Hello all,

A couple of people have been following Deepak Chopra's book "Perfect Weight" to some success and I thought I'd start a thread. The plan is based on Ayurvedic principles and it stresses getting your body back to its natural balance for optimal health.

I was really struggling with the WW points plan and I decided to give this a good try. It seems to be working. I calculated my points for a day and I am getting about 25 points a day without feeling like I was on a diet or deprived, and without feeling like I have to obsess about everything I eat.

So for those of you who are looking for something to help you stick to your WOE or if you are following Chopra's suggestions, please join us!

Jennifa
216/threw my scale away /170

Hi there!

I didn't know that Deepak Chopra had a book out on weight. I love his work and have a couple of his books. Perhaps I should look into the book that you suggest.

It seems that I too have been struggling a lot lately with WW plan and trying lo-carb etc. - to no avail. Lots of struggling and no progress - even backtracking.

You have really piqued my interest. My horoscope for today says that if things are not working for me that I am on the wrong track. Boooiiinnnggg! How accurate is that?

Thank you for your post. I will pick up the book and see if it is right for me. Take care and best of luck to you. Gail

Hi,

I too have been following Chorpa's "Perfect Weight" guidelines. I picked up a audio tape from the library and went from there.

What really hit home for me was for the first two weeks simply eating when hungry. Sounds corny. but it was extremely liberating and insightful to get in touch with my appetite.

Look forward to hear of others experience.

Good Health,

Jan
179/163/153 (for now)
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Hi Gail, Hi JanCan,

How are you doing? I hope you are well. What is working for me is the time of day eating.

I find that it's hard to keep paying close attention to what I'm eating. It's so easy for me to just eat mindlessly. Maybe that's why this program is working well for me!

JanCan, I forgot to ask

is it Deepak Chopra doing the reading or is it someone else?

Hiya jennifa,

It's the man himself. He does have such a soothing voice.

Today I set my coffee maker out with hot/warm water to sip all day. I find that it reminds me to drink it.

Take care,

Jan

Hi Gail, Hi JanCan,

How is it going? Gail, did you find the book? I looked at his book Perfect Health and it has a lot of the same stuff in it.

Had a bit of an exercise slow-down this last week but I'm working on it! I'll get there!

One thing I am noticing is that if I eat more than a tiny bit in the morning or the evening I get nauseous. Is this happening to you too? For breakfast I am now having a banana shake (just banana and milk in a blender). This is holding me until about 12:30.

Hi Jennifa and JanCan!

Sorry not to have gotten back to you sooner, but I have been immersed in Perfect Health, Perfect Digestion and another book on Ayurveda by Judith Morrison, called The Book of Ayurveda. It totally agrees with Deepak Chopra's books. It has been so interesting that I could hardly put the books down. Perfect Health covers most things, I think.

I have to say it has been quite an eyeopener for me. Before I got the books, I went to his website and any others I could find and got an idea about the whole thing and took it from there. In the past 4 days, I have found a nagging stomach problem to have subsided for the most part, which is terrific. Even felt like exercising, which is really something for me. Time to give my treadmill another go. It has been used for piling things on lately (guess it was meant for other things).

There are many adjustments which I am making right now. Never have been much of a breakfast person but I was hungry this morning. Guess my body will have to get used to not being full all the time. I don't think I ever experienced real hunger much. I used to get a lot of stomach pains, but I don't think that was hunger. It is a different sensation altogether. No, Jennifa, I haven't felt any nausea at all, which is weird, because I used to feel nauseous a lot. I have felt a bit at loose ends in the evening though because that was my prime eating time. I used to snack through the evening. Now I just have some herbal tea and maybe some fruit. So far it is going allright - sure hope it stays this way. My food cravings are down too and that's unbelievable.

For the past couple of mornings, I have woken up with a clear head. Usually I go through the day in a kind of fog. That's definitely a welcome change. Also the energy level is way up from what it was a week ago. Feels so good.

I don't mean to go on and on, but this is a really wonderful way of life. I like the wholeness of it. My husband is looking at me like - "Here we go again", and I can't blame him. I have tried so many, many differents weight loss plans over the years. This is the first one though where I have no unpleasant side-effects. A bonus too is that the scale was down 2 1/2 lbs this morning. That in itself is enough to make me keep going.

We probably all will be eating differently for our body types, but it would still be fun to know how each other are eating - what types of foods and the differences they make in how you feel.

It's nice to meet both of you and I look forward to knowing you better. Take care. G

Hi again! Gosh I hate that when I forget to mention things. Suppose I could have edited my post, but it was long enough.

JanCan, I wanted to say that the hot water is terrific and so soothing too. I was an ice water person. No wonder my stomach hurt all the time. Well, we live and learn.

Jennifa, do you use ginger at all? I think the ginger tea may be soothing for the nausea. Years ago, I used to use it a lot whenever I or the kids had an upset tummy. I got a big piece of gingerroot the other day and have been chewing a thin slice before every meal. That makes a difference for me. First thing I have in the morning now is a cup of hot water with lemon juice and honey. This makes me feel really good and so far, everything is functioning well. I've always had a very slow constitution so this is another plus. This is one habit I will definitely keep. I have coffee later than I used to. I needed it first thing so I could get my eyes open. Actually, am hoping to cut it right out. Usually only have it in the morning, but I'll bet if I could get off it, I could throw away the Ranitidene pills. That would be really something.

Hope you are all having a good day. G

Hi Gail,

It sounds like the program is working for you! Congratulations on the exercise. I did give up coffee and soda a year ago. I still drink tea, but right now I'm decreasing the caffeine (I'm on Oolong now.) This program goes really well with the strategy set by my naturopathic physician. I have been trying to avoid processed foods. People say coffee is addictive but soda is way more addictive than coffee. I still want soda about 3-4 times a week but I know if I start it will take me a few months to stop it. So it's better not to even go there.

I LOATHE ginger. I wish I liked it but the only form I do like it in is ginger ale (see note above on soda!) There's something about the taste and the lingering aftertaste that makes my whole world seem like a root beer - can't stand it. Broccoli too. I am sure it is some kind of genetic thing. I've tried to like it, I really have, but no. I CAN do the hot drinks thing instead of cold. The problem I'm having is finding freshly cooked healthy food for lunch. I find that Subway fits ok because it's fresh and it's healthy, but it isn't warm. I've been trying to eat salads for dinner since it's hot outside. Sometimes I will have some nuts and fruit and a cup of tea. I can't believe that it is enough! I think one of the reasons WW wasn't working for me was all the meal planning. I tend to eat fresh foods that are simple to just grab and go. This plan definitely encourages that, and with the time of day eating thing, it's working.

Jennifa
216/197/170

Hi! Good Morning Jennifa and Jancan!

I'm keeping cool here on the West coast. It is supposed to be our hottest day of the year today. We had rainy cool weather for the past couple of weeks and all of a sudden it feels like summer again. Seems there is a heat wave in the East and we had been having Fall-like weather.

Jennifa, are you away from home for lunch on a regular basis? Yes, that could be a problem. Are you able to brown bag it? With some planning ahead, that could work. I am fortunate to be at home a lot of the time so am able to plan for lunchtime. I haven't been away from home at that time since I started this so will have to deal with that as it arises. I used to often skip lunch if I was out (and then of course be ravenous at dinner). Now I am finding myself wanting lunch and dinner is not such a big deal.

The coffee will be a thing of the past soon. I didn't really like it this morning. The lemon, honey and hot water is taking its place. As for soda - used to be a big Diet Coke drinker. With the Aspartame controversy, I cut back drastically at that time. Now, rarely want it so it's not a big problem for me.

WW is a great plan for a lot of people, but it was not for me either. I was always hungry, cold and crabby and obsessed with food. On lowcarb, I was also cold and nasaus a lot of the time. So far with this plan, none of the above. It will really be a miracle if I have finally found something that I can stick with especially because it makes me feel so good.

JanCan, how are you doing? Good, I hope. Nice to have the weather better, isn't it? I see that you live in beautiful B.C. too.

Take care and have a good day, both of you. Talk to you soon. G

just to let you know that I'm alive and well and enjoying this gorgous sun. Eh, Gail?

I'm re-commiting to W.W. with a friend while I still stick to the principles of Perfect Weight.

We're going to do weekly weigh-ins at her place once a week and have "focus-for-the-week" topics. This week is water. I'm still chosing mine hot, thank you very much.

I'm still not 100 % there with the Perfect Weight way of life. I'm really doing the slow and gentle appoach. I'm good at eating only when hungry. Next will be eating freshly cooked foods.

Love reading about your experiences. Keep them coming jennifa and Gail.

Jan

GOOD MORNING!

Another beautiful day today. It got pretty hot yesterday and another day like it today and then it will cool down a little. Don't mind at all though. It was a long time coming.

Nice to hear from you Jan. Good luck with your recommitment to WW. I can see how the two plans could work very well together. Working in the Ayurvedic principals is a good idea. Hope that you will still keep posting with us though. It is so nice to be able to discuss this way of eating with you and Jennifa. There don't seem to be any other places to do this.

I really like the hot water too. It sure has calmed my system down. Everything seems to be working well together. It is a nice and gentle approach, don't you think?

How are you doing Jennifa? Are you having better luck with lunchtime? I agree with the time of day eating. Sure makes a big difference for me too.

Hope that you all are looking forward to a great weekend. Have a good one. Talk to you soon. Gail

Hi Gail, Hi JanCan,

Lunch is getting better. I just don't have time to pack it, so I found a couple of options:

Subway
Noodles - they have a roma tomato dish that is good
Chipotle burrito - if you ask them to make it small, they will, and you can go low fat on the toppings.

I bought a book that lists nutrition info for a bunch of foods. WW doesn't list sodium, and I thought that since I have such issues with it I should get a reference book. I haven't had a chance to read it yet. I am reading a really great novel instead!

My waist is down, which is nice. Looks like I'll have to go shopping next month if I keep this up! I really hope I can be in the 180s by Halloween.

Hi Gail and JanCan,

(and any lurkers out there!)

The nausea turned out to be TOM related. I am finding that my hunger levels have changed a lot, though. My mid-morning hunger pangs I had when I was on WW are almost gone. I have to find the right balance to kick those for good.

I think it's time we talked about meditative eating. How are you doing with that? How many times per week? I find that I'm at about 2x per week doing this. It is so easy to just eat lunch while I'm doing something else! It's hard to pay attention for the whole meal. Things that help me are making sure I have a good smelling dish in front of me - which is probably another reason warm foods are better - and sipping tea.

So far today I've only had 11 points. And I just have a light dinner of salad planned, so I should be all right today. I'm finding that using honey is helpful; you can get honey in little sticks for the office when you have to have something sweet. I get mine at the local health food store, but I've seen them all over the place, usually near the cash registers.

Things have become more hectic for me so I'm not going to be posting as often but I'll check in every now and then. I have massive projects due soon and they are not done yet!

Namaste,

Jennifa
216/197/170