#102 - The secrets to dropping 2 pounds a day with my client Barbara Rastello.

Hi, my name is Jorge Cruise, and I'm the number one New York Times bestselling author and leading fitness, nutrition, and peak performance trainer to the world's busiest celebrities. You may have seen my work with Oprah Winfrey, Khloe Kardashian, Tyra Banks, Kelly Clarkson, or even Dr.

Oz.

My career started because in my early 20s, I was out of control and addicted to sweets, carbs and salty snacks, and experts told me to simply count calories to get control. They were wrong. My passion to get control of my hunger led me to find simple ways backed by science that would turn off physical hunger as well as my emotional eating instantly, and I know I can help you too.

Welcome to the Jorge Cruise Show.

Well, happy Thursday.

It's December 24th, uh, tomorrow's Christmas. So, uh, Merry Christmas, guys. I'm super excited you're here right now. I'm Jorge. Welcome to the Jorge Cruise Show. This is the number one show to give you radical control over sugar, carbs, and salty snack foods. And I feel like today's episode is gonna be the most powerful show ever because it's the perfect way to really kind of wrap up the holidays here, especially during Christmas, because we're gonna sit down with a client of mine who dropped 2 pounds a day. And for anyone who wants to lose weight, I can tell you, seeing results in an efficient way, and dropping 2 pounds in a single 24-hour window is intense. Most people think it's impossible. Barb is gonna tell us how it was effortless, how she never felt hungry, and what she did to turn off her hunger, and more importantly, get control over sugar and carbs. Because she, like me, since she was a little girl, was very much drawn to sugar. Because, you know, if you're like us, you know, and sugar has had a draw on you in the past or current, currently, it really isn't your fault. Sugar is a simple tool. It's a carbohydrate that helps us raise serotonin and dopamine levels, and that's why it's so addictive. You know, there are some doctors that say it's more addictive than certain hard drugs like heroin or cocaine, and the reason is because it works.

It makes us feel good.

That's why, that's why all comfort foods are carbohydrates. There are no— there, there's no fat and protein that's a comfort food. Those are foods that really empower our body, give us health, but unfortunately we're not addicted to those, right? It's just sugar and carbs and, and salty snacks. And, you know, whether it's potato chips or corn chips, it's never the salt that's bad, it's the corn and the potatoes that we got to avoid, you know, especially if we want to lose weight and get healthy in 2021. And, uh, we're also— I'm also going to be inviting you to join my challenge, which will be starting, uh, January 4th. Barb's going to talk about how she did her 19-day challenge with me, but she just was part of our last group. And, you know, she not only lost 2 pounds a day, but over the course of 19 days she lost 20 1 pound. So she's going to share all her secrets on how you can do it, you know. And she's 72 years young, uh, and, and so for anyone who's at a stage in their life where they think they're too old, you're going to find out you're not too old at any age to transform your health, whether you're a guy, whether you're a lady, at any age you can get control over sugar and carbs. And I hope more importantly you get the inspiration you need during the holidays to know that you can You can do this. You can make 2021 your best year ever. And Barb is going to kind of share her light on how she did it. So I'm so excited. Now, before we get to today's interview and today's show, uh, I need to give a shout out and thanks to our sponsors. We're brought to you by Elemental Labs. Uh, Elemental Labs was created by New York Times bestselling author Robb Wolf. He's the author of several books. One of my favorites is Wired to Eat. He's a paleolithic nutrition expert, a biochemist, and has dedicated 20 years of his career really to studying the best diet out out there. And, you know, part of that is, is electrolytes. And you're going to discover, if you don't know me already, how much I love sodium in my diet. And it's, I think, the, the thing that so many experts have misled us on, whether it's intentionally or unintentionally, to think that salt is bad for us. You're going to discover, especially in our interview today with Barb, how she uses what I call zero hunger water, which is a half a teaspoon of salt in 32 ounces of water. You're going to discover how that has helped her turn off her hunger. And if you want to make it homemade, we're going to give you the recipe too if you go to the blog, uh, at Jorge Cruise Show. But I will tell you, if you're interested in something that I use and a lot of my celebrity clients use, it's Robb Wolf's Elemental Labs. It— he has this incredible little packets that basically have everything you need in one packet. It follows our formula. That's why I've endorsed it. And he is giving us for the holidays here an incredible opportunity. You basically get a free box of Elemental electrolytes, which have the exact amount of sodium you need, the half a teaspoon, with magnesium and potassium. So you get everything you need to turn off hunger. But you got flavors like lemon lime, you've got orange, you've got— he's got a salty and spicy savory one, he's got chocolate, which is one of my favorites at night. I'll be having some tonight. And so if you want to get this incredible opportunity to get one for free, you just sign up for his value bundle and you basically get 3 boxes and you get the 4th one for free. And that's a $45 value. All you have to do to claim this is go to the website. It's exclusive to us as listeners, to you. So go to the website, drinklmnt.com/jorge. And I'll spell the website because it's unique. It's D-R-I-N-K-L as in Larry, M as in Mary, N as in Nancy, T as in Tom. So it's drinklmnt.com/jorge, J-O-R-G-E. If you go there, you'll get a value bundle offer and you can customize the, the bundle too, which is really cool. You can customize it so it's all chocolate, you can make it all lemon-lime, you can make it all orange, you can have a variety. You get to pick it, you know. And then if you put it on auto-subscription, you save even more money. So check it out. Thank you to Rob Wolf for this, because it's the ultimate gift of health. You're going to love it. We're also brought to you by Dr. Tess. Dr. Tess is America's favorite dermatologist. She's my dearest friend for over 10 years. She is this gorgeous woman who's Stanford-trained, and she has created these little tablets that have collagen collagen in them. And what this collagen does is it helps you have beautiful skin. It also helps you recoil skin if you're losing, say, 30, 50 pounds and you, you're concerned about having saggy skin. Collagen literally helps us restore skin elasticity. And a lot of us don't get this. Even if you eat protein, you're not going to get it unless you're eating bone marrow. Literally, it's inside of the bones. And so this collagen is hard to find, uh, and— but this— these tablets are so elegant because I basically take 3 a day I eat it with my meal and I'm done. And so Dr. Tess is giving us all 50% off her, um, her what she calls a Lively Healthy Skin product, which is her collagen tablets. For our listeners, you just need to go to her website shopdrtesse.com. That's shopdrtesse.com, and then the coupon code is drtesse, all one word, D-R-T-E-S-S, and you'll get 50% off your Lively Healthy Skin. I would get extra for the holiday start your new year right, because this stuff is incredible.

I take 3 every day.

You can take less if you're, uh, shorter in size. I'm 6'1", so I take 3.

A lot of my clients just take 2.

I think she takes 1, but it will give you the collagen you need to ensure you have great skin, healthy, vibrant skin. And finally, we're brought to you by Zero Hunger Plan. That's my website, and I'm thrilled that we're bringing the show to you as well because we are doing our January 4th challenge, and we do a 19-day challenge every first Monday of the month. The next one is this January 4th, and I would love to invite you to join us. And hopefully after listening to today's show with Barb, you're going to be inspired because she did the exact same thing and in 19 days dropped 21 pounds and she lost 2 pounds a day for multiple days in a row. So you're going to see results quick. This isn't like, you know, where you lose 1 pound a week. This is not the plan. This plan will give you results. And if you want to sign up for this challenge, we're— we have a waitlist right now. So get on that list. You just have to email me, but just go to the website, go to zero It's zerohungerplan.com to sign up. And again, we start on January 4th, which is the first Monday in January, and it's the perfect time. It's live with me. It's on a Zoom link. You'll get all that information sent to you once we open up, and we'll be sending emails out next week to give you all the details to sign up. We can get on the waitlist tonight.

So go right there after the show, go to zerohungerplan.com and sign up.

So with that said, guys, let's get to today's show. This interview with Barb is incredible.

You're going to get so inspired.

I think you're you're going to understand that not only is it possible to lose 2 pounds in a day, but more importantly, it's something you will keep off for the rest of your life. She reveals in the interview that she's also lost an additional 3 more pounds, so she's still shrinking, and she's going to be on our challenge starting on the 4th. So you're going to love meeting her. She's this gorgeous woman, she's 72 years young, and she really opens up her heart and her home to us. So let's get started right now. It's my pleasure to introduce to you Barb. Here she is.

Well, welcome everyone to a very special podcast. I'm so excited. So many of you have been asking and emailing me about our new challenge coming out, our Zero Hunger Challenge. And it's really all about really understanding how to get radical control, as you guys know, of sugar, carbs, and salty snacks. And the results can be powerful. You can drop up to 2 pounds in a day. Joining me on the other side of Zoom here is one of my Clients who did exactly that. Great thing is over the 19-day challenge was our Zero Hunger Plan is every month. It is on the 1st of each Monday. So, we have got one coming up January 4th that I want to invite everyone to. We will give you the details at the end of today's show. But Barb, who you are going to meet here in a minute, lost 21 lbs. in 19 days. So, she had multiple days where she dropped 2 lbs. a day. So, we are going to sit with Barb and find out how she did this. I thought you guys would love this because You know, she really is a woman who, you know, does— she does not have a personal chef or trainer, and she works hard. And Barb, you might as well say hi to everyone. Please jump in, Barb. Tell everyone where you're watching from.

Hi, everyone, and Merry Christmas today.

Yes, I know we have a beautiful holiday season amongst us, and I'm just so honored you're here with me on this Christmas Eve. And I feel like your story is a story of empowerment. Barb, because I really, you were just sharing with me before we went live here that you were talking to some of your girlfriends in San Diego. And tell me what, share with everyone what you were saying, because you kind of had a different perspective just before we started the plan, which was, you know, we will say the old Barb, but that was just about a month ago, you know? But what were you, share, if you don't mind, share with everyone what you were saying. And obviously things have changed, shall we say, right?

My two closest friends in California have walked with me, beside me, through the ups and downs of not only life but my weight. And sometimes in my head, I've always called it— I was thinking about it yesterday— it's been the walk of shame for me.

Wow.

And I am very grateful today. I live in Arizona. I didn't say that earlier, but I'm in Fountain Hills, Arizona.

Yeah.

And We still have maintained our friendship for over 60 years now. Wow.

That is incredible. Well, I think community is so important. Having good friends and a good community can empower us. And, you know, I think that the thing people are probably listening, they're thinking, well, you look good. I say you look 50, 54, 52. But obviously, if you've been friends with these gals for 60 years, I mean, my mother taught me well. She said, never ask a lady her age. But if you don't mind, how young are you? Barb, tell everyone.

I am 72 years young.

I love that.

I love that.

I am grateful that I still have my health, that I didn't kill it with my compulsive eating and my diets and just all of that. I am just grateful to be back with you again, Jorge. I started with you probably 20 years ago when you had your first book out. Yeah.

The 8 Minutes in the Morning. Yeah, I remember that book. Well, yeah, I am so grateful for you for being a Client of of mine for so many years. I mean, I can't believe it's been 2 decades, but obviously recently, and we had never, well, we actually have yet to meet in person, I don't think, in 20 years, right? So when you come to San Diego, we'll definitely have, we'll have to have a meal or coffee or hopefully with our masks on, of course, but we'll be, we'll social distance. But I think, why don't we tell a little bit of the story so people can have some context about how, I mean, obviously you're 72 years young and you've been struggling with weight and trying to solve it probably you even met me through my books and all that. That was 20 years ago. But when did it all start for you, this battle with weight? Tell everyone a little bit of the story, because if you're like me, and I think you are, we struggled with sugar and carbs. And you talked about as a little girl, like, what you would sometimes do with— you would have certain sweets under your bed. But would you tell a little bit of your story so people can realize that this isn't something magical? I mean, you did lose 2 pounds a couple times in a row, day after day, and then you've lost— tell everyone again, it was 21 21 lbs., is that right?

Well, I lost 21 lbs. by the end of our challenge and I have been continuing to lose weight. Our challenge ended on the 20th and I am now down 24 lbs.

Woo-hoo! We will do the weight-loss dance and, well, we are going to get into the nitty-gritty of how you did it. But tell them before we get into the secrets a little bit about your story, because I think it is a powerful story because you have overcome a lot of obstacles. I think that is a nice way to say it. But take us back to, I think you had mentioned when we talked last was like around 10 years old, you were kind of in love with sugar. And as I was, because it helps us feel good. You know, I always tell clients it's not our fault. But take us back there, if you would, Barb.

Well, when I was 10 years old, I had a traumatic event in my life and I started definitely craving sugar. I know today as an adult that it was a comfort food. I know that I officially went on my first diet because I still remember when I was 13 years old. I did the Grapefruit Diet back then. That was my first one. And I was in a weight loss competition with someone that used to come and babysit my younger brothers and sisters because I was the oldest of 8 children.

Wow.

And so she, I think, wanted to encourage me because I was 13 to lose weight. And we had a prize and all that. Unfortunately, the prize was food.

Oh, God. And probably something delicious. But I mean—

I wanted to go to a restaurant, you know?

Right, right.

And my family never ate Mexican food and I love Mexican food. And so we went and had Mexican food.

Well, you know, I mean, they say a carrot works better than a stick sometimes. So for you, you know, like my childhood, it was adverse to say the least. I had a lot of obstacles growing up the way I did as a Catholic and being, you know, a gay man and not knowing it. And my grandmother probably knowing it, but not allowing me to ever do that. And so I was, shall we say, disciplined for, for not being a good Catholic boy at times and just not acting the way she wanted me to act as a male. You know, we're very machismo, the Mexican Latinos. We're very tough people. We can't be girly. So I'm sure I was a little girly at the time. But regardless, you know, that— I call it pain back then— turned into power eventually. You know, that's why I have this career, I think. And so that's the big jump for me. But for you, you've really done some incredible things because you've tried so many things since you were 13. And now you're 72. How did Zero Hunger, though, the Zero Hunger plan, the 19 days we did together, how did it for you shift things? Because I know for me, up until recently, you know, I've written a ton of books. We've— I, at least I pretty much have embraced the calories in, calories out, where, you know, you just have to, you know, the old adage. And I'm sure you counted points as well as calories, right? Was, you know, eat less and exercise more. And, and that would be lovely if all these macronutrients are the same, but sugar and carbs, very different than fats and protein. So, tell, share with everyone. Let's dive in. How did Zero Hunger, what was one of the secrets really for you that shifted and gave you control back? Because I feel like this, your story is a story of regaining control of your appetite and your cravings, right? Yeah. So, what was one of your first secrets or what's one of the things people should know about?

Well, the first night that I was at our Zoom meeting, I heard Sandy, who has been one of your clients for a long time, and she had lost 90 pounds in, I believe, 6 months. Yeah. And I think I asked, how did you do it? She said, you just don't quit. And that just went bing.

Yeah.

The light went on, right?

The light went on for that. I wrote it down. Just don't quit. And whenever those the next few weeks, I was in a store, I was out driving around and would see an old familiar drive-through. I was, no, just don't quit. And I just made that my mindset that I was—

I love that.

Yeah.

—going to quit.

Well, I think that's important, and especially for anyone listening who is my age, you know, in their late 40s or 50s or 60s or 70s. A lot of times after the age of 30, we you know, a 32-year-old says, "Oh, I'm too old. You know, I've had babies. It's too late for me. I'm not in my 20s anymore." Why do you think that philosophy for you, especially at 72, was important? Because I think people give up or we forget or what was it for you that made it a mantra or a mindset, you think?

Well, I have been striving to lose weight all my life and I've always wanted to be in a right-sized body. And I just decided, I just have never given up, but I kept kept switching and I, I wouldn't stick to things, or I would give in to the sweet that was, you know, "Oh, it's Christmas and we're at a party. I'll just have one or two." And for me, it never stops at one or two.

Ah, no, it's true. It doesn't.

And I decided that I was going to do this no matter what. I'm not quitting. I want to be, I want to be another Sandy. I want to know that I can see that it's possible, so there's no reason for me to quit. And I want to be there for my great-granddaughter, Forest, who I love. Oh, on the floor and play with her. But you should see me trying to get off the floor. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah. And now you have this energy. I mean, in just 19 days, you did such an— I mean, I'm so proud of you. And, you know, for you to do— to drop the amount of weight you did, 21 pounds in 19 days, is incredible. Let's get into the nutritional part, because I think what you said, you've laid a beautiful foundation. It's a philosophy really of not quitting. So once people have a little faith in themselves and maybe can trust us with this conversation to join our challenge, you know, because I really do hope January 4th is a good time, I would say, to kick off the new year and make it better than last because we all want that, I think. But what would you say when it comes to what I call Eat Fit? Because that's really the first pillar of our plan, uh, really made it powerful for you to get this control back of your, of your, you know, I don't want to call it an addiction, but your cravings for sugar and carbs, because I know I can relate to that and I'll let you kind of lead this. But what for you was one of the top secrets of the Eat Fit Plan from our— from— go ahead.

It is our Zero Hunger Water. It was important for me to drink more water. I know that any food plan or diet you go on, you know, they always encourage drinking water, but the Zero Water is different. And the ZeroWater actually captivated my hunger cravings. Yeah. Helped me just to get through the afternoon or through the day. If I saw something that, you know, my— I was looking at, I just would pick up my water, I would drink it, and the craving, it would just soothe it. And I am really grateful.

I'm grateful for that. So, well, and for people listening, they're thinking, what, you're drinking water? What's this Zero Hunger Water? Well, you know, for people listening, You know, and you tell them what you think of this. I'll put my two cents in and then you share your two cents. But I think what we've been told for years, you know, drink water. Definitely. I've heard that, you know, but the thing is, most water doesn't have— it's deficient in minerals. And what the science has shown, and I think we shared this the first week of the plan, really how sodium and how deficient we are and how scared we are of sodium, because in our culture we've demonized Uh, sodium more than sugar. And we all know sugar is not good for us. I mean, dentists know that. Certain people know, hey, especially if you have diabetes or things like that, you need to lower the sugar levels. But salt, I mean, people, it's in a salt shaker for a reason and we just sprinkle a tiny bit. We think it's literally poison. But as you know, um, or maybe you can share your experience drinking this water, our Zero Hunger Water, which anyone can make at home. We've given the recipe out at jorgecruzeshow.com. You can go to the website. It's free. It's 1,000 milligrams of sodium. It's not a very fancy recipe. I mean, it's just a toss-together. You basically, you know, you get a bottle of 32 ounces of water, uh, and then you add 1,000 milligrams of sodium, which is half a teaspoon of salt. Uh, and then if you want for flavor, you can add some other things. I always suggest either little drops, a few drops of real lemon juice or a little stevia or monk fruit, which is a natural plant-based sweetener. And, uh, and we ideally, we also add a little magnesium potassium. That can be tricky. And on, on our blog for the show, we give you the recipe, guys. So go check that out after our interview here. But I feel like a lot of times, I know for me, I feel like this is the only plan that says drink, you know, Zero Hunger Water is basically sodium in water. And did you at first, what did you think of that? And then obviously you used it because I feel like there aren't too many plans. You tell me if you've heard of other ones that really make that, I want to call it our hero, right?

Right, Barb? Correct. When I heard you say we were going to drink salt water, I just thought, oh no.

That's basically it, right? It's salty water. Yeah. Yeah.

I'm not going to be able to do that. That's my first thought. And then my second thought was, yes, you're going to do whatever they tell you to do.

Well, thank you for trusting me. But what was the result? Because I always say it's like— The result was terrific.

It took my cravings away. It filled me up. From— I had started studying intermittent fasting during the summer, and I had gone from 3 meals a day to 2 meals a day. And I would eat a meal at 11, and I would eat a meal around 5 or 6 or 7, and that seemed to work. But now, do I go to the next part?

Now, yeah, tell us.

We were gonna have 1 meal a day. Yeah, yeah. I needed to get to probably 5 o'clock and not eating like a snack, an egg, crackers, nothing.

And so the water, did it give you that kind of— I want to call that kind of radical. So that is radical control. But did it allow you to do it? Yeah, totally.

And I was shocked. I couldn't believe that just drinking this water, I was not hungry. I was not hungry. Wow. I even did in the middle a 48-hour fast because what happened was I got so busy with our Zoom meeting that night. And by the time we got off, it was a little bit later and I I just thought, oh, I just don't feel like eating a meal right now. And I had been drinking my water and drinking my water. So I thought, well, I've heard of people doing 48, so here you go, girl.

Yeah. Well, I mean, and so for people listening, they're like, well, then I get how you lost the weight. You didn't eat. Well, but the key is, and a lot of people, if it wasn't for your study and my study of intermittent fasting, would think we have some sort of eating disorder. But I have to tell people listening, Intermittent fasting is a technique. It's an ancient technique, as you've studied, that has been used for millennia. It's in every religion. And Jason Fung, Dr. Fung in Toronto, has written the top best-selling books on Amazon in the world on this. And, you know, I've interviewed him and you were reading his books as well, right, Barb?

Yes. And for the newbie— And I have a lot of friends that are diabetic. Yeah. And I knew that if they would just read his books, because that was what he— he got so frustrated with trying to help diabetics who were just going the opposite direction, that that was how this evolved. And it's just amazing. It works. And I'm just excited.

Well, and I have to say, not only do you lose the weight, but, you know, and I do it now because I'm at a weight where I'm healthy. And a lot of people think, oh, if you don't eat every, you know, I mean, you know, the old adage that was created by Dr. Harvey Kellogg, who created the cornflake, obviously, he created the word breakfast. Breakfast and created an industry, obviously, you know, selling cereal, which you typically only have cereal in the morning, but this whole new industry of how breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And you probably were told that too growing up, right?

Well, we always sat down for breakfast every single morning. It was a ritual in my family. We had a big family and we set the table the night before for breakfast.

Wow. So yeah, and I know like growing up in a Latin family with my grandma, Huh? God bless her. I mean, breakfast was critical and I had to eat everything or I got in trouble too. I mean, she'd whack me if I didn't eat everything. I mean, I was always getting in trouble, never being a good boy, you know? And I feel like I had to eat and she liked me plump. She did not want me on a weight loss plan. She wanted me to be a, you know, I think she grew up in a time where food, but she only passed 10 years ago at 103, my grandmother. And she grew up in a time period in the '20s that were where most people were, were doing this. There weren't refrigerators. They were fasting. They were lucky to eat one meal a day. She looked gorgeous. She was thin her whole life, but she wanted me to be fat, which is kind of weird, right? But she thought of that as a sign of wealth, a sign of health. You know, the wealthy were chubby and it's like, and now the wealthy, the educated, we'll say that because I think that's it. We know that that weight, not only does it give us underlying health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, cancer, but with COVID I mean, it makes it hard to breathe. So I think anyone who's educated doesn't want to have 20 or 30 pounds extra, let alone more, you know? So if the water was one of the secrets for someone out there that thinks, oh, I can't have salt, I'm going to die, I'm going to have high blood pressure, you know, do you remember how I talked about how, um, and this was interesting, this was the book, The Salt Fix, uh, that, that the author author. I interviewed him. You guys should listen to the interview. It's incredible. I'll put it in the show notes for our interview with Barb here. But that book, I don't know, did you read that book as well, Barb? The Salt Fix?

I haven't read the book, but I have listened to your podcast. Dr. James. I remember very clearly when I was 20 going to the doctor and them starting to tell me no salt. And then for sure when I was pregnant at age 23, They said absolutely no more salt. You could— you just can't have it. It's bad for you.

And yeah, it was like some drug. You would think it was my life, you know.

And like, I think I told you, my son said I was a horrible cook. He found out that I wasn't using salt, and he was now in the restaurant industry, and he said, Mom, you need to use salt.

Hey, it's Jorge, and I just wanted to interrupt the show just for a moment to invite you to head on over and sign up for my daily Zero Hunger email that will give you each day a simple what to eat to get radical control over your sugar, carb, and salty snack food cravings. And if this is something you want to conquer and make a lifestyle, the newsletter is important. It will really give you tools every day to keep building that momentum to create a lifestyle where you're in control of sugar and carbs. So if that sounds good, check it out. Simply go to zero zerohungerplan.com. I'll spell it for you. It's with a Z, Z-E-R-O, zerohungerplan.com, and it's all free. I'll see you there. Let's get back to the show. Right? Because the food tasted kind of bland, you know, and, and, and I hear you. And, and, you know, I grew up the same way. Salt was like this thing we had to be careful of. It was like a drug that could kill kill you. Literally, you would think it was heroin or cocaine, and it was just this horrible white powder, right? So the great thing is half a teaspoon for everyone listening is all you need. And everyone has salt at home. Hopefully you get a good source. If you're going to make it, guys, try to get an ancient source, whether it's from underground mines or the Himalayas. Uh, and you add a little bit of magnesium, a little bit of potassium. We have the recipe, just go to jorgecruzeshow.com. We'll put it in the show notes and you can make it taste good. You really can. Now what's your favorite flavor? Do you add a little lemon and a little stevia or monk fruit or what's your go-to, Barb? And then let's move on to the diet.

Yeah, right. My go-to is adding lemon juice, stevia. I love lemonade, so it just made a great drink. The salt, you know, I would imagine the salt is in there, but between the stevia and the lemon, I just have a wonderful lemonade and I can just drink that down. That's like one of my favorite drinks.

No, I agree.

But there's things you can order to make it sweet to to make— to add the electrolytes. Oh, yeah, yeah.

And I even shared just this week on Instagram. So everyone watching and listening, check out a holiday edition. It's like a chocolate treat where you add cacao and it doesn't have a lot of sugar at all because we want to keep the sugar lower or at zero with these drinks. Obviously, we don't— the one time the science has shown that you can raise blood pressure with salt is when you pair it with sugar and carbs. And now that we've talked about the drink and you want to avoid sugar, stevia or monk fruit, these natural sweeteners sugars, don't raise your insulin. It's when insulin's high, you take salt, that you can cause blood pressure to go up. But, you know, on our plan, let's— let's— should we dive into the how you break your fast? Like, share with folks some of your go-to meals, because I feel like everyone knows carbs and sugar. I mean, that's why we have this podcast. It's to help people overcome that and get control back. And not that you don't eat carbs anymore. I mean, I still do. I'll have zucchini fries. I'll make sometimes a pizza, whether it's with a cauliflower crust and then it's a meat lover's topping. There's all sorts of little tricks out there, you know, but share with us one of your go-to meals because high protein, high fat tends to turn off our hunger. And I think you've embraced that pretty much, right, Barb? Definitely.

I personally have always been a meat eater. So I— and my very favorite steak is a ribeye steak. So I go to Costco and get a little tray of ribeye steaks and I put in the refrigerator. And I usually grill 2 of them at a time, one to eat hot and the other one I slice up and I have in the refrigerator in case I'm going to be on the go the next evening. That's smart. I want to eat late, I have it ready to go. I love it. I would say maybe only 3 times over the 19 days added some vegetable carbs. I had broccoli one time, I had green beans the other time, and I love salads. The other night I went out to dinner at a really fine restaurant and And she had, like, the most awesome salad. So I had salad. Yeah, I had some chicken, which was different. My first time having chicken. It was tasty, but the steak is top of the list for me.

Well, you know, a lot of people— you know, I've done podcasts with Robb Wolf, who's a Paleolithic nutritionist. He's a biochemist. He's a really New York Times bestselling author of The Primal— The Paleo Solution, I think, is the book, and Wired to Eat. And he talks about how the ribeye really has the ideal percentage of fat and protein. Because, you know, ironically, here's another myth we'll bust for everyone that's listening. I was told, you know, that you want a low-fat diet if you're trying to lose weight, right? I mean, keep the calories low, high volume, low calorie. Fat makes you fat. You remember that woman in the '80s, Susan Powder, that says, oh yeah, fat formula, and she had She had that shaved head, really blonde, the red nails, and she's like, "The fat formula. Fat makes you fat." Here we are eating high-fat protein. Tell everyone, not only does it turn off hunger, hopefully, give them your thoughts of how it controls hunger, but obviously, it helped you lose the weight, I would think, right? Take it away. Obviously. Well, two things.

I feel so full after I eat my steak. And I don't overeat. I eat till I'm full. Like, last night, I ate 3/4 of the steak and then stopped because I was full. It was a big steak.

A big steak. So you had some leftovers.

I had a little leftover. But I also found that when I do add, like, even vegetable carbs, my whole system doesn't work as well when I'm just doing the meat.

Yeah. Well, you know, a lot of people, uh, I've interviewed, um, uh, Dr. Saladino and he has this book, The Carnivore Code, which I recommend to everyone listening. And we've done podcast, I've done 2 podcasts with him and he talks about how plant-based nutrition and, you know, for years I've written books, almost every book I've written up until, and Zero Hunger Plan is not a book yet. I hope to make it a book in the next year or 2, but obviously it's online. But right now, you know, like what Paul Saladino says, Dr. Saladino has said from the, the Carnivore Code is really that these plants and the fiber, ironically, we've been told, and that's another adage we can bust here, that we need high fiber to fill up and especially to be healthy and be regular. But the crazy thing is with a high-fat, high-protein diet, and if you don't involve carbohydrates, you get less bloating, you get less issues. Some people get skin issues. There's, uh, plant intolerances that a lot of people don't realize they can get from eating certain greens like kale and, and broccoli. And I used to do a lot of Brussels sprouts. Now I do more of the low-toxic plants, and we talk about this on the plan. So if you guys join us, you'll get the list of the healthy carbs. You know, zucchini is my new favorite one. Spaghetti squash, I can do that, and I can make a pasta from it. Do you ever do that sometimes, Barb? Make And I actually had it on my 19 days.

I, I was— that was one of the first vegetables that I had. I was craving— I had already purchased actually the spaghetti squash before we started our program. So I made spaghetti squash one night with a really nice, um, fried up hamburger, and then I had Rao's, uh, spaghetti sauce, which has the lowest sugar. So yeah.

Oh, and, and yeah, and it's low sugar, and you know, I'll do that on occasion, but you know, sometimes I'm lazy and it It is a bit freeing. I mean, maybe we can end on the nutrition note on how making a steak is easy. I mean, you just put, literally I do put salt on it front and back. You cook it 5 to 6 minutes on each side. I have a cast iron grill type thing and you're done. And then that fills you up. There's no need to make all these. I mean, I may have an avocado with it, half an avocado or a little zucchini, but it takes more time to make the zucchini. Cutting an avocado is easy. I can't complain about that and putting salt on it, but you know, sometimes it's just such an efficient way I mean, would you say there's an elegance to this diet in the sense that it's easy to make these foods? Right. I feel free.

I feel like I can meal plan in 1 minute, 1-minute meal planning, and I'm done. I don't have to— there's no muss, no fuss. I don't have to shop like crazy. I can ask somebody who's going because I usually don't go into stores too much. Pick me up a tray of ribeye steaks. How easy. Wow. I love it. That's my, my grocery shopping. And so my, I have more time in my life to do things that I want to do.

I love that. I love that. Oh, that's amazing. Well, we've talked nutrition. I think, you know, one of the things that I had on my list to, to ask you if it'd be all right is I know as much as we sometimes, I call it zero hunger because it's about turning off physical hunger in my mind. But then there's sometimes a type of, I want to call it emotional hunger that we all that out of survival we crave. And sometimes it can be, you know, issues from when we were kids and whatever. But I thought maybe I'd ask you to share how you've kind of gotten control over another issue that you had in your life, kind of like, well, I'll let you tell the story, but a little bit of how you interacted with your daughter and family members and how life has become less heavy for you and them. And when you lighten up the relationship, you feel happier. So maybe share a little bit of that story because I think that'd be a great way to kind of tie it up because I feel like Zero Hunger is comprehensive. I mean, there's a nutrition component, there's an exercise component, and then there's— I call it Think Fit, the mindset component. We kind of started it with Mind Fit. So if you don't mind, let's, let's start. Let's, let's talk about that a little more detail, because I feel like you really had a breakthrough of sorts, right, Barb?

Well, I feel that the emotional component might be way a little— well, I guess all parts are so important, but If I don't have the mindset to stick with this, then nothing's going to happen. 100%, right? Mindset that I want to be healthy, that that's my goal, to be healthy, then this isn't going to work. And, and I think that, um, we did some exercises, Jorge, when we were going through this that I think people will love because it helps you to get in touch with what works for you today, what didn't work for you in the past. And I know I've been working all year on my gratefulness. I send a grateful list to a friend, two friends every morning, and I list 5 things that I was grateful for the day before. So we send those back and forth to each other. So having a grateful mindset is really important. But I know we were talking about, I can't remember how it just kind of organically went into my children, but I think that control was— that was it. Yeah, I wanted to get away from— you know, my daughter had mentioned, you know, Mom, you're, you're trying to control too much. You're just trying to control too much. So this is something that I've been working on for, for quite a while, and I, I believe that one of the ways that I can get away from controlling is by nurturing myself. Oh, I love that.

Yeah. So, well, and that's the one thing we can— because if you think about it, I, I was similar. I mean, a lot of people that are in business or have had, you know, uh, obstacles in their early life, we learn to control things to kind of survive and, and thrive, right? And so it's a tool that can be overutilized, but— and it can be overutilized to be successful. But then in times in our lives, you know, especially with family, if we overuse those same skills feels, it's a different reaction. You know, these people are like, what? So for me, I feel like I, I have the same— I understand what you're saying because I feel like for me, for so many years, I was so stressed out. And I think when you try to act like we're God sometimes and we can control all of it, it's overwhelming. And, and the truth is, you know, as we grow up here, you know, I'm growing up. I think I'm finally an adult here at 50 almost. But I feel like, um, I realize that the only thing we can we control is our mindset and our actions, obviously, right? So, how did that happen for you? Because I know we talked about it in the process, the 3rd week on the plan, because it is a 19-day plan. So, in our last week, we kind of tied up the loose ends and kind of did a compelling future. We talked about our values, what we value and what we want to move towards and away from. But was there something that you could share with people that, you know, give them a little, give them a little insight or a tip on what they could do? Because to where you were, I think you were in a place where your relationship with your kids at one point was tight. It was difficult. It was heavy, right? It was heavy. Tell them about that. And then what has happened? Because I feel like you dropped another 21 pounds here, but in another way, right? In the mind or in your, in whatever you want to call it, in that effort. And sometimes that makes it easier then to not not even feel like you need— I mean, it's a type of appetite control because oftentimes when we overeat sugar and carbs, it's because we're not feeling good. You know, we're stressed. But when you alleviate the actual source of the problem, the stress, not only does the Zero Hunger Water work, but that works too, this Thinking Fit. But tell us a little bit of that. And if you have a tip for someone specifically on what worked for you to kind of let go a little bit, I think that would even be useful too.

I think that, um, I'd gotten to the point in my relationship with my children where I was attempting to control the outcome of what they were doing in their lives because, you know, I think I thought mother knows best or something. Sure. And my daughter made it very clear to me, Mom, I need to do things my my way. You're trying to control me. I really didn't know that. I mean, at the time I was like, really? I thought I was just trying to help. And I think under the guise of help, many people end up in areas of doing things that they, they really don't belong in. And so there was a time when I had to say to both my children, you know, please forgive me, I'm sorry. I tried to make amends to them. And just, I was wrong, how can I change? My daughter has made it very clear to me, even recently, Mom, you're not listening. And so I have to sit back and say, okay, I, I, I want to listen. I'm sorry that I was not hearing you. All of us want to be heard. All of us do in our life. And she, she and I work on this and, and And it's something that has evolved. Our relationship is definitely better than it was in the past. I mean, it's really good. But there are times when, you know, old, old habits die hard, I guess.

Yeah. Yeah. And it's out of like a good place. I mean, you know, I had a very controlling grandma on me as a little boy, as I've shared throughout the podcast for many episodes. And, and I know her intentions were good. And, you know, you can find God's perspective on it and see the good in it. And I, and I've had to do that. But I feel like at a certain age though, and, and you had this epiphany really with your kids where they kind of brought it to your attention right in the front and you had to deal with it. For anyone that is in that same place, Barb, what would you say helped you not just say I'm sorry to them, but how did you get there? Because a lot of people don't see it. How did you see it? Because, you know, we can— love is blind sometimes, and we love our kids so much we don't think we're hurting them. You know, how How did you see it differently? Any tips for anyone listening?

I think that I became more mindful about my own personal thoughts and actions. I think that it's really important. Mindfulness is a key in my life today to watching my behaviors and choosing to change. I love that. And it's really a choice. If you still, if you want to have a good relationship with your children, then you need to listen Listen, and you need to look at your own behavior. Don't look at theirs. Mm-hmm. What are you doing? How can you change?

Yeah, no, it's hard. I mean, you're basically saying we got to take responsibility, right? And we can't blame the other people. And I think that is very grown up of you. I would think you would agree. Yeah, and I'm sure your kids. Tell us now, tell us how this has affected your relationship with them, because I think there's a bit of a happy ending here with the way this conversation started and then how it's now, you know, especially the holidays now, how has this been something positive?

Well, I have to say it began, part of this began, this final part of the journey here began with COVID Yeah. Everyone in the family was working and I was just going to start a new job, a personal job. And I stepped up to the plate and said, let me take care of Forrest. She was 5. She was going to school.

This is your great-granddaughter, right?

My great-granddaughter. And so I became her support person in March and was with her from March through October before the schools opened. And I think that the family got to see me in a new light and knew that I was just there to truly help. And it gave me lots of opportunities to listen and it gave me such joy that I didn't even feel COVID.

Wow. Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, you can take a lemon and make it lemonade and we love lemonade, you and I. So, that is what you did literally with your ThinkFit and I think that is so beautiful because obviously the nutrition is important when you do weight-loss. But how do you think this has given you an edge with your weight-loss, this thinking fit? Because it is definitely different than what you had done in the past.

Right? Yes. Well, I think you, by incorporating all three of your pillars, that, that is so important because there's not, there's not really one that's more important than the other. Although the hero is the Zero Hunger Water, I believe that if you don't have the right mindset, you're not going to accomplish anything. So I think that mindset's important, and then the exercise portion is something that will evolve. You know, you talked about the HIIT and, yep, yep, and interval training. And, you know, right now I'm doing what I can because I have trashed knees and I'm at the physical therapist's, and I'm making sure that I have as much movement as I can.

Excellent. Yeah, well, I think that's the key. It's really, it's, it's, it's having all those components. But yeah, I would agree with you that ThinkFit is critical, the turning off the physical hunger, but the ThinkFit turns off the emotional hunger. I think the exercise, you know, and you'll get back into it once your knees are feeling better. And, you know, about collagen, for anyone listening, collagen is key to help repair joints and all that. And I'm sure you're doing that. And, you know, and then once we start moving again, yeah, the HIIT training is great because it helps us feel good. You know, I think of exercise and ThinkingFit as a way to really overcome the emotional obstacles we have in our life. Because yeah, the water does do it. It does turn off the hunger. And I hope everyone listening tries it. You can just check it out. We'll put it in today's show notes. And Barb, as we wrap up here, what would you say, especially being the start of a new year in just a few, not even a few weeks, it's like in a week or so. And we've got this challenge starting on January 4th. What would you tell people if they're on the, on the edge here and they're like, ah, I don't know, I want to lose weight, but this sounds weird. I'm going to drink water with salt and ThinkFit and all that. What would you tell someone who's like not sure what— because they can just add their name to the waitlist. We've got that at zerohungerplan.com. And if they're not sure and they definitely want to lose weight, what would you tell them to encourage them right now to, to, to, to take some action? What would be your, uh, your words of motivation? How would you, how would you wrap it for us?

Well, I got into the program at the last minute. In fact, I had said Yeah. Sent an email begging, please let me do it.

Yeah, yeah, I remember.

So, if you're ready. If you're not ready, what I would suggest, if that's just something that you want to do, I suggest that you really commit. You're talking 19 days. That is not a month. That is 19 days of your life. See what could happen in 19 days. I'm shocked what happened in 19 days of my life and has given me a whole new thought on how I am going to live the rest of my life.

Yeah. No, I remember you were sharing your vision for not just next year, but the next 20 years. And I think that is motivational, right? Because if we don't have that compelling future, you know, and it is nice to have a goal for next year, but a big picture, I mean, where do you see— leave us with a positive vision of where you are going to be in 20 years? Because I know you are going to continue doing what you are doing you are doing. You are going to get to your weight loss goal, you know, because I know you are going to, you keep dropping. You are down to 24 lbs., is that right? That is correct. So, you are the Incredible Shrinking Woman, but where would you be? Because in 20 years, I can only imagine you will have more grandbabies, let alone great grandkids. Great grandbabies, yeah. Right. Why do I see you playing with them and staying as active in, and now you will be in your 90s, right? I will. Yeah.

That is exactly what I will be doing. At 92, I still want to be able to, I I want my body to be really flexible and I'm playing with my kids. I'm able to get down on the floor and get back up. And I want to know that I'm as physically fit as I can be. And I also want at age 92 to have known that I've visited the countries that I've wanted to visit. Yes. I had to stop traveling. I got so overweight that I couldn't get up on the bus. To— it was so hard. Every walking was so hard. So I am excited to experience the next 20 years doing things that I really want to do. I love that.

That, that is— I want to join you. Let's go. And, you know, I love traveling too. And I feel like, yeah, that's one of the things we have to remember, that when we're healthy and we get that weight off, we can have fun. And as much as COVID is going on, it will pass. It will pass. And, and I think it's going to happen soon. But the next 20 years, that is not just a year or two from now. That is like a life. I think what a gorgeous way to enjoy, you know, this time in our life to travel and do all that. So, I am with you on that, Barbara. I think that is my goal, too, in the next 20 years, to do more traveling. Obviously, I can't thank you enough for sharing your story and congratulations on the 24 lbs. now. Make sure to give my best to your family and your granddaughter. And thank you for sharing and we will see you January 4th. I can't wait, right? Right. Absolutely. Well, you have a beautiful Merry Christmas and everyone listening too, Merry Christmas to you guys. Have a wonderful time. If you guys want to join our challenge, you know what to do. Just visit us over at zerohungerplan.com and Barb, thank you for your story because I think it is a story of transformation.

It really is.

You know, and I feel like if you can do it, would you agree? Anyone can do it. It, right?

Absolutely. Don't give up. Come and join us January 4th for a radical change and you will lose your hunger and your cravings. All right.

Today's episode is complete, guys.

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