Have you ever asked yourself these questions:

“How could I be able to maintain a long-term weight mastery journey?”

“Will I be able to stay consistent and strong in my weight management in the long run?”

Well, I am excited to share with you my interview with one of the weight masters that I know who for her 13 years of weight mastery journey – through retirement, traveling the world, and then COVID – has kept 35 pounds off.

In this 28th episode of Thin Thinking, let us learn the low down on what it takes to stay consistent with our weight maintenance through the journey of shift weight master, Janet Stevens.

Also, I am excited to announce that today the doors open on the Fall Online Shift Weight Mastery Process–click here to find out more!

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

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Transcription

Rita Black: She has kept 35 pounds off for 13 years through retirement, traveling the world and then COVID, and is still going strong. It's not often that you get the low down on what it takes to stay consistent with your weight maintenance. But in my Thin Thinking interview with shift weight master, Janet Stevens, you will hear some key tips that will empower you to do the same. Coming up.

Rita Black: Did you know that our struggle with weight doesn't start with the food on your plate or get fixed in the gym? 80% of our weight struggle is mental. That's right, the key to unlocking long-term weight release and management begins in your mind. Hi there, I'm Rita Black. I'm a clinical hypnotherapist, weight loss expert, best-selling author, and the creator of the Shift Weight Mastery Process. And not only have I helped thousands of people over the past 20 years achieve long-term weight mastery, I am also a former weight struggler, carb addict, and binge eater. And after two decades of failed diets and fad weight loss programs, I lost 40 pounds with the help of hypnosis. Not only did I release all that weight, I have kept it off for 25 years. Enter the Thin Thinking Podcast where you too will learn how to remove the mental roadblocks that keep you struggling. I'll give you the thin thinking tools, skills, and insights to help you develop the mindset you need. Not only to achieve your ideal weight, but to stay there long-term and live your best life.

Rita Black: Hello and welcome to today's Thin Thinking podcast. I am so excited. Yesterday, I opened the doors to the V2 version of the self study of my shift weight mastery process. V2 meaning the better, faster, not the faster, but the better, more evolved version of the shift weight mastery process online. That's on an amazing learning platform. There's an app that goes with it that gives you easy access. So, I'm super excited. So many of you are signing up for this special grand opening offer, which is basically, it is a self-study course, but I am guiding whoever would like to be guided through it. We're doing a 30 day process, guided by me with a community of others and it's all online. And, there's also some extra bonuses for signing up for the grand opening. So if you're hearing this before September 28th, 2021, please check out the link below in the show notes.

Rita Black: One of the coaches for the live process will be our community's own Janet Stevens, whose interview about long-term weight maintenance I am sharing with you today. I met Janet over 13 years ago, I had just started doing my 30-day hypnosis based weight loss process as a live event. And it was, it was 30 days, meaning we did this live event. And then there was a 30-day follow-up with hypnosis and meditations and daily coaching. And Janet had only signed up because her friend Evelyn had already released over 30 pounds. And she had been seeing me on one-on-one for hypnosis. And, so the two of them were going to do the process together. And Janet was, I remember when she came to see me, I don't know if she remembers this. I think she does because she mentions it in our interview, but, Janet was really skeptical about me and about hypnosis. And I think she was only there because you know, her friend Evelyn had done so well and they're such best friends. And she was like, okay, I'm going to do this thing with you. So I think Janet gets into the interview, like she was like, yeah, I didn't know about this hypnosis thing. So, but Janet proceeded to get over her skepticism and released 35 pounds over the next few months, but what is so cool are actually 30 pounds. And then she has actually released more in the last few years. She's down 40 pounds now, but what is so cool is that both she and Evelyn have kept their weight off for 13 years through retirement, traveling, pandemics, all that stuff. And it's so cool that they're buddies and that they've probably become very powerful masters of weight management and you will love Janet's zest for life. She's really very infectious and fun. And you're going to hear about all these fun things that she has been up to, including becoming a groove body groove coach. So she's become a health leader in her own, right. And she's got a lot of wise words of wisdom regarding the attitude it takes to keep the weight off long-term.

Rita Black: Okay. So I have here the famous Janet Stevens who has been shifting for over 13 years. And when I say that, I mean, Janet is, as I said, my intro, um, has been, she had released her weight and has been maintaining her weight for about 13 years. So welcome Janet. Thank you so much for being here today.

Janet Stevens: Thank you.

Rita Black: And as I, I know you guys are just hearing us talk, but I'm, I'm looking at Janet and I'm seeing her beautiful home. She lives in Wrightwood, California, which is up in the mountains and I'm seeing her beautiful trees and her background and everything. So, Janet, but when you came into the shift, you were, you were still in LA and you were still a teacher, right?

Janet Stevens: Correct. Yeah.

Rita Black: And I, that was over 13 years ago, which seems crazy to me. Tell me, tell our listeners a little bit about your journey in, your struggles with way before you came into the shift weight mastery process.

Janet Stevens: Okay. Well, I, you know, as you know, as a kid, you run around, you're fine. All of a sudden, my parents are telling me not to eat so much and it broke my heart when I realized, you know, and the struggle got even worse in high school, on one diet after another. And that's my whole life before shift, I was on some diet or other or off, you know?

Rita Black: Right. Tell me about the, the, like the silliest diet that you think you ever were on, before you found the shift.

Janet Stevens: Well, probably the silliest, I went to diet doctors too, which is ridiculous. You're living on 500 calories a day. I was like, she lost weight. You know.

Rita Black: What did they have you eating for 500 calories a day?

Janet Stevens: Basically, like you said, chicken breast and broccoli. You know, Practically, but of course they gave you appetite suppressants and, like this weird protein soup, but you know, just bizarre, not life at all.

Rita Black: Right.

Janet Stevens: Not life at all, but probably the most bizarre one. And it wasn't a bizarre to begin with, but it was the Atkins diet. And I just did it from the book. You said that when the weight loss and I lost about 15 pounds in it, like tapered off, you know, and the suggestion was to eat cream cheese and macadamia nuts. Somehow, like with the fat thing, I don't know how it worked exactly what the, I can sip, like boost you into.

Rita Black: Ketosis.

Janet Stevens: Ketosis, boost you into ketosis. That's exactly right. And I was like, are you kidding me? Who doesn't like macadamia nuts, you know, but crazy. But you know, that's all you were eating and that, I just like what? This is bizarre.

Rita Black: Yeah. I know. Well, I think it's very interesting, cause I think a lot of people are doing ketosis this day and the Atkins and everything, and, you know, low carb diet does help. As I know, cause you've been fairly, not no carb, but I know you, you know, in order to manage your way and we can talk about this, you've managed carbs in a different way than you did before doing the shift. But yeah, those super low carb diets, they, yeah. They seem very interesting in the beginning, but they're pretty hard to maintain and give a real life. Yeah. So, I know you came into the shift weight mastery process with your good friend, Evelyn, and Evelyn had lost some weight and you know, you both are still friends and you both, I know you both coached in the last shift and you've both maintained significant weight losses for long time. And you guys I think you guys both came to my second or my one of my first shift weight mastery process.

Janet Stevens: Yeah.

Rita Black: And I remember our meeting cause I had you come into my office originally to have your metabolism tested as I did with, you know, all my seminar people. And I know you were a little wary and skeptical about hypnosis, right? Like you were, so tell me a little bit, like what made you decide you wanted to go through this and, and what your thoughts were about hypnosis before actually going through the process? Do you remember that at all?

Janet Stevens: I do. Like I feel I'd been on, you know, yo-yo dieting my whole life or towards the end when I hit menopause, I just like totally gave up and was angry about it. Why should I be, you know, let myself get heavy. And, and I had just given up and like you said, my friend, Evelyn had gone to you with just making some before your, your program that you were working with somebody else and got started on it. And she was having success, but I was still holding off. Like, no, I don't care about, it's not for me. You know, all the stuff I'm in. The seminar that you did that weekend, your first, it may have been your second. I don't remember. But like, I said, okay, you know, I had just reached it. I got, this is it I have to do something and I am committed. I'm going to make this, I'm paying this money. I'm going to make this program work.

Rita Black: Yeah.

Janet Stevens: And I had seen Evelyn has some success too. So that helped. But like you talk about commitment is everything.

Rita Black: Yes.

Janet Stevens: You, it's your own commitment to the program. You decide you're going to do it, but what's great about shift and the dear program that was different. I'm getting off the hypnosis thing is that like, if you make it your own, the skills. If you don't tell us, you have to count calories or you have to do this, or you have to exercise, you just say, these are the skills, this is the way it works.

Rita Black: Right. Exactly.

Janet Stevens: And like, like you said too, sometimes you don't do all the nine skills, pick out the ones that work for you and as long as it's working for you.

Rita Black: Yeah. It works.

Janet Stevens: Yeah.

Rita Black: I think that's really important for those of you who are listening, who may be new and don't know, you know, all about the shift weight mastery process. It's based on the nine skills of weight mastery, which I didn't make up, but are really based on data research into what I would call the skill set of long-term permanent weight management. So what Janet's talking about is, you know, as with any skill set you learn, you, aren't always using all of the skills at the same time, but that you have ones that work, you know, like that you're focusing on are working the best for you. And, I think the main challenge most people have with diets is that diets are sort of these things that you go on and you're either good or bad on them rather than really seeing really weight management is skill-building, which is what we focus on and, and using hypnosis as a way to get your mind, which might probably more than likely have resistance, have bad beliefs and habits to start to shift your beliefs and habits around that.

Janet Stevens: If you'd asked me hypnosis and I kind of went off on a different . . .

Rita Black: Yeah, no, that's fine. This is a conversation. This isn't, you know, an interrogation. So . .

Janet Stevens: Yeah, like that hypnosis for me. And I just kind of, like I said, I embraced the whole program, I'm in it a hundred percent, you know, whatever, you know, and I found that this wasn't as scary as I thought maybe it would be. And like, it was just you working with yourself. And, I just remember on one of the first seminars I went to after losing my initial weight, you know, or releasing that initial 30 pounds. And you asked me to coach this one time and it was, I just thought it was really funny cause this couple, as a husband and wife, young people caught me in the parking lot says, so does this hypnosis really work. You know, it's, it's what you make it. But I will say, it's like, if you let yourself totally get into it, it's not like, like a very subtle.

Rita Black: Yeah. It's not magic. And it's not a wave of the wand.

Janet Stevens: All of a sudden you don't have these horrible, horrible urges. Right. You have more willpower. If you call it willpower, but you have more will to resist because you're already like done the subliminal stuff that like helps you.

Rita Black: Well yeah. You, you, it, hypnosis really gets you mentally aligned with your own goals and vision. And, I think what a lot of, and gets a lot of our fear. Cause I think a lot of, a lot of what comes up for people when they're making these changes initially is fear, fear that they're going to fail, fear that they're going to feel deprived, fear that they're, you know, that there is always going to be hard. And, and you recognize, and like you're saying, you really long-term permanent way management as a relationship with yourself.

Janet Stevens: Yeah. And the thing about the hypnosis is it's not somebody doing it to you.

Rita Black: Yes.

Janet Stevens: You are the guide, but I was the one.

Rita Black: Exactly. And I, and I, and I say all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. You accept the, I can't make anybody do anything or else, you know, my house would have been cleaned yesterday when I came home from being away for the weekend, taking my daughter back to college. I remember Janet like, talking about my daughter being in college. Like my daughter was literally like six years old. I think when I began working with you and now she's off in college. That's how crazy time flies.

Janet Stevens: Oh yeah. I know.

Rita Black: And you were just, you weren't even, you were not embarked on retirement yet. And now you've been 10 years. You were just telling me into retirement, which is awesome.

Janet Stevens: Three more years of working and you know, that's a different challenge, but ...

Rita Black: You've got through a lot. Like you, I remember when you came into the shift, you were working and you were very social. Like I know you and your husband were traveling and I know you're still traveling. I know we had COVID. So I know you weren't traveling last year, but like that's what I think is such a testimonial to your shift in your weight maintenance is that you went through retirement, you traveled the world. You, you know, you've been very involved in a lot of different things. You're very social and you've managed to keep not 30 pounds off, but you were telling me like you you've released even more weight. So, and I'm sure people are dying to know, like what, what are some, what do you think for like consistency and longevity with weight management? What are the things that you think have been the most helpful for you? Not just from shift, but just from your own life experience. Like if you were to say, what were the things that have made the difference then, like prior, before you embarked upon your weight mastery journey, what are the things that have been working the best for you?

Janet Stevens: I'm one of those, for me it's a lot of consistency. I'm a person who weighs myself everyday and I, you know, try to stay the scientist and not get upset about it, but like, it helps me stay on track. Like I, that's, what if I have problems on vacation, and I feel it makes me, it gives me a sense of control.

Rita Black: Right. So, so what you were saying, and this is, and I'm just going to stop and pause and say this for our listeners. What Janet is talking about is like, one of, it's not a skill of weight mastery, but what, what is a skill is staying on top of the facts.

Janet Stevens: Right.

Rita Black: And, because I think a lot of people shy away from weighing themselves because, you know, getting on the scale can be an emotional experience, especially if the news isn't good.

Janet Stevens: Me sometimes, you know, I'm like, Oh!

Rita Black: We learned in the shift is that, and, and again, this is, this has been consistent throughout all the data. People have managed their way over time is weighing yourself. And, I know there's a whole school of thought of like, don't weigh yourself, throw away your scale and everything. But I think the difference is the way we weigh ourselves isn't from, am I good? Or am I bad? Is my weight? Does my weight say that I'm a good person or bad person, but it's really more as a scientist because we really look at the science of weight release. And when you are in the driver's seat, then you, you have the control. So weighing yourself is part of this, so I love that that has been part of your consistency

Janet Stevens: Right? Yeah. And it just helps me see, if you're on another thing and I don't do it all the time, writing down this, tracking my food.

Rita Black: Right.

Janet Stevens: I use the lose it app. But, but in app, tracking for a long time, and if I get away from it, I'm doing it in my head.

Rita Black: Yes. So you're always tracking or you're always mindful of what you're doing.

Janet Stevens: Yes.

Rita Black: Yes. And, and I agree with you, like, for me, because I've been, you know, maintaining my weight for many years too, is that when I, there are many times I, I track with lose it to be very consistent because maybe I've gained a couple of pounds and I need to get them off. And I need to be very clear about what I'm eating. But then when I'm maintaining my weight and there's times where I don't really need to be super on top of it, but I'm always mindful because so much of weight management is, and again, this goes back to the data, being really clear on how much energy is going in and how much energy is going out of your body and Janet, you and I are both like in phases of our life, where our metabolism has gone down. Like, you know, since I've met you, my metabolism has gone down probably 300 calories a day. And if, if I wasn't aware of what was coming in and going out, as far as, you know, calories in calories out, honestly, I probably would have gained weight, but I've maintained my weight through, you know, a metabolic slowdown as have you, because we're staying with the science of it. We're just staying clear on the facts. And I know a lot of people are very resistant to tracking. But most people who come into the shift and who are like, I don't want to track, I don't want to, end up being the biggest converts to like, oh my God, this is so eye opening and so amazing.

Janet Stevens: Right. And it doesn't have to be that hard because like I said about consistent, another thing I'm pretty consistent about is I pretty much have the same breakfast. Very, very, you know, dinners can be different, but they're sort of the same thing. And it's hard to track, you know, and of course, it keeps track of your meals. If you put the same meal, you don't, you don't have to write down every single thing all the time. You know, and also staying consistent in my food. I'm like, I'm the kind of person who can eat the same thing every day, you know, with some little variations and stuff. And it just, that kind of consistency makes it easy to. I know what I like. And basically I just like meats, vegetables, fruits, and a little bit of carbs. I'm like, but you about environmental skill is important to. Ever since I've been on shift, bread is not allowed in my house, neither are desserts. And, unless it's, you know, like fruit or something like that, but it works. And like I have them when I have guests, things like that, but my husband even is a convert. He like, he knows there's no bread in the house.

Rita Black: Yeah.

Janet Stevens: We do have to use, but that's because we can resist them. You know, they have to be, you can't grab it. And it's me that it makes a big difference, if I'm going to meet, you know, and of course the amount portion control, let them out of meat and vegetable or a salad. And maybe, but I'm like, sir, like just over and over the same thing.

Rita Black: I think the thing is that what you're talking about is you've created a way of eating that you own and that you love. Like, like I don't tell, I don't tell people stop eating bread, or I don't say people don't have desserts, but there another skill that again, across the board with people who have been successful is what we would call stimulus control. And that's what Janet is talking about as if it's a trigger for, for you. Then why would you have that in your environment because you're always, your brain is always going to be thinking about that food. You're always going to have to have a, you're going to have to be managing it in some way. If you don't have it in your environment, you don't have to manage it. And for a lot of people who do the shift, and I know you, they find out that certain carbohydrates make them hungrier, make them think about food more. And so it's not like you can't have bread, but they find that when they eat a lower carb diet, they aren't thinking about food anymore. They are able to eat fewer calories and not feel like they're missing out, but they can still have things like dessert and things that work for them when they, they make that work for themselves. So . . .

Janet Stevens: Keep it out of the house. I will allow myself to have bread maybe when we go out once in a while. But I mean, like not the whole breadd basket, but it's not in my house calling my name.

Rita Black: Right. Yeah. I mean, like life's too short to be thinking and obsessing about food. You know, like, you know, walking by the cupboard and going, oh, should I eat that bread? Should I not? Should I have that treat? Should I not? There are plenty of things, like you said, that you can eat that you love, you're going to have in your house. I think that's another shift I wanted to ask you about is like the mindset piece, like, you know, maintain your weight all these years. I know that you've kind of cultivated a powerful inner coach within yourself. You know, how did that, I guess, what would the question be that I would want to ask about your inner coach is like over the years, over these 13 years, would you say that your inner coach relationship has stayed consistent? Or do you think it's gotten more powerful? Do you think, you know, you and your inner coach have become more the same person as you've gone along? Like, you know, I, in the beginning, you know, in shift, FYI, people who are not familiar with the program, you know, we really get you communicating more powerfully with yourself by cultivating this idea of an inner coach, this part of you that you learned to trust and respect that keeps you sort of on track. So your relationship with your inner coach, Janet, like how did that relationship evolve?

Janet Stevens: Actually, this is one of my favorite parts, of like an awakening. You know, you always feel, and you've heard about the inner child and all this stuff, but you really woke it up for me in the education that you did was that first seminar. And I was so excited and thrilled to learn about the rebel, your critic and, and, you know, I understood the concept. You're starting to say about the inner coach. Yeah. But what I learned is to integrate them all, they're all parts of me. And what I learned through shift is that I have to honor the fat rebel once and I have to be grateful and thankful for what my critic is trying to do for me. Maybe not in a very nice way, but not us as our inner coach, how to deal with them, right.

Rita Black: To manage them.

Janet Stevens: Yeah. If the rebel saying, I want that cookie. And you're like, no, no, you can't have that cookie, you know? Nope. Just shut up rebel. Nag, at you. Right. Rebel is not going to shut up. But if you say, okay, I hear you, you, you want a cookie, how much of that cookie would you really need to have?

Rita Black: Right.

Janet Stevens: And the more you taught us this, and it was just such, it feels to me like a miracle. If you say memorable answer, well maybe half and I'll be damned, you're satisfied with half.

Rita Black: Exactly.

Janet Stevens: It's a miracle it's like, yeah. And that's what the inner coach does is like shows respect for what the rebel wants and say, you know, I just, I'm not going to say no to you all the time, but let's just be reasonable, you know? And the same thing with the critic, and this was harder for me. But, cause I think I was more, my rebel was stronger, but my critic was there all the time, but I didn't really recognize it because I didn't know how to deal with it. And I thought, and it took me a long time and you taught us to say like, you're taking care of me. I appreciated that you were looking out for me. But like I got this it's all right.

Rita Black: Or maybe we don't need to go about it quite as extreme as you want. We can figure out a different way.

Janet Stevens: Right. And, and having that conversation, I feel like it's funny. It's like, I don't feel that my inner coach is even stronger than my rebel or my critic, we just all work together.

Rita Black: I love that.

Janet Stevens: We just all work together because you, you're not going to just be your inner coach. And those are gone.

Rita Black: The thing that for consistency for long-term, I think what you're talking about is very key is like, you are always gonna have a rebel. You're always going to have a critic. Those voices don't go away, but you learn to manage them. And I think your inner coach really gets very good at one, recognizing those voices to being able, it's it's like coming in and being a nanny for a family, you got to learn the kids and what they've want and they don't want, then you can.

Janet Stevens: Yeah. If I named my, this is sounds funny, but if I named my inner coach anything, it would be the mom, a loving mom. Yes. That does a really good job. Not like the critic mom. It's like the mom, me, what do you want? No, I hear what you're saying.

Rita Black: Right. Yeah. It's so interesting. We, in COVID, our backyard is next door to a backyard of two little children who, and their mom is a doctor and, she's away a lot. So they have a nanny and during COVID they were home and one of the girls has very high needs. Like she's very, I don't want to call her a brat, but just like, you know, very demanding and the other girls, you know, pretty well behaved. So, but it was very interesting to hear because this was a new nanny coming in and learning how to manage this girl. And now this, this girl loves her and she's so well behaved, but she and the nanny really listened to her. She's like, oh, okay, well what, what is it that you want? Okay. I could really hear her doing exactly what you were saying Janet. It Is just like learning to negotiate and learning to, you know, allow that part of you to be heard, but at the same time saying, well, but how would that feel if we ate three cupcakes? Like we probably wouldn't feel very ok little later, so what can we do? Can we have a healthier cupcake or can we have a healthier option? Or if you have a cupcake, maybe we can have three bites, you know, or a half of it or something and making it work out that way.

Janet Stevens: If you have something about main dish salad by having a salad and putting layers of vegetables and maybe a little bit of meat on top. And when I first tried it, I actually leftover steak, you know? And my, probably through a fat is not going to be enough.

Rita Black: Right.

Janet Stevens: You know, and I guess the inner coach that ... I think I found myself satisfied.

Rita Black: Right. Isn't that crazy? I know there's a part of us that is a very afraid of not feeling full or not . . .

Janet Stevens: And that's what the inner coach can do is like, just try it,

Rita Black: Just try it. We can always eat more if we need it.

Janet Stevens: Exactly. Exactly.

Rita Black: Janet, I want to talk to you about see, cause I think it's super cool that now Janet, has been shifting for a long time, but she started, I really feel like when people manage their weight, like you change the world, right? Like you, your weight release has inspired other people in your life to get healthy, but you also then took on, training as a groove instructor. Can you tell us a little bit about groove and your journey into becoming an instructor?

Janet Stevens: Well, okay. This is something at the backup, you know, we were talking

Rita Black: Let's back up and you start where you need to.

Janet Stevens: Sometimes all the 9 skills are not working for you. When I was first in shift and I was working, getting the exercise in was very difficult. Well, I just decided, you know what, I'm going to focus on everything else and it worked. But then, when I was in maintenance, I couldn't get by with not exercising.

Rita Black: Right. You needed to. . .

Janet Stevens: My calorie allotment is, was pretty small. And so, and I remember having conversations with you and I'm like, okay, I'm going to have to exercise it because I can't live on that small amount of calories.

Rita Black: Yeah, yeah.

Janet Stevens: I needed to exercise. So I could have a few more hundred calories to feel satisfied with my food, you know? So I started walking and I enjoyed that. And like I said, I might with the repetitive motion, I started having hip problems and I was looking at, I've always loved dance. And I saw a thing on Facebook for this gal called Misty Tripoli, offering these DVDs. And she did kind of like modern dance that I was interested in. I'm like, dang, this looks good. So I bought the DVD. And I just fell in love with it. And I got involved with, it was just weird. I would just bought the DVDs, they called me.

Rita Black: Oh man.

Janet Stevens: I was asked if I would like to come to a filming.

Rita Black: Oh my goodness.

Janet Stevens: I know. And it was a filming for a different thing. It was more of a conversation she has about her philosophy of life and stuff like that. But then we did dance afterwards, and I got hooked on that live experience of dancing there. And I found out about a live dance floor in Santa Monica that she was doing. And then later on and Culver city and I like, oh, you know, once you get hooked, you just want to do it. And living up here in Wrightwood and actually in LA properties, there aren't that many there worldwide. But for some reason they haven't grown that much here in the LA. The right is decided and they have facilitator training all the time and I just decided, made the decision if I'm going to have it, I'm going to have to make it.

Rita Black: Right.

Janet Stevens: You? And so at my age, I went for the training and, but that's part of the philosophy of the group to any age, any fitness, any body shape, anything, you can do it, you just modify for yourself. And of course have the ability to help modify period. But it's been fantastic. And like, I have been through a couple of other filming since then, because now I'm on their list, you know?

Rita Black: Yeah. You're one when their stars.

Janet Stevens: To get together with the group family. And, I don't know where to go from there.

Rita Black: Well, I know there's a couple of links that we're going to put in the show notes. And one of them is groove on demand. Tell us a little bit about that.

Janet Stevens: That's kind of like what they started doing. They started making, putting those DVDs spawn on and they've just expanded from that. All kinds of things. Those are some of the filmings like in March of 19, just before COVID hit, I went down and filmed and different units. This was called body life. Not body life but groove life, body groove life. Anyway, so I'm the host and I was just telling, you know, I'm talking to people, I guess now,

Rita Black: Prior to this, you were telling me this funny story about you and abs.

Janet Stevens: It basically says, you don't have to go to the gym or anything, but people are asking for ad work and I'll give them what they want, you know? And so they just had me go on the film and I'm there, there, and all of a sudden we're doing an ad workout and I'm like, how are you going along with it? And afterwards, I went up to her app and it was like 15 minutes. You know, I never in my life thought I'd ever be in an ad routine video.

Rita Black: You're an app star. And I love that.

Janet Stevens: It's done the body on demand is really good. It's easy. I think they have a free trial and it's only 9.99 a month.

Rita Black: That's so cheap. I know for something that can bring you so much value,

Janet Stevens: A different dance floor routines. Yeah. And if you're interested, like I do a live dance floor here in Wrightwood, but if you're interested in that, there are some around the LA area where you have listeners all over.

Rita Black: Yes. All over the world. Like, you know, as far as China and India and stuff like that, but it, so if it's international, where can they go to see if there's something near them?

Janet Stevens: Yeah. Groove is international too. They have a website and, well, you'll get it later, but the world groove movement and you can go on there and they have a class finder and just punch in where you live and see, they'll let you know what live dance floors are around. And there, you know, most people, it varies, but around $10 a class, but that's the live experiencee in being there.

Rita Black: That's awesome. That's very inexpensive as well for a live experience. I mean, you know, well, at least in LA things are like 30 bucks a class now, so

Janet Stevens: Yeah, it's addictive.

Rita Black: I know. I, I will, as you remember when we did COVID and we did a shift and you were doing some online groups for some of the shifters and I did the class and oh my gosh, it's so fun. And you pick out the greatest music and it's just like, you, it's, what I love about groove is you do your own thing, right?

Janet Stevens: Yeah. I mean, we, we unite in some rhythm patterns, but then you switch your way.

Rita Black: Yeah. ISo for those of you who want to do your own thing, but one a sort of a class and a formal structure, but are afraid of like doing something choreographed or like formal, this isn't that this is like, this is you moving your body the way you like to move. But with, you know, an instructor

Janet Stevens: It supposed to be, or you can do it sitting. And they do have a component called a young at heart, but they do in a lot of senior homes and things in there, they do it in chairs, you know.

Rita Black: I love that. Yeah. So you can do it with whatever mobility you have. You can make it work. Let me, I'm just looking at my questions now. You've answered so many things. I can't thank you enough, Janet. Are there any other, like, is there any parting words of wisdom for somebody who might like be on fence about like, you know, starting their own weight mastery journey? Or any, yeah. Any parting words of wisdom?

Janet Stevens: I think that, like I said, you know, it's up to you, but that shift is a wonderful program. Personalized. You make it your own. And I think that's what we want to say magic of it, or what works is because you can, because you end up making it your own.

Rita Black: Right.

Janet Stevens: And like, like I said, you decide which skills are the ones you want to focus on. How many have limited? What works for you and when such valuable skills. Well, you see a woman see them working in you and that's the magic and the power of it. Then that's what makes you want to stick with it, you know?

Rita Black: Yeah. And it's, and it's a lifelong, like any skill set, like you're saying, it's the life, it's a lifelong journey with the skills that doesn't end.

Janet Stevens: Right. And, and that's, and like you think that, when you're in maintenance, it's like magic and the world is wonderful that struggle's gone, you know, it's only gone if you're working it.

Rita Black: Yeah.

Janet Stevens: You know? Cause when I have the same temptations.

Rita Black: Right.

Janet Stevens: You should know how to handle it better.

Rita Black: Right. You still have the same brain, like our brain is still, but yes. I agree with you. I think, you know, one thing that I think you're kind of saying that I agree with you is the freedom comes from the, the consistency comes from this commitment to, yeah, this is what works for me. So let me keep working it

Janet Stevens: And you know, something else too is that going through the program with you after, it was that you were always there, you and at first I had hesitations, but then you had the monthly mastery program and I just said, I'm just signed up. That's my safety net.

Rita Black: Right. Yeah.

Janet Stevens: If I get in trouble, I can still use your help or you know, or to the group for help.

Rita Black: Right. Yeah. That we're here and we're holding the space for each other there we're holding our mastery space for each other. Absolutely.

Janet Stevens: Right. Right. And that's you talked about like, how do I get back on track? That's like, when there's a challenge, a monthly mastery, or if I feel like I'm getting off track, oops. Maybe I better start actually tracking my food again.

Rita Black: Right.

Janet Stevens: You know? And because sometimes you don't, you know? Yeah. And yeah. It's I remember when I first had lost my weight, I felt this is magic, but then I realized, no, I'm, I'm working it, but my mindset makes it easier. It makes it feel like magic, but then you come into problems and I'm like, oh, what the heck happened here?

Rita Black: Well, I think, I think the distinction of what you're talking about, because I definitely think it's a transformational journey and the transformation isn't about what you're doing, but it's about who you're being and that you're creating something rather than taking something away. I think the main thing was our fear about diets is we're like, it's like, oh my gosh, you're taking away my food and you're taking away. And I think you're a creative person, Janet and weight mastery is a creative journey cause you're always creating.

Janet Stevens: Oh, the other thing, you know, the program, what sold me on your program in the beginning too, is permanent weight loss. That's what I was, I am a great diet. I can lose weight so easy, you know, the yo-yo diet or up and down, up and down, up and down.

Rita Black: Right.

Janet Stevens: And I do, you know, because of the hypnosis, because of the mindset and everything, this is it, it's the last time. That's it, it's over. I'm done with it. But you know, like I said, you work it, but like, I just feel it's never gone. I'm never going to gain all of it back.

Rita Black: Right.

Janet Stevens: Like I did in my life, you know, and if I hated that and I hated that it was a yo-yo diet, but one thing I will compliment myself on, I never gave up.

Rita Black: But you kept going. And you know, they say like the people who are masters like yourself, a lot of them gain and lose over 250 pounds before they finally, finally kick it into gear and, and get to that place. And you know that as a teacher, like kids struggle with learning and then they get that click. And then, and then they're kind of off to the races. So, well, it has been such a joy and a pleasure to interview you, Janet. And thank you again for all of your service to the shift weight mastery community. Janet has coached so many shifts and helped so many students go through this process and, you've changed a lot of lives. So I really appreciate that about you as well.

Janet Stevens: Well, thank you. And thank you for creating this. This has been your dedication.

Rita Black: Right. Well, oh, well thank you. I appreciate it

Janet Stevens: For this to work for all of us, we're out here struggling and trying to find those things that work and it actually works.

Rita Black: Oh, well, thank you, Janet. That's a great place for us to stop, but thank you very much.

Rita Black: Hope you got a lot from Janet today and are inspired to join us for the upcoming online process and I'm going to be guiding it. And if you have any questions, please email me at [email protected] or check out the link with all the information you should need in the notes below. There is an awesome discount by the way, and lots of wonderful value packed bonuses. So, that is it for this episode, have an amazing week. And remember that the key and probably the only key to unlocking the door of the weight struggle is inside you. So keep listening.

Rita Black: Do you want to dive deeper into the mindset of long-term weight release? Head on over to www.shiftweightmastery.com where you'll find numerous tools and resources to help you unlock your mind for permanent weight release, tips, strategies, and more, and be sure to check the show notes to learn more about my book From Fat to Thin Thinking: Unlock Your Mind For Permanent Weight Loss.