toilet to pee. Also, the treatment usually includes time in a steam chamber where you really sweat it out. Inch loss is usually achieved, through the loss of excess water retained in the body.
Another interesting is the way the therapists in some unscrupulous beauty centers measure their clients before and after the treatment. Before treatment, the tape is very loose when she measures the client. After the treatment, she tightens the measuring tape to the max. So how much of the inch loss is due to the client actually losing inches and how much is due to the slack tape?
So back to the question, can fat actually be massaged away?
Fat? No.
But massage can boost your circulation and get a sluggish lymphatic system going. That lymphatic system eliminates toxins more effectively. There is less water retention and you would feel lighter and maybe even look slimmer.
Then there are all sorts of creams, gels and serums from reputable companies who have much to lose should they ever promote snake oil. Some of the best beauty brands promote a range body beauty products to get rid of cellulite.
Cellulite is lumps of fat and fluid that show under your skin. Do these work? There are different schools of thought about what causes cellulite and how to get rid of it. Or even if cellulite really exists in the first place.
Back to getting rid of that fat. So if you can’t rub it away, how do you slim down?
My doctor told me the best weight loss surgery for me would be to sew my mouth shut. He had a point. No doubt, you can go for surgery like stomach stapling and liposuction to get rid of the fat, but that is a stop gap measure. Unless you cut down the food intake, there’s no way you can keep the excess fat off for good.
To get rid of the fat, there is no short cut. It involves a lifestyle change if you want to lose weight and keep it off. Daily exercise and sticking to a healthy diet are the only real ways to get rid of the fat.

Your wedding weight loss is important to you for more reasons than might be immediately apparent, and if you decide to lose weight for your wedding then you can only benefit. If you are unsure why you should lose weight wedding days are special and most people only have one in their lifetime.
Those that get married in the late summer or fall have little to worry about, because you probably spent time getting your weight just right for your bikini and these long hot days on the beach. However, if you are having a wedding any time from January to June, then you will likely have some work to do to lose weight.
So why not make that special effort to look your best? You might be wondering why you should bother to lose weight for your wedding, but there are many good reasons you should. Here are some reasons why you should try to get your wedding weight just right for your size and build.
Take note of that last part since not everybody looks good at 8 stone or less, and some women look best when their figure is a shapely size 16 or above. So don’t try to get that wedding weight artificially low, but keep it natural for your build.
With that in mind, here are some reasons why you should lose weight for your wedding.
1. Your Groom’s Feelings
Your groom will want you to look your best, and if that isn’t a good reason to lose weight for your wedding, then nothing is. He wants to be proud of you, and you should look your best to help him be so. A man loves to be proud of the way his wife looks, so cast aside your own doubts and look your best in the way you wear your dress, the way you look from head to toe, and in your confidence as you walk down the aisle
You know as well as I do that a woman feels good and comfortable when she is at the right weight – irrespective of that that might be.
2. Your Bride’s Feelings.
That’s right! It isn’t just the bride that should check out her wedding weight but also the groom. Men are not immune to being overweight on their wedding day, and they too should work on their weight before their marriage. If these pants are getting a bit tight then perhaps that waistline needs a bit of attention! Your bride might know you enjoy a few beers, but she doesn’t want everybody to see the evidence on your wedding day.
3. The Reception
Although the bride is the center of attention during the ceremony, it is during the reception that these few extra pounds are going to show. You can’t hold it in all day, and it will eventually show. So why not just remove the wedding weight problem with some intelligent exercise and diet before the big day? People definitely talk about how the bride looked (and the groom) and you don’t want ‘weight’ to be one of the topics, do you?
4. The Wedding Photographs
If your mind is still not made up, the wedding photos should be the clincher. The way you looked is soon forgotten – well, after a few years! So is the way they thought you floundered around on the dance floor. However, the photographs are there for ever – even your granddaughters will want to see them since young girls love weddings.
Are you going to be proud of the way you look, or do you need a few pounds trimmed off first? Are you a model bride for your granddaughters? Are you sure you look your best, or would a month or two of professional advice help you to look perfect? If so then do something about it.
5. You
How do you feel? That is also important. It might not be the most important factor since there are conventions to be adhered to. However, the better you feel about yourself, then the better you are going to look to others – up to a point of course.
Your wedding weight is important to you, and you should look the best you can on the big day. Losing weight for your wedding is not difficult, and the way you do it can be used any time you want to lose weight and for any reason at all.
The exercises and diets are based on the pretext that you will lose weight if you use up more energy than you consume. It is a simple equation based on science, and to achieve your wedding weight loss goal all you need do is balance the two: exercise more, eat less or balance the two so that energy expended is greater than energy consumed.
The secret is to find a way of reaching your ideal wedding weight without starving or exhausting yourself, since you have a lot to get through in organizing your wedding. This can be achieved if you find the right people to advise you and the right program to follow.
Incidentally, if your exercise is focused on muscle tissue, then those muscles will be developed, but for wedding weight loss you might prefer not to target weights unless you want bulging muscles as you walk down the aisle! OK for hubby, but for you. . . ?

A teachable moment is when something has happened in your life that alters your thinking about a very important behavior that you need to change. When we talk about a weight loss teachable moment there are many things which can trigger this need.

For instance, you just found out that a close and dear friend of yours just was diagnosed with Type II diabetes and needs heavy drug treatments. This teachable weight loss moment will cause you to change your eating and exercise behaviors.

A wedding or divorce will allow you to see a lot of healthy and happy people which will start your trigger to want to lose weight and get healthy.

School reunions, your anniversary or even a 40th birthday will coax your mind into a teachable moment opening you to new ideas about losing weight and exercising more.

When you or a close relating graduates from college or your land a new job these events can trigger your teachable moment and get you motivated into losing weight.

When you do reach your teachable weight loss moment you become highly motivated, with a vision and firm goal and you will do anything to reach your goal. But, like a new years resolution these behaviors are probably only temporary.

You ask yourself if this determination will last: A special or life-changing altering event is a great motivator in the short run. However, if you cannot reach your weight loss goals quickly, it can be difficult to maintain motivation and you stop and go back to your comfort foods and old ways.

You ask, how can you make it last?

Every day, use a special event as a kicking-off point, like looking in the mirror or weighing your self and finding no weight gain. Make sure you think in advance what you’re going to use as a good motivator beyond the special event of yesterday to effectively sustain your weight loss.

A good motivator would be a bad photo of you that makes you look fatter than ever or bumping into a friend in your past that makes some positive compliments about your weight. Even looking at yourself in the mirror or on a video tape make good motivators.

Other weight loss teachable moments might come from a spouse, family member or friend that bugs you to lose weight or quite some other vice, and you of course agree in order to get that person off your back.

You must try to make the teachable moment last by talking with your family who you have a reasoned with and had open discussion with. Make it clear that losing weight is very important to you, but you don’t want them telling you of your food choices are, because that will only turn you off, make you angry and make you less likely to follow through with your plan. Explain to your family that they don’t have to change their own lives, but should support your objectives at all cost.

Emotional teachable moment triggers are other events that warrant mention. For example, overhearing a colleague called you a fat slob for being charged for two seats on an airplane. So you wind up being embarrassed and use revenge on that person as a motivator.

That moment will probably last a long time as a result of being humiliated, and if you channel your energies into healthy eating and stepping up your exercise program, you will probably lose weight and keep it off.

So make sure you recognize your weight loss triggers and turn them into teachable moments so you can succeed with all your weight loss goals.