Diet Mentality
This is why at the start of this book I mentioned that this approach isn’t a diet approach. Dieting is a mentality. If you feel deprived and are constantly looking at others with envy then you are on a diet; if you don’t feel deprived then you aren’t!
It is the feeling of deprivation that creates a diet mentality. I know people who as soon as they start a “diet” immediately start to feel like they are on a diet. This can be as soon as the first morning, even if they are the kind of person who doesn’t usually eat breakfast. The minute they wake up they are conscious that they are on a “diet,” focus on what they can’t have, and immediately enter the world of diet mentality. There is no need whatsoever to spiral into this approach. As long as you don’t suffer from CAN’T, you won’t have a problem and you won’t constantly feel like you are on a diet. You will be aware that you are on Phase 1 of changing your diet, not going on a diet.
A World of Abundance Yet an Attitude of Lack
Another key mental tool that again appears obvious and easy yet is seldom practiced is that of gratitude. In the West we live in a world of abundance, yet most people focus on what they don’t have, as opposed to feeling grateful for what is available to them. In fact, it appears that the more we have the more unfulfilled we feel. If you feel unfulfilled you inevitably feel empty. People try to fill the empty feeling with all sorts of stuff from food to shopping. It’s all about the instant “hit,” the instant fix of fulfillment. The only problem with this is that true fulfillment is rarely achieved this way and an almost permanent feeling of emptiness is experienced.
“The Pleasure of Instant Gratification Is Completely Overshadowed by the Long-term Pain of Regret”
An “attitude of gratitude” will make such a difference to you on this program. It moves you from the “I can’t have” childlike mental tantrum to one of empowerment and fulfillment. As we speak there are people around the world walking 20 miles a day to get water, and over half the world’s population lives on less than 80 cents a day. If you have a roof over your head, food for the next week, pretty good health, and clean running water available to you for washing and drinking, you are in the top 8% of the population of the world. Yet most people complain that they are not in the top 2%. Is this a guilt-trip way of looking at things? NO. Is it a way of saying, “Stop whining and griping”? YES! Is it time for some perspective? Again, YES.
The truth is that we all need perspective and whether I use David Blaine or the millions of people around the world who would give their right arm to be where you are today is unimportant. I only have two objectives in writing this book: to get people to read it and then do it.
You have an opportunity that most in the world can only dream of. For you it’s not even a case of whether the food is available—it’s whether you are going to gripe and suffer from CBBS.
Make Life a “Get to,” Not a “Have to.”
Remember that you don’t HAVE to do this program, you WANT to do it; you have the opportunity to GET to do it. There is a big difference between “having to” and “getting to.” Even when you say it, don’t you just feel different? If you say, “I have to go out tonight,” doesn’t it feel so different from when you say, “I get to go out tonight”?
During the next 7 days you will get the chance to furnish your system with fine liquid nutrition, the chance to clean your body of any toxins and pollution, the chance to get the body you want, to test your character, to grow as a human, to expand your world, to challenge yourself, the chance to take time out from the “I don’t have what I want” feeling-sorry-for-yourself world to one where you can feel grateful.
As corny as it sounds, life isn’t about just getting through—it’s about the journey. The same goes for this program. You don’t just want to “hang in there” for a week. You want to have a life too. You don’t have to stay in like a hermit; there’s nothing stopping you from going out and living during this time. All you are doing is not eating solid food for a week, but it’s not as if you’re not being fed. In fact, you will probably be fed more during this program than you have been in years. After a few days you’ll have more energy and time than you’ve had for ages.
When I first did the 7-day plan I went to lunches, dinners, parties, and even ran half a marathon—it wasn’t hard. Trying to walk with no shoes in blistering heat for many miles with no water in search of food and shelter is hard. You are doing this to change your life and to feel more fulfilled (and slimmer). There is no faster way on earth to feel fulfilled than when you live with an attitude of gratitude.
Your Life Is a Direct Resultof What You Feed Yourself
Your life is shaped by what you feed yourself. I don’t just mean what you feed yourself physically: I’m talking about what you feed yourself audibly, spiritually, and visually.
Food is just one aspect of health, and what gets beamed into your ears and eyes on a daily basis has a much more profound effect on your mental and physical health than you could ever possibly realize.
The biggest influence on our waistlines and health in general (other than food) is something that has taken over many people’s lives almost without their being aware of it. Not only has it taken over their lives, it has become their lives. As physical movement plays a part in this program, and given that the next subject creates more lack of movement than any other, I feel it an extremely important item to include. I can, of course, only be talking about one thing …
11
“Half of Americans watch TV and use their cell phone AT THE SAME TIME.”
Of all the gadgets in the world today none will hypnotize you and rob you of huge chunks of your life more than television. The average American now watches an unbelievable 5 hours of TV a day. Television is now the most-used babysitter in the West.
One third of US children under the age of six has a TV in their bedroom and watch two hours of screen media each day!
But it’s not just our precious time that it sucks from our lives: there are now many reports that show that in some cases watching TV can be just as harmful as the wrong foods and even smoking.
I can almost hear the panic in your voice. “OK, Jay, one week of nothing but juice, but are you now saying no TV?” The sad reality is that many people would find it easier to do one week with only juices than to go without TV. Now, don’t panic. I am not suggesting that you stop TV cold turkey or that you stop watching the amount you are already watching—that’s your call. But I do want to share with you some info about TV that hopefully may get you to turn it off and get moving.
TV Can Make You Fat!
Let me be clear about this: I don’t mean that while you are watching TV you aren’t exercising or moving so you have a greater chance of gaining weight. I actually mean that just by watching TV you have a greater chance of gaining weight than if you sat and did nothing. Before you throw this book in the trash, thinking I have completely lost my mind, please hear me out.
A study entitled “Effects of television on metabolic rate: potential implications for