The Official Bright Line Eating Cookbook

A few things we want to highlight here. First, if you’ve failed at a “diet” you’re not alone.

99% (NINETY-NINE PERCENT!) of people who try to lose weight fail to keep it off.

Enter: Self Compassion 101. It’s time to channel our best Kristen Neff wisdom and recognize the toxicity of shame as we embrace the three main facets of her self-compassion model: Self-Kindess (we’ll talk about this in a moment), Common Humanity (you’re not alone!!) and Mindfulness (let’s notice when we’re off/what we’re doing when we get off and get back on!).

That’s the first thing that came to mind when I read that. But then you know what I thought of? I thought of the 1% who succeed against the odds. Kinda makes you wonder what THEY did, eh?

Get this: As per Susan’s internal research, the participants in her program have tried, on average, SIXTEEN (!!!) other dietary approaches before trying Bright Line Eating. SIXTEEN!!!

I want to pause for a moment and celebrate the HEROIC courage it takes for someone to keep on trying again and again and again—embodying THE most important word of the growth mindset: “… yet.”

As in, “I have tried and failed sixteen times. That’s OK. I just haven’t figured it out… YET!”

Cue Stanford researcher Carol Dweck (again!) who, in her seminal book called Mindset (on how remarkably the quality of our lives is influenced by how we approach life’s challenges) quotes Michael Jordan’s Nike commercial to make her point: “Michael Jordan embraced his failures. In fact, in one of his favorite ads for Nike, he says: “I’ve missed more than nine thousand shots. I’ve lost almost three hundred games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot, and missed.” You can be sure that each time, he went back and practiced the shot a hundred times.”

Dweck also tells us: “People in the growth mindset don’t just *seek* challenge, they thrive on it.” And: “In the fixed mindset it’s not enough just to succeed. It’s not enough just to look smart and talented. You have to be pretty much flawless. And you have to be flawless right away.”

And, you know what? That’s why the VERY first thing I did when I opened the book was flip through and read the stories of the “Bright Lifers” who (goosebumps as I type this) went ALL IN on the Bright Line approach and completely transformed their bodies and lives and well-being. And then, very importantly, MAINTAINED their ALL IN COMMITMENT to sustain their gains.

I got tears in my eyes many times reading the stories of the radiantly exemplary women (they were all women) who dropped 50, 75, 100+ (!!) pounds. The pictures were, as the back cover promised, jaw dropping, but it was their heroic, growth mindset-fueled grit that most moved me.

In fact, as I read the stories Susan featured, I thought of one of our beloved Optimize Coaches, Maxine Hargreaves. I’ll let her share her story. Check this out.

So… One more time: Remember that you’re not alone. 99% of the people who try a diet fail and the average number of attempts for the Bright Lifers was 16 times!

AND!!! Know that IF SUSAN’S BRIGHT LIFERS CAN DO IT, SO CAN YOU. That, by far, is the most important takeaway from this book and for this Note.

I repeat: Know that IF THEY CAN DO IT, SO CAN YOU.

As Susan says: “Thousands of people have done this successfully, and there’s no difference between them and you. This plan works beautifully if you follow it.”

AND!!! Very importantly: Susan also tells us: “I promise you there are no new questions—if you are facing a challenge, someone ahead of you has solved it. Benefit from their experience.”

Susan tells us that WHATEVER challenge you may be facing—whether that’s a weight gain after menopause or some other situation, her community has seen it and conquered it. So can you.

EVERY SINGLE TIME I read stats like those I wince. Especially the rates (and disparity within ethnicities) among children. :/

Then I recommit to doing everything in my power to help people understand the metabolic drivers behind all of our chronic diseases AND the behavioral changes we can make to Optimize WHILE striving to compassionately hold us to really high (optimal!) standards so we can be the change and change the world together.

Part of a longer chat but… When I think of WHY people give up on Optimizing their weight, I think of two primary potential reasons: 1. They may not understand just how important our weight/measures of visceral fat are to our lifespan (and health span); and/or 2. Even if they DO get that it’s important, they don’t think they can actually achieve their goals (see 16 prior failures) so they give up and/or start believing that it’s not that important any way.

So… I think those are the two things we REALLY (!!!) need to get. We already covered the second point—KNOWING (!!!) we CAN Optimize our weight and get “Happy, Thin, and Free.”

Regarding the first point: I think we need to get the fact that getting to our “right-sized” bodies is REALLY important. Not so we look great for the selfie, but so we FEEL great and have the Energy to give our best to our Work and Love TODAY and for a lot of Todays. AND so we can be radiantly exemplary models of what self-mastery looks like while (most importantly for changing the world) SHARING the hard-won wisdom of how we went from sub-optimal to optimal while supporting/encouraging others to do the same.

Susan includes “Thin” in her tagline for a very specific reason. Research shows that our amount of visceral fat is REALLY (!) important. In fact, it’s THE greatest predictor of our morbidity.

(Note: Some people reference reports that say being overweight is actually healthier for you. Apparently, and unfortunately, those conclusions are drawn from data that includes people who are involuntarily losing weight—from stuff like chemotherapy, etc. When you take out THAT data, you see the unequivocal toxic effects of excess weight.)

As leading UCSF endocrinologist Robert Lustig puts it in Fat Chance: “When it comes right down to it, it’s all about your middle. This whole obesity/health/longevity question centers on your abdominal, visceral, or ‘big belly’ fat—at least statistically.”

He also says: “In a nutshell, your body fat is your biggest long-term risk for infirmity. Nothing correlates with diabetes, heart disease, and cancer better than your fat.” And: “Visceral fat is the fulcrum on which your health teeters.”

Finally: “The simplest and cheapest surrogate for determining your health status is your waist circumference, which correlates with morbidity and risk for death better than any other health parameter. This is arguably the most important piece of information in your entire health profile because it tells you about your visceral fat. A high waist circumference translates into the ‘apple’ shape that tips physicians off to risk for diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer.”

Research is showing that there’s an even more reliable predictor of morbidity than a simple waist circumference measure: It’s called the waist-to-height ratio or WHtR. (Check out this academic paper for more detail.)

The optimal ratio between your WAIST and your HEIGHT? <.5. (For example, I’m 6 feet tall. That’s 72 inches. My waist can be up to 36 inches to pass the <.5 test. It’s 32 or so. Yours?)

<- That <.5 WHtR indicates an optimal level of visceral fat—which, again is what we’re after if we’re truly serious about Optimizing our lives so we can be the change we want to see so we can play our role in helping CONQUER the PANDEMIC of chronic disease that’s driven by metabolic dysfunction that shows up in visceral fat and is easily measured by our WHtR.

And THAT (!!!) is why we are challenging our Optimize Coaches to hit the <.5 WHtR target.

For some, it’s a HUGE challenge. And (I have goosebumps as I type this), that’s why I think people who are willing to do the heroically hard work to CONQUER this obstacle have the greatest opportunity to positively affect those around them. (Go Maxine!!!)

All of which brings us back to you. How’s your WHtR? Time to rock it?

YOU GOT THIS and LET’S DO THIS!!

That’s from a chapter on “How to Do Bright Line Eating.”

Bright Lines. They’re helpful PRECISELY because they help us avoid the “Willpower Gap” by using our willpower wisely to install habits that run on autopilot.

And… What happens when we break them? We rock the 4 S’s: 1. Speed + 2. Self-Compassion + 3. Social Support + 4. Seek the Lesson. Here’s the super-quick take.

1. Speed

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   When you step on the wrong side of a Bright Line, Susan tells us that we don’t to “resume” our good habits at some point in the future (whether that’s tomorrow or next New Year’s or whatever). She says we want to REZOOM immediately! Speed is a force style.

2. Self-Compassion

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   Didn’t we already chat about this? YEP. VERY (!) wise to chat about it again. Why? Because if we don’t have a TON of self-compassion we might run the risk of falling into a sort of “self-delusion” where, to avoid the pain of shame, we ignore the reality of our situation and rationalize our past attempts/failures in order to preserve our sanity. MUCH better to “gently” and “wisely” counsel ourselves so we can face reality with the Stockdale Paradox optimism required to do hard things (like get your body right-sized!).

   Susan echoes Kristen Neff when she tells us:

   “Inside your head, treat yourself like you’d treat your best friend who just sprained her ankle on a hike. You’d get her help. Rally resources. Make sure she was resting and taking it easy. No downward, negative spiral of self-loathing. Because shame over eating leads to more overeating. Be gentle, kind, and encouraging. You are not a bad person. You just have a malfunctioning brain.”

3. Social Support

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   The stories of how Susan’s BLE community supports one another are astonishingly (!) inspiring. When we fall short, we don’t want to isolate ourselves. But… We ALSO don’t want to go to a group of friends where shame/resignation is the norm. Fastest way to up your game? Join a community of people who are committed to the same goals and who are there to encourage (literally: to GIVE COURAGE!!) when you need it!

4. Seek the Lesson

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   M

   ake a mis-take? Ain’t no thing. Put on your lab coat, run the data from your N = 1 “me”search project, ask yourself “What needs work?” and put that data to good use. +1. +1. +1.

That’s from the final section before the actual recipes—right after our “Four S’s” and right before “Getting to Goal Weight” while creating a new IDENTITY and WAY OF LIFE so we stop the ups and downs that often plague weight-loss programs and, well, every other aspect of our lives.

We’ve GOTTA KNOW that, as Adam Alter says in Irresistible, once our brains are “pickled” by one addiction or another, that “pickle” CAN NEVER BE UNPICKLED.

In other words, don’t tempt fate. Maintain your Bright Lines.

So, when your Saboteur INEVITABLY tries to tempt you with a jar of pickles, wave at him or her then turn to your other shoulder and high five your inner daimon and carry on Bright Line Optimizing and actualizing—rocking the core tenets of the Eudaimonology of Eating. :)

Here’s to using our greatest challenges in life—whether that’s weight issues or addiction or whatever—as the antifragile fuel we need to live heroically.

You’ve got this. Now, give us all you’ve got—Energized and Happy, Thin and Free.

Let’s be radiant exemplars. Not just for ourselves but for our friends, communities and world that desperately needs more of us stepping up to do the hard work to be the change we want to see so we can change the world.

Together. One person at a time. Starting with you and me. TODAY.