Transform your life with a new diet

Joanne Reid Rodrigues is a personal development and spiritual trainer and author of new book, The Life Transformation Diet, which is due out in September 2009. We had a sneak preview of the book, which we love and will review nearer to its release date. We also asked Joanne all about the diet and how it works.

Why did you decide to write a new diet book?

I founded Slimming Together, a weight management and personal/spiritual development programme in 1986 - The Life Transformation Diet is our tried and tested healthy eating programme to assist people to improve their dietary choices to lose excess weight and to maintain their weight loss.

While it’s a new diet book for many discovering Slimming Together for the
first time, it’s actually a programme I’ve developed over many years. Though I’ve been based in Jersey and Los Angeles, our Slimming Together community has grown to include people from all over the UK, and indeed the world, and they have been calling for the book and for more teachings. The Life Transformation Diet is the first in a series of books in response to peoples’ requests.

Why is your diet different from all the rest?

I teach by example, using my own life transformation to inspire people. My work is heavily grounded in personal and spiritual development - I don’t think there’s anyone else out there at the moment teaching discipline and diet as a means of spiritual growth. The Life Transformation Diet isn’t just a weight loss diet - it’s part of the Slimming Together programme which offers a holistic approach to lasting lifestyle changes and teaches people how to nourish their spirit and change core beliefs.

What are your qualifications for writing the book and coming up with the diet?

The most important qualification anyone can have is practising what they preach - I teach only what I embody. I triumphed over a 12-year eating disorder which had caused me to become obese and depressed. I have excellent knowledge of nutrition, and I’ve studied personal development over many years. I’ve had many extraordinary teachers including the Grandmaster Jhoon Rhee who trained both Bruce Lee and Mohamed Ali - I have worked with Michael Beckwith and of course Patrick Holford among many others. My greatest teachers are non-physical guides, and I’ve dedicated many years expanding my knowledge of spiritual life which I share in my teachings. I have over 20 years experience coaching people and my programme is very successful.

Do you have real proof that it works?

I have an abundance of proof that The Life Transformation Diet works bearing in mind that the book comes after twenty-three years of teaching the Slimming Together programme to literally tens of thousands of people, and reaching over a million people in the UK via my regular column in a national newspaper magazine. I also have a large number of American clients who have lost weight and kept it off. We have such a huge portfolio of success stories - the successes are all behind me, and there are countless individuals who credit my programme with changing their lives - I have much evidence of this.

Tell us about a couple of people who have benefited from the diet and how it transformed their lives?

Emma Carlton was featured in a popular magazine last year - she took off 6 stone (84lbs) on The Life Transformation Diet. She reached her goal weight over a year ago and she’s maintaining it perfectly. In addition to shedding 6 stone, Emma shed a lot of negative core beliefs that were causing her to experience extreme low self-worth. Attending my classes weekly, she learned how to love herself - her confidence has grown so much that she’s starting her own business this year.

Another wonderful example is Karen Walters who took off 5½ stone (77lbs) and improved her fitness level and self-esteem. Karen reached her goal weight in 2006 and she’s still there.

Is it easy to fit the diet plan into anyone’s lifestyle?

I designed The Life Transformation Diet with busy people in mind - unless a programme is easy, people generally won’t follow it for long. On the dietary side, I encourage people to eat natural, unprocessed foods, since they provide better nutritional value which helps boost our energy level and maintain a balanced mood. The meals are mostly very quick and easy - I believe in simplicity!

Does it involve weighing your food for calories and so on?

I encourage people to weigh and measure food when they begin the programme as this helps them to control portions. I don’t believe it’s necessary to weigh and measure foods forever and I certainly wouldn’t encourage that, but at the beginning, yes I do encourage it. The physical part of weight loss is pure physics - a calorie is a unit of energy; we’re measuring energy intake versus energy expenditure. Unless you’re measuring, it’s very easy to use too much of everything, resulting in consuming more calories than you’re aware of - this would slow down or even prevent weight loss. People make a big fuss about weighing and measuring foods, but that’s just resistance - it takes less than two minutes a day and it makes a great difference to results.

Does it mean eating separately from the family, or is it nutritionally sound for everyone, whatever their age?

I can’t think of anything worse than eating separately from your family. In fact, in The Life Transformation Diet, I encourage families to eat together.

There are plenty tasty, nutritional meals to choose from and I’m always delighted when people report that other members of their family have either lost excess weight or felt better since the diet was brought into the family kitchen!

What would you say to someone wanting to lose weight and who has tried many different diets, to no avail?

The Life Transformation Diet is practical and effective for anyone wishing to lose excess weight and improve their health. If you’ve tried before without success, it’s critical to remain open and optimistic.If we develop a pattern of thinking that we’re a failure or we can’t lose weight, our future will reflect this belief. Simply put, we never exceed our own expectations. We are each the creator of our life experience and if we’re willing to change our manner of thinking, and take consistent right action, our future will be spectacularly better than our past. This is not just so for some, but for everyone.

Tags: Inspirational Women, Self improvement & wellbeing