Kathy Freston - The Lean: A Revolutionary

The

Lean

The

Lean

OTHER BOOKS BY KATHY FRESTON

The One: Discovering the Secrets of Soul Mate Love

Expect a Miracle: 7 Spiritual Steps to Finding the Right Relationship

Quantum Wellness: A Practical and Spiritual Guide to Health and Happiness

The Quantum Wellness Cleanse: The 21-Day Essential Guide to Healing Your Body, Mind, and Spirit

Veganist: Lose Weight, Get Healthy, Change the World

The

Lean

A Revolutionary (and Simple!) 30-Day
Plan for Healthy, Lasting Weight Loss

Kathy Freston

Copyright 2012 Kathy Freston

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the Publisher.

For information address Weinstein Books, 387 Park Avenue South, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10016.

ISBN: 978-1-60286-174-9 (e-book)

First Edition

10

The views expressed in this book are not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice.

I encourage you to seek the advice of your health-care provider before changing how you eat, especially if you have a serious medical condition. Check with your doctor to make sure you are advised to exercise; and as well, he or she may need to change (or even discontinue) medications because of the very powerful (and positive) effects of the modifications you are about to undertake in your diet. If you need to find a doctor, you might try contacting the American Holistic Medical Association for a referral, at 216-292-6644. You can also search their database at http://www.holisticmedicine.org.

THERES SOMETHING ABOUT THE WORD LEAN THAT I ADORE, AND EVERYWHERE I go, other people seem to love it, too. In fact they kind of open up to it like flowers in sunshineI think because its such a mellow word, an easy word. Nothing about it feels forced. My guess is you like the word too.

In my previous books, Quantum Wellness and Veganist, I talked about leaning in the direction of change and finding yourself making quantum changes in your lifestyle without much effort. In my own experience and the experience of the thousands of people who e-mail and tweet me about my books, talks, and TV appearances, weight loss is one of those changes that we can lean in to as well.

Its such a powerful concept, leaning.

Of course here were playing with the word too. The double meaning is entirely intentional. This book is about getting lean in the bod, but its also about leaning into weight loss so that its not too difficult or overwhelming.

If youve read my other books, you know Im all about ease. I like to do things with the least amount of effort to get the biggest possible payoff. Dont you? If youve ever dieted, or if perhaps youve spent much of your life dieting, youve undoubtedly worked very, very hard to achieve results. And possibly experienced the devastating shame or disappointment of having the weight creep back on. Whether youve been working against 10 pounds or 200, losing weight and keeping it off can be one of the toughest challenges, and I bow to you for the efforts youve made so far. What Im here to tell you in this book, however, is that it doesnt have to be hard.

You read that right. Weight loss doesnt have to be hard. Its about setting an intention for what you want, weight- and healthwise, and then nudging yourself ever so gently in that direction. Its about making choices to eat foods that are delicious and filling and supportive of your weight loss goals. There is nothing in these pages that is drastic or strict, nothing that will require you to give up your favorite things altogether. Almost everything youll find here has to do with taking steps away from the choices that made you heavy and toward choices that make you feel better. You will not feel denied and you will not be hard-pressed to get through the process. All I ask of you is your willingness to reach a little, your willingness to take just one step. And then another. To make small changes over time.

These little tweaks, like substituting soy or rice milk for cows milk, for instance, or a handful of nuts for that bag of chips, will propel you almost effortlessly toward ever more healthy choices. You dont have to sacrifice favorite foods or family rituals. Im talking about developing a different kind of friendship with food, not making it your enemy.

What youll discover is that over time, not only do the little things add up, but they also work together synergistically to bolster your progress. We make so much possible just by adjusting and fine-tuning our meals and habits; so much is within our power to make better... one simple thing at a time.

Weight loss is not complicated. It doesnt require you to be a mathematician, calculating grams of protein and carbohydrates; you need not even understand what exactly body mass index is. It never made sense to me to focus on all those calculations, when its so much simpler just to stay attuned to how we feel and look as a result of eating certain foods. Weight loss also doesnt require that you put yourself through physical drudgery and live in a constant state of longing or deprivation. That would not make a pleasant life, and no wonder so many of us reject, or fall down on, that hard-core path.

What youll learn in the pages of this book is how to get into a natural rhythm of feeding your body what it thrives on, foods that are delicious, nutritious, and that inherently hold the secret of perfect balance and health. Youll also learn some new ways of thinking and relating that support the process. If youve had a kind of crazy love affair with certain foods, you may be called upon to face your obsessions, or even addictionsto sugar, cheese, etc. But youll do this step by step, in stages, gently.

Heres the secret to this book: its all about crowding out, not cutting out. Crowding out is a term used in nutritional circles to describe how to eat in a healthy way so that you never even have the chance to feel hungry. You literally crowd out the junk you think you want to eat by choosing to eat key foods throughout the day so that youre always satisfied. Isnt that preferable to depriving yourself of foods and white-knuckling it all the way?

Heres the secret to this book: its all about crowding out, not cutting out.

When you gradually add in nutrient-dense, fiber-rich foods, you simply stop feeling cravings. You run out of space in your belly for the old junk. Instead of craving, you feel full, fulfilled, content.

Ill tell you straight out: we are going to move away from eating animals and work in some delicious plant-based food, because as youll see, the overwhelming amount of science and data say that this is the way to go if you want to lose weight healthfully and keep it off for good. Youll also be moving away from sugar and refined flours, but youll have so much delicious and fulfilling food in the meantime, my strong hunch is that by the end of this program you wont even miss the old stuff. Ill go even farther and say that youre going to be floored to see the positive benefits to your weight loss and health when you really embrace this process.

Reader after reader has written to tell me how they simply dropped their extra weight by eating wholesome foods and getting the nasty (albeit sometimes delicious) stuff off their plates.

In the Lean, old bad habits get crowded out by better ones. Its the old switcheroo. But the key to the success of crowding out is doing it with a fair amount of ease. Diets that are too radically different from what were used to generally dont work. Thats because we want familiarity, tradition, hearty food, good taste. We dont want a whole new life; we want our same life, only absent a few (or more) pounds. If you listen closely, you might hear your true voice admitting, I just dont want to give up the foods I love. Period. Fair enough, and who