How to Break a Bad Habit

How to Break a Bad Habit

Feb 4, 2022

Train yourself to lose bad habits.

 I work a lot with clients at the beginning of our engagement on how to create new, positive habits, but for many clients, breaking bad habits goes hand in hand with creating good habits.

If you remember the story of Pavlov’s dogs, they were trained that when a bell rang, they would get fed. So after enough repetition, they learned to start drooling as soon as the bell rang, because that meant dinner was on the way.

So having trained them to drool when they hear the bell, how do we train them to stop?

The answer is, you ring the bell and you don’t feed the dogs. You still have the cue of the bell ringing, but you don’t allow the behavior or the reward.

It’s the same with humans. If you currently have a habit that every time you walk through the kitchen you get a snack, you’ll need to provide the cue, but not engage in the behavior and not get the reward.

And instead of resisting the urge, you need to just allow it. Allow yourself to feel the emotion of wanting to engage in the behavior and not giving in to it.

It won’t be fun, but it won’t last long, and it goes a long way toward breaking the habit.

 Are you ready to get coached?  Schedule a time to get started by clicking here.

The Vodka Trick

The Vodka Trick

Jan 28, 2022

Most of my weight loss clients are trying to cut down on refined sugar, since we all know sugar has a lot of empty calories.

Now, I believe, and there’s a good amount of research that shows, that sugar is addictive, so it’s important to know how addictable you are before you try this trick. For some people, any sugar at all sets off their addiction and cravings, so this may not work for everyone. But if you aren’t super addictable and you want to cut down on your sugar without completely eliminating it, this trick may help you moderate your consumption.

What I want you to do is go through and tell me everything you ate today, but if the food you are eating is sugar or has sugar in it, substitute the word vodka.

So here’s an example to a day with a moderate amount of sugar.

1. Black coffee – skip breakfast (intermittent fasting)
2. Lunch – salad with protein (chicken) and fat (vinaigrette dressing)
3. Dinner – fish with veggies, then vodka.

In this case, the “vodka” was a piece of chocolate mousse cake.

So for me, if I eat clean all week and then eat that way once on the weekend, I can still have a little sugar and lose weight.

Now imagine a typical America’s day.

“I got up this morning and put two tablespoons of vodka in my coffee”. Right there, your friends would be concerned.

Now add in all the sugary pastries, the mid-afternoon vending machine, desert every night – we see there’s a problem.

So if you are the kind of person who can eat sugar in moderation and wants to continue to do so, there’s a mental trick to help you balance how much you have and how often you have it.

 Are you ready to get coached?  Schedule a time to get started by clicking here.

Treasure Coast Weight University

Treasure Coast Weight University

Jan 21, 2022

Losing weight on the Treasure Coast – from Sebastian to Palm Beach.

 

Are you a Treasure Coast resident who is looking to lose weight?  Local weight coach Lisa Duke can help you meet your weight loss goals from her office in Stuart, Florida.

Whether you are a Florida native or you just moved to the area, the fact is that living on the Treasure Coast means – for better or for worse – that it's always shorts weather.

In fact, whether you live in Palm City or Port St. Lucie, pool parties in paradise are a perk and a peril of our endless summer.

If you are tired of declining invitations from friends because you are self-conscious about how you look, weight coach Lisa Duke can help.  With her new signature program, Weight University, Lisa teaches the 12 concepts and 3 skills that she used to lose 50 pounds.

So if you are ready to go sleeveless at the beach (or just in downtown Jensen Beach), consider scheduling a time to chat with Lisa Duke about your weight loss goals.  She can help you with a unique and innovative approach to help you clear the blocks and limiting beliefs that have stopped you from keeping yourself at your goal weight in the past.

 Are you ready to get coached?  Schedule a time to get started by clicking here.

3 Strategies to Choose From For Weight Loss

3 Strategies to Choose From For Weight Loss

Jan 14, 2022

You can lose weight while still enjoying life – and food.

 I wanted to share 3 great strategies that you can choose from while designing your own weight loss plan.  You don't have to use all (or even any) of these, but they are tactics that have worked for me.

1.  Skip breakfast during the week.

Breakfast is only the most important meal of the day when you are trying to generate profits for a cereal company.  Otherwise, you may be able to cut it out and never even miss it.

I usually skip breakfast during the week, and then we often go out for breakfast on the weekends.  Even then, we try to delay breakfast so it can work more as lunch and then I can have an eating break between that meal and dinner.

 2.  Cut out all snacking.

Snacking between meals keeps your insulin high, which keeps you in fat storage mode. 

Often people advise snacking between meals to stave off hunger, but for most of my clients, hunger has zero to do with when they are eating or how much they are eating, so it's a moot point.

Snacking after dinner is also just junk calories.  You can't possibly be hungry – you just ate what is most likely your biggest meal for the day.  Figure out what is driving this eating.  Is it a habit you can break?  Are you just restless?  If so, can you deal with your restlessness by allowing it or doing a substitute activity, like having tea or doing a craft project?

3. Take half home.

When you do eat out, plan to put half your food in a to go box.  Restaurant portions are ridiculously huge.  You can go, eat half, be satisfied, and have a “free” meal for tomorrow that will still be yummy then.

 

P.S. It's time for your to lose the weight.  You absolutely can do this once you have the right support.  Jump on a Zoom call with me and we'll get you started.  Just find a time on my calendar.

 

What to Do When We Fall Off The Wagon (Actual Text)

What to Do When We Fall Off The Wagon (Actual Text)

Dec 4, 2021

Here's the actual text to the “what to do when we fall off the wagon” post.  Not sure what happened with the October 1 post.

So let’s talk about what happens when we “fall off the wagon” and how to get going again.

First, I think it’s important to note that there is no wagon. This isn’t Oregon Trail, and you are not going to get left behind or die of dysentery. So no worries there.

But seriously, what do we do?

I think the most important thing to realize is that in the moment of awareness you have an opportunity to make a new choice. No one is perfect, and you don’t have to be perfect to lose weight. Just acknowledge that you ate off plan, and then forgive yourself.

Realize that you did the best you could in that moment. Your weight today is a reflection of your best attempts to deal with life up until now with the tools you had. Now, you are learning new tools if you are working with me as a client, such as The Model and allowing emotions, that will help you make different choices going forward.

We often were trained growing up that a good scolding is what you need to get back on track, but there’s actually lots of evidence that you can’t hate yourself to sustainable weight loss. So just let that go.


So my best advice for getting back on the wagon is just to take a moment, take a breath, and reset. Make your plan in writing for the next 24 hours, and make it realistic. Then recommit and move on.

P.S. It's time for your to lose the weight.  You absolutely can do this once you have the right support.  Jump on a Zoom call with me and we'll get you started.  Just find a time on my calendar.

 

Achieving Your Weight Loss Goal

Achieving Your Weight Loss Goal

Nov 1, 2021

Once you set your weight loss goal and step out into a new way of thinking, feeling, and acting, you are going to feel discomfort.

Your brain wants to be efficient, and making a lot of changes takes effort and energy.  So it will fight you to go back to your old patterns of being as you try to change into someone who can succeed.

That feeling of discomfort is what we call the River of Misery.

Why is the analogy of a river so helpful?  

A river might be scary.  But we know it can be crossed.  We know the experience of being in the river is temporary.  The other shore is in sight.

When we step out into activities that are challenging and not part of our current behavior, we will feel discomfort.  But over time, that discomfort can become our new normal.  What was difficult, awkward, or scary can change into routine and easy over time.

Think about the last time you moved, or started a new relationship.  At first, it can be overwhelming.  There are too may unknowns!  But over time, we learn the ropes and no what to expect.  Life becomes more smooth again.

The most important things to know about the River of Misery is that what you are feeling is totally normal and natural.  You have to manage your mind during this time so you can keep going.  Over time you will fully become this new version of yourself.

Need a coach to help you manage your mind as you cross The River of Misery for your weight loss goal?  Schedule a complimentary initial consultation on my online calendar at https://lisaduke.net/schedule

 

 

How Hormones and Weight Are Affected by Insulin

How Hormones and Weight Are Affected by Insulin

Oct 1, 2021

Smile if you are eating in a way that doesn't spike up your insulin (at least most of the time).

One of the main hormones you need to understand if you want to lose weight is insulin.

Insulin is basically our body's response to sugar in the blood.

When we get a normal, natural amount of sugar, such as what's in fruit, our body goes to work.  The body starts moving that energy out of our blood and into our muscles and liver (to use as quick energy).  Then the excess goes into fat cells, to be stored for future use.

After storing all that sugar, insulin levels drop back down. Once they do, your body can use that energy.  First the body uses the energy stored in your muscles and your liver.  You use that energy to do things like go on a walk or power your brain while you think about this blog post.

When sugar gets used up and insulin is low, your body can then access stored fat for additional energy. It's like a second fuel tank for emergencies!

The problem is, we may accidentally keep our insulin high most of the time.  We overeat without realizing it.  Or perhaps we eat lots of refined sugar and flour (which breaks down into sugar).  Many of us are almost constantly snacking.  When we have these habits our insulin never drops down and our body never switches from fat storage mode to fat burning mode.

Now this is very much a layman's explanation.  For me, though, thinking about what I was eating and when I was eating it differently helped.  I had to approach eating with an understanding that I had to get out of fat storage mode.  I had to switch into fat burning mode.  Knowing that helped me eat more veggies, lean protein, and plant-based fat, smaller portions, and helped me snack less.

So now let me ask you: do you think you’ll make changes to how you eat based on this new information? Do you think you might need support from a coach to make this change?

If you’d like to learn more about how I can support you in your weight loss journey, schedule a call with me to learn more.

 

Fancy Friends – A Manifesto

Fancy Friends – A Manifesto

Sep 24, 2021

Wondering what to buy to lose weight?  Calling all of you who are fancy over 40.

 

Wondering what to buy to lose weight?

 

I often find clients have something in mind they want to buy to lose weight, but they are afraid to invest in themselves.

After all, it's awfully fancy to buy a membership at a Pilates studio or a Pelaton or to hire a coach, right?

Well, let's look at what it means to be fancy. 

As for me,  I like to think I can fit in anywhere.

I can be casual.

I don't think of myself as a snob.

I aspire to love and respect everyone – even those who don't love and respect me.

 I can lay around in the house in a T-shirt and shorts like the best of them.

But let's be honest… secretly… on the inside… I'm kind of bougie.

I am selective about where it comes out.  I look for value.  I'm not interested in flashy just for the sake of flashy, and I actively dislike fake.

But you know what?  I like nice things.

I think I'm worth it.

Sure, I got roots at a public high school, but I got wings at a private college.

I think I'm worth investing in, and I'm not afraid to sell others on that premise.

That private school paid for half my tuition.

When I took my first job, I negotiated my salary.

When our IT consulting firm takes on clients, we charge A LOT per hour – and then we get a lot done in an hour, and throw in plenty of freebies down the road so the client sees the value and comes back for more.

 I have invested a lot in courses and coaches and mentors to help me learn how to win with money and in business.

And I'm looking for women who are like… SAME GIRL, SAME.

Don't come to me crying about how broke you are if you aren't willing to invest in learning how to handle the money you do have (and to be grateful for it).

Don't be shocked when I tell you my high end private coaching and consulting packages cost thousands of dollars.

Of course they do.

Because I am worth it, and so are you.

You are not a used up husk of a person who used to be hot but now is just a mom whose kids don't even need you any more.

You are a wise woman.  You are a goddess incarnate.  You are in your prime. 

You know who you are, and you are sick of this sh!t. 

You are done of putting everyone else first.

It's time to shine.

I'll teach you how to get back to your “fighting weight”, and as a side effect, you'll learn how to manage your mind so you can go out and conquer the world.

It's not all over.

We are just warming up.

The world needs us in our full power.

So, if your are wondering what to buy to lose weight – perhaps a class pass at a fancy studio, or hiring a me as your coach – my advice is to do do something bougie and luxurious and schedule a free one on one call today.

 

When to Eat to Lose Weight

When to Eat to Lose Weight

Aug 6, 2021

Wondering what to eat to lose weight?  This may be the wrong question. Your body needs a break between meals.

 

Traditionally in the US we’ve only paid attention to what we are eating to lose weight and how much we are eating to lose weight, but WHEN we are eating is important as well. 

If you pay attention to Dr. Jason Fung’s work on weight loss, he discusses the power of intermittent fasting and why it works so well. 

When we eat, our blood sugar goes up and insulin rides in to the rescue.  Insulin puts us into fat storage mode to get all that sugar out of the blood. 

When we are constantly snacking, we stay permanently in fat storage mode.

Taking an eating break allows the insulin to drop and our body to go into fat burning mode.  That’s why so many people now are seeing results with intermittent fasting. 

Even if your total calorie intake is the same, having a smaller eating window and allowing a break without eating between lunch and dinner lets your body utilize the fat you’ve stored for just such an occasion.

So while what to eat to lose weight is an important question, it may be that WHEN we are eating is equally important.

Ready to learn all the weight loss tips and tricks I used to lose 50 pounds?  Hire me!  Schedule a free initial consultation by clicking on this sentence.