Rita Black: We feel like we're living our life. Let's face it. Life these days is going incredibly fast. It's April, it's almost the end of April. Can you believe it? We can never get caught up and never win, it seems, especially in the area of weight. Today's Thin Thinking episode is part three of our exploration into different weight masters in the decisions that they made that allowed them to finally make changes for good. This is all part of this Spring 2024 enrollment of the 30-day Shift Weight Mastery Process led by me that has opened its doors only for a short time. Now, Julie Trainer not only released a significant amount of weight that she has been struggling with for a long time, but she made the decision to finally get ahead of her life and set it up for success so that she could be successful for good and in her journey. Her partner was also inspired by Julie's success and decided to join her as well in living a healthy lifestyle. So join us and learn more about Julie's decision to set herself up for success and also hear about all the wonderful things that followed. So bring your blankie and come on in.

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, bestselling 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, you beautiful person. I don't know about you, but my goodness, it's been a big week and I just feel like April is spinning by like March. Did like February and like January, and we all signed like broke written records 'cause we're all saying it. But what has happened to life is just going by so quickly. I don't know if it's my age, I don't know if it's the digital era. Maybe it's a combination of all of these things. I don't know. Or life since the pandemic just seems to have taken on an extra speedy pace. I don't know. But I am in the middle of teaching a number of free master classes and the 30 day Shift Weight Mastery process is enrolling in now. So life is really full for me, but I love it. And I have so much fun teaching. I love teaching the free master classes.

Rita Black: And I also love teaching the live shift Weight Mastery Process. So if you're listening to this podcast, the week it drops, this is the week of April. I have to think about this. April 16th to 20th, 2024. Please head to the show notes and sign up for the free masterclass or check out the link to the Shift Weight Mastery process. We're gonna be exploring in that free masterclass, those subconscious roadblocks that keep us struggling. And we'll also be doing some weight release hypnosis. And we're also gonna get your mind primed and ready for that next level of weight mastery. Because I think the more and more I see it, the more and more I see that people's subconscious minds kind of stop at a certain place and they don't know how to go further. And so we're gonna look at how to get that subconscious mind used to going further than what you've been used to, because we get stuck in that go so far.

Rita Black: Stop. Start over. Go so far. Stop. Start over. We gotta break through that. And you can absolutely do that, but you've gotta use your mind differently. So come find out how the links are in the masterclass. And I think we're like down to our last few seats, so please hurry up. I want you there. And if you are curious about that 30-day Shift Weight Mastery process with hypnosis, coaching and meditation every day for 30 days for a real break deep and profound breakthrough, I have a breakthrough. And moving my tongue there. I only teach this process two times a year because it, I give 150% of myself during this time because I want every single person in it transformed. And it wears me out. But I love it. And so I feel completely like a use at the end of the process, like a sponge that's been rung out completely.

Rita Black: And, but it's the best feeling in the world. And my students fill me back up again with all of their transformation and spirit. And it's a really powerful, gosh, it's such a, it's like a magic process. I feel. It's so magical because so many people are going through it together. And even if you're not a group person, you just kind of catch the inspiration. And it's incredibly motivating. For those of you who are like, I can't do this on my own. I can't, you know, this is a great process to be in with a bunch of incredibly generous people are so generous in this process.

Rita Black: I have 40 coaches also joining who have so much inspiration and motivation and generosity. And in fact, today's guest, Julie Trainer, is one of those coaches. So check out the link in the show notes and you're gonna love her interview because not only does Julie get into her own journey, but walks through the experience of having a partner who isn't necessarily on board at first. You know? That kind of vulnerable time we get in when the person in our life is so used to us kind of self-sabotaging or cos sabotaging. 'cause a lot of times we will kind of pig out with our partner and it becomes an intimacy thing. So it's kind of hard to navigate those water. So Julie kind of walks through how she got her partner on board, released 35 pounds. She's feeling great, like she's got a new lease on life and just just setting herself up for success. So let's dive in and join Julie now.

Rita Black: Well, hello Julie. Thank you for joining us all here on the Thin Thinking Podcast. I've been really looking forward to our interview today.

Julie Trainer: Thank you, Rita. I'm so excited to be here.

Rita Black: Well, it's so fun because we were talking about before we turned on the audio, I'm staring at Julie. Julie has the most amazing head of purple hair, and I'm very jealous. I'm now thinking, okay, I'll, I'll stop dyeing my hair, let my white roots grow out and I'm gonna dye it pink or red. Maybe. Maybe. That's, that's so bold. And we were talking about, well, we're gonna get to that. Well, I'm getting ahead of myself. So Julie is will Shifter, who has had an incredible journey, she's been through a lot lately. And Julie, I'll just let you tell everybody a little bit about yourself, where you live and, and what, you know, how long you've been shifting, all of that kind of stuff.

Julie Trainer: Okay. Yeah. So I live in Monroe Falls, Ohio, but I am a native Los Angeles gal. I've been here about 32 years. I've been overweight for pretty much my whole adult life. The most I ever weighed was 205 when I was in my thirties raising a little kid in an unhappy marriage. And then when I met my partner, Leslie, well my wife Leslie, lost like 20 around the 17 18, you know. But just in the last couple of years, I went through a lot with the pandemic. I lost both my parents. I put on weight because, you know, stress. Yeah, just eating was like the, and cocktails were very important during the pandemic too.

Rita Black: Oh my god. Cocktails if we had all invested in, in you know Jim Beam and with Tanga Ray. Yeah.

Julie Trainer: Was Rum and Coke, rum and Diet Coke for me. And to this day, I cannot drink anything with rum in it because I just

Rita Black: Oh, because you just overdid it. It was just like,

Julie Trainer: I overdid it. But yeah, I was taking care of my mom in the middle of the pandemic, and then my dad died the next year, and then we had to sell their house. And so it was just a lot. And I noticed myself just, you know, I don't know, kind of resolved that. Well, you know what? I'm just gonna be overweight, whatever. It's fine. I also had a job that I really didn't like. I had a corporate job that I was an insurance underwriter and I, I hated corporate life, so I was able to actually leave that after my parents passed due to circumstances like selling their house in la blah, blah, blah. So that was a huge, huge, huge gift. I got to leave that job and

Rita Black: Oh, what, how wonderful.

Julie Trainer: Yeah, because I would sit all day and I'd be at my computer and I'd be stressed and I would eat, and, you know, people bring G into the office. Oh, yeah. You know, so there was that. And then but what happened to me about six months ago was my best friend invited me to go to Key West with her for her 60th birthday. And she said, you know, Julie, the water's gonna be cold, so I'm gonna get a wetsuit, and I think you should get a wetsuit too. And I was like no. This body is not going in a wetsuit, But then I thought, yeah, but you know, if she goes in the water, I'm gonna wanna go in the water and it is gonna be cold in Florida in, you know, January. So one night I was late, I was Facebook scrolling late at night, and I saw this bootcamp for a gym near my home, and I didn't even know there were any gyms near my home.

Julie Trainer: I, Monroe Falls is a pretty small town, but it's surrounded by a lot of other large towns, so it isn't like we don't have everything we need very close by. But in Monroe Falls, per se, I am like, there's a gym in Monroe Falls. Right? It said it's for women over 50. It's a free six week bootcamp. And I thought, you know what? I gotta do something. So I joined this bootcamp and I had to go to the gym every morning at eight o'clock. They had this weird food plan where they actually wanted me to eat way more food than I could eat. And I would say, I can't eat that much. And they're like, well, just try you. And I'm like, so I lost a little bit of weight in that bootcamp, but I didn't wanna continue once the six weeks were over. Because it just, it was a dude gym, you know, it just wasn't right. So -

Rita Black: I totally understand those dude gyms, like, I get, there's so many of them in LA and, and you go in and you're like, CrossFit and pumping, what do they call it? Your you, your rack, or you're what, you know, when you're, you've got a lot of muscles. I I am gonna ripped, ripped, ripped is one, but then there's another word that they all say now, and I, I'll come up with it, but it's it's a word and I'm just like, oh gosh. That's such a dude thing to say. Can I, can I ask you, before you went to this challenge and did all that stuff, in that time that you were kind of gaining weight and unhappy with your job and, and taking care of your mom, did it ever cross your mind to try to lose weight? Or were you just kind of like, I don't care. I'm just surviving, I'm just getting through?

Julie Trainer: I think I was kind of at that point because losing weight was always on my mind. I think from the time I became aware that I had a body. But there were just too many other things going on. And the thing is, I had a free gym membership already, and a very nice gym through free, because my wife works for Cleveland Clinic, but I wouldn't go because I was embarrassed because I was like, oh my God, I don't know what I'm doing. I don't want anybody to look at me. I don't, you know, so I just, I, there's, I wouldn't go. So the fact I decided to do this bootcamp was like, freakish, you know? But then when the bootcamp ended, I was like, how am I gonna sustain this? And the very last day of that bootcamp, this man said to me, if you leave my gym, you're never gonna achieve your goals. Hard sell, weird. You know? It got weird. And it was my birthday, and I'm like, you know what? You watch me.

Rita Black: Oh, he got your goat? He, he, he, he.

Julie Trainer: He did.

Rita Black: That's great.

Julie Trainer: I went straight to the free gym, but I was still like, how, what am I, was kind of like, I wanna do this. I don't wanna give up. But I felt like I was kind of flailing and I'm like, I need something. I need an anchor. I need, and then I was late night scrolling and I found you. And I was literally, actually, okay, it wasn't late night scrolling. I was early evening scrolling, and I had already eaten a bunch of gak that day. I didn't know it was Gak at the time, but now I do. And I thought, oh -

Rita Black: Oh, just a minute, Julie. For anybody who doesn't know what Gak is, we just call Gak in the shift. Like highly un nutritious, super refined food. This is such a good word for it, gak. Okay, keep going. Sorry. It, it,

Julie Trainer: Gak is a very unappealing word. It does not sound like something you would wanna eat. But I'd eaten a bunch of stuff, and I was completely in this mindset of, well, you know what? It's Sunday night, I've already blown it. I might as well just eat whatever. I mean, I was completely capable of eating a whole pint of ice cream. So who, who even knows what it was? Then I found you and you've literally said like, you know, don't start over on Monday. Just, you know, everything that you said, you, I mean, you were like, I'm like, she's speaking to me. It's a sign, you know, from the universe. And I've never signed up for anything so fast. I'm like, this woman, she knows what I'm going through. She gets it.

Rita Black: Oh, I only know because I went through it so many times myself, but yes. Well, thank you.

Julie Trainer: So then so like, I feel like I had, I did have a shift, but then I needed you the shift to keep me shifting, if that makes sense.

Rita Black: Yeah. No, I, I mean, I think what, and what Julie's talking about is so interesting because with, when people really make a change, I think the distinction was like when you went to this free, you know, bootcamp for six weeks, you were kinda like going and it was kind of outside of you. Like, well, I'm doing this thing. And then when that guy said, you're not going to ever, you know, lose weight unless you do this. And that seems like a really crazy hard-edged way to enroll people in something. But whatever. Yeah. So, so it was that their, I'm always fascinated how people, so it was six weeks for free, but then they try to -

Julie Trainer: No. It wasn't free. It said it was free on Facebook, but then you go and there's a whole hard sell. Well, you know, if you're not gonna do this for you, do it for your loved ones, you know, you know, it was a whole spiel, but where I did, it did get to me because I, I was so tired. I'm 5'7, I was 185, so I wasn't obese. mean, you know, but I was, so, I realized, I'm so tired of, I realized how much I thought about being overweight. It was always like, what could I wear that would hide this? What could I wear if I'm gonna go out to eat so that I'll be comfortable so that I can eat, but I can breathe. It was the mindless going to the refrigerator. It was just, you know, and I realized I was so tired of all of it. And when that guy talked to me that day, I was there for like an hour. I thought, I've gotta do something. And I was just ready to do something crazy. And it was not free at all. How they get away with saying it's free in the, yeah. Funny little afterthought. It's after my daughter, I told my daughter what had happened. She was livid. She went on their Facebook page and she was like, how dare you say that to my mom!

Rita Black: Well, I'm glad. Oh, isn't she a sweet daughter standing up for you? I love it. But what I was gonna say is, in that moment, it went from like being something outside of you to inside of you. Like you made a decision. And you kind of took responsibility for yourself, you know, like said, this is my journey. I'm gonna make it happen. And that is such a huge shift. Like that's the number one step is to stop looking outside of yourself and say, you know, no matter what, I know you signed up for the shift, but I mean, like, you made that decision within yourself, like, I'm gonna do something, I'm gonna take control.

Julie Trainer: Yeah, exactly. And, and there was no going back. I was like, you know what? It's not ever gonna get any easier. I'm sick of this. I have to do something. And it did. It felt like, like, I mean, like, I literally shifted into a different, a slightly different person in that moment. My wife, she's we're very supportive of each other, but I've always professed how much I hate going to the gym.

Rita Black: Right. Does she go to the gym?

Julie Trainer: Well, she did. She was an athlete, but she had health challenges, so it's a little bit harder for her to go to the gym right now than it used to be. But in the course of our relationship, she would always be the one who was like, come on, let's go to the gym. And I'd be like, no, I'm gonna stay home and have a cocktail.

Rita Black: So, so would you say, because I'm curious about your relationship in the, in that, did you guys kind of struggle together prior? 'cause like a lot of relationships kind of feed into each other? Or was she Yes. You're nodding your head.

Julie Trainer: We, we completely enabled each other. We both had the same issues with, you know, food, I mean, and sugar. We, in the morning, one of us could say, you know what, that's it. We're just gonna eat salads. We're not gonna do this anymore. And then in the evening, one person could say, you know what? We should get ice cream and the other person will be right on board.

Rita Black: Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Yes. The, the, the mutual saboteurs. I love it. So, so were you both, so it was, you were both kind of like, today we're gonna be good. Tonight we're gonna be bad today, we're gonna be good tonight we're gonna be bad, and off and on and, okay. So many relationships have that, that's just such a huge thing. And I think there's fear too. And I don't know if your wife, your wife sounds incredibly supportive, but sometimes spouses will be afraid if you're like, going on a transformational journey that you're gonna leave them in the dust. Did you sense that with your wife, or was she cool and always supportive? It seems like she very supportive. But do you think -

Julie Trainer: I've always been that the one that's like, Ugh, you know, you're gonna leave me behind, fine. You know? I've, I've always been that one to be more like, almost threatened or jealous of, 'cause she had the more athletic, you know, tendencies and would wanna go to the gym more. And but, but there, there definitely was a point where I was moving along in the shift and in my weight loss journey, and she wasn't, and she started to feel the way that it was always me feeling before, you know? Like, you're losing so much weight and that, you know, I, I tried not to be all in your face. Like, guess what I weigh now? You know, because you, you, that can get really annoying, right? I mean, if you're not losing weight too, then you're like, yeah, great. I'm so happy for you.

Julie Trainer: But then she started shifting too. So yeah, now we're both, and you know, she would you say something and about don't buy gack for your family members or something, you know? And she'd say, I'm not eating chips anymore. I'm more, I was, well, we both like sweets, but her thing was always like chips. Like she could eat a whole bag of chips and she has high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and that's really bad thing to be doing. And she'd say, don't buy me any more chips. And then I'd be at the store, 'cause I do most of the shopping, and she'd text me, please get me a bag of chips. I don't care what I said before. So it's hard. Now we're both being good, now we're not bringing that stuff into the house.

Rita Black: Because you're, you are creating a way of eating as a couple that works for both of you and allows you to live your life. You know? I don't think it's about deprivation, but you know, obviously you're both, you're both on a transformational journey. So I'm curious about hypnosis, because obviously shift is a 30 day hypnosis based program. What, did you, had you ever done any sort of hypnosis prior to this process?

Julie Trainer: No, not really. No. But I had always been interested in it. I was like a psych major, so I've always been interested in, you know, the workings of the mind. And, you know, I know I, I knew that my own, that I, it had never been put to me that there was an inner critic and inner rebel and an inner coach, but my inner critic and the inner rebel, they were, they were going hard, you know.

Rita Black: Yeah.

Julie Trainer: So I thought I mean, I was, I'm like, I'm gonna try anything, you know, I don't know what this hypnosis is gonna be like, but it sounds amazing. And I remember one of the things in the hypnosis was I'm a hundred percent successful at weight release, and I would walk my dog and just say that over and over and over again. Very of shifting.

Rita Black: You were doing self hypnosis. I love it.

Julie Trainer: I was, you know, and I'm like, if I say this enough, I'm gonna believe it though, you know, it works.

Rita Black: Well, it, what it does is, you know, we, we talk a lot about this in our monthly program, but also in the shift is that you start, you know, everything starts with identity and we start to cultivate a different identity how we see ourselves in our mind. So we're not working against ourselves, we're, we're cult. You know, it's like we're creating this new idea of ourselves. So doing that kind of stuff, those mantras, what you were saying, it's very powerful because it just helps, it helps reinforce that identity you're stepping into and strengthening. So, very good. And you weren't afraid of hypnosis, you weren't concerned about, you know, floating off in the cloud or anything like that?

Julie Trainer: No. I wasn't at all. I've always used like you know, sleepy music, I call it like music to help myself fall asleep, you know, indie native American flute or zen spot, whatever, you know, for as long as I can remember. I would put that kind of music on and it would help me fall asleep. And then, so did you know the shift hypnosis? A lot of times I would fall asleep, but, you know, I didn't worry about that. I thought, well, it's, you said it's getting into your subconscious mind anyway.

Rita Black: Yeah. You can go deep and it's still getting in. So I'm. Yeah. Yeah. It's, and it can be very, very relaxing. And so how about the experience of going through the process? Like you signed up and, and what was that like for you? Because there was, you know, you were going through hypnosis, you were doing daily meditations, and how did you, you know, make it all work within your life? How did -

Julie Trainer: So I did, the 30 days was so structured that it was, I know there were a couple of days that I probably missed, and then I would just go back and listen. But I just it wasn't that hard to do the 15 minutes in the morning and the 15 minutes at night. And you know, I looked forward to hearing all of the sessions. And I don't work full-time. I work, I have a friend that I take care of who has leukemia, and so, I wasn't trying. Oh, thank you. Yeah. Thank you so much. She's great. It was, it wasn't like I was trying to work this in around like a full-time. I'm stuck at a desk kind of job, but it is challenging because most of the stuff that I, one of the main things I do for her is cook. And sometimes, so she struggles with gaining weight. So a lot of times, because she's trying to gain weight, she's like, all right, today I want you to make an apple pie, and I need you to go get me some ice cream. And I, you know, so even though she -

Rita Black: Wow.

Julie Trainer: Yeah. It's hard to cook and not taste, you know, know. So that's a challenge that you know, some days it's still a challenge, but it's because I don't plan, okay, how do I wanna say this? This is, this is so important to me that nothing, I'm not going to let anything sabotage this. So -

Rita Black: Yeah.

Julie Trainer: You know? Well, I think that's, if I taste some of what I make for her, I track it, I write it down, those calories, they all count. And so that's what I do, because I like, love myself enough to do this now, you know? And my inner coach is there and she's like, you know, I can have a conversation with her. And the, the inner rebel doesn't, she has calmed down a lot, and she doesn't like win. She's not fighting.

Rita Black: Well, I think where you're at and there's a, there's, you know, the weight mastery journey is a journey, right? And you've begun the journey and you're, you're into the journey. And what Julie's talking about is this cultivation of a conversation, you know, talking to this other part of you that is on your team advocating for you and believes in you. Because when we, like you were saying earlier, when you were struggling, it was just the critic and the rebel critic beats you up about your behaviors, doesn't believe in you, disrespects you, and then the rebel's like, well, screw it. You know, life's too short. Let's eat apple pie.

Julie Trainer: Yeah.

Rita Black: I think it's not about not eating apple pie. Obviously you can, you know, choose to eat apple pie. I think it's, and still release weight, and still, it's not about no saying no to everything that you used to say yes to. But I think when we go on this journey, people start to see that it's not just about weight, it's about freedom. And that sometimes when we eat like too much apple pie, like we start to eat over and we learn, we talk about this a lot in the shift. It's like, it's not like you can't eat it, but if you're going to eat too much of it, it starts to engage your brain in a different way, and then you become the victim of it, rather than being able to like, manage it. Right? And I think the longer you're on this journey, the more you define those boundaries for yourself and, and honor them without feeling a struggle. So it's not like you're, oh, I'm a victim and I have to say no, and I can't eat the pie. It's like, well, I can eat a couple of bites and I can be cool with that, and then I can get on with my day and not. Feel owned by it.

Julie Trainer: Yeah. And you know what? I think that's one of the biggest things about, about this program is that I do feel like I can eat anything I want. If somebody said, you, sorry, you know, no more chocolate, you know, that I would not have been able to, I've been doing this since September, so what is that five months now or something? Yeah, I, yeah, I've never been able to be consistent with anything long enough to get these kind of results, because as soon as somebody's like, you can't have that anymore, no more sugar, then what's your brain thinking? Oh, yeah, but I need some sugar. You know? But knowing this is one of my things that I do, I know that I can, I, I like chocolate and I don't wanna give it up. And if I thought I had to, I, this would be hard. So I have this little tiny type of work container. It holds 15 grams of Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips, and I know that's my chocolate for the day. And some days I don't even have it.

Julie Trainer: But if I want it, it, it's a, I have these little brain mind tricks that, you know, I've come up with that work for me though. Yeah. And that's one of 'em, I'm, you know, some people probably, maybe they couldn't start eating any chocolate. Maybe that would, you know, it depends what your triggers are, right.

Rita Black: For sure. You're right. Some people can't. And some people it will depend on what time of day. If you eat the chocolate on an empty stomach, that might trigger them. But if you eat it after dinner, it might not, because it just is gonna impact your brain and body differently. But for a lot of people, I think that little amount of chocolate chips, I was just talking to another client over the weekend, and she was saying she got, gets this coconut sweetened chocolate chips. And and it's just like enough for her to, and it's, it's like you, if we, if you're mindful about it and slow down and eat it, then it's plenty. And you get, you get to feel like you're really treating yourself and, you know, dark chocolate like that, it's not bad for you. So, I mean, yeah. I Exactly. You get to own what you eat. You get to choose, this isn't about, this is really about cultivating a way of eating that you love that allows you to live at your I ideal weight. So you're figuring that out. That takes time too. It doesn't, you're not overnight, like, you're like, oh, I've got a way of eating that I love that allows me to live in my ideal weight. Well, no, it's a journey. But, but it sounds like you've had a lot of aha moments along the way.

Julie Trainer: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And a lot of it is how much -

Rita Black: Oh, go ahead. Go ahead.

Julie Trainer: No, you go, you go.

Rita Black: I was just gonna ask you how much weight you've released. I know I will have said this probably already in our intro, but just tell our listeners.

Julie Trainer: So just about 35 pounds.

Rita Black: That's great. Yeah.

Julie Trainer: Yeah. So I started -

Rita Black: That's a significant amount.

Julie Trainer: Yeah. And I'm at about well, 151 was the lowest I've been so far, and you know what fluctuates, you know?

Rita Black: Yes, of course it does.

Julie Trainer: I'm like 151 between 151 and 153, which is, I weighed 150 in high school, and that's just insane. I, I'm buying size fourteens. I was an 18 and I was a one X and I'm buying 14 pants, and they're kind of loose, and I'm buying medium and large shirts instead of X. You know? And at first it was a little bit, almost, I was like, I don't know if I should really buy this, because what if this does, you know, okay, this is an important thing I wanted to say. There was this, there, there's been another shift, there's shifts within the shift. So I've had a shift to now where it's like, I don't have this fear that I'm gonna like relapse into, you know, fat thinking again. I feel like I've been doing it long enough and I trust myself. That's been huge. Like, I trust myself that even if I'm in a situation, like yesterday, I was at a, my friend loves to throw these tea parties and it's like a full on probably 10 course high British tea.

Julie Trainer: Right. And she, she did this in honor of a friend who she took care of who died a year ago. So it was course after course after course. And I wish that I could have just had the salad and the chicken pot pie. Right? But it was, we didn't know what was coming. And so, you know, it was, it was just a sea of cute little delicious foods being sat in front of me all afternoon. And I, it's a challenge. I, you, you reach, you say this in the hypnosis, but you, you're satisfied with less. And when you start to feel full, you stop. And that is how I feel now. Like, I, so I would taste things. I would just taste things. And I would, I got rid of the bread from like the little finger sandwiches and things like that. And I was like, you know what? This isn't how I eat now. I would've rather just have the salad and the chicken pot pie and nothing else. But that didn't come out until the very, very end. But even in a situation like that, like I, I could trust myself and I was 3000 calories under for the week.

Rita Black: Wow.

Julie Trainer: Which is, it's not like I'm trying to be that far under, but what happens is, because I now love to exercise, I really, really do. Especially in the morning, you start the day with negative 500 calories and you're like, wow, like magic.

Rita Black: What do you, what do you like to do? What do you do at the gym? Do you go to the gym or do you just go out and walk?

Julie Trainer: I go to the gym. So I do walk my dog. My dog loves, she's a husky mix and she loves a good two mile walk. So I'll either take her around the neighborhood or I'll take her into the woods. I, we live near right in the middle of a lot of national parks here in Ohio. It's really beautiful. So there's great hiking five minutes from home. And, and we do it year round. We had a 70 degree day in Ohio in March, which is like crazy, unbelievable. I like going to classes at the gym because I like somebody to tell me what to do. And it's like, I know all I have to do is show up and for 45 minutes they're gonna tell me what to do. So it's like, wait, A lot of what I do is like strength training classes but it's to music and the instructors make it really fun. And there's a variety of instructors at the gym I go to, and they all have a slightly different personality and a slightly different way that they push you. And so, yeah. I, I'm very protective of my workout time. I don't like to miss it.

Rita Black: Yeah, I hear you. I hear you. I, I, I am a, I am a fan of classes as well. 'cause You know, when you're busy and you running around, it's just nice to go have somebody else tell you what to do for an hour. Really, you don't have to think that hard.

Julie Trainer: You don't.

Rita Black: But that's amazing. And I, where in Ohio is your town? Is it near Cleveland? Is it northern Ohio?

Julie Trainer: Northeast Ohio. So we're about 45 minutes south of Cleveland. We're right by Kent State University.

Rita Black: Oh, okay. Yeah. That must be very pretty around there.

Julie Trainer: It really is. Yeah. Very, very pretty. Especially in the spring and summer. Yeah. Well, and the fall, you know, when the trees are bare, not so much. But, you know, as a Los Angelian, having lived here for this long, it was very hard to get used to. But the winters aren't bad anymore.

Rita Black: I've heard that in a scary way. And my husband's from Buffalo, and he said, okay. He, he went back a few years ago to visit his hometown, and, and, and he used to, he was telling these people, I was like, oh, yeah, I learned to drive on snowy roads. You know, it was always snowy. It was literally that. And they're like, well, it's not like that anymore. , you know, the winters aren't that bad. They're, the winters aren't cold. And yeah. So everybody's gonna be moving to Ohio. It's the new la it's the new Southern California.

Julie Trainer: I think it is. My brother and his wife actually wanna get outta Southern California. And they're considering moving here. Yeah. They're considering moving to Columbus, which is a little further from where I live, but I think it would have more of what they're used to. It's, it's a more kind of modern city with a lot more shopping options and a Trader Joe's, you know, on every corner we have to drive a half an hour to get to Trader Joe's, so.

Rita Black: Wow. You're, you're just so deprived out there in the country.

Julie Trainer: I know we are. There used to be one on every quarter.

Rita Black: I know. Oh gosh. In LA that's for sure. I know LA is, as far as healthy eating, it is probably one of the easiest cities to live in, I would say.

Julie Trainer: Yes. Absolutely. That was a challenge when I very first moved here. It was, yeah. Yeah. You can't get a carrot juice, fresh carrot juice at two o'clock in the morning here. You, you know? Right.

Rita Black: You can't. But I was in Cleveland last year, and I will say, and it was the first time I was ever in Ohio and I I, we were looking at a school for my son and, and and I was surprised, like there's some great restaurants or some a lot, like, it's changed. It's definitely not la Yeah. It's definitely more, you know, like you are navigating through a lot of gap, but I was surprised that there were a lot of healthy options. Yeah.

Julie Trainer: Yeah.

Rita Black: As well, for sure. But it is. Yeah. Well, and it was, and this time of year we were there and it, it, and you guys were starting to get daffodils and the little flowers coming up outta the ground, so it was very pretty. So when you when since you, you mentioned your partner is now, your wife is doing the shift right now. How has that changed your relationship and how, you know, like, how has that, because I think a lot of our listeners would love to enroll their significant other in being healthy. And I, it sounds like she kind of got in the game, you kind of modeled Great behavior for her, and then she got inspired by that. Is that correct? Yeah. Or you didn't, you didn't have to drag her in kicking and screaming into this.

Julie Trainer: She had some resistance. She, she was saying, I don't, you know, counting calories isn't what, what's gonna work for me, you know? And she would say things like that. And I thought, well, you know, I, I, I didn't push more. I, like you said, I modeled, I set an example and then as I started to release the weight and she was seeing the results. And I just kind of gently would kind of just make general suggestions. Also, I do most of the shopping, so I would prep. I, we like to do food prep, and oh, you do? So I make a lot. We like, we'll make salads, we'll make like three days worth of salads for each of us. And so that made it easy. But, you know, she was putting a lot of things on her salad. Like, I don't know, like I was shocked to find out how many calories there are in like, nuts. Right. So there's, yeah. And cheese and all these things. When you start looking at it, it's shocking. I, there's a restaurant, a Mediterranean restaurant near us, and they have this chicken curry roll. And I would, that's what I would almost always order. And I went there and I ordered, and I didn't look ahead. It was very, very early in the shift. And I thought, well, I'll get that for lunch. You know, I looked later, there was 1200 calories in this one roll.

Rita Black: Yeah.

Julie Trainer: I'm like, that's almost my whole day. So I, I so she was like, do you think I could, you know, look at, at your shift materials? And, and I thought, yeah, that'd be okay. She's like, I don't feel, you know, right about it unless you ask Rita if it's okay. Because she's a content creator for she's an online learning designer for Cleveland Clinic. She designs medical education that, and she's, so she's like, you know, copyright and protective of, you know. Right, right. Like when I reached out to you and you, you know, said, well, you can share it with her. Well then that changed everything. 'cause Then she's like, okay, if Rita says it's okay, because I, you know, she's a very ethical person.

Rita Black: I love how ethical she is. That's so sweet.

Julie Trainer: I know! So once she had that green light,

Rita Black: Go ahead.

Julie Trainer: She was in there and just, you know, and she'll ask me things. It, it's fun because I kind of get to be a coach for her. She'll say, well, what if I missed a day? And I'm like, it's okay. Just listen to it tomorrow. I definitely, and this is something I wanted to say too. I did not do the shift perfectly. I, there were definitely times when I got off track, it's just that I didn't stay off track. And that was the difference, you know? And so I would just tell her, just don't give up. Keep going.

Rita Black: That is the muscle that you have to develop is keep going. And I think, you know, people always be moan because we are so immersed and steeped in the diet culture that even if you're in this program that is, like we say, please be imperfect and you're gonna start over. You're not start over, but you're going to get back on track. Yay. You have to get back on track. You know, like when people say, oh gosh, I had a really bad day and I got, you know, everything went south. My, you know, it's just like, what did you learn? You know, what are you gonna do tomorrow? And, and in so retraining your mind. Now, Julie is mentioning counting calories. So for those of you who are like counting calories, but we are really using it from a cognitive perspective.

Rita Black: And I think what Julie was talking about is like, like the salads for instance. I think we, we use data and cracking to get really clear on one, how much our body really needs in order to be at our ideal weight. And so that makes you the boss of it. It's not somebody saying, you know, eat this many calories per day. Yeah. But it's like, you get to choose you what you are doing. It puts you kind of in the driver's seat. And it also gives you clarity because so many people are like, well, I'm eating salads and I'm doing this and I'm not losing weight. And when you start to tune in to what you're eating, what it does in your body and, and the energy amounts that things come up, people once they get clear, there's so much calm around it that people are like, it makes me go crazy to do that into track.

Rita Black: But it's like, there is, the way we use it, it creates power and calm. And what you were saying about salads, I, I just had to say this because many, many people, like, especially in the beginning, you know, like I've been doing this 22 years, people would talk about salads, salads, salads. I'm eating salads. Why am I not losing my, I was like, I would say, remove the lettuce from the salad and look at what else is left on your plate and really look at it. Like, is that, and often what was left, you know, at a restaurant salad, because it, it cracks me up. There are usually, unless you get the garden salad, most of those salads, if you took away the lettuce or the arugula or whatever the Yeah. The base is, you know, it's candied nuts and it's big hunks of cheese and it's cranberries -

Julie Trainer: Blue cheese.

Rita Black: And, and dressing and, and it ends up being more calories. I used to do these seminars and I would have these slideshows where, and it was really fun because you would show like, the amount of calories in like a, like a pasta. Like a pasta Putinesca. And maybe it would be like six or 700 calories. And then I'd say, and here it was the chef salad or the whatever salad. And, and it's like 850 calories. And people are like, you know, uhhuh. Like they, and, and, but yeah. So our idea of what is so often gets really warped and, and tracking it, just doing it in a very scientific way where we aren't punitive. Where it isn't, it isn't this idea of like, there's so much shame in, in dieting and this like calorie counting. And it's just like, you know, this person, like a bean counter counting. It's not like that at all. It's like powerful using data to make decisions about your body.

Julie Trainer: Exactly. It, it exactly makes me feel calm. It's just information. And it gives me power. It puts me back in control and I can make the choices. And the way I think of it is, it's my checking account. You know, if I had to go shopping and I had no idea how much money was in the account, I wouldn't, that would make me crazy. I wouldn't know. You know? Right. And so I know like, and, and it's science, you know, based, it's not based on, like you said, some random person telling you eat 800 calories a day. It's based on your body and your age and how much you need to release. And all those things are taken into account so that it's customized. Like basically to, to your, well,

Rita Black: Yeah. And, and if you're fasting and doing fasting, it works with that. It works with you know, if you're, whatever your thing is, you, you can make it your own. Yeah. But yeah. So cool. So talk to us just a little more. 'cause It sounds like you and your inner coach are in a, like a little love affair and you're having a great time with your inner coach. You know, if somebody was out there. And so it, I have one last question, but I wanna just, so, so with regards to your relationship it sounds like you guys are now kind of on the same team. It took her a little while, but she's, she's on board.

Julie Trainer: And she's releasing weight now too.

Rita Black: Oh, that's awesome. I'm really glad to hear that. Do you guys go work out together or is that kind of you're doing your own thing?

Julie Trainer: That's, well, because her work schedule is so intense. You know, I, and I like to go work out in the morning, so I'm really blessed that I have that luxury to go work out in the morning. But I like to make a lot food.

Rita Black: Does she work out at lunch or in the evening or?

Julie Trainer: No, she's just starting to, she's had like some heart concerns and stuff.

Rita Black: So she's not moving too much, which is fine. You can still release weight.

Julie Trainer: But she is, she has resumed walking the dog and now the dog is getting two walks per day. And so she's delighted.

Rita Black: The dog is shifting.

Julie Trainer: The dog is shifting. Actually, we have this cat that needs to shift. I think you saw my cat.

Rita Black: Oh my gosh. Julie posted in our, our, we have this monthly membership, and she posted the most adorable. How much does your cat weigh?

Julie Trainer: He's 20 pounds. And the vet wants He's so big.

Rita Black: He literally is the most hilarious footage you cut. Like you cut it, it the poor guy, he was like sniffing around on the ground, he couldn't find anything. And then he just literally goes up to the refrigerator and starts like furiously like, like he's gonna be able to claw his way in. Poor guy.

Julie Trainer: He is such a trip. He is a, he's a hoot. He is really a fun cat. But he needs . So

Rita Black: He, he's been on a bit of a diet and

Julie Trainer: He shifting morning

Rita Black: And Yeah, he's clawing at the refrigerator. That's so funny.

Rita Black: So this has been really inspirational and thank you for coming on. So I want to hear from you, like, what would be that one, well, we were talking about something earlier. One, two things. So I said one thing, but I, two things, 'cause I wanted to ask you about this, Julie, is you in have shifted, and in doing so, it's made you bold. It's given you like the idea of taking more risks with yourself, like being on camera, like, you know, but also you were talking about creating podcasts, writing a book. Like those things maybe wouldn't have been going on in your mind, had you, the inner critic that would say, you can't do that.

Julie Trainer: Yeah. That imposter syndrome, you know, like, well, why would anybody wanna like, listen to what you would say in a podcast or a book or, and so I did a challenge online and you had to post in the Facebook group each day she would give you a dare. It's called Do The Thing, and she would give you a dare. And you, you could, you could just write your answer or you could do a video. And I decided to do a video because I don't feel like I, I mean, I look thinner on camera now, and I don't, I know I probably wouldn't have done the video prior to that. And, and because I did this video, I, I got a lot of feedback from her because I wanted to start a podcast talking about kind of like the hidden gifts in like loss, because I lost both my parents during the pandemic.

Julie Trainer: And there were like so many transformations that happened and yeah, it was sad and it was hard, and it was loss, and it was, you know, insanity in the middle of the pandemic. Then all of these positive things came out of it too, you know? And I thought, well, you know what? I never thought I could lose 35 pounds. If I can do that, why not? And, and then I started getting all this validation from the universe, right? This woman saying, you've gotta start a podcast. I'd thought about starting a podcast before, but I was like, eh, yeah. That, that inner critic would just shoot it down, you know, my whole life. The inner critic would just shoot it down and then the inner rubble would be like, well, let's eat, drink, and be merry, you know, and they had this thing going back and forth, and I couldn't even hear an inner coach. And then I really did start to hear her. And I don't know if you've seen the movie Nyad?

Rita Black: No, I haven't.

Julie Trainer: It's really good. It's really good. Anyway, Jody Foster is the coach for Diane Nyad. Right. And when you said pick a character from a movie, I was like, Jody Foster! She would be saying, you got this big, you got this, you got this. You know, so Yeah. Anyway -

Rita Black: I love it. You have Jody Foster on your team. That's amazing.

Julie Trainer: I do.

Rita Black: So what would be the first step, like if somebody was listening to you right now and going, gosh, you know, this all sounds really good, but what would be, you know, your advice to somebody who is kind of feeling struggling as far as the first step that they would take to move on their journey?

Julie Trainer: Oh, good question. Like, if they hadn't signed up for the Shift yet, I would tell them to definitely do that. But if you're talking about, like, I have always been a journaler and when I really wanted to, you know, really kind of get clear on this stuff, that's what I was doing. I was writing because I was writing this memoir, trying to write this memoir. And one night I caught myself sitting downstairs in front of the tv thinking to myself, why aren't you writing your book? And just eating, just mindlessly shoving food into my mouth. And I literally heard this, I'm eating my words, and I thought, I don't want to eat my words anymore. Why am I doing this? So I started that was the theme of this series of journal entries that I made. And, you know, it really gave me this clarity that like, I'm beating myself up with food because I'm not doing the thing that I wanna do, and then the more I do this, the worse I feel and the less likely I'm to do it. I'm like, I don't, I just, so I got clear by journaling about it and realizing that I was literally eating my words and that I didn't wanna do that anymore.

Rita Black: Wow. Great advice. I thank you Julie, for coming on and being on The Than Thinking podcast. This has been very inspiring.

Julie Trainer: Thank you so much for inviting me. That really means a lot. I was happy to do it.

Rita Black: Well, terrific. Well, thank you and we'll look forward to having you back and hearing more about your podcast when, when it's ready. Great.

Julie Trainer: Thank you. All right!

Rita Black: Thank you so much, Julie. I hope those of you who maybe have someone who is a bit resistant to change around the home, got some inspiration around Julie's share and some ideas about how to get them on board with you. And remember, the final days of the Free Masterclass are coming up in, I mean, literally if, if it probably you know, if it's past April 20th, don't even, you don't go to the show notes for that, but definitely go to the show notes to learn more about the Shift Weight Mastery process. And there will also be a free masterclass in there for you to sign up, but I'm not quite sure which one, so I won't say which. But check it out. Go to those Show notes and find some love love's there for you. Alright and remember, most importantly, the key and probably the only key to unlocking the door of the weight struggle is inside you. So keep listening and find it. And I will be back with you here next week. I can't wait.

Rita Black: Do you wanna dive deeper into the mindset of long-term weight release? Head on over to www.shiftweightmastery.com. That's 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.