INTRODUCTION

We invite you now to step out of the process of dieting and into the process of health. To dsicover your natural ability to be healthy and slim without food plans, exercise regimes, deprivation, or willpower. To know that you are normal and that the state of you physical body is merely a manifestation of years of imbalance-of the body, the mind and the spirit. If you are willing to explore them, your food, weight, and body issues can serve as a gateway to self-discovery that will improve your entire life, not just the size of your body.

When choosing to change and learn new ways of doing things, it is helpful to choose a master or role model to observe. A role model serves aas a touchstone for truth in practice as you are learning. He or she should be an outstanding example of the thoughts, words and actions that you wish to make part of your life. In the past you may have followed the example or teachings of those who struggle with their bodyies and work very hard to stay slim. Now you can choose a different model, the model of the naturally slim person. We all came into this world naturally slim, which makes following this model like coming home.

Books and programs that are based solely on actions such as counting fat grams and relentlessly exercising rarely lead to permanent weight loss. Changing the attitudes, thoughts, and beliefs behind these physical actions will. This is what makes this book such a valuable tool for improving your life and your weight.

If you have come to this book looking for a quick fix or magic food plan, you have come to the wrong place. Losing weight permanently is a process of growth and change. There are several steps to this process. If yo skip steps you may get quick weight loss but you wontget permanent weight loss. You will shortchange your own future by thinking that losing a certain amount of weight must be done by a certain date. Wether this is your first or your 15th book about losing weight, please give yourself the the gift of time. The key to success is to take all the time you need to learn and practice and focus on the proecess, not the pounds.

WHAT IS THE PROCESS OF GROWTH AND CHANGE?
The process of growth and change is a serioes of steps we must go through in order to think and act in a new way. The basic steps are:

AWARENESS:wakin up, feeling, seeing, touching, hearing interally and externally. Being alert, paying attention not just to physical experiencesbut also to mental, emotional, and spspiritual experiences.

INTROSPECTION: thinking abour your 'self,' abot your toughts, you feelings your actions and reactions, your wants, and your needs.

LETTING GO OF THE PAST: acknowledging the past that contributed to where you are today and then letting it go in order to move forward. This involves grievingfor what you are leaving behind.

ACCEPTANCE OF SELF AND OTHERS: a sense of peace about who are and an absence of anger and blame for yuour current state of body and mind.

EMBRACING CHANGE: an attitude that learning about yourself is enjoyable and that mistakes are not bad, but rather the foundation for learning. A true commitment to moving forward and being different from how you were. Willingness to be in the rpocess of growing instead of being done. You're ready to take action and to do the work necessary to move forward.

GROWTH: a progressive development of the self toward a higher, more fulfilling, level of bliving.

INCREASED AWARENESS: as you grow, your awareness and consciousness increase, allowing you to perceive other thoughts, feelings, and actions, often uncomfortable, and leading you to further INTROSPECTION.

As you can see, the process cycles back to the beginning. As long as you stay in the process, you will continue to grow and improve your life and your weight. This process is not always fast, and it is not always smooth, but if you stay in it, taking one small step at a time, the rewardds can be tremendous.

WHERE DO I START AND WHAT DO I DO? Start by taking your first small step in the area of awareness. You choose what step and how big. You can decide to be more awake to everything in your life, or you may choose one specific area of your life. You might choose to do one of the awareness exercises found in this book. From you increased awareness choose one small, specific thing you have noticed that gives you discomfort that you would like to feel diferent about. For example, maybe you've become aware that puttoing on clothes that are too tight for you upsets you.

Instead of jumping into the whole 'I need to lose weight' scenario, every time you get dressed, take a smalls tep into intorspection. Contemplate what you reallly think and feel about your tight clothes. Notice all the emotions a single piece of inanimatecloth can drag up. Notice the stream of negative thoughts you have about how fat you are, how ugly you are, how you don't deserve to get any new clothes until you lose weight, and the painful memories of your last 10 unsuccessful diets. Look closely at these thoughts. Is there one particular thought you could change that would keep you from getting depressed every time you get dressed? How about "I don't deserve to get any new clothes until I lose weight." this is not true. You deserve to have clothes that allow you to be comfortable as you work and play. Clothes are not meant to be a punishment.

The next step is to let go of the old thought and embrace the new. Start telling yourself every day, "i deserve to have comfortable clothes to wear." At first you may not be able to say this without cringing, but gradually you will begin to own the statement and believe it. this is the beginning of accepting yourself at the size youare. Soon you will be highly motivated to get yourself comfortable clothes no matter what size they are. Getting dressed in the morning can begin to become pleasurable instead of painful.

This is just one example of being in the process of growth and change. You can and will create hundreds of your own examples, personalized to you and your particular body, mind, and spirit. The process of Growth and Change is discussed in more detail in Chapter 20. You may find it helpful to readChapter 20 before you read the rest of the book.

USING "OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH"

At the end of most chapters there is a section called "opportunites for Growth." These opportunities will assist you in putting into action the material presented in each chapter. The "Awareness" section contains activities designed to wake up your senses and challenge percepptions you may have about yourself and your environment. The 'Introspection' section offers activities that encourage you to look inside yourself, and to ask yourself questions about how you think and feel. Next are "Old Beliefs to Let Go." These are beliefs that keep you from your slim nature. After the old beliefs we list a set of "New Beliefs to Embrace." These are beliefs we list a set of "Neew Beliefs to Embrace." These are beliefs that support the rpocess of becoming naturally slim. The old and new beliefs included in the section are samples of the most common beliefs we run across in our practice. The list is not all-inclusive; you can personalize it by adding your own beliefs. In the second half of the book you will learn how to assimilate new beliefs into your subconscious using psychological kinesiology, a highly reliable and measurable technique for incorporating positive new beliefs into our lives. Until then you can begin to embrace new beliefs by repeating them face to face with yourself in a mirror or by writing and reading them several times a day. In general, if a chapter does not have an "opportunities for Growth" secsion it is because that chapter provides information that will assist you overall in your growth.

The "Vividly Imagine" section provides a jumping-off point for you to create your own vivid imagery. When creating your images, write them down, be as vivid with details as possible, use words that are meaningful to you (use a dictionary to embel0lish), and read and visualize the images you created in detail at least once a day. Tape-recording the visualization is even better, because you can sit with your eyes closed and listen, focusing on the visualization itself instead of on reading the words. If you decide to make a tape, be srue to speak slowly and to allow time for your mind to fully form pictures of the images you wish to create.

"Patterns for Action" is the last sextion. Don't rush into this section. It is very important to set up your foundation for change mentally, with beliefs and images, before you attempt to make even the smallest physical action. The actions we suggest are purposely the very smallest of changes to get your olling. You may not be ready for these for a while. After you have these beginning changes entrenched as habits, you can build the next level of action yourself from the information in the book. "Additional Reading" provides the names of books and chapters with valuable information that will allow you to explore topics of your choice in depth. These books have been chosen specifically because they are harmonious with our philosophies. However, that does not mean the entire book agrees with us. When in doubt, we suggest you return to this book for validation. Occasionally we run across a book with helpful information in the front and a standard, unrealistic diet plan in the back. Please ignore any diets or food plans in the additional readings.

READING FOR RESULTS

This book is very different from books you may have read on the subject of losing weight. Many books take a look at only one small part of the multifaceted nature of weight loss. Examples of this are books that address only fat grams or only exercise or only emotional eating. We have chosen instead to provide you with a comprehensive guide concerning the many issues that confront people on a daily basis as they try to lose weight. You will be given new information about becoming slim and the tools you need to incorporate that information into your life.

This is a formidable goal to take on in one book. However, we believe that the majority of our readers are ready for something different and are willing to become students of the Naturally Slim wweight loss process. Being a student means that youabecome responsible for your own learning. You may take notes as you read; you can even write down questions and forward them to us (see back page for the address). You will probably read certain chapters more than once.

To get the most out of all the information in this book we encourage you to see it as an ongoing resource to consult as you change and grow. There are many ways to do this. You can read the book cover to cover, skipping over the Opportunities for Growht" sections, then go back and work throught them later. Or you can read slowly, doing each exercise as you go along. If you don't care for exercises you may choose to read the book and glean from it what you can without doing any of them

There are as many differnt ways to read and us this book as there are readers who read it. The best advice we can give you is to take your time, take small bites, and enjoy what you're doing. If you are feeling overwhelmed or overworked you are trying to do too much too fast. If you feel that nothing is happening, maybe you're doing too little. Taking the smallest of steps in a forward direction is the surest way to keep in the process. Look at your success in each step that you take rather than judging your progress by your weight. A lot will happen in your heart and your head before anything shows up on the scale.