I’ve been waiting to do this vlog for months! 

A few months ago, someone wrote in about the book, ON THIS BRIGHT DAY, to find out what happened after our launch. What about the contest? Did it make the New York Times Bestseller List? 

It’s true—I never did a vlog to sum it up for you. 

Here’s what happened: It sold about 5,000 copies, about half as many as would have been needed to make the New York Times list. But that’s twice as many copies as REZOOM sold. It continues to sell well. 

We had three winners for the contest. They came to Rochester to visit with me, but then life got lifey: I got the flu the day they flew in. I couldn’t meet with them. I took medicine, went to bed, and it didn’t work—I was still sick. 

JoAnn Campbell-Rice, the book’s co-author, had also flown in. She and the contest winners ended up hanging out together. The next day I put on some flannels and met them outside, very separated, and we chatted. But the sweet thing about it is that they all bonded and got very close.

So we planned another trip, timed with the Bright Line Eating anniversary, and they had dinner at my house. That all happened just earlier this month, hence the delayed vlog. 

More updates: We got JoAnn Campbell-Rice listed as a co-author. We worked with Hay House to get a new cover for the Kindle edition and audiobook version—that all happened immediately. We rewrote the author page for the paperback version, which is coming out in October. 

We also have a title page with JoAnn’s name which you can download at OnThisBrightDayBook.com. On that website, we have other fun things, too. If you post on Instagram, for example, and use the hashtag #OnThisBrightDay, your post will get loaded on the website so everyone can see your picture and posting!

Mainly though, I’d like to talk to you about what is so soul-satisfying about this book. It is really helping people to live the Bright Life. It’s a daily reminder with 366 ways to help you break away from the tyranny of addictive eating and live Bright and clear in community with others like you. 

In fact, in the UK, there’s an accountability call each day with 20-30 people, and they begin each call by reading that day’s reading from the book. And every day, someone shares that it was exactly what they needed on their journey. 

JoAnn Campbell-Rice and I shared in a recent conversation that we both read the book every day and we both said that it feels magical to us every morning. The book keeps on giving. 

So was the book a success? What makes a book a success, anyway?

I want to let you in on a publishing house secret. 

I had a private conversation with Reid Tracy before the first book—BRIGHT LINE EATING—was published. I asked him what it takes to make a book launch a success. 

He said that people tend to focus on the launch and forget what’s really important about a successful book. The key, he said, is to write a really good book that impacts people. 

Let some time go by, he told me. A couple of years. And then look on Amazon and see how many reviews it has. No phenomenal book launch of a truly mediocre book will get a thousand reviews on Amazon. The only way to get a thousand reviews is to write a book that truly impacts people. I’ve always carried that with me.

It’s gratifying to me that REZOOM, which we gave the weakest launch ever, has 966 reviews. It’s a good book. People are still discovering it. ON THIS BRIGHT DAY has 356, but it just came out.

So I invite you to reflect on this book. And if you enjoy it, consider writing a review on Amazon. I’d be very appreciative. I suspect that, in the fullness of time, it will creep up to a thousand reviews. 

I am deeply proud of it, and I know JoAnn Campbell-Rice is as well. Thanks for your patience with me during the months it took me to get this vlog out to you. If you’re trying to do anything for yourself other than the standard American diet, this book will support you every day. You will feel ever-better and ever-Brighter because of it.

Get the new title page, read the authors’ bios, and more: https://ble.life/j4wp2z 

FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/exj21s

Behind the Scenes with ON THIS BRIGHT DAY | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

I’ve been sharing a great deal about anniversaries lately, and today I have another one: it’s nine years this month since I began doing the weekly vlog. That’s roughly 270 vlogs. In all that time, I’ve only missed three or four weeks.

Here’s a little insight into how it happens: I usually film each Wednesday’s vlog on the Monday morning before. Then my team does all the processing that needs to happen to have it ready by Wednesday. 

I have an Evernote on my phone titled “future vlog topics,” and it goes back for years. I use it to capture thoughts or add links to articles. The team also keeps track of suggestions you write in—we get about one a day.  

Sometimes I come up with a topic related to something that’s happened to me that week. Sometimes I want to talk about science. Other times I want to share a life lesson. 

Sometimes, like today, I come to the vlog in an emotional state that makes it hard to talk about anything. The vlog feels to me like truth serum. I look into the red dot above the camera lens and I feel all of you—thousands of you—there with me. What I have to say has to come from a genuine place.

I’m an emotional creature. My astrology chart is loaded with water: Sun, rising sign, Mercury, and Saturn all in Cancer; Moon in Scorpio, and Jupiter in Pisces. If I’m affected by life, it’s hard not to bring that to the vlog. 

I spent this past weekend with a dear friend who is dying. Though she’s very dear to me, we just met for the first time. We became close online. She drove up from Appalachia, where she lives. She’s dying, and isn’t yet at peace with that. She has less than a year. 

Then this morning, I got a call from someone who was affected by something I had said to them about their weight. She was feeling comfortable in her body, so what I said sent her reeling. I’ll shoot a vlog about it sometime, as I will on my friend who is dying, with their permission.

I can’t shoot those topics yet. I only shoot a vlog topic once, so I have to make sure I’m ready to say everything that needs to be said. I thought I was going to shoot today’s vlog on the book, On This Bright Day, but I’m not ready for that, either. 

All these things were in my head and on my heart when I was getting ready. I sat down and cried after my shower, and scrolled through my Evernote document. I scrolled through pages and pages of ideas that were nowhere near anything I could remotely face talking about today. 

And then I found something way back at the end, that I must have written down years ago, and it’s something I can talk about today.

It’s a bunch of bunny slipper mantras. Here they are:

When I have an extra hard day,
I will take extra good care of myself.

When I am under a lot of stress,
I will treat myself with a lot of kindness.

When I feel more overwhelmed than usual,
I will take more time to rest than usual.

When my emotions are strong, 
My self-compassion will also be strong.

When I am feeling additional tension,
I will make space for additional relaxation.

When I am feeling deeply, 
I will also practice accepting my emotions deeply.

When I am really tired,
I will be really gentle with myself.

—Unknown 

That’s all I could resonate with this morning, and I’m giving myself permission to do a vlog that is pieced together with duct tape and chicken wire. And it’s okay. 

We have such a sensitive community, and we’re all—myself included—just showing up for each Bright Day. And sometimes that day is vlog day. So, on this day I made space for an unusual topic. 

I hope that, if you are the one who sent these to me years ago, or posted them on Facebook, you’ll make yourself known so we can give you credit.

FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/0dq3yw
Bunny Slipper Mantras | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

I have a new love in my life: swimming. And I’ve learned three things while swimming that I want to share.

Some background: I can hold my own in the water, but I’ve never been a regular swimmer—or even, frankly, a regular exerciser.

I have friends who ache to be moving. They can’t wait to get to the gym, or get outside and move their body. That’s not me. But in the past, during the stretches of time when I would get myself exercising, my cardiovascular exercise of choice was always slow jogging. But… I’m about to turn 50, and my knees won’t tolerate jogging anymore. So then I tried incline hiking on the treadmill, and in short order, that bothered my knees. Biking, too. 

Finally, I tried swimming, and the minute I got into the water and swam a few laps I thought: I love this. It felt amazing. 

So the first lesson is this: sometimes, when it feels like something is happening to us beyond our control, it is all in service of a good end. All my challenges with my knees, which were so frustrating, resulted in me finally getting into a pool. 

There’s a wonderful saying: think not about how this is happening to you, but for you. 

And there’s a sweet story with this same moral in the Baha’i writings. A man was tortured with missing his beloved. She was gone, and he couldn’t find her. One day, he went out to the marketplace to distract himself. Suddenly, a Watchman started following him. Then another. The Watchmen chased him until he came upon a big brick wall. In a panic, he scaled the brick wall, cutting his hands and arms. He tumbled over the wall and fell down into a meadow… where he found himself at the feet of his beloved. She was looking for a ring she had lost in the grass. The man dropped to his knees and cried out, “God, give thanks to the Watchmen, and long life, and love! I thought they were persecuting me, but actually they were my Angel Gabriel, leading me to my beloved.”

That’s how I felt about swimming. I was feeling persecuted by knee pain, and that’s the only reason I tried it—and it turned out to be a huge blessing.

Here’s the second lesson: I didn’t know if my shoulders would tolerate swimming, so the first day I swam eight minutes, and that was enough. The next day, I did the same—all week, three times. The next week I did nine minutes. The next: ten. I increased by just one minute a week. For months. 

I couldn’t have done this years ago. I like to go from zero to 60 right away. Moderation is not in my vocabulary. But from weighing and measuring my food, I’ve learned to weigh and measure my life, and, in this case, my exercise. Slow and steady wins the race. It’s amazing how productive we can be when we weigh and measure our output. 

Here’s the third lesson: this week in the pool I had an experience that was torture. Last week, I had become aware that 30 minutes wasn’t seeming like enough. So, this week, while in the middle of my swim, I started thinking about it: what if I swam more? Maybe 35 minutes? How about 40? And then I thought, why not go all the way to 45 minutes? I tried to do the math in my head for timing all the various options: what time would my swim end? I thought about how my shoulders were feeling, what my day would look like if I swam more… and on and on. It became an obsession. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It was the way I used to obsess over food.

I finally got out of the pool at 30 minutes, just to shut my head up. It was my first bad swim. I wasn’t comfortable in my head because of the “Will I? Won’t I? Should I? Shouldn’t I?” thoughts.

I committed to my husband that I would swim 35 minutes the next time I was in the pool and not second-guess myself, and still I was surprised at how hard it was not to get caught up in the whirlwind of internal thoughts and questions. 

The lesson? Thinking, “Will I? Won’t I? Should I? Shouldn’t I?” is sheer torture, in swimming, with food, with anything. This is why we write down our food in BLE the night before. Not after we’ve eaten it, but BEFORE. It is a mercy and a blessing to take that action. And yes, it takes more than one day to train ourselves to eat only that without second guessing it mentally, but when we stay persistent, that practice silences the internal chatter. The mental peace we get with Bright Line Eating is the number one gift of the program. 

Those are my three lessons on swimming. I don’t know how I became this person, but suddenly I find myself feeling motivated to do whatever it takes to get in my three weekly swims. It’s taken me years to be someone who can exercise consistently. So that’s a fourth Bonus Lesson: sometimes big gifts come even decades after starting this way of living. Stick with it. It’s worth it.

FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/cs86de
Swimming Lessons | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

It’s been an exciting year for Bright Line Eating. We did a lot of listening to our community and responded in a big way. We’ve made things so much simpler and more streamlined for our Members. This week, I talk about the changes that we’ve made. And that includes the most exciting development… we have an app! Yes, finally! Listen to this week’s podcast to hear all about it.

FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/u9KtBd
Episode: Introducing the SIMPLER BLE with all App! | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

Sometimes rest is not only necessary but is actually the best thing that you can do for your own productivity and success. How does ignoring your to-do list help you to get more done? It’s all about knowing your own cycles and how to implement harm reduction. In this week’s vlog, I talk about how to simply HOLD.

FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/XftBLN
Episode: HOLD | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

There's a shift that happens when one is fully invested in their Bright Line Eating identity. It’s the difference between “I can’t eat that” and “I don’t eat that.” But there’s another identity shift that takes place. It’s a crucial one. In this week’s vlog, you’ll get a special sneak peek into one of the lessons from our course, Maintenance I: The Psychology of Maintenance, in which I explain this identity shift and why it’s so important.

FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/YYsbpG
Episode: The Second Identity Shift | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

This week, I discuss a pattern that a lot of us fall into here in Bright Line Eating. It's common enough experience that we've recently coined a term for it. Listen to the episode to hear my thoughts.

FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE:
https://ble.life/J9Jr9m

Episode: Maintenance by Exception | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

I read a blog article recently that really stuck with me because it covered a topic that has been coming up a lot in Bright Line Eating. Listen to this week's episode to hear all about it.

FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE:

Episode: Tinkering | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

Life can be very difficult. Sometimes it can feel like we're getting hit with one thing after another. In this week's episode, I discuss an important perspective shift that serves me well on my Bright Line Eating journey. I think you might find it helpful, too. Listen to hear my thoughts. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/ri5oNS Episode: Choose Your Hard | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

I'm in the San Francisco area right now to be with my family as my aunt passes. I heard a couple of days ago that she had taken a turn for the worse, so I decided to drop everything to fly across the country and be with them. Listen to this week's episode to hear how this experience relates to recovery and the Bright Line Eating journey.   FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/nCg4EO (https://ble.life/nCg4EO) Episode: Showing Up for Family When It Matters | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

In this week's very special episode, I'm joined by Esther Helga from Iceland. I was recently introduced to Esther and a community of people around the world who are doing really interesting things in the world of food addiction research and treatment. Listen to hear all about their work.   FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/xGzwuU (https://ble.life/xGzwuU) Episode: An Interview with Esther Helga | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

I was on the phone with a close friend recently, and she was talking about why we do what we do when we follow Bright Line Eating. Something she said really struck me, and when I realized I hadn't recorded an episode about it yet, I knew I had to rectify that immediately. Listen to hear my thoughts. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/ctgIV4 (https://ble.life/ctgIV4) Episode: Addiction is a Disease (Yes, an ACTUAL Disease) | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

A little while ago, I recorded an episode about Ari Whitten's amazing new book, Eat For Energy. As part of the release festivities, I interviewed Ari for about an hour and we put out a link to the interview for anyone who bought the book. I asked him a question during our interview that is incredibly important for the BLE community, and his answer was so helpful that I knew I'd eventually discuss it in a podcast episode. Listen to hear my thoughts. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/K9hxvZ Episode: Flux | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

If you’re new to the Bright Line community—Welcome! We’ve got hundreds of new people joining us, thanks largely to the Food Revolution Network and my friend Ocean Robbins. We just did an event about how to get weight loss drug results without the drugs, and hundreds of people are starting the Bright Line Eating Boot Camp right now. I’m thinking of you!

I also want to tell our long-time Bright Lifers that I know we have some loose threads to address. I need to give you an update on the International Food Addiction Consensus Conference in London, and also a recap of on On This Bright Day. Stay tuned for those in the coming weeks!

One more housekeeping detail: Bright Line Eating turns ten this summer. We’re going to host a gathering here in Rochester, NY, on Sunday, August 4. Details to come, but just save that date for now!

Today, I want to talk about something I’m going through right now, that may be similar to what others’ internal experiences are as they undertake their Bright journeys.

My daughter Zoe commented recently that she knows it’s time to get up when she hears me scraping my breakfast bowl—to death, loudly. I laughed when she said that, but I was also a little embarrassed. After my breakfast or a salad, I’ll have a spoon handy to scrape all the flavor out of the bowl. It’s Bright food, so it’s not a break, but I don’t feel free when I do it. I feel powerless over it.

This is all about the addiction to quantities, which seems to kick in and grip me at the end of each meal. I felt this way—but even worse—twenty years ago when I started eating Bright. Those last few bites felt like a death, and I was horrified to know that it would be hours before I could eat again.

If you’re new and feel this way, know that the intensity of that experience does pass. Now I don’t care so much when the meal ends, but I do seem to get pretty intense about getting those last licks and morsels. It made me start thinking about power and powerlessness over food, though. I’ve regained my power over food by weighing and measuring it. But I still feel powerless in the last few moments of the meal.

Then I thought about a few years ago when I let go of gaming the system in restaurants and just accepted the Brightest, cleanest meal there. What changed was that I suddenly wanted the freedom, so badly.

So now, I sat where I usually eat my breakfast, looking out at our backyard. And I thought about whether I could find the part of myself that wants to be free of incessantly scraping the bowl. That was hard at first. After a while, though, I found it.

And when I found the part of myself that truly, truly wants to be free of that intense scraping, I invited my higher power in to help. I opened up to grace.

I use the word God, but I’m really speaking about an unknowable essence that I do not understand. An awe-inspiring energy that helps me with my addiction.

It makes me feel like I’m an electric plug that needs power. In my addiction, I don’t have that power. But when I just plug into the outlet, it gives me the power I need. I open myself up to extra power with a plea for help.

And suddenly, I found myself able to put the bowl down without scraping. I felt free and light. The next meal, it happened again. I remembered to say please before each meal and to open myself up to that power. I kept tapping into the part of me that wants that freedom and is willing to coast on that feeling of grace.

I offer this to you if you’re starting your Bright journey, because it is possible to activate a power source that will enable you to have a Bright meal and be satisfied. A mini-awakening or mini-awareness. A spiritual happening. You can do it for the next meal, and the next. The meals turn into days. The days turn into weeks. And suddenly you realize you’re receiving your Bright Transformation.

FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/h4khpw
Scraping the Bowl | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

This week, I want to talk to you about an overlooked factor in fat-loss maintenance, mood, and overall health. It's a super fun acronym called "NEAT," and you can find out what it stands for when you listen to the episode. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/MP0Ci6 (https://ble.life/MP0Ci6) Episode: NEAT | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

Today is my birthday, and I thought since June 29th happened to fall on a Wednesday this year, I would record a podcast on eight reflections I've collected over my 48 years on this Earth. Listen to hear them. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/wGgG25 (https://ble.life/wGgG25) Episode: Eight Reflections on 48 Years of Life | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

I've had quite an intense week, and as things started to settle down, I was thinking about the things I do to take care of myself, in particular, my meditation practice. Listen to this week's episode to hear my thoughts and how they might relate to your Bright Line Eating program. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/ZcImZi Episode: Sanctity | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

I recently attended the first international conference on food addiction, and the first speaker was especially noteworthy. In this week's episode, I wanted to share some takeaways from his talk. Listen to hear all about it. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/Bho2VW Episode: Three Things Change as Addiction Takes Root | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

I have to confess something: I am so addicted to quantities. I experience tremendous freedom around sugar and flour, which I'm very grateful for, but I'm struggling with my quantities right now. Listen to this week's episode to hear what has happened to me over the last few weeks. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/qlPwyl Episode: Addicted to Quantities | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

I just had the privilege of doing something really exciting—I traveled to England to attend the first-ever international conference on food addiction. How cool is that? Listen to this week's episode to hear all about it. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/8V9kYA Episode: Relapse Prevention | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

I was on the Bright Lifers Accountability Call recently, and someone asked a very interesting question. She wanted to know how to reconcile the difference between how she handles fats at home versus when she eats out at restaurants. Listen to the episode to hear my response to this common experience. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/Rn9TcP Episode: Measuring Fats | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

I'm so excited to announce that my dear friend, Ari Whitten, has published an amazing new book. It's called Eat for Energy: How to Beat Fatigue, Supercharge Your Mitochondria, and Unlock All-Day Energy. In this week's episode, I'm going to share with you what he discusses in chapter 2, which is all about the science of how the food you eat (and WHEN you eat it) affects your circadian rhythm. ------------------ PLEASE NOTE: To gain exclusive access to a special interview between Susan and Ari, send proof of your purchase of Eat for Energy to eatforenergy@brightlineeating.com. It can be a copy of a receipt, a picture of the book, or anything else that shows you own a copy. ------------------ FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/EwMUQ9 Episode: Meal Times and Your Circadian Rhythm | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

A new round of the Gideon Games starts this week. These games are fun, 90-day contests available to all members that promote accountability, support, and connection. During the first-ever round, I was a participant. This time, I've decided to be a Team Leader, and I'm already learning so much. Listen to this episode to hear my thoughts. JOIN THE CORE MEMBERSHIP: https://ble.life/wz044a FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/qFaNaZ Episode: Four Lessons from the Gideon Games | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

I was on a coaching call a few days ago and spoke with one of our incredible Bright Lifers who drew my attention to an interesting Maintenance topic that I hadn't covered at all before in an episode. Since we've spent the last couple of weeks in BLE Land talking about all things Maintenance, it seemed like the perfect time to discuss it. Listen to this episode to hear my thoughts. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/1wRiyX Episode: Transitioning to Maintenance Without the Bathroom Scale | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

I get so many questions about weight loss drugs, and I want to talk to you about why you should care—even if you know that you will never take them.

First, there is the magnitude of their impact. Barclays did an investigative report on the financial impact of these drugs. They concluded that they will have as big an impact as the invention of the smartphone.

In ten or twenty years, we’re likely to see a significant portion of the population on these drugs. They will come down in cost and be available in pill form. They’re also likely to have mechanisms like anti-nausea compounds built in to mitigate side effects.

As these things happen, they may become more acceptable for many people. So I think these drugs are here to stay.

As far as safety goes, people have been on these drugs for diabetes for a while now, and there don’t seem to be any common problematic side effects. There are side effects, but they are uncommon and don’t outweigh the benefits of the drugs.

Another reason to watch these weight loss drugs closely is that research shows that changes in our orientation toward thinness have a huge impact on society, especially young women and girls. When Twiggy became a supermodel back in the 1960s, ultra-thinness became the unattainable norm, and in a very short period of time, body dissatisfaction skyrocketed.

But when you’re thin, you’re not always healthy, and that’s also the case with obesity. It may be true to say that there are people with obesity who are healthy, just as it’s true to say that there are three-pack-a-day smokers who don’t have lung cancer. However, the data on obesity that shows that it’s not healthy is as strong as data showing that smoking causes cancer.

But it’s equally important that we not slide into anti-fat bias. These drugs have the potential to make that worse, so we need to pay attention to their impact on our communities.

The final reason you should care is that we know these drugs slow down gastric processes…but they also affect the brain. GLP-1, the main receptor affected by these drugs, is found throughout the brain: in the reward centers, in the appetite centers, and elsewhere.

Without these drugs, the GLP-1 in your brain spikes when you eat and then goes down. With the drugs, GLP-1 is high all the time. This raises many questions. What will it do to the reward centers? Is it going to reset the reward system? We see some evidence of people being less interested in things like gambling or pornography when on these drugs. So perhaps these drugs will be seen as something that many people should be on.

I take hormones because I’m about to turn 50. It’s made such a difference to my quality of life. These GLP-1s aren’t that different. They may, in the same way, become normalized, so it’s not a big deal to be on them.

Because I’m so curious about these new drugs, I’ve created a new event: a recorded video series only available for a limited time. The first two of four parts are available today. The series is called “How to Get Weight Loss Drug Results…Without the Drugs.” I dive into the neurobiology of these drugs, and explain how you can get the same results by changing your diet and your habits.

Also, next weekend, I’m having a three-hour Fireside Chat with several guests, including a physician who understands both Bright Line Eating and these drugs. I’m also planning two social live events on YouTube.

All this is available for free, and clicking on the link below this video will take you to the event page.

So that’s the scoop: I think these drugs are here to stay, and you may want to have tools up your sleeve so that you understand their impact, and know if they’re right for you.

Note: Our special event is now over.

FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/e5bg8x
Why You Should Care About Weight-Loss Drugs—Even if You Will Never Take Them | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

A few weeks ago, while I was battling COVID, our refrigerator ended up breaking. Due to my extreme fatigue and the reality of our unfortunate appliance situation, I ended up ordering takeout for dinner nearly a month straight. Over time, this started to mess with my head. Listen to week's episode to hear what I did about it and how it relates to our Art of Maintenance extravaganza that's happening right now. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/pSUOk1 Episode: The Art of Maintenance | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

I was coaching a Bright Lifer recently on the daily Accountability Call, and she shared an experience with her food that she'd just had at a party. I strongly related to the internal struggle she described, so I decided to record an episode all about it. Listen to hear my thoughts. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/9vfaEj Episode: The Negotiator and the Mediator | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

The concept of the "10++" on the Susceptibility Scale has come up twice in my life recently, so I took that as a sign it was time to record an episode on it. Listen to hear my thoughts. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/aTG807 Episode: 10++ | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

Recently, I was scrolling on social media while I rest and recover from COVID, and I saw someone posting pictures of their BLE food where just about every picture had a waffle in it. Now, I don't know what the waffles were made of, but it got me thinking about an important topic for this week's episode. Listen to hear my thoughts. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/A5T8Fl Episode: Borderline Foods | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

This episode was supposed to be all about a new livestream I'm presenting and an exciting 2-week event that we were going to hold…but I caught Covid a little over a week ago, and I'm just not recovering fast enough. I thought I'd be able to push through, but I realized this morning that I simply can't. Listen to this episode to hear all about it. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/cOCOEP Episode: COVID Vlog | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

In last week's episode, I talked about the process of letting go of our favorite binge foods, and in the comment section below that video, a viewer offered a brilliant analogy that I want to share with you today. He suggested that we should think of our cravings from the perspective of an outsider so that we're a witness to them instead of being a victim of them. Listen to hear my response to his astute observations. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/svnCEh Episode: Navigating Intense Cravings | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

Sugar and flour encapsulate the vast majority of what we abstain from in Bright Line Eating in order to heal our brains and our bodies as we lose all our excess weight. In today's episode, I talk about one of the foods that we include under the "sugar and flour" umbrella: potato chips. Listen to hear the science behind why they're just as dangerous. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/IEvnG6 Episode: Divorcing Potato Chips | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

Last week, I didn't release an episode, and I believe that's only the third time in seven years that I've missed a week. All three of those times have been for pretty much the same reason: life got so intense that the only sane thing to do was to give myself a break. I wanted to check in this week to explain a bit about what happened and how it relates to your Bright Line Eating journey. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/b8ZBO1 Episode: Execute-Program-Lunch | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

We have a lot of support structures in our Bright Line Eating community. There's buddies, Mastermind Groups, and, up until now, something called sponsorship. Listen to this week's episode to hear why we've decided to change our terminology from "sponsor" to "Guide." FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/UXn04I Episode: From Sponsor to Guide | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

One of the Bright Line Eating coaches recently suggested that I shoot an episode on marijuana because there are members of our community who are struggling with their use of it. I initially didn't know what I'd say, but the more I thought about it, I realized I had some interesting points to discuss. Listen to hear them. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/IlSNbT Episode: Marijuana | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

Julie Harris wrote in with a great question. She said: “Why is it necessary to weigh and measure vegetables in Bright Line Eating? I like to bulk up my portions with vegetables and want to know why that is not part of the fabulous plan.”

For many people, the idea of weighing and measuring vegetables is ludicrous. Dieters may think, “Hey, vegetables are super healthy and there aren’t many calories in them, so why bother to weigh them?” And all that’s true. But that’s not why we do it. There are three reasons we weigh and measure our vegetables at Bright Line Eating.

First and foremost, it gives the mind peace. It signals a clear end to the meal and lets the brain know that the meal is over once the measured portion has been eaten.

For many people, there’s a constant dialogue in our minds that we call food chatter: “Should I eat something more? Is it mealtime yet? How about now? Can I have more of this? Can I grab the bit left on the plate…” and it goes on and on.

When we weigh and measure our food—all of it—we have a finite quantity, and when we’re done eating it, the brain stops the infernal noise that distracts us and makes us focus on our food—and that gives us peace.

Second, many people, unless they weigh their vegetables, won’t eat enough of them. They’ll think they are, but they’re not. The bulk of vegetables is needed to aid chewing, release hormones, provide nutrients, and add fiber to keep the body satiated.

Third, an excessive quantity of food, just the pure bulk of it, is addictive. The bulk of food releases dopamine that results in more eating. Overeating in volume can trigger a binge in some people. You must get enough—but not too much—bulk.

All that said, what if you want to eat more vegetables than the allotted amount in the standard weight loss plan?

In the Boot Camp, we’ve got a library of options, one of which is a plant-based food plan option, with extra vegetables. Specifically, it has four extra ounces of vegetables at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can add more even more than that to your plan if you want, as long as you keep your plan fixed and consistent and weigh and measure it all. If you have an addiction to quantities, it might be too much bulk for you, but you can try to increase the amount of vegetables and see if it works for you.

I’ve been doing this for twenty years, and I can tell you that quantity addiction is the hardest to snuff out. I’m painfully aware, for example, of the size of my apples. I love a big salad, but I’ve recently trimmed back quantities because I don’t want the bulk; I don’t want to be addicted to the quantities.

I scrape my bowl clean in the morning, and I can see that the vestiges of that quantity addiction still live in me. I offer that to you for consideration. As a 10++ on the Susceptibility Scale, I want to be free more than I want that quantity.

I know people in the plant-based community think I’m crazy for weighing vegetables. But their aims are different from mine. They’re helping people get healthy, I’m helping people recover from food addiction—to break free. Julie, you can do what you choose. If you do want to add vegetables to your food plan, you can weigh and measure them and see if it works out for you. There are no Bright Line Eating police, so do what brings you peace.

FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/q8s490
Why Weigh Vegetables? | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

I've been a regular at a local Thai restaurant for over 20 years now, and, more than once, a waitress who knows me by name has remarked that I've gained weight. I decided to record a Vlog about it because as we progress along our weight-loss journeys, we will all likely get comments about our changing appearances. Listen to hear my thoughts. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/3Smsxz Episode: Comments on Our Weight | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

The other day, I was out to dinner with one of my kiddos, and after we ordered, a bunch of NMF (Not My Food) was brought to the table while we waited for our meals. I decided to have a small taste of the parmesan cheese sitting in front of me, and the experience that followed is probably one you can relate to. Listen to this week's episode to hear all about it. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/vUln9d Episode: None Is Easier Than Some | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

As 2022 began, I saw a prompt online from the New York Times asking me if I wanted to see the most-read articles of 2021. And I did. It turns out the most popular article was an op-ed called "There's a Name for the Blah You're Feeling: It's Called Languishing." Listen to this week's episode to hear my thoughts on the topic and why it resonated with me so deeply. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/2tFyyZ Episode: Languishing | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

When people do Bright Line Eating, we aim for them to lock into a rhythm of eating that helps them lose their excess weight, stabilize at maintenance, and create such automaticity with their food that they unlock the human potential buried under all the weight. But then…what's next? What do you do with the huge amount of space that's freed up when the food and weight problem isn't there anymore? Listen to this week's episode to hear my thoughts. ACCESS THE FREE ARCHIVE! https://optimize.me/ble FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/EYIKvj Episode: Optimize Your Purpose | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

Welcome to the first episode of 2022! This year, I'm committed to being more publicly vocal about topics like food addiction and the types of programs that will be successful in treating it. I've been on TV a few times a week for the last couple weeks, I have a ton of podcast interviews scheduled, and…I just published my first op-ed piece! Listen to this week's episode to hear all about it. READ THE OP-ED: https://ble.life/7WHwju FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/076jjA Episode: Food Policy and BLE's First Op-Ed | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

The episode is early this week because today is a very special occasion. Today is the publication day of BLE's third book!!! Rezoom: The Powerful Reframe to End the Crash-and-Burn Cycle of Food Addiction is finally available in bookstores everywhere. If you pre-ordered, has it arrived yet? If you haven't, there's a convenient link to order below the episode. This book has a huge job to do in the world right now, both in our BLE community and beyond. Listen to the episode to hear all about it. GET YOUR COPY OF REZOOM: https://ble.life/FNoz0e FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/MSeWLS Episode: REZOOM IS HERE!!! | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

It's been a long year, and we're in the midst of the holiday season right now in many parts of the world. In this week's episode, some participants from our Bright Line Holiday course make surprise guest appearances to share their best tips for how to say "no, thank you" to any food you might be offered. During this time when so many festivities revolve around eating, having a few quick and polite responses at the tip of your tongue may be just the thing you need. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/2PxGT1 Episode: Creative "No, Thank Yous" | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

In this week's episode, I share a really sweet story along with a very important addition to the BLE scientific framework around food, addiction, eating, and sustained weight loss. Listen now to hear it all. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/YfxhCy Episode: Substance and Process Addiction | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

In this week's episode, I wanted to cover a topic brought up on a recent Bright Lifers' Daily Accountability Call because it coincides with a theme we've had going on here at Bright Line Eating lately: fresh starts and Bright Beginnings. Listen now to hear all about it. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/6RkDc8 Episode: Effective Surrender | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

This is an episode that I've been waiting to record for a long time, and it relates to the questions that I get asked the most when I talk to my friends in the BLE community. They want to know the outcomes of various fundraisers that we've held over the years, and I'm so happy to finally share the results. Listen now to hear all about them. DONATE TO CHARITY: WATER https://cwtr.org/3qbfSzP FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/ikQHuX Episode: The Legacy of BLE Giving | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

Theresa wrote in with a very powerful and relatable challenge: “It seems I can’t stop eating once I start. This is especially true for dinner. I’m okay as long as I don’t start eating. Once I start, I want to continue. Even if I’m eating compliant food, I can’t make it through one single day completely Bright. Help!”

This is one of the twin defining features of addiction: once we start, we can’t stop. And once we stop, we can’t stay stopped. 

You’re not alone, Theresa. So what do we do about it?

The first thing is to realize you’re dealing with an advanced case of food addiction. The solution lies in a comprehensive, multi-faceted, and rigorous approach to treating it. 

If you’re trying to do Bright Line Eating after reading the book, that’s not a potent enough solution. If BLE is going to work for you, you will need to do the Boot Camp and use every resource available. You might need a BLE guide—someone to talk with you every day until you get some successful weeks under your belt. 

But what if you’ve already done Boot Camp? Then you may need to take it to the next level. That could mean going inpatient. I know one really good treatment program for people who have food addiction. That’s SHIFT Recovery by Acorn. Look them up for their inpatient treatment program, which you can do either onsite or virtually.

You might also try a 12 Step Program. The most potent one is probably FA—Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous. That would give you a sponsor you can talk to every day who would be directive and authoritative with you.

Within the Bright Line Eating program, there are several strategies I would recommend.

One is preparing, weighing, and measuring your food the day before so that everything is all set and ready to go. You’re separating the experience of preparing food from the experience of eating. That creates a buffer between you and the food—once the meal is over, it will be far more challenging to keep eating. 

Another habit to build in: brush your teeth and tongue right after you eat with a strong, minty toothpaste and mouthwash. This signals your brain that you’re done. 

Dinner is predictable. It shows up at the end of the day. Use that to your advantage. Get a Bright Line Eating buddy to talk to you right when you know you’ll be finishing dinner. And once that call is over, find something else to do, far away from the kitchen, and make it habitual.

People tend to have problems with dinner that they don’t have with lunch or breakfast. Here’s why: first, your brain is more depleted by the end of the day. Second, people tend to pair dinner with more variety and more highly rewarding foods. Breakfast and lunch can be more easily automatic, but not dinner. Notice that difference, and try to make your dinner more like breakfast.

How? Develop a dinner that does not include rewarding foods. Try steamed green beans rather than butternut squash. Don’t use a lot of spices on your chicken. (Salt and pepper are fine.) It’s okay to enjoy your food, but make it simple enough that it’s not something you look forward to.

Using some or all of those strategies can get you on the right track. You need to take this seriously and make dinner hours absolutely protected. 

Remember: you’re not alone. This is what addiction is. Bring a lot more intentionality to your meals. 

You’ve got this, Theresa. I love you and am here for you. Let us know how my team and I can help you.

FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/ozoaq8
Can't Stop Eating | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

It's that time of year again! We're heading into the holiday season, and in this week's episode, I want to share a helpful perspective, not just for people aiming to live Bright and stick to their Lines through all the festivities, but for everyone. Listen to hear my thoughts. FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/tWCE6c Episode: Bright Holiday Toolkit | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

A couple of weeks ago, my beloved husband, David, got a vision. (Normally, I’m the one in the family who gets the visions, but this time, the Download from the Universe came to him.) He could see it in his mind’s eye and hear it so clearly. He was really impassioned when he shared it with me and I took it seriously. We shared his vision with the BLE videographer, Daniel, and this episode is the result. GO TO THE CONCIERGE PAGE: https://ble.life/9vF95G FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/hWWHJt Episode: Bright Line Eating: Origins | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

I felt pressure to come up with an extra interesting topic today because it's the one and only episode that comes out during Bright Ticket Week. Luckily, during the first Livestream yesterday, something happened that so captivated me, I knew I had to talk about it. Listen to hear what happened and why it's relevant to your Bright Line Eating journey. GO TO THE CONCIERGE PAGE: https://ble.life/9vF95G FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/VqfyEj Episode: The Urgent Need for a Bright Beginning | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast