Introduction
Congratulations! Whether you realize it or not, simply by picking up this bookyou have taken the first of what I hope will be many steps, both large andsmall, simple and challenging, toward the most rewarding journey of all — theroad to reclaiming your physical health, well-being, and happiness.
Living the best life possible is everyone's dream, and that includes maintaininga healthy weight; getting in shape; achieving strength, fitness, andself-assurance; and attaining a sense of feeling a whole lot better in general.Those goals are exactly what Get with the Program is all about.
This is not a diet book.
This is not a fitness book.
This is a book about moving — in the right direction. It's a book about gettingreal about getting back in shape, physically and emotionally, realistically andgradually. It's also a wake-up call and a reminder about many things that youmay have already learned over the years but have, for whatever reason, put onthe back burner for a while or let slide. It's a book about tuning into andtuning up your body day by day and little by little, until, before you know it,your extra weight begins melting away. It's also a book about changing the wayyou think — not only to help you make intelligent, healthy choices about howbest to nourish and strengthen your body and to nurture your sense of well-beingand self-esteem, but how to help you literally move out of your own way.
For as you probably already know, the best reason in the world to move —perhaps the most difficult exercise of all — is to learn how to push away theemotional obstacles that have been holding you back from accomplishing yourpersonal goals. We all struggle with that challenge, believe me. The ultimategoal of Get with the Program is to help you get real about the changesyou want to make in your life — once and for all. Do that at your own pace butwith complete commitment to this program, and I promise that you will soonbecome slimmer, stronger, and brimming with self-assurance.
When you get with the program, you will get in touch with your inner self. Whenyou acknowledge and identify the emotional issues and triggers that have causedyou to overeat when you are no longer physically hungry and begin losing weightthrough sensible eating and exercise, you will have achieved one of the greatestaccomplishments of all. In doing so, the personal benefits and physical rewardsthat will follow will be lifelong and life changing. Emotional overeating is anepidemic in the United States, and simply acknowledging that it might also be anissue for you is a major milestone along your journey to renewed health andhappiness.
So, once again, I want to congratulate you for taking your first step towardbecoming the best that you can be: stronger, slimmer, healthier, and happier.One step at a time. Realistically. Gradually. Consciously. Finally.
If you're serious about losing weight and keeping it off for good, I'm going toshow you exactly how to do it — and why to do it. I can assure you that you arecapable of doing everything that I teach you and — best of all — you willhappily be able to do it for the rest of your life. I'm not selling anythingtrendy or something that promises unbelievable results with little or no work.There are no gimmicks here. You're going to be challenged in many differentways; that's always the case when you make meaningful changes to your life. WhatI'm offering you is good, sound, honest advice. And should you decide to followthis advice, it will change your life!
Get with the Program is not a quick fix. Let's face it, you've probablytried the quick-fix approach to dieting and know it never really works for long.My philosophy with this program is more along the lines of "slow and steady winsthe race." It's about putting one foot in the front of the other, at your ownpace, in your own time frame.
This program may or may not get you down to your "dream" weight. But realizethat dreams can be elusive and so can a size-eight dress or a thirty-two-inchwaist. Shooting for unrealistic goals is how the dreaded "yo-yo dieting"syndrome begins, and I'm sure you're familiar with that losing game. What we'retrying for here are achievable results, results that you can live withcomfortably.
Get with the Program is not about trying to get you to be "thin as apin." You will find as you read further that my main motives are these: Move alittle, lose a little. (Great.) Move a little more, lose a little more. (Evenbetter.) Eat less, weigh less. (Naturally.) Stress and worry less, binge less.(Wonderful.) Weigh less, move more. Move more, eat more (but sensibly). Strengthtrain more, metabolize more (and age less). And on and on until you soondiscover that you're smiling more and looking great and feeling better than youhave in ages.
This is a program for life, for people of every weight, size, shape, and age.When you Get with the Program, you will follow a simple progression ofbehavioral, exercise, and eating changes that will guide you through thefollowing goals.
The Goals
1. Get real about adjusting your thought patterns to help create positive change.
2. Get stronger and healthier.
3. Get in touch with your emotional eating triggers.
4. Get on with finally living and feeling really good about yourself.
Who wouldn't want to achieve all four of these goals? Unfortunately, many peoplefocus on the goal they believe is the most important one to them, which isusually losing weight, and they typically select the quickest way to doit. This is where their problems begin. If you're like the majority of people onthis planet who have tried to lose weight, you have gone down this road at leastonce or twice and maybe ten or twenty times — only to eventually fail. Ifthat's the case, I say let's go back to the drawing board and rethink thatquick-fix way of thinking about weight loss.
First of all, isn't your real goal to live the best possible life? Andwouldn't the best possible life include being a healthy and maintainable weight,being in shape, being in touch with your emotions, and feeling better aboutyourself? These four goals are all interrelated, and the best overall way toachieve any one of them is to go about achieving all of themsimultaneously.
Get with the Program will help you accomplish all of those goals. It maynot be the fastest way, but it is by far the best way. Trust me on that. Thisprogram is a recipe for success. You will become healthier, slimmer, happier,and stronger — mentally and physically. Don't worry about the daunting goal oftrying to quickly get down to your ideal or fighting weight. Toss that goal outthe window now and replace it with striving to be simply trimmer andstronger.
This program is especially geared for people who have found it difficult overthe years to maintain their shape, weight, and strength, and who have triednumerous diets only to succeed for a short time and then to fail. If you includeyourself on that list, you are certainly not alone. In fact, you have a lot ofcompany, and this book was written for you.
Get with the Program is comprised of four clear-cut phases, whichcorrespond directly to the program's four goals. Each phase requires that youmake specific investments in yourself, which will physically and emotionallyprepare you to successfully move on to the program's next phase and goal.
Phase One is about preparation — mental and physical. You'll begin with simplechanges to your body and, more importantly, to your mind-set. You won't changewhat or how you eat. You won't even do any formal physical exercise. You will,however, perform several written exercises that will help you learn as much asyou can about yourself and your attitudes about the process of change. Theseexercises will help you get in touch with your personal issues with regard toyour health, happiness, and any potentially self-destructive habits.
Simply put, this is the time for you to learn the truth about your realattitudes toward changing your life. In doing so, you will learn plenty aboutthe actual process of weight loss and the specific obstacles that have been inyour way. You will also begin to move by gradually increasing your usual amountof physical activity to strengthen and prepare your body for regular (orincreased) exercise in the next phase. You might start by stashing your remotecontrol in the closet and getting off the couch every time you want to changethe channel on your television set. Or you might decide to climb the stairs toyour office on the sixth floor every morning and afternoon instead of taking theelevator. Whatever it is, you decide. Just stick with your decision. Be faithfulto it and to your health.
I will also ask you to sign an actual contract with yourself, committing to Getwith the Program. You'd be surprised how motivating putting your intentions inwriting can be. Oh, and yes, you'll also drink plenty of water — lots and lotsof water.
In Phase Two, you'll learn how to exercise properly and what aerobic exercisecan do for you, especially to kick-start your metabolism. As you progressthrough this phase, you will actually begin to see weight loss results as yourbody's metabolism increases. This metabolic boost will eventually lead todramatic changes in your body. This is the time when you'll begin to modify youreating and drinking behavior — especially if you currently drink alcoholicbeverages, which you will begin to limit at this stage. You will also continueto drink plenty of water.
In Phase Three, you will continue to follow and benefit from what you've alreadyaccomplished in the first two phases, as you begin to focus on the emotionalconnection to your eating habits and how they affect your overall health andfitness. In this part of the program, you will identify the emotional issuesthat trigger you to eat when you're not hungry — stress, anxiety, depression,boredom, loneliness, and fear of failure (or success!) are among thepossibilities. By identifying and acknowledging those emotional trigger-pointsrather than by numbing yourself to them through snacking, overeating, andinactivity, you will soon find yourself making much better eating choices anddecisions about how to treat your body. As you become physically and emotionallystronger and healthier, you will be better equipped to make a total commitmentto fully impose your will to bring about permanent positive change to your life.
Finally, in Phase Four, you will continue to increase the amount of exercisethat you perform, including the addition of strength training exercise. This isone of the program's keys to maintaining your weight loss success on a permanentbasis, because it keeps your body's internal "metabolic fire" burning caloriesat a high level even when you're not exercising. This final phase will also findyou focusing on fine-tuning your eating. The end result? A lifetime of health,well-being, strength, and stamina.
The four phases of the program remind me of the process of building a fire.Phase One is all about getting your inner fire going. It's when you strike thatfirst match and spark the first flames. That flash of light that ignites thewhole process. Phase Two is where you begin to fan and build up the fire,turning up the heat by adding fuel and oxygen to the flames. It's where youreally get moving aerobically and start to stoke your inner furnace. Phase Threeis where things really begin to burn in earnest as sparks start to fly and danceand the flames grow both in temperature and intensity. This is the stage whereyou get in touch with your hot buttons — where you discover why "emotionaleating" has been weighing you down and what's really been "eating at" you.Finally, in Phase Four, your fire is ready for the really big logs — strengthtraining exercises — which not only will help to make the fire burn brighterand stronger than it ever has done before, but will help to maintain theradiating glow and brilliant burn long after you have lifted those heavy logsand heaved them onto the fire.
Get with the Program is designed to get you where you want to go. It's aprogram that is designed to help you finally become the person you were alwaysmeant to be.
Now let's fire it up...and get going!
Continues...
Excerpted from Get with the Programby Bob Greene Copyright © 2003 by Bob Greene. Excerpted by permission.
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