The secret to the weight loss success you crave

[View in browser] | [Unsubscribe] [Rodale Wellness] FROM THE DESK OF Dr. Rovenia M. Brock Author of Lose Your Final 15 [rovenia-brock-100.jpg] Dear wellness seeker, I believe in your resolve to lose weight and get a more fit and toned body. Even a totally healthy body. But here's the thing: You need a plan. I've been on a mission to help others get healthy for over 28 years. I embarked on this course that has become my life's work as result of losing my mother to stomach cancer at age 9. My mother was a Southern girl from a large family, all of whom loved high fat, sugar, and salt-laden Southern food. Large soul food meals were a family staple. But it wasn't the food so much as its preparation and portion sizes that became an eventual nail in many of their coffins. In our family and community, I saw people suffer needlessly from preventable diseases related to diet and lifestyle. I was 7 years old when I first made the diet-health connection—a concept I was unable to articulate until much later in life. My second grade classmate had shared that his father needed to have a leg amputated, due to diabetes. My mother later explained that meant, "he had to watch what he ate." It turned out that not only was my classmate's father affected, but I had several uncles who eventually became amputees—a couple of them double amputees—and other family members whose plates and forks were literally killing them too. In some ways, I probably started writing this book all those years ago because these experiences fueled my decision to become a nutritionist in service to others. The work I do today on and off TV has always been about a very deep personal connection and commitment. Whatever sparks your desire to lose weight and get a better life, the plan is a must. Having a sensible plan that fits into your life as it is now, without you having to pretend to be someone else in order to achieve your goals is what will lead you to the success you crave. I believe I have developed the plan that will serve you for a lifetime. My new book, [Lose Your Final 15] is the blueprint to lose your first, second, and final 15 pounds, regardless of your weight loss goal. This is a bigger, better version of the diet I developed on the Dr. Oz Show, where I helped over a half million viewers lose over 5 million pounds. After coaching millions of people on TV, in clinical settings, and in my private practice over the past 28 years, I developed The Final 15 plan with you in mind. I have included 45 days of meal plans with shopping lists (to help you stick to the plan and your budget), more than 45 delicious, super-easy recipes (some take 15 minutes or less to make), 15-minute workouts (I know you're busy), and to give you a holistic plan, I've also included 15-minute mindful meditations to help you de-stress and get centered. As Nutrition Director of my family-owned private medical practice and in my coaching business, I have found that there is a common thread that connects my patients and clients to others on the journey to weight loss. They become their own motivators for staying on the plan, losing weight, and adapting to a permanent new lifestyle of true change, which helps them to keep the weight off. You see, it's losing the first 15-pounds that says, "You did it!" Once they lose the first few pounds, they prove to themselves the rest is possible, which spurs them on to keep losing. This is not a random plan. The science says people who lose weight in small increments tend to lose more weight and keep it off for longer periods of time. Many diets fail because the one-size-fit-all approach is inadequate for everyone. The [Lose Your Final 15] plan is based on real foods, and accounts for other factors that lead to weight gain such as emotional and stress eating, food cravings, and includes strategies to work through the process as you learn to change your mindset. What's more, I teach you to recognize real serving sizes—a factor related to the reasons why so many people (my clients included) unknowingly overeat. I'm hoping you'll join me in my quest to get America healthy (let's begin with you). I encourage you to tell everyone you know to join us. Together, we're starting a "Get Down America (with the Final 15) Movement" to help others get their weight down using the Final 15 Plan. [Join the movement] and join my [private F-15 Facebook group] where I'll support you through the process. Together we can do this! In health and happiness, Dr. Ro Weight Loss Strategies to Lose the Last 15 Pounds Adapted from [Lose Your Final 15] [woman-drinking-tea-500.jpg] Weight-loss success is much more likely if you follow some important behavioral strategies in addition to the choices you make for every meal. Based on my many years of experience working with hospital patients and the clients in my private practice, I've identified 10 Success Strategies that go a long way toward helping people stick to a weight-loss plan. These strategies are simple—no need to reorganize your life to fit them in. Just start working them into your daily routines, and before you know it, you'll be much better positioned for weight loss success. Success Strategy #1: Eat within the first hour of awakening When you are at rest, your body wants to conserve energy, so your metabolism slows down. Just as you shut off the lights when you sleep, your body turns down many of the processes involved in metabolism. When you wake up, you want to turn everything up and start burning calories and fat as soon as possible. That's why I recommend eating breakfast within one hour of waking up. By eating a nutritious, energy-revving breakfast (try these [20 flat-belly breakfasts]), you are jump-starting your metabolism. When you add healthy food to your tank, so to speak, you prime your engines and get them ready to go, go, go for the day, so you can do everything that you have to do as well as those things you want to do, while feeling energetic. Success Strategy #2: Eat early and often It's much better for your body to eat early and often. That means having a healthy, lean, green breakfast; a [morning snack] to keep your metabolism humming; a [healthy lunch]; an [afternoon snack]; and a dinner that's smaller than you're probably used to, with a [small snack in the evening]. Ideally you should eat the bulk of your calories at breakfast and lunch. Success Strategy #3: Get 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night We Americans are an exhausted bunch of people. Although sleep researchers recommend 7 to 8 hours per night, studies show that 30 percent of us get fewer than 6 hours of sleep a night. Being [chronically tired] truly interferes with your health. Lack of sleep is associated with higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, depression, obesity, and cancer. In fact, studies show that getting fewer than 5 hours of sleep per night is associated with a higher body-mass index. The more sleep-deprived you are, the higher your risk of obesity. Insomnia causes hormonal changes and cravings for carbohydrates. And when you deprive yourself of adequate sleep, fatigue lowers your ability to resist trigger foods. Instead of eating, try taking a power nap for a bigger, more effective payoff. Success Strategy #4: Avoid eating within 3 hours of going to bed At the end of the day, your digestive system needs to slow down and rest, so I recommend that you avoid eating anything within 3 hours of bedtime. Eating before bed can interfere with sleep quality and throw off your circadian rhythms. It can also contribute to heartburn and acid reflux. If you must eat before bed, choose a [small protein-rich snack], such as a cup of yogurt. For more quick and easy-to-make weight loss changes, head over to [Rodale Wellness]. Recommended for You: [Lose Your Final 15] is all about 15 days, 15 pounds, and 15 servings. The plan is broken down into three, 15-day phases. In each phase, you will enjoy 15 servings of food per day. Dr. Ro teaches you to identify foods by their real serving size with easy at-a-glance charts and tables. You can then choose your 15 servings per day from the 45 delicious recipes developed by Dr. Ro to keep you satisfied and on track. Beyond just diet, [Lose Your Final 15] includes 15-minute meditation guides and exercise plans that fit into any schedule. With Dr. Ro as your guide, you will experience newfound vibrancy, health, and happiness. [ORDER NOW] Did a friend forward this e-mail to you? Don't miss a single newsletter. Sign up at [RodaleWellness.com/join]. [facebook] [twitter] [pinterest] [Instagram] [Unsubscribe] [Manage Your Email Preferences] [Privacy Policy] Customer Service Dept., 400 South 10th Street, Emmaus, PA 18098 © 2016 Rodale Inc., all rights reserved 10918