By:  Susan Young

When I embarked on my first diet I was a sophomore in high school, 15 years old, 5′8″ tall, weighed 155 pounds and wore a size 12.  I wanted to weigh less than 130 and wear a size 8 like my friend Nancy.  I tried a diet of my own creation which I called the ‘Life Saver” diet because instead of eating lunch I sucked on a candy Life Saver.  Don’t ask me how I came up with that plan but it worked, somewhat.  I lost five pounds  About this time, my mother became concerned that I had not outgrown my “baby fat” and took me to a diet doctor who prescribed diet pills.  There were gray pills for in the morning, pink pills for afternoon and white pills for in the evenings.  Fortunately, just one of the gray pills kept me awake for two days and I quit taking them after only a few days.  I am grateful that I valued sleep enough to not get caught up on this path.

By Tina Bardo

Let’s take a quick look at the power of positive thinking and the importance of creative cognitive visualization in the weight loss process. Lots of people (and rightfully so) spend an inordinate amount time focusing on the mechanics of their diet, the actual blueprint, meal plan, support group and so on. Of course this is a huge and integral part of the weight loss process. You wouldn’t lose weight if you didn’t pay attention to these components of your weight loss regimen. But there is another, often overlooked aspect to dieting properly as well. It is the mental, or concentration states that are outcome focused while actively engaged in the diet. And I think it’s fair to say, as important as the blueprint is, in reality, it is the thought process (or lack thereof) that causes most dieters to fail.