I WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT FOR THE NEW NEAR BUT I'M FRUSTRATED

SO YOU WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT FOR THE NEW NEAR BUT YOU'RE FRUSTRATED BEFORE YOU EVEN START?



That's NOT abnormal. That's how most people feel before they start on a new venture.
Think of it. When you start controlling your weight and bringing your weight down to a normal healthy level it's like the first day you left home and went to school. Or it's like the first day you went into business and realized you have huge financial obligations. It is scary.


Have you every heard of buyer's remorse? You buy something really big and important like a house or a new business. You're happy to start a new beginning, mark a new milestone, open the way to a great future. Then something hits you. I have all these oblilgations. I have a new mortgage and or a payroll to meet or other obligations. If you start a business you think, I left my old employer and my regular, though inadequate, pay check.

WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO?????

Those feelings are called buyer's remorse. And most have the fear before they even start. But you need a start in order to accomplish anything, so how can you conquer these fears. (Let's call them the fears ante the beginning and the fears post starting.)


The first thing you need to keep in mind is that YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Everyone who is signed into the Brownbagdiet.blogspot.com has been there or is going through this right now.

Remember we said we were going to recruit one million people who to pledge to lose at least one pound by Jan 21st? Well I don't know if we made it to one million or not but we have a huge following and most, if not all are in this together with YOU.

Yes. Let's all do the virtual holding of hands together right now. I'm for you and you're for me. We promise to bouy each other up so we can start a program of diet control and complete it successfully by reaching our goal. And we're starting today.

Tonight we reach the milestone year of 2008. For most of us this is not the year of the mouse or any other creature. It's the year of WE and YOU reaching a heallthy and good looking weight level.

Happy New Year everyone and good luck. We're all cheering you on.

Erwin Posner, R.Ph.

Brownbagdiet.blogspot.com

In my next post I'll discuss the mechanics of why starting now is important.

YOU'RE INVITED TO HOST A BROWN BAG DIET NEW YEAR'S PARTY AND BE ONE OF ONE THOUSAND DIET PARTY HOSTS

Host one of a thousand Brown Bag Diet Parties this New Year. This may be the trendiest party of the season. Start planning. Call your friends. It's healthy. It's fun. It's new.

Tell your friends this is the chance for them to get the New Year off on a great dieting start. Here's the idea:
Invite a group of friends. Decorate with Happy New Year's decor and prepare lo-cal snack food.

On the table have big bowls of salad greens and fixings and no-cal dressings or vinaigrette. Add frozen peas to the salads greens to chill the salads and provide protein. Have bowls of celery stalks and raw cauliflower. Serve no-cal drinks like no-cal diet soda pop, tea, coffee and water.

Want more serious food? Then make sandwich fixings available. These can include tuna salad made with no-fat mayo, sliced or smoked salmon or lox and other lean protein items sliced thin. Include thin sliced whole wheat bread to make mini sandwiches. Check out other lo-cal salads.

**NOTE: No Chips, or fattening dips. No bagels, brownies, doughnuts, cookies, pastry or cake.

Everyone gets a Brown Paper Bag. Inside the Brown Bag are party favors (whistles, party hats, etc from the paper and party store). Also include a dessert such as a piece of fruit in each bag, (apple, pear etc).

Toast the New Year in with club soda with a squeeze of lemon or lime.

Have a contest on who has the best diet plan. Then prepare for the next party in six weeks on Valentine's Day where you can all find out how well you did.

What will happen if one thousand Brown Bag Diet party hosts invite at least ten participants each? I'll tell you. In six weeks time you will find the following: Starting with ten thousand participants you will find some with dramatic diet results. You will also find many with good results. And others will have results that are just beginning to be positive.

The best part is that you will accomplish all of this with friends. So be a one-in-a thousand host. And be a one-in-10,000 participant. Join with us for success. It doesn't take a lot of calories to have fun.

Good luck and don't forget to spread the word about Brownbagdiet.blogspot.com

Erwin Posner, R.Ph.

SPEAKING OF THE POST HOLIDAY BULGE -today we review diets that can help you

SPEAKING OF THE POST HOLIDAY BULGE -today we review diets that can help you.

As you know the principles of the Brown Bag Diet do not limit you to a single diet program. Remember I previously told you that most standard diets fit into three categories:
1. Smaller portions of well balanced meals
2. High protein, low carbohydrate meals
3. High carbohydrate, low protein meals.

The objective of smaller portions is self evident.

That of high protein follows the theory that carbohydrates stimulate insulin for metabolism and at the same time trigger increased appetite. Therefore refraining from carbohydrates and eating a diet of high protein reduces appetite.

The theory of high carbohydrates is that these foods create a feeling of fullness. Since protein packs greater density of calories within it than carbohydrates, reducing protein and increasing carbohydrates will result in satisfactory fullness without the compact calories involved in protein.

Now for the plans. (Note - these very brief descriptions are generalizations. You may wish a complete review)

The Atkins Diet:
(High protein with restricted carbohydrates. Testing advised for ketones in urine.)

Beverly Hills Diet Plan
(Very low protein, very precise rotation of food groups)

Carbohydrate Addicts Diet
(Modified carbohydrate, high protein)

The Go- Diet
(Modified carbohydrate, high protein)

Jenny Craig diet
(Prepackaged meals purchased from the company. Jenny Craig personnel provide counseling to the individual)

Pritikin Diet
(Very low fat. Protein from vegetable sources. High on vegetables and grains)

Slim Fast meal replacement plan
(Pre-packaged milk or juice based shakes. Snack bars available)

South Beach Diet
(Differentiates between "Good and bad Carbs and good and bad Fats. Reduces highly processed carbohydrate products found in baked goods, breads, snacks and soft drinks)

Sugar Busters
(Low refined carbohydrate, high protein. Eliminates bagels pretzels, muffins, breads, pasta, cookies, candies and soft drinks with sugar)

Weight Watchers (balanced meals and behaviour modification through group sessions)

The Zone diet
(Strictly controlled, balanced diet plan according to physical activity, gender and other factors.

Books:

The Brown Bag Diet- Tips and clues from the pharmacist's notebook) -
pre-publication

Dieting for Dummies

Dr Atkins' New Diet Revolution

Dr. Mirkin's Fat Free, Flavor Full

Eating Well for Optimum Health

Losing It

Lose to Win

Making the Case for Yourself

Mind, Body and Spirit: Diet and Nutrition

Portion Savvy

Strong Women Stay Slim

Sugar Busters

Suzanne Somer's Get Skinny on Fabulous Food

The American Dietetic Association Guide to Women's Nutrition of Health Living

The Edible Pyramid

The Glucose Revolution

The Healthiest Diet in the World

The Zone Diet

Prescription Medications for weight loss:

Adipex - P (phentermine)

Bontril (Phendimetrazine)

Didrex (benzphetamine)

Fastin (phentermine)

Fastin (phentermine)

Ionamin (Phentermine)

Meridia (sibutramine)

Plegine (phendimetraazine)

Sanorex (mazindol)
*Note- The above have been approved by the FDA as appetite suppresants. They work by modifying levels of chemicals in the brain that regulate eating.

Xenical (orlistat) *Note- Orlistat works by blocking fat absorption in the gastointestinal tract.

Over the counter products for weight loss and weight control

Ali orlistat (new otc version)

Slim Fast meal replacements

Nestle Success -Liquid prepackaged meal replacement

Jenny Craig- Pre-packaged Meals

Remember the challenge to enlist one million people to join us in losing at least one pound from Jan 1, 2008 to Jan 21, 2008. Ask all your friends and email contacts to sign into our blog:
Brownbagdiet.blogspot.com and give them all a chance to become one-in-a-million.

Next post will be on STARTING. Look for it.
Erwin Posner, R.Ph.

AFTER HOLIDAY SECRETS FOR DIETING

Welcome to newcomers to the Brown Bag Diet blog and welcome back to our regulars.

My name is Erwin Posner, R.Ph. and my blog contains the basics and secrets from my Book, "the Brown Bag Diet -Tips & Clues for Dieters from the Pharmacist's Notebook".

In my last post I said I would discuss the three basic categories of most standard diets but before I do that let me deal with the title of today's post, After Holiday Secrets for Dieting.

With all the travel, rush, and disruption of routine that happens around holiday time it's not difficult to understand why many simply throw their diet regimen to the wind. If you're one of those who was faced with too much to do, too little time to do it, too much travel and every other stress that holiday time brings it's easy to understand why you were overcome by events and circumstances. You felt you were on the way with a good diet program but now you have to lose weight you thought you already lost, over again. It's depressing and you need some secrets to find your way back to the road, the good path.

I'm way ahead of myself and my book because if you started at the beginning of my posts you know we haven't even dealt with how to make a decision about the kind of diet you will choose.

But because of the season I want to give a few pointers for those already on one of the plans.

The secret is obvious. "Don't despair". Guilt won't help. Think positively. Your discretion is past. That's now ancient history. Today is a new day and it's a day for making a new resolution. Most of all you need to say to yourself, "I CAN DO IT". I can be a winner not a whiner. Maybe this isn't a magical secret but if you follow advice of this "Secret" you'll be on your way back to successfully reaching your weight goal. Now let's get on with the description of the elements of the basic diet plans.

Have you made email contacts to help us reach our goal of one million people losing at least one pound between January 1 and January 21? I've been contacting the media so they can help us recruit dieters too. Every participant who loses at least one pound is one-in-a- million, so have everyone join us.

Most diets fall into three basic categories. They are

1. Reduced portion -balanced meal diets

2. High protein - low carbohydrate diets

3. High carbohydrate - low protein diets.<[p>Make no mistake. They ALL rely on reduced caloric intake to achieve their long-term results.

Tomorrow I will review a dozen popular diet programs so you can see how they fit into the above categories.

Choosing a New Diet Plan can be Confusing

Remember that I told you that most diet plans work (except for wacko ones). But choosing the right one for you can be confusing. Lets just review some of the major ones by beginning to describe the types available.

Diet plans run the gamut from plans managed by elaborate dieting clinics run by established physicians to diet plans that advertise on sign posts at the freeway entrance promoting alternative medicines that they claim the medical establishment has been trying to hide from you. It's up to you to filter out the hype and settle on something reasonable for you.

Here are the types:

In addition to those diets that depend on portion control or reduction of certain food groups the other means to reduce food consumption are the use of:

1. Prescription only medicines
2. Over-the-counter medicines
3. Pre-packaged meals
4. Meal replacement drinks

All of these methods can point to users who have used their method and achieved dramatic weight loss.

Dieting is big business and lots of people out there are trying to attract the dieting public's dollars. While choosing can be confusing you need not fall for "Snake Oil Advertising". "Snake Oil Advertising" is an exaggerated claim that promises to help you lose an exorbitant amount of weight in a super-short period, often without effort. One lesson we should have from our early American pioneers is that snake oil salesmen who offered miracle cures were simply con men. The same goes for miraculous claims of quick and easy weight loss programs.

Judge this case for yourself. On April 27, 2000, USA Today reported that the makers of a weight-loss product settled deceptive advertising charges made against them by the FTC for $10 million. USA Today reported that the makers of this product, "...used false claims about scientific testing to promote its product"... The makers agreed ... to settle deceptive advertising charges". (At the time) The FTC said, this is the largest settlement involving a weight-loss product or program". (While not admitting that any laws were broken).. "it (the company) is barred from making future deceptive claims about its products or scientific research.

The FTC takes action against those who use false and deceptive claims but they don't catch them all. Don't fall for exaggerated claims of, "Snake Oil", type products. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Later this week I will post the three basic categories of most standard diets.

Keep recruiting for our one-in-a-million diet challenge to lose at least one pound from Jan. 1, to Jan 21. We need one million dieters to take up this challenge. Forward our blog address to everyone on all you email lists so we can reach our million dieter goal.

BrownBagDiet.blogspot.com

Good luck and happy holidays,

Erwin Posner, R.Ph.

Media release on dieting and weight loss, Help us contact the health desk of all media.

Media release on dieting and weight loss, Help us contact the health desk of all media


For Release:
12/26/2007

contact: Erwin Posner
248.356.6660

Email: brownbagdiet@gmail.com

PHARMACIST ISSUES CHALLENGE FOR THE NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE WHO IS OVERWEIGHT.

Lose one pound by January 21, or remain wallowing in your own grease.

Erwin Posner is the author of "the Brown Bag Diet" – Tips & Clues for Dieter’s From the Pharmacist’s Notebook". He is looking for one million people to make a New Year’s resolution to start losing weight by losing one pound by January 21st. He calls this program his "One-in-a Million-Challenge" project because each participant will be the "One-in-a- Million".

Posner is doing more than just issuing this challenge. He is offering help. He is putting his book, ("the BBD") on his blog, BrownBagDiet.blogspot.com. Every week he posts information from his book that includes his tips and clues, charts, unique dieter’s flash cards and links to other solid information. All this help is geared to keeping the "Brown Bag" dieter compliant with his or her diet program.

"The secret of successful dieters", says Posner, "is their sustained compliance with their diet regimen. The "BBD" program helps keep the dieter compliant". He says that the whole subject of obesity was one that was always included only when discussing other disease paths IE: hypertension, diabetes, arthritis etc. Only recently has obesity been considered a disease of its own.

To date the "Preliminary Principles and Precepts" on which the "BBD" is based have been posted to his blog site. The tips and clues are coming in January.

When asked if he thought his statement about wallowing in one’s own grease was provocative, he said. "It was meant to be. Sometimes we need to be shocked into action. Losing weight to improve health and appearance is worth withstanding the shock. Let’s face it. Some will say holiday time is a time for waistline expansion. OK. But I venture they needed to lose weight long before the holidays."

The kickoff for the one million-pound challenge begins January 1, 2008. That’s when the real push will be on. One million people pledging to lose at least one pound is going to be noticed. That’s a lot of weight off everyone’s shoulders and other places too. Want to be "One-in-a- Million"? Then lose a pound and make the claim.

Everyone who signs onto the "BBD" blog is asked to send this blog address to all of the people on their email lists. Since 67 to 75% of North Americans need to lose weight it’s a good bet those people are prime targets for this program as well.

What’s in it for Posner? "About 15 years ago I began to collect notes on the subject of dealing with weight problems. I thought obesity would be an area where counseling by pharmacists could make a real difference. I searched for a pharmaceutical company to sponsor my book. There was interest but no offers".

"Then I realized the internet was the key. This is the place where the "BBD" program can reach the most people and do the most good. I'd like to do for dieters what Col. Sanders did for buckets of Chicken".

If you’d like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Erwin Posner, please call him at 248.356.6660 or email brownbagdiet@gmail.com

End

Nurses have a special problem with obesity. The BBD program can help.You can be the One in a Million to help & benefit from this program

Nurses have a special problem with obesity. "The Brown Bag Diet". I can help.

Hi. I'm Erwin Posner. I'm a pharmacist and author of "the BrownBag Diet- tips & clues for dieters from the pharmacist's notebook". We don't know exactly why people in certain professions have a higher incidence of being overweight than the general society but nursing is one of the professions in which this phenomena is found. We think that it has something to do with being part of the healing arts.

Nurses, who are giving care to others in time of their illness become absorbed with their duties. This creates a condition of selflessness in which the giver of care sometimes neglects his or her own needs. That is one speculation but naturally we can't test this theory scientifically. However we can help nurses focus on themselves in order to return to normal weight.

I originally wrote the "BBD" book to give pharmacists a tool to use when counselling patients. I didn't realize how useful this tool was to the others in the allied medical fields. When I showed the "BBD" book to head of nursing at a very large health plan she told me that pharmacists are a nurses best friend. I was flattered.

It is simply the way I presented the subject and that subject is learning the technique of retuning to habits that will allow you to take weight off without so called "withdrawal symptoms". ( No starvation )

Now we are engaged in a program to recruit one million people, nurses and everyone else, to join together and make a pledge to lose just one pound. This is the modest action that will kick off our 2008 year with success. As you know almost everyone knows how to lose one pound.

Thiis baby step is the small beginning we need in order to get started. From this point we can learn the basic principles of the Brown Bag Diet.

I've already set out the basic principles of the program in earlier posts. Take a few seconds to read them. Then read the posts that I will publish two or three times weekly. Each of these should have a tip or clue to help you that week.

Our kickoff for the million pound push will be approximately the third week of January. That will give everyone time to get back to their normal routines.

In the meantime I will give you this assignment. Recruit as many as possible of your colleagues to join us in our million pound effort. Pass out our blog address and ask them to recruit others to join us as well.

Our blog address is

Brownbagdiet.blogspot.com

We can all be the "One In a Million".

The Brown Bag Diet for Truckers - We feel the pain of long haul driving and know what it does to your weight

"The Brown Bag Diet for Truckers" - We feel the pain of long haul driving and know what it does to your weight.

Hi: I'm Erwin Posner and I'm the author of "The Brown Bag Diet- tips & for dieters from the pharmacist's notebook. I did research to find out what groups would benefit most from the information about losing weight in my book.

I found that many truckers, particularly long haul truckers develop serious weight problems. When you think about truckers you get the mental picture of strong athletic types because you know these guys do lots of heavy physical work. This is true.

What is little known is that it's very difficult for truckers to maintain the discipline needed to keep in shape. Long lonely hours on the road contribute to fatigue. Fatigue contributes to stress. Stress is the cause of much overeating. And finally the choices that are out there on the road often lead a tired, stressed-out trucker to make poor food choices. If you're a trucker or family member of a trucker you know exactly what I mean.

I'm a pharmacist and I've taken care of the medicine needs of many truckers over the course of my career. I think I understand the culture and needs of truckers. That's why I'm making this special offer.

I'm making a FREE offer especially to truckers. Sign onto my blog and read the text and tips of my book, "the Brown Bag Diet- tips & Clues for Dieters from the pharmacist's notebook". I've included information I wrote specifically aimed at truckers. Information I prepared for the hard copy special truckers edition of "the Brown Bag Diet" is found in this online version of the book.

I've seen you and your buddies at the truck stop. Most of you are sadly out of shape. I'll help you get back to where you ought to be.

This blog is online and it's FREE. And YES, you can reach your goals and start working out again on the work-out equipment at the truck stop.

For now you can catch up on the preliminary posts of the BBD.

Next month we begin the 1 million pound push. We're enlisting one million of us to commit to losing one pound in our first week. That will make you and each of us one in as million.

Pass our blog address around and help us recruit one million people so you and each of us can individually be "ONE IN a Million.

Stay tuned to this blog for important solid information about weight loss that you can use.
Erwin Posner, R.Ph.
http://brownbagdiet.blogspot.com

"I am fat, can't get a date and depressed". "Why don't you get on the Brown Bag Diet program?"

"I'm fat and depressed. I can't get a date. What should I do?"

1. If this is what you're thinking but don't want to embarrass yourself by expressing is vocally -read on.

2. Suppose you're this person who wants to get their life in order but your weight prevents you.

3. Suppose you're not that really bad off but you're weight keeps creeping up and you don't know what to do.

4. Suppose you feel like you eat like the proverbial bird but you aren't losing weight.

Just suppose there are a million reasons why you are either gaining weight or not losing it.

Well if one million other people like you get together you can all either cry on each other's shoulders (misery loves company) or help each other lose a little at a time starting with one pound.

You need help .

You've already started since you've found this Brown Bag Diet site. The Brown Bag Diet program may currently be the single best diet program around.

Join us (FREE) and we will help each other to start losing weight by pledging to lose our first pound. If we recruit one million people to join us we can lose a million pounds in the first week and we'll be on our way (weigh) to success.

My name is Erwin Posner. I wrote the book, "the Brown Bag Diet - Tips & Clues for dieters from the Pharmacist's Notebook". We need one million people like you to join us in losing weight so individually we can each be ONE IN A MILLION.

I am reproducing my book on this blog. I put the tips and clues from the BBD book on this blog and we will all do our best o follow them. Starting in January our push to lose a million pounds begins. Help us recruit a million people to join us. Help us help each other to lose the weight we want to lose.

All of the help you receive is FREE OF CHARGE TO YOU. At a later date, when our success becomes well known, I may find a company to sponsor the book so you can have hard copies as well as this online version.

Forward our blog address to your contacts. Let's reach the million mark. Let's each of us be a ONE IN A MILLION success.

Erwin Posner, R.Ph.

our blog is:

http://BrownBagDiet@blogspot.com/

Don't forget to pass our url around.

Dieting to lose Weight Made Simple using the principles of the "Brown Bag Diet"

I've been asked a lot of questions about the brown paper bag itself. Was this an actual brown bag or was it figurative?

The answer is it was real. It was a five or six pound brown paper bag. This is the size often called a lunch bag. You can usually found them in drug, food or discount department stores in the aisle where plastic bags. and picnic supplies are stocked.

Even though there were times when I did away with the bag and ordered things from outside sources I found my best success with compliance was when I packed the brown bag and brought it to work. I even found it a good idea to plan my lunch and pack it in a bag even if I had the day off and was going to remain at home.

If I worked the evening shift my late meal came from the brown bag just like my lunches were. However when I ate evening meals with my family at our home I ate without the assistance of the bag. Never the less I still pre-planned those evening meals. If I didn't go through that exercise I was less likely to adhere to the rules of the "Brown Bag Diet".

Speaking of the rules of the "Brown Bag Diet" let me give you the final three fundamental precepts. For review remember the first six were: 1. Take on the effort of reaching your weight loss goals, one day at a time. 2. Pre-plan each day's meals (either the night before or the morning of) 3. Pack your meals literally or figuratively in a brown bag. 4. If it's not in the brown bag (your plan) don't eat it. 5. Divide your budgeted food plan into meals and snacks. 6. Meals more frequent that three within the day's budget are allowed. (Three meals daily is the minimum standard. Less than three meals daily constitutes skipping meals.)

Here are the final three:

7. Skipping meals is not allowed.

8. Making up for past indiscretions is not allowed

9. Prior approval from your physician, dietitian or nutritionist for your planned meals is required.

Now that you know all the rules you don't need to read the book or follow this blog do you? Well the book has three hundred four pages and I think you would do well to continue reading the book or blog because what follows is how to prepare mentally, to psyche yourself up, to meet the requirements of the program. When you do that you'll find the "Brown Bag diet works", as it has for others.

You can see that these basic precepts/ principles complement most of the diet plans described in the monographs that will appear later on this blog or in the book. My mission is to make it easy to adhere to these fundamental precepts/principles.

I'm preparing a press release for the media. I want to let them know that we're seeking one million people to commit to our program to each lose at least one pound on our kick-off week in January. When that's ready I'll post a copy on the blog and I'm going to ask you to help get the word out. By myself I won't be able to reach all the media from the largest to the smallest. But with your help we can do it.

In the meantime keep recruiting folks to join the programs. Write down the blog address for them. Just like will make your task of dieting easier you can help recruiting people to join to reach our goal of losing at least one million pounds. How long that will take is up to all of us together and the more there are of us the quicker we'll reach it. I don't know if there is a Guinness record for this but if not we'll have to get them to include it in their publication.

In my next post you'll begin to find out what all the diet programs in the market today have in common and how they differ. I think this will help you choose the one plan that suits you and of coarse you'll be able to apply to "Brown Bag Diet" principles to make it easier for you to achieve your goals successfully.

Erwin Posner, R.Ph.

Did you see an ad that says, "Look Like a Supermodel & eat all you want?"

Did you see an ad that says, "Look Like a Supermodel & eat all you want?"

If that pipe dream is what you're after you might as well consult with the tooth fairy. Remember this. Since every one's genetic makeup is different we are predisposed to certain body types. But whatever our predisposition is we can make the most out of it. Like the U.S. Army says in its commercials, (you can) Be all you can be.

So let's get on with the process to get the most out of what we've got.

In the last post I noted that my doctor said I needed to lose weight but being very snide he said, "You probably won't". My reaction was, "Oh yeah".

I needed to have a plan of action. I didn't want to start inventing the wheel again. I'm a pharmacist and I've seen both success and failure amongst the patients I've served who have tried to lose weight on a variety of plans. I thought about which plans might be good for me and I chose one that I felt was reasonable for me to follow.

Many diets work well. A doctor or dietitian can help you design a diet. My diet consisted of well- balanced meals with items from every food group. The key to this diet was keeping portions reasonable sized. I've reviewed many of the major diet plans in this book. Some of them concentrate on certain food groups to the exclusion of all others. These can be medically sound as long as a physician closely monitors them. The reason for the need to be monitored on one of these diets is that there may be a potential for irreversible damage to vital organs with some of them.

One of the reasons I chose to go with the portion control plan was to give myself variety even if I needed to restrict quantities of some of the elements of the diet. Of course choosing doesn't guarantee losing, but everyone has to start somewhere. Making a conscious choice was a wise way for me to begin.

Compliance with the plan I chose was another key to reaching my goal. I found the trick was to be compliant with my diet plan over the long haul. That's where the Brown Bag Diet comes in. My tips and clues found in this book offer the dieter many ways to think about achieving the task of losing weight and sticking to the plan they have selected. I tried all the tips. You can choose those that suit you best.

Making a point of eating while in a state of heightened awareness made portion control possible. I needed to elevate my state of awareness to be able to judge the size of the portions I should be eating. I tried concentrating on my food and the process of eating. I didn't allow myself to be distracted by things that were peripheral to my task of eating.

My diet plan told me how much food I could eat and still lose weight. I just had to stick to the principles by deciding what to eat and when to eat it. I made those decisions in the morning when my resolve was strongest. You may prefer to plan each day the night before. That works too.

I ate a sensible breakfast that followed the rules. Then I set out the food I would eat for the rest of the day - lunch, as well as dinner. I packed everything in a brown paper bag, even if I was going to eat it at home.

There were times when Brown Bagging wasn't practical. I certainly wasn't going to pack hot soup in my bag. Nor was I going to pack other hot foods when I ate evening meals with my family. For these times I would have to sharpen my awareness and make sure that I was eating properly. I was able to make judgments eating from each food group and eating proper size portions. With experience making these judgments became easier.

Before I go on I'd like to give you another three of the Brown Bag Diet fundamental rules or precepts.

The first three were: 1. Take on the effort of reaching your weight loss goals, one day at a time. 2. Pre-plan each day's meals (either the night before or the morning of) 3. Pack your meals literally or figuratively in a brown bag.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

4. If it's not in the Brown Bag (your plan) don't eat it.

5. Divide your budgeted food plan into meals and snacks.

6. Meals more frequent than three, within the day's budget are allowed.

(Three meals daily is the minimum standard. Less than three meals daily constitutes skipping meals which is not allowed.)

When we continue in the next post I will finish telling the story of my personal program and give you the final thre findamental principles or precepts of "the Brown Bag Diet".

Keep recruiting for our one million pound weight loss program. One of our readers told me he passed our blog site to the health and wellness director of his company. They are in a big fitness program and can use a stimulating blog like ours. Tell your health department of your company or school that no official membership is required to join our blog readers and there is no fee to readers at all.

Our blog site is

http://brownbagdiet.blogspot.com/

Did anyone see our T shirts yet? If there is demand we can put our logo on mugs, kitchen magnets, baseball caps and many other things. Please let me know. Write me at brownbagdiet@gmail.com

Erwin Posner R.Ph.

News for Dieters: the BEST DIET program, the BrownBagDiet blog will now post 2 to 3 times a week.

I've been asked to post to the Brown Bag Diet blog more than once a week which is the frequency I began. I've agreed to increase postings to twice or three times a week. I hope that helps those that use the postings to boost their incentives to get on and stay with their diet programs. Let me know how this helps you.

In the last post I said, " If you follow the rules of the Brown Bag Diet you'll lose weight". I can say that because I've been there and done that. I developed the program but I won't mislead you by telling you that dieting to lose weight is simple. It is never simple. However it is something that anyone who is determined can do. You can do it just like I did and it won't take heroic measures to be successful.

I accumulated weight over the years. It didn't just happen suddenly. Most of it was gradual. Whenever I found myself buying new larger size pants or the next shirt size I would resolve to lose enough to return to the weight I had been when I made my last resolution. But the resolutions were just paper promises to myself that I wasn't keeping.

Finally at a medical checkup my doctor told me my blood pressure wasn't being properly controlled, my cholesterol count was over the in bounds line and my load bearing joints, (knees and hips) were taking a beating.

As a pharmacist, most of my work is done while standing and my knees and hips were feeling the pain of lugging around those extra beefy pounds. My doctor said, "You probably won't do anything about it but I'll write you a prescription for something to help you lose weight anyway".

Well those were fighting words. You know how the average American responds when he's told he won't be able to do something? His response is, "Oh Yeah?" And so was mine.

Even though I hadn't followed through on previous resolutions to lose weight, this time I was determined to find a plan that I would stick with. I wanted to show that ignorant doctor he didn't realize who he was talking to when he said I probably wouldn't do anything about being over weight. I needed to lose roughly forty pounds and I was going to put a dent into that goal before I returned to his office for another cholesterol test.

There's more to this story but I promised to tell you the basic guiding principles of the Brown Bag Diet so I will begin with the first three:

1. Take on the effort of reaching your weight loss goals, one day at a time.

2. Pre-plan each day's meals (either the night before or the day of)

3. Pack your meals literally or figuratively in a brown paper bag. (Naturally if soup is on that menu it would be difficult to accommodate it in a small paper bag).

Tomorrow I will conclude my personal story and continue telling you about the other basic principles that make the Brown Bag Diet so successful.

I hope all of you are still recruiting partners who pledge to lose at least one pound so we can find a million dieters that together will lose at least One Million Pounds.

Our blog address is: http://brownbagdiet.blogspot.com/ Pass it around.

Check out our new Brown Bag Diet T shirt at

http://www.cafepress.com/cp/prod.aspx?p=brownbagdiet.200447395

See you tomorrow.

Read today's weight loss tip and continue to the Secret of the Brown Bag Diet

Read today's weight loss tip and continue reading to find the "Secret of the Brown Bag Diet" .

Today's simple tip is one word.

"Consistency".

That's what made Lou Gehrig great. Consistency is what the BBD program intends to help you learn.

In our last post we all agreed that "You are ready". (to handle the secret of the Brown Bag Diet and be successful using it.)

I noted earlier that for this online version of "BBD" I need to break up the chapters to smaller parts for each posting. Therefore we continue to the "secret revealed".

Watchwords/Slogans form the basis for the tips that lead to success in the "Brown Bag Diet". I tested the tips of the Brown Bag Diet on myself. They worked. Then I invited a small group of fellow workers to try the program. We met every week in the employee lounge of my pharmacy and everyone was successful.

I knew I was on to something when one of the employees told me her fiancee joined her in following the program. She said he had never before been able to eat with reasonable discipline. Now, she said, he follows the watchword "Eat by the clock", religiously and doesn't snack between meals.

The watchwords don't change the fundamentals of dieting. They just sharpen your perception of yourself as you follow your diet program. This new thinking leads you to success.

Some years ago a math teacher had a fresh idea on how to teach math. He called it, "New Math". He reasoned that some students need a different approach in order to understand the way numbers work together.

Thousands of students used this approach and they reached a point where they could say, "Eureka or Ah Ha". "Now I understand it".

That's the point I want followers of the "Brown Bag Diet" to reach. The point where they will feel, "Ah Ha" and react instinctively by eating healthfully, well and feeling satisfied.

When we continue with the "Secrets Revealed", you will learn the NINE Fundamental Precepts of the Secrets.

Don't forget to recruit as many as possible to join with us in our push to lose 1 million pounds. Make some copies of our blog address.

http://brownbagdiet.blogspot.com/

Encourage everyone to join us as you pass our blog address out.

Don't hesitate to comment and let me know how the recruiting is going to find those 1 million people who will join.

Check out our new Brown Bag Diet T shirt with front logo and back message to participate in our 1 million pound march off at:

http://www.cafepress.com/cp/prod.aspx?p=brownbagdiet.200447395

Want more Brown Bag Diet items? Let me know.

Erwin Posner R.Ph.

The Secret of the Brown Bag Diet - part I

Some of you have asked something about my background and how I became the author of "The Brown Bag Diet - tips & clues for dieters from the pharmacist's notebook.

For reference you might go to the News-Line for pharmacists cover story that was done about me and printed in their December 20003 issue.

Last week I promised to conclude the introduction to the BBD and reveal

"The Secret of the Brown Bag Diet".

So here goes –

The medical world has come to the conclusion that being overweight is a "distinct disease state". That means that treatment is required for its own sake and not just incidental to other disease states like hypertension and diabetes etc. Of course medical science has a penchant for putting this in non- PC terms so being even 10 % overweight is considered obesity. Unfortunately this can make you feel bad about yourself before you even start to take corrective steps.

Yes, words can hurt. However we all need to recognize that the state of obesity crosses paths with a myriad of other serious disease states. Some of the common ones are hypertension, heart disease, arthritis, respiratory disease and even gout. By returning to and maintaining proper weight levels can help avoid long term negative consequences.

The outlook for those who maintain normal weight compared to being overweight can be the secret for living longer and enjoying a better quality of life. And the economic Impact of an overweight society is enormous. People of normal weight use fewer health services than the overweight. This is being recognized by industry where some companies are reducing the benefits of overweight employees or requiring them to contribute more towards their health benefits than their normal weight colleagues.

I’ve been told by health plans that they, together with their industrial clients, are seeking ways to give incentives to overweight employees to reduce to a normal weight level. They say that if successful these employees will use fewer sick days and lower healthcare costs will result.

I have even been asked if employers can sign their employees up to read this blog. No need to sign up. The blog is free. Each employee can simply be encouraged to sign in and read the info. However I may provide a weekly five-minute test sheet for companies who wish to quiz employees to see if they read the BBD blog regularly.

I didn’t forget my promise to you that I would reveal the Secret this week.
In the hard copy of BBD, revelation of the Secret takes eight pages so I’ll have to reveal it in two or three parts for this online version.

Here is the secret:

The Brown Bag Diet is not a diet.

It’s an eye opening series of watchwords and slogans that makes your diet program work better. To take off weight and keep it off you’ll have to find a way to change your eating behavior. If you find a new approach to view that behavior you’ll find it easier to change. That’s what the Brown Bag Diet can do for you.

If you follow the tips of "The Brown Bag Diet", you’ll lose weight.

Did you ever feel you needed a little push to help start and stay on a diet? Do you want some inspiration? Need some extra motivation? Are you sick of your doctor’s dirty looks? (You know- when he or she doesn’t say anything but you know what your doctor is thinking)

OK. You’re ready.

BBD can help you.
Watch for the next post - "The Secret" – (to be continued) -

Erwin Posner R.Ph.

You're NOT the only dieter - you're NOT alone!

You aren't the only dieter – You are not alone

In a song called "High Hopes" Frank Sinatra sang,

"Just what makes that little ole ant,

think he'll move that rubber tree plant"

Sure the little worker ant can't move a rubber tree plant all by himself. But when all of

this ant's brother and sister ants get together, Frank says,

"Whoops there goes another rubber tree plant".

So think of dieting on the "BBD" program this way: You may think the task of reaching a sensible goal for you is impossible but like that little ole ant - You are not alone. Your brother and sister dieters are in this fight together with you. Why? We're together with you to help each other because we all have the same need. And those of us who have already reached our goals are ready to help you and others because we understand your pain.

We plan to have one million people just like you begin our serious diet program right after the holidays so this is the perfect time to start psyching yourself up. We must believe that once we start we will succeed. We can do it together!

I promised to post a chapter of the Brown Bag Diet each week and since our most serious push begins after the holidays this is a good time to present the Brown Bag diet preliminaries.

So let us begin the text of the, " Brown Bag Diet – from the pharmacist's notebook, (tips & clues for dieters from the pharmacist's notebook".

Introduction

Dieting to lose weight has become a needed National pastime. It's needed because two thirds of North Americans are overweight.

This guide was written to assist pharmacists to counsel overweight patients. It offers tips and clues written in layman's language for those on weight loss programs. It's divided into segments headed by watchword/slogans. The segments or monographs are brief essays that develop ideas and principles encapsulated in the watchword/slogans. Each serves to deliver a succinct idea. Some segments are deliberately redundant for reinforcement.

The monographs are followed by a section of Flash Cards. They are easily memorized. The Flash Cards convey the message of some of the most important segments.

Links to important material available online from U.S. Government sources such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Task force on Prevention and Treatment and Prevention of Obesity, Weight Control Information Network and other organizations affiliated with the National Institute of Health are found in the appendix. However in this online version of the BBD book I will sprinkle these links throughout the general text of the book.

The objective of the Brown Bag Diet is to teach dieters to establish an easy to follow regular routine. It attempts to give the dieter a mental reminder of what it takes to complete each week of dieting successfully. Watchword/slogans rekindle the dieter's commitment to their program. Receiving new ideas and refreshing good older ideas on a regular basis enhances progress.

We often say, early detection gives us the greatest opportunity to treat, cure or arrest disease. In order to make diagnoses of disease medical science uses sophisticated tests and laboratory equipment. In the case of obesity early diagnosis is generally quite simple. Early intervention is difficult.

Next week I will conclude the introduction and introduce what you are all waiting for-
"The Secret of the Brown Bag Diet".

Don't forget to send everyone on your email lists our blog link. Keep forwarding it to all your contacts:
Http://www. brownbagdiet.blogspot.com

We want to get our one million dieters on board for the big push in 2008.

Erwin Posner, R.Ph.

When Holidays come how can we manage to diet?

When Holidays come how can we manage to diet?

(a brief Thanksgiving message)

Today is Thanksgiving day and most of us are giving plenty of thanks for having bounteous food by partaking, heavily. And that's not all bad.

We might feel pretty out of place if we tried to make a spectacle out of ourselves by announcing, "I can't have that. I'm on a diet". So a simple piece of advice is to take a rest from your diet program for the day, but don't pig out. When your host says, "Second helping? There's plenty." You say, "No thanks". - End of conversation.

If you don't over-do you'll probably wound up treading water for the week, not gaining or losing.
That's not bad and you won't have any guilt feelings either.

Don't forget about our million pound program. Have you sent our blog address to everyone on your email lists? Send this link to everyone.

http://brownbagdiet.blogspot.com/

Let's get all the people we know signed up so by the first of next year we can put the real push on for serious weight loss.

Between Thanksgiving and New Years I will post "The Secret of the Brown Bag Diet" and you can get ready to join the team to lose 1 million pounds.

Can all of us together lose 1 million pounds?

How can a group of people lose 1 million pounds?

My name is Erwin Posner and I’m the author of “The Brown Bag Diet” –tips & clues for dieters from the pharmacist’s notebook". I began to compile notes over a period of 15 years about successful dieters who patronized my pharmacy. I put the tips and clues in my book (BBD) and I’d like to share those tips with you in this blog.

I believe in the whole/part method of learning. Successful dieting usually means learning or perhaps unlearning unhealthy habits. Since “the Brown Bag Diet” is a technique rather than a specific diet it requires learning. The best way to learn the technique is to do so bit by bit. You know, baby steps lead to giant ones of progress. That’s why I plan to put a small portion of my book on this blog each week. Each week we can, as they say, get better and better in every way. We can all help one another to reach our goals successfully by joining together on this project.

Before we begin I’d like to share a thought I heard at a recent lecture. That was that the human brain isn’t that much more advanced than some lower animals. So why have humans advanced and our dogs, cats and rabbits are no farther ahead than they were thousands of years ago. Because, the lecturer said, we know how to network our brains. Each generation of humans uses it’s collective brain power in tandem to advance knowledge. The next generation uses the knowledge we developed as a base to advance their knowledge. Our dogs and cats can’t do that.

I can see that you’re asking, “ What does that have do with dieting to lose weight", brown bagging or for that matter the title of this piece, Losing 1 million pounds"? It’s simple. I think we should fortify our effort by networking with 1 million other dieters. You can lose 1 pound in 1 week. One pound isn’t much. It doesn’t take much education or training to figure out how to do this.

I’d like to give you all an assignment before we begin the text of the book. Enlist everyone on all of your email lists to join with us by adding the BrownBagDiet blog link to their bookmarks. Let’s get 1 million people to join us. Then let’s all lose 1 pound together.

That will be a lot of weight to take off our shoulders and a lot of other places.

Let’s give everyone one week to get the word out to their email contacts. Then lets all lose 1 pound in the following week.

I think we can do it. What do you think?

Erwin Posner, R.Ph.