Valerie Bertinelli's Blog

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Maintaining new 01/21/2010

Words of wisdom

Ok. I’m starting to feel like that old lady in the shoe with all the kids. First, the beautiful and hilarious Nicole Sullivan joins me and my Jenny Craig family, then the ADORABLE and talented Sara Rue and now…Jason Alexander. Also beautiful, hilarious, adorable and talented...but better yet…HE IS OLDER THAN ME!!! Well, not much, but-Ha! Sorry, Jason…I’m sure you’ll get me back later.

Anyway, WHAT A YEAR ahead. I get to mentor a whole brood of amazing people! (If they let me:) I’ve been thinking a lot about what words of wisdom to give them and all of you (if you let me:) and here’s what I’ve come up with. I actually spent a lot of time on this…I broke it into three categories of Jenny Craig clients:

Clients starting out on Jenny

  1. Find a consultant who gets you. Kathy was invaluable to me. She understood how my brain worked, she was patient and she pushed me whenever I needed a nudge. In a nice way though, huh, Kath?
  2. Keep a journal. I didn’t really like this at first but I found that it was too easy to slip into old habits at the beginning. If I wrote down what I was thinking and feeling, it gave me a chance to think a beat or two before I made a decision I’d regret.
  3. Surround yourself with people who care about/know what you’re doing. I used to diet in secret. This was a bad idea for me because then I wasn’t accountable to anyone but myself, (who I was so used to letting down) so one more time didn’t matter.

Clients who have reached halfway on Jenny, or are about to

  1. Re-evaluate your goal. All I cared about was the number on the scale at the beginning. And then I found that other things were motivating me to lose weight like my health or being able to run farther than one block. Your body changes as you lose weight and other things do, too, so listen to what makes you tick and what will keep making you tick.
  2. Have a plan. Halfway means some meals on your own. Plan in advance what you’ll be ordering at a restaurant or on a plane or a party. Kathy and I used to do only meal planning at some of my consultations where we’d look the restaurant online (they also have a Dining Out Guide with a ton of restaurant menus listed) and we’d "pretend order" in advance. This was great because then I wouldn’t have to think about it.

Clients who have reached maintenance on Jenny

  1. Come over to my house and let’s hug it out together. Seriously, changing your life isn’t easy! Lots of support and reminding yourself of all the things that are so much better in your life now is key.

And, finally…check out my new website! www.valeriebertinelli.com My site features my Very Best (also my initials) in food, fitness and life. You still must read my blog HERE, but for more photos of my cat you can also go there.

xo,
Val
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