Week Thirteen, Day One
Food Today Compared to Biblical Times
In Bible times, there were two ways to get sugar. One was honey, and the Bible warns against too much honey (Proverbs 25:16: If you find honey, eat just enough–too much of it, and you will vomit.)
The other way was fruit. However, there was no mass transportation and no refrigeration in those days, so fruit was only available seasonally. (Also, fruit has been bred so that it is now sweeter.)
There was no Trash/Fast Food joints. There were no chemicals.
There were no cars, washing machines, or even bicycles, so everyone had to exercise just to exist.
It was a different environment, to say the least. So we have to look at our food and lifestyle today and not let the culture dictate what we put in our bodies and how we move our bodies. The culture is out to make money and it doesn’t care if you’re healthy or not. 
The Bible talks about gluttony, but it did not have to address our modern day issues with Trash Food and no exercise. So you have to be wise and take responsibility for what you put in your mouth and how much you move on a daily basis.
You are too smart to let someone who is just out to make money dictate your health.
Knowing How to Handle Every Food Situation
There will never be a food/eating situation in which you will not know how to handle if you study and learn the principles in Skinny School. This is done by (1) re-reading the Genie’s teachings and (2) re-reading all of the Skinny School Online lessons. Adversity will happen, for sure, because that is life. But there is no reason for you to ever again struggle with your weight. You will fail, but now you know how to get right back on the bus. How you handle failure predicts your success!
Now, when you see a cupcake, the sirens go off, and you know you have to ask your Sane Adult, “What do I say to myself about cupcakes?” Perhaps donuts are on the counter at work, but that’s no problem either. The sirens go off and you access your Sane Adult how to think about donuts. “Surprise Food” shows up all the time but again, no problem for Champion you, because you know how to think about Surprise Food. You will hear your idiot Demanding Child squeal and thrash about, but she is put into the playpen…because you know how to THINK correctly about food/eating!
Here is just an inkling of what Sane Adult will say to you:
“I ditch all the time because Trash Food doesn’t give me what I really want. I plan all the time because I know planning is the mantra of Champions. Champions work for it, not simply wish for it. I know that God has given me a buzzer that goes off when I am supposed to eat (hunger). When the buzzer quits ringing (when I’m no longer hungry) I quit eating. These three principles, Ditch/Plan/Wait will solve my issues with food forever.”
And friend, after you embed these Skinny School principles into your brain, the next best thing you can do for your lifetime learning in this area is to teach a group! Nothing makes these principles in concrete in your brain like explaining them to others. Nothing. The best way to learn any subject is to teach it. That’s why I beg you to form a group, so you will discuss the principles out loud…because this makes deep grooves in your brain.
Anything can be learned if you break it into small steps. That’s why you can learn Skinny School thought, because it is broken down into simple steps. Just take the time to learn it. Is this not one of your current Top Four Life Goals? If it is, then why wouldn’t you pay the price to carefully and completely learn the thought? 
Life is not about Skinny School. Life is about loving the people God gave you to love and doing the work God gives you to do. But hey! It’s miserable being a chub. And it’s pretty awesome living in skinny jeans, not worrying about what you’re going to wear and not worrying about your size. In fact, it’s downright awesome laying down the backpack of bricks of being overweight. (You have to be an ex-chubby to fully appreciate this.)
The only person who will NOT get this click and flip is the person who will NOT pay the price to persevere in learning the thinking, doing the reading, filling out their Ruby Journal, and having a group. But Champions do what is necessary to reach their goals and you’re a CHAMPION!
Week Thirteen, Day Two
Demanding Child Will Try to Get You to Not Exercise
I noticed something funny this morning. I am doing my usual things around the house and I feel fine. But then all of a sudden, when it’s time to go to the gym, I don’t feel so well. My stomach hurts. And I have an ache or pain in another area of my body. If I’m just doing my normal things, I don’t notice any aches and pains. But as soon as it’s time to exercise, everything starts feeling crummy.
Demanding Child is always trying to move in the direction of immediate pleasure and working out is not immediate pleasure for me. Working out is pushing my body. But isn’t that interesting though, that Demanding Child is so smart she can cause me to have physical pains and aches when it’s time to exercise?
I’m on my way to the gym now, and I will write again after my workout session. The Dread and Resistance are here, as usual.
Later:
Just got back from the gym. Funny, all my aches and pains are gone. And I feel pretty awesome, having my exercise behind me for the day. Endorphins have kicked in. That tricky, deceitful Demanding Child is pretty cunning. Watch out for yours.
A Road Trip With Others
Last weekend, David and I went on a road trip with two of my all-time favorite people. I truly love this couple. He is one of those dependable, responsible, and kind types and she is lively, creative, fun, as well as full of hospitality and concern for other people. You can tell I admire and love these folks to the max!
Since we were together for 48 hours, we ate quite a few meals together. I want to discuss how to eat when you are out like this with another couple, so you can stay on your program, but are not rude to them.
To start with, David and I packed treats for the car ride to our destination. We had prime rib sandwiches (made with romaine leaves, horseradish sauce, and cheese, not bread). We had nuts and drinks.
After we arrived at the hotel, we went downtown to a nice restaurant. Nice restaurants always have many good choices, including fish, chicken, vegetables, and salad. It was all delicious. Our friends are into eating “healthy” too. They likewise got entrees and sides. I noticed however, they both ate bread and potatoes.
The next morning before breakfast, we all went to a Farmer’s Market on the town square. Gorgeous food was for sale, but since we had no refrigeration, we couldn’t buy anything. Our friends bought a loaf of bread and a cookie.
All four of us are into exercise (they both have trainers) and we went to an exercise class together. That was super fun! (I usually exercise solo but I might need to reconsider after this event.)
After the exercise class, it was 11 a.m. and time for a lumber jack breakfast! David and I both ate huge omelets stuffed with salmon (I know, strange), veggies, and cheese, along with a side of broccoli (to replace the breakfast potatoes). Our friends ate fruit as well as the breakfast potatoes and breakfast breads.
A fun afternoon was next, exploring a nearby museum (the other couple had smoothies during a break), and then it was time for a nap for me, with a few handfuls of nuts from a bag in my suitcase.
Dinner was an outdoor festival with a blue grass band. The buffet was packed with meat and veggies and we loaded up our plates. Our friends also got two desserts each.
The next morning, breakfast was served at the hotel. David and I had previously notified the establishment and told them about our paleo eating habits, but you never know what you’re going to get. I knew they would have eggs. The smell of fresh baked muffins drifted up to the room. (Just an aside here, if I’m somewhere and there’s a marvelous aroma, like homemade muffins, I don’t let myself desire this. I choose to NOT think about it. You can’t desire something you don’t think about. So instantly, I move my mind to think about something else. We humans can do this and it’s absolutely amazing. You get to tell your Sane Adult, your will, what thoughts can stay and which thoughts to boot out. This can change your life, not only as far as booting out that desire for Trash Food, but for booting out thoughts of being offended, self-pity, and lots of other trouble-making thoughts.)
Our friends had crepes, fruit, sugary sauces, and breakfast breads in addition to their eggs and turkey bacon.
All four of us love healthy food and exercise, but by just allowing some Trash Food in their diets, they ate substances which told their hormones to HOLD ON to body fat. We ate food that told our bodies to BURN body fat. (Also, by eating low-sugar/low carb, we do not allow food that causes inflammation in our bodies, which is always associated with disease.)
I know what some of you are thinking: It’s vacation, Julie! Lighten up! You’re supposed to live it up on vacation. That’s fine with me if you’re at your Goal A weight and you want to play “catch up” the next week after vacation. But I don’t like to increase inflammation in my body with starches and sugar. And I don’t like coming home and weighing two to three more pounds on Monday morning. I like to eat clean when I’m on vacation, and then, not have any price to pay! The five pound weight gain would depress me, so I just decide to forego Trash Food completely.
We ate fabulous food the whole trip. We ate quite a bit of food, actually (we were super hungry with all the exercise and walking). There were many pleasures on the trip: the pleasure of good conversation, the pleasure of the outdoor Farmer’s Market, the pleasures of the museum, the pleasures of the walking trails, the pleasure of the soft bed in the hotel, etc. But we abstained from the temporary pleasure of Trash Food, because it comes attached with too high a price.
We didn’t offend the couple we were with and didn’t make a big deal out of how we ate. We just ate clean.
If you want to eat clean, you can do it on vacation, too, even when you’re with people who don’t.
Week Thirteen, Day Three
A New Mindset About Discipline
To many people, discipline seems like a heavy burden. It seems like a fence that keeps you from really enjoying fun and freedom. But actually, the opposite is true.
Living with discipline is exhilarating. When you are living in accordance with your true goals and values, you have a greater emotional well-being. You feel excited and enjoy pleasures, knowing that you are accomplishing what you want to accomplish. This is invigorating and energizing.
The contrast is not being disciplined and feeling like a sloth, as well as having The Crud Descend. Discipline is actually a beautiful ladder out of the Food Dungeon into freedom, not a noose around your neck. Discipline beats temporary pleasure hands-down.
Desire is what creates suffering. So quit thinking about the ice cream and cheesecake you want. Don’t let those thoughts in your mind. Instead, think about all the delicious food you are allowed to eat, as well as the health, vitality, and thinness you want.
Enjoy the fruit and joy of a disciplined life. Discipline is a pass to the front seats in life! And you can choose discipline in your eating by Ditching/Planning/Waiting. Discipline can change your life.
Current Top Four Life Goals…Revisited
It is necessary to constantly review the basics until they are cemented in your brain, so we will revisit the subject of your current Top Four Life Goals (TFLG).
It is absolutely crucial to have your TFLG written down in your Ruby Journal. The reason they are so crucial is because they give you clarity of purpose. Clarity of purpose is soothing to your soul, as well as invigorating to the mind.
Maybe you have not gotten in touch with what it is you are supposed to be doing right now while you’re here on earth. Seeking God, caring for your family and taking care of your health are usually on the list of most Skinny School students. But after that, there is quite a bit of freedom. Where does your deep joy coincide with a deep need in the world? When you do figure out your TFLG, this will reduce your emotional turmoil and angst. Figuring out your TFLG will enable you to get in touch with the main things you are supposed to be doing in your life right now. Don’t skip this exercise.
As I’ve said many times, knowing your current TFLG will help you say no to many activities, even though they might be good ones. This clarity of purpose gives you determination, too, when one of your current TFLG needs attention. If an interruption comes from one of your current TFLG, you would definitely allow it. But maybe an interruption comes from a non-TFLG and it might need to be pushed aside for now. I have often quoted a former Sunday School teacher who told me, “I barely know what God is telling me to do so I certainly don’t know what He’s telling you.” I’m definitely not trying to give you specifics. I am only trying to convince you to be sure that these TFLG are written down and that you review them daily, pray over them fervently, and take daily massive action to accomplish them.
This idea of focusing on your current TFLG has been proven over and over again in productivity studies. You cannot be scattered and expect to accomplish much. The secret in productivity is focus.
Week Thirteen, Day Four
You Can Learn Any Subject You Want
Of course, the best way to learn anything is to see it modeled–or hear it taught–while you are a child. That’s the best way to learn what a good marriage looks like, seeing it in your parents. The best way to learn how to handle money wisely is to see your parents handle money well while you are a child. The best way to learn about the Lord is to see your parents follow Christ while you are young. And of course, the best way to learn how to eat correctly is to see it modeled when you are growing up.
But guess what? I’ve never ever met one person who had everything modeled perfectly for them as a child. Not one person. Maybe someone had several areas modeled correctly by their family of origin, but most likely, you were reared in a household where one or two things were correctly taught while many others were not.
However! No self-pity if you didn’t have things modeled or taught to you while you were young because you can learn all of these subjects. Every single one of them.
You do not have to keep the thinking that was programmed into you as a child. You can relearn how to manage money (thank you, Dave Ramsey), how to think correctly about marriage (lots of resources here), and of course (!) how to think right about healthy eating and skinniness. smile emoticon
Now that David and I have finished writing Husband School, I am going to write Happy School, Where Women Learn the Secrets of How to Think About What is Missing and Disappointing. Did you know you can train yourself to focus on the abundance you have, instead of focusing on what is missing and disappointing all the time? Did you know you can get rid of depression and discouragement and actually be a very happy, grateful person, enjoying your days, even in the midst of much disappointment? It’s true, you can learn the secrets of thinking Philippians 4:8 thoughts.
After writing a book on happiness, I’m going to write a book on mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law. I cannot believe the mistakes that mothers-in-law make on the front end of the relationship, causing a lifetime of resentment and hurt from their daughters-in-law. You have to learn how to think correctly about a new daughter-in-law. When women tell me their stories of what they say and how they treat their daughters-in-law, I am appalled. This is a subject you have to learn. It is not naturally programmed in you. The natural programming is to resent this girl who now has your son’s heart. But that is insane, treating the girl who now owns your son’s heart as a second class citizen… Instead, the wise thing to do is treat her like a queen (or better said, like a blood daughter!)!
There is very little you can’t learn. We have ridiculously limiting beliefs. We think we can’t change. That is poppycock. You just have to have someone teach you the correct thoughts about a subject and have a willingness to reprogram your mind.
The apostle Paul certainly understood this as he wrote in Romans 12 to renew your mind. We are to wash and re-wash our minds with the Scripture and this will reprogram us how to think correctly about God.
You can stay the way you are and suffer for it, or you can learn any subject you want. No more self-pity. No more whining. Just figure out what you need to know, then work to learn it.
Antennas for Trash Food
Two of our boys are selling pest control as a summer job in North Carolina this summer. They are working about 50 hours a week and are immersed in thinking about selling pest control. The boys, ages 19 and 21, have NEVER talked about bugs in their entire life before. But they came home for a visit last weekend, and all they could talk about was how bad the bugs were in the garage, on the patio, under the eaves, etc. They were aghast to all the webbing and how I was overrun with bugs. Remember, these two boys, only two months before, never noticed any webbing or bugs anywhere on our property.
So what happened? It’s simple. Their minds have now been trained to notice how bugs build webs, how they multiply, and where they hide. And in the same way, you can train your mind to start noticing the abundance of Trash Food everywhere.
You can train your mind with the all the Skinny School principles. Then all of a sudden, you will see Trash Food and your sirens will go off. It’s amazing. The sirens go off, you access your Sane Adult (how you truly want to live and eat), and then you choose well. Fabulous stuff.
So, are you doing everything you should to train your mind? For the 50th time, I ask you, are you filling out your Ruby Journal? Do you have an accurate list of your current Top Four Life Goals? Do you have a group? Are you re-reading the Genie’s teachings? Are you writing powerful sentences down in your Ruby Journal? Are you re-reading your lessons and highlighting the parts that are important to you so you can easily review important principles? Are you planning?
If I met you on the street and you told me you were in Skinny School Online, I could ask you those questions in the paragraph above and I could tell you if you are a Champion or not. I could also tell you if you are going to succeed in getting to your Goal A weight or not because those behaviors are the PREDICTORS of success. Listen closely and pay attention. If you want the health and skinniness I promise in Skinny School, then get some world-class thinking, quit whining and quit having self-pity. Get to work and learn this and get this backpack of bricks off your back forever.
You might not notice bugs, but I sure hope I have taught you to notice Trash Food!
Week Thirteen, Day Five
No Group Yet?
There are still many of you who have not formed a group. I want to tell you why you’re harming yourself by not having a group.
The first reason—and the reason I list so frequently—is that when you have to articulate these principles and talk about them out loud, new neural pathways are formed in your brain. A different part of your brain is used when you speak versus when you merely read. Talking out loud about the Skinny School principles makes new and more complex neural webs, which solidifies the thinking.
Another reason to form a group—and this one is even more important—is that God created us to be very social creatures. You already know that we become like the people we hang around. So use this to your advantage. If your current circle of family/friends is already into eating healthy, then you are in a good way. Booyah for you. But if your family/friends circle eats Trash Food, you will stay stuck in those harmful thinking habits unless you have a means to override those bad thinking habits. A group is a way to rise above the previous programing you had.
I don’t want you to change people groups. If you know me at all, you know family is my number one value. I do not want to hurt anybody’s feelings, especially my family’s. My family are the people I love the most in the whole wide world and I’m sure that’s how you feel, too. However, if your family of origin does not eat healthy, then here is your chance to learn this and maybe you can influence them. Not rudely, of course. You know I don’t like barking and being the Food Police. No, influence them by example. When they see you making healthy choices, living a life of vibrancy, then maybe they will be inspired to know what you’re doing. And maybe they’ll get healthy too. What a gift that would be, to give the people you love healthy eating and freedom from the fat and frumpy Food Dungeon.
Remember to form a group and find some friends who have passion and enthusiasm for getting thin and healthy, and who are excited about relearning and restructuring their brains about how to think about food and eating. Together you can end this obsession with food and eating forever!
When You are Sick of Eggs for Breakfast
People all over the world eat regular “lunch and dinner food” for breakfast. In America and Western countries, we think we have to have “special breakfast food”. In John 21, the risen Christ said, “Come and have breakfast.” Guess what he was cooking? FISH!
Every morning, I wait to eat breakfast until I am hungry and then if I don’t want eggs, I often eat leftovers from dinner the night before. If you are hungry, everything tastes fabulous! Your mindset is everything.
Questions for Group Discussion:
- Is your new mindset seeing Trash Food everywhere? Do you sirens go off? Explain.
_________________________________________________________________ - What clever ways does Demanding Child try to get you to not exercise?
_________________________________________________________________ - How do you handle road trips with others?
_________________________________________________________________ - Do you see discipline as a heavy burden or as freeing? Explain.
_________________________________________________________________ - Are your current Top Four Life Goals written down? Do you review them daily?
_________________________________________________________________ - Have you felt stuck before because of some early childhood programming? Do you see your new possibilities now? Explain.
_________________________________________________________________ - Do you now have antennas for Trash Food? Explain.
_________________________________________________________________ - If you do not have a group yet, explain why.
_________________________________________________________________ - What do you eat when you are sick of eggs for breakfast?
_________________________________________________________________
JULIE N. GORDON 