October Newsletter | Red Mountain Weight Loss - TX

DON’T LET

GUIDE YOUR

ISSUE #10 | October 2021

IN THIS ISSUE

Don’t Leave Weight Up to Fate 31 Day October Halloween Challenge October Squash Recipes The Horrors of Ultra-Processed Foods Star Patient: How Tishan went from nightly snacking to 9 mile hikes

DON’T LEAVE YOUR WEIGHT TO FATE Personal story and weight loss tips by Heather Wright, RM Clinical Assistant Director Your weight loss fate is influenced by your attitude. Weight loss is a sensitive subject, and oftentimes, it is tied to an individual’s self-esteem and self-confidence. At my heaviest, I tipped the scale at 322 lbs. I tried so many diets over the years– Weight Watchers, Keto, almost any fad diet that seemed easy enough to produce my desired results. I yo-yo dieted for many years, and would find myself happy when I lost weight, and hard on myself when I gained the weight back. It's difficult to have confidence in yourself when you feel that you have a big mountain to climb, a lot of weight to lose, and haven’t been successful in maintaining weight loss in the past.

I’m here to share, having confidence in yourself is the key to lasting weight loss success. I am here to tell you– You can do it, I have confidence in you! You must have confidence in yourself, too, because honestly, you can achieve anything you try to do, including weight loss.

It can be difficult to love yourself fully when you are trying to lose weight, but it is important to tell yourself that you can do it, and love yourself along the way. The fact that you are carrying extra weight doesn’t make you less deserving of self-love. Your weight is not your worth.

Make this time different. Focus on the positives and give yourself at least one compliment each day. Are you an excellent employee?

Are you a great parent? Name one positive, non-body related thing that you like about yourself. Focusing on positive thinking will train you for a better mind set, and allows space for you to feel good about yourself. As you lose weight, you will discover more things to love about yourself, both non-physical and physical, and it will become easier to compliment yourself. For example, when you start to fit into a smaller size of pants, or your buttons on your shirt stop popping out, these small moments will make you enjoy watching the numbers go down on the scale.

Throughout your weight loss journey, you will also experience non-scale victories. For instance, did you eat out with the family and have one piece of pizza instead of four? That is a non-scale victory, and a step in the right direction of making positive, lasting life changes. This is something you should congratulate yourself on, by complimenting and givng yourself credit for making good decisions.

The work throughout your journey won’t always be easy, but it will definitely be worth it! Here are some additional tips that will help you during your weight loss journey: 1 Take it one day at a time. I didn’t eat perfectly every day. In the past, if I slipped up one meal, that would turn into the day, and sometimes the week. The important thing is to get back on track. You messed up at lunch? Refocus with dinner and move forward. Change your unhealthy patterns into healthy patterns, and your results will change. Consistency is important, not perfection.

2 Be nice to yourself. Sounds easy, but that’s not always the case. Instead of telling yourself that you can’t do something, or you made a bad choice, try talking to yourself nicely. If you made a bad choice, try to figure out why instead of beating yourself up. The fact is, you can’t change a decision in the past, but you can learn more about why you made the decision. Do you fall off of your diet plan when you are stressed, emotional, or poorly prepared? Fight back by relaxing, substituting eating with other activities, and meal prepping.

3 Give yourself permission to change and excel. At times, we can get stuck in our way of being. Our friends and family may be used to seeing and treating us a certain way. You may be the one who everyone can count on to share dessert. It’s okay to change this! Don’t let others make you feel guilty or uncomfortable for making improvements or changes.

4 Make small goals. When I was at my heaviest, my first goal was to get to 300 lbs., then 250 lbs., and so on. It feels less overwhelming if you break down your weight loss into small, manageable goals, and you gain confidence as you achieve each goal.

5 Dream big. You may want to lose 50, 100, or 100+ pounds. Visualize where you want to go, and make sure that your daily decisions move you forward in your vision.

As of today, I have lost 147 lbs., and feel like a new person. I genuinely feel confident in myself. Now, I regularly hike, scuba dive, snowboard, and do activities that I never would have been able to do at my heaviest weight. If you would have told me 10 years ago that I would be healthy, happy, and half my size– I would have never believed it.

31 DAY OCTOBER HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE Research shows that October is the best time to make a weight loss resolution. It’s a preemptive way to avoid holiday pounds in November and December, so in spooky Halloween spirit, we’ve put together a 31 Day Halloween Challenge. You’re in for a hauntingly, healthy Halloween!

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Hocus Pocus, You Need to Focus: Write down your weight loss goals.

Make Your Own Magic: Read our website blog “10 Ways to Get Motivated for Weight Loss”.

Fab-boo-lous Affirmations: Write down affirmations believing in yourself.

Open Your Book of Spells: Try an October Squash Recipe.

Trick or Treat Yourself: Do one self-care activity like taking a bath or getting a manicure.

Squad Ghouls: Grab your favorite pal and go exercise.

You look BOO-tiful: Look in the mirror and note what you love about your physical appearance.

Face Your Fears: Read our website blog,“5 Reasons Why Losing Weight is Scary”.

The Witching Mocktail Hour: Host a Mocktail hour using RM-approved mocktail recipes.

Fang-tastic Fat Burner BOOster PLUS Shot: Remember to take your shot to rev your metabolism.

Little Shop of Unhealthy Horrors: Throw away all your unhealthy snacks and sweets.

Don’t Be the Walking Dead: Get 8 hours of sleep each night.

Wicked Chickens Lay Deviled Eggs: Try our RM Deviled Eggs recipe.

R.I.P. Sugar Addiction: Read our website blog,“Sugar Addiction: Are You a Sugar Addict?”

Pamper Yourself, Princess!: Reward yourself for making it halfway through October!

Drink Like a Vampire: Drink 8+ glasses of water every day.

Come Back to Life Like Frankenstein: Boost your energy and try our new IGNITE™ custom supplement!

Double, Double Toil and Trouble: Use Vitamin C and E for glowing skin to keep blemishes away.

Disappear Like a Ghost: Turn your phone off for an hour and do a digital detox.

Weight Loss Ghoul Getter: Read our website blog,“How to Become a Weight Loss Goal Getter”.

Enjoy a Witches Brew: Try a RM-approved mocktail with dinner.

Mummy and Monsters Time: Spend time with your kids going Halloween costume shopping.

Chocolate Cauldrons are Bubbling: Swap the chocolate bars for RM3® Approved Chocolate Protein Shakes. Serve iced or hot.

Fight Skin Nightmares: Eat antioxidant-rich foods like leafy greens and berries.

Chills and Thrills in the Kitchen: Try a new RM3®-approved dinner recipe.

Spooky Closet Vibes: Clean your closet by getting rid of any clothes that no longer fit you.

Carve Time, Not Pumpkins: Carve ‘you’ time and enjoy every second of it!

Wear a Mask: Put on a face mask to boost your skin’s glow.

Fright this Weigh: Weigh yourself and see how far you’ve come this month!

Enter If You Dare: Give away healthy snacks instead of candy to trick-or-treaters.

Witching You a Happy Halloween: Congrats, your made it! Have a Hauntingly, Healthy, Happy Halloween!

October Squash RECIPES

Spaghetti Squash is a low-calorie food high in fiber. Because of its high fiber content, it’s filling and a great substitute for high-calorie foods. As a bonus, it’s also filled with Vitamin A and C. Read on to discover two versatile ways to use spaghetti squash this season.

SHRIMP SCAMPI WITH SPAGHETTI SQUASH IN G R E D IE N TS 1 spaghetti squash 1 pound of shrimp 1 lemon, zested Zero calorie non-stick cooking spray Salt and pepper to taste DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 375 degrees, season squash with salt and paper, bake until tender.

Separately, heat pan to medium heat. Add zero calorie non-stick cooking spray and shrimp. Cook shrimp until tender.

Turn off heat, add lemon, salt, and pepper to shrimp.

Remove squash from oven, and shred. Plate shrimp over squash and enjoy!

SPAGHETTI SQUASH SPICE LATTE IN G R ED IEN T S 2 cups of coffee 2 tablespoons spaghetti squash puree 1 tablespoon cinnamon 1 tablespoon of skim milk A splash of your favorite Walden Farms Creamer® DIRECTIONS Combine coffee, spaghetti squash puree, skim milk, and creamer in a blender. Blend until well combined, top with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Enjoy!

the

Horrors

OF ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS Could convenience and lower-cost foods be affecting your health? If you’re guilty of purchasing ready-to-eat meals and snacks, you may already be a part of the obesity epidemic. The root of the cause is ultra-processed foods. As more people eat cheaper processed foods, they are getting heavier, reports researchers from George Washington School of Medicine and Health. Why are processed, specifically ultra-processed foods, so dangerous? Read on to discover more.

What are ultra-processed foods?

Ultra-processed foods are foods that go through many processes, contain multiple added ingredients, especially salt, sugar, and other additives (flavors, sweeteners, emulsifiers, preservatives, colors), and are ultimately highly manipulated from their original form.

Ultra-processed foods include: Soft drinks • Breakfast cereals • Muffins • White bread • Sugary yogurt Potato chips • Fruit juices • Frozen meals

Why are ultra-processed foods so dangerous?

Ultra-processed foods don’t provide nutritional benefits: they’re high in fat, sugar, and salt, and lack fiber, which translates to high levels of empty calories. In addition, ultra-processed foods can be highly addictive, which can cause you to eat more without stopping and throw portion control out the window. A popular study by Cell Metabolism found that ultra-processed foods led individuals to consume a whopping 500 extra calories a day, or an average of two pounds of weight in two weeks.

An alarming statistic also reports that ultra-processed foods contribute to more than half the calories consumed in the U.S.! It’s no wonder researchers link processed foods with an increased risk of obesity.

Eat Out Less and Make Healthier Choices

With RM3® and RM Lifestyle®, we champion real, whole foods. No foods in our programs are pre-packaged or frozen, unlike other weight loss program out there. You can trust in us to provide you guidance in making healthier choices that lead to healthier lives.

Remember to eat out less, cook more at home, and always read the ingredient labels.

Ingredients are listed in order of prevalence. Look to see if sugar is a major ingredient when you’re buying groceries.

Sugar can be a hidden ingredient if you’re not careful, use our helpful guide for “50 Different Names for Sugar” to be on the lookout.

While ultra-processed foods are convenient and cheap, the real hidden cost of consumption is the cost of your health. It may be harder to choose to live healthier, but it’s ultimately the right path.

STA R PATIENT

HOW TISHAN WENT FROM NIGHTLY SNACKING TO 9 MILE HIKES Being overweight made it next to impossible to enjoy even the smallest of task. Even briskly walking through the office got me winded let alone attempting to run. Shopping for clothes just became a basic ‘whatever I could hide in’ task. It had gotten to the point I had to hold my breath to tie my own shoes! Because I was so limited in mobility I was unable to enjoy hardly anything– anything but going to the bar. I began to go daily, and we all know how calories can quickly add up with alcohol. My eating had gotten out of control, because what do you also do at bars? Eat bar food.

AFTER

Drinking as frequently as I was without any physical activity, the weight just continued to pack on. Before I knew it, I was pushing out of a size 20 into a size 22, and hit 264.8, which is the heaviest I can ever recall being.

From that point, I started lifestyle changes, from not spending money on as much alcohol and focusing on trying to eat healthier. I tried diet after diet, a ride many of us have been on. But I was still overweight and still did not feel like me. And Then everything changed – COVID hit and the world came to a complete stop.

Everything shut down, and suddenly I no longer had the bar to go to. So, I dove hard into RM3®, and I quit drinking altogether.

Because of the RM3® program, I gradually lost weight and started to do hikes. I went from struggling to tie my shoes to now going on nine mile hikes. I am more mobile than I have ever been able to be for as long as I can remember. I have been able to see things I

would have only seen on TV or in magazines because of my new lifestyle. I have been able to

explore my photography and off-road in my 4x4 jeep. I feel like anything is possible, and not because of the size pants I wear, but because I can actually move, look back, and see what I accomplished. If I can accomplish losing 110 lbs., which is the size of a small human, it just makes me think, ‘What else can I do and accomplish?’ I am human like all of us, we have our ups and downs, our good and bad days.

But I am sure going to try to make each day a good one over bad one if I can help it. I did not give up on myself.

Only I could stop myself from eating a large pizza and cookie brownie. Now I can continue living the life

I always dreamed of. And the odds are in my favor, for even longer now.

Tishan K. lost 110 lbs.

B EF O RE