Tuma-Young - Balance your life, balance the scale: ditch dieting, amp up your energy, feel amazing, and release the weight

BALANCE YOUR LIFE,
BALANCE THE SCALE

DITCH DIETING, AMP UP YOUR ENERGY,
FEEL AMAZING, AND RELEASE THE WEIGHT

JENNIFER TUMA-YOUNG

To the inspirista within every woman

Contents

W elcome to the most unconventional weight loss book youll ever read!

Waitlets stop there. To be honest, I kind of cringe at the thought of this being a weight loss book, because I firmly believe that we are so much more than numbers and that what really matters in life is who we are, not what we weigh. But I understand that you probably picked this book up because youd like to be healthier and weigh less. I get it! I am very grateful that you are here, and I am excited to share my story and what Ive learned from working with thousands of women just like you.

So even though were not calling this a weight loss book, it definitely is a book that will help you release weight. Whats so unconventional about it is that it will tell you to stop dieting, to eat what you love, to ignore the numbers on the bathroom scale, and to change the way you think about controlling your weight. And, unlike most books about weight, we wont be spending tons of time talking about what to eat. Instead, youll learn about balance, which will help you kick dieting and self-loathing to the curb.

Listen, I know what youre thinking: Balance, schmalance. You dont care about balance. You just want to get rid of some extra pounds and fit into the jeans you wore five years ago.

I understand that you want to start getting results instantly. I know how that feels. I am a recovered yo-yo dieter, and I purchased so many diet books, I could probably open a bookstore with them all. I used to joke that I could teach weight loss classes because I knew so much about nutrition and diets from reading so many books and doing so many diets. Many of the women I meet say the same thingtheyre pretty sure they know what to eat, but for whatever reason, they are not committing to their health. And whats more, I find that the reason has much to do with the way we live.

Let me explain, Ive worked with many womenand I realized pretty quickly, most of us have an idea of how to be healthy, right? I mean, we know that a blueberry is a healthier choice than a potato chip, and if weight was really the only issue, why would we even want to eat a potato chip instead of a blueberry? So, its not really about the food (maybe a little if you are skewed by having done too many dietswell get into that later). And I also realized that women (and heres a lightbulb) do too much. We are living in a world where we are taught that more is better when it comes to schedules and stuff, and less is better when it comes to our bodies... and it can feel impossible to simplify when life has become increasingly complex.

Im not talking about balance in the sense of perfectly juggling all of the balls in the airstriving for that type of balance has only made women more stressed, gain more weight, and feel like more of a big, giant failure.

Years ago, I began asking the women I worked with a very simple yet important question, What do you want? And this led to the development of my B.A.L.A.N.C.E. Program, which will assist you in redefining your own meaning and method for balance, based on something most diets simply cannot factor inYOU.

So, by opening this book, youve taken your first step on the journey toward balancing your life and the scale. And youll never go on a diet again. Congratulations, your dieting days are over!

Now, youre probably wondering why I am so anti-diet. Because diets (in and of themselves) simply dont work. Sure, if you lived in a bubble and were only focusing on following the diet with access only to the foods of the given dietof course, that would work to help you lose weight, but think about these two very important factors:

1. You dont live in a bubble, and even if you did for a period of time, eventually youd have to join in real life again. Its impossible for a bubble to factor in your life realistically.
2. Would the weight loss alone really make you happy and fulfilled?

If you want to live a healthy, vibrant life, youve got to move away from the crazy on-and-off world of diets and embrace balance and self-love instead. My lifes mission is to help all women (including myself) rediscover who we were each born to be, find balance, embrace our uniqueness, connect with each other, overcome fear, use our gifts, feel weightless, and smile a lot along the way. Helping people do all this is one of the goals of my life and of this book.

Balance Benefits

Believe me when I tell you that when you choose to live your life by being in balance, you will release weightboth in your life and on the scale. No gimmicks. No starvation. No impossible exercise plansjust a balanced approach that will improve every single part of your life. Being in balance reduces stress, and reducing stress helps you lose weight. Its that simple. I know this because Ive seen it happen for thousands of women, starting with myself.

Thirteen years ago, I overcame borderline diabetes and lost more than a hundred pounds, ironically when I decided to ditch dieting and all of the self-loathing that goes with it. Sure, I exercised and chose nutritious foods. But there was way more to it than thatthat was just the beginning. I lost all that weight (and have kept the scale in balance for over a decade) by making a far more fundamental change than just cutting down on caloriesI transformed my life by learning what it meant to actually love myself. I changed myself from the inside outI found my anchor to keep me in balance. And by being in balance, the scale balanced itself. You will learn all the intricate up-and-down details of my story throughout this book, as my story is intimately connected to my B.A.L.A.N.C.E. Program.

Over the past decade, I have devoted my life to assisting other women in doing the same thing. As a certified wellness coach, author, blogger, consultant, speaker, workshop teacher, and Curves fanatic, I have helped women release weight and find happiness by learning how to restore balance to their lives.

Take Donna, for example. When I met Donna, she was exhausted, drained, and stressed out. Shed been trying to lose her baby weight for twelve years and had been on every diet imaginable. Her calendar was booked day to night with housework, a part-time job, carpooling, soccer games, and ballet practice. Her husband was working and traveling all the time, yet they were barely able to make ends meet. She rarely saw her friends. Although she used to pride herself on the way she looked, she hadnt worked out in years. She felt out of shape, out of touch, and completely out of balance.

Sound familiar?

With my guidance, Donna redefined her own meaning and method for a balanced life that in turn balanced the scale. She lowered her stress levels, increased her commitment to taking care of herself, and reconnected with friends. And guess what happened after all that came together? Youve got itshe lost the weight shed been unhappily carrying around for more than ten years. Like so many of the women Ive worked with, Donna learned that the more youre in balance, the less stressed you are, and the less stressed you are, the easier it is to release weight.

Many of the women who come to me for help are unhappy with the way they look and feel. They beat themselves up for just about everything. They are juggling a million responsibilities, but they still feel empty. They come from all different backgrounds and every age group, but they all tell the same story: They want to feel better about themselves, but they are blocked by exhaustion, frustration, self-anger, and disappointment. And they feel totally out of balance.