Bright Line Living™ - The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast Susan Peirce Thompson

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard about the new weight-loss drugs that are on the market—maybe you’ve even tried them. In this vlog, I talk about some of the reasons why I think it’s important for you to learn about these drugs and the impact they are likely to have on our world in the coming years.

Click here to join our event “How to Get Weight-Loss Drug Results… Without the Drugs”

FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/e5bg8xWhy You Should Care About Weight-Loss Drugs—Even if You Will Never Take Them | 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

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/ozoaq8Can't Stop Eating | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

Recently, Flo sent in some great questions. She asked: “What do you mean when you say ‘There are no Bright Line Eating police,’ and ‘Do what gives you peace’? These sound like invitations to tinker with the Bright Lines. What do these statements look like when making food choices? Do they apply in weight loss as well as maintenance?”

It’s true: these phrases can sound like invitations to walk off the path. The part of you that worries about this is your Food Controller. This part of you loves the BLE structure and feels supported by it. It’s suspicious of anything that sounds like it’s not exactly sticking to the plan—because the plan works.

For your growth as a human being, though, you’ll eventually want to transfer the running of your BLE program from your Food Controller to your highest, Authentic Self. Your Authentic Self chooses to follow the plan because it knows it’s in your best interests.

Let me give you some examples, then, of what these phrases mean. Let’s say someone doesn’t like to eat three meals a day. They want to follow the food plan but break it into two meals. In this situation, when I say there are no BLE police, I mean that no one is going to knock on your door to accuse you of not following the plan. This is an example of doing what brings you peace, without worrying about what works for anyone else.

Another example: You’re in your first few weeks of Boot Camp, and are invited out to eat with a friend at a Thai restaurant. We generally recommend no restaurant meals during the first 30 days of Boot Camp. So, I can see “doing what gives you peace” going either of two ways. Maybe it means that you don’t go out to the restaurant, because you won’t have peace around it. Instead, you eat your meal in advance and meet your friend afterward for a cup of tea.

Or maybe you really, deeply, believe you’ll be fine. You’ve looked up the menu and chosen your meal, and you’ve called the restaurant to make sure they can do it without sugar. You have peace about going. In fact, you feel like you would not have peace about not going. So eating this meal out gives you peace, and that’s fine, too.

By saying “Do what gives you peace,” I’m not necessarily suggesting you deviate from the Bright Lines.

We also talk about how there are no Bright Line Eating police to reassure people who have broken their Bright Lines and fear they will be judged or ostracized from our community. We’re not judging you. We love you, support you, and want you here.

Finally, Flo asked if these phrases apply to both weight loss and maintenance. The earlier you are in your Bright Line journey, the more I’d recommend that you follow the plan exactly as it’s laid out. The longer you are into maintenance, the more your brain is healed, and the better able it is to embrace these sayings.

And if you feel better just following the fabulous plan, JFTFP by all means, do that.

I also have an announcement for you today: I have 20 full scholarships for the next Book Camp available if you wish to apply. Applications are being accepted between May 15 and 19, 2024, for the Book Camp that starts June 13, 2024. There’s a link on this page that explains what you need to know and how to apply.

*Applications for a Boot Camp 2.0 scholarship are now closed.

FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/etcty6Do What Gives You Peace | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

I recently received an email from a woman named Peggy Sue Parker. She said she’d been using three of the four Bright Lines: no sugar, no flour, and only three meals a day. She said, “I have not weighed my food, because I have never been one to overeat.” Using those three Bright Lines, though, she has been able to lose weight successfully. She wondered if some people could manage their weight using only some of the Bright Lines.

When I was registering BLE as a company, I registered our name officially as Bright Line Eating Solutions, LLC. That’s solutions—plural. Because BLE is not just one solution; it’s many solutions for people who may be at different points along the food addiction continuum. It’s not binary: there are mild, medium, and severe cases of food addiction, plus there are people who legitimately have NO food addiction but do have weight to lose, and each of these situations needs a different approach, not one single written-in-stone solution.

This reminds me of a line in Shakespeare’s great play, Hamlet, where the king’s advisor, Polonius, says: “This above all, to thine own self be true.” This sentence can be found on sobriety coins, and back when I was first sober, I didn’t understand it.

Now, coming up on 30 years of sobriety, I do understand. Each person needs to make their recovery their own. And Peggy Sue, what I want to say to you is: do what brings you peace. And whatever that is, you are welcome in Bright Line Eating.

There are plenty of people who would benefit from what Peggy Sue is doing. Although I do tell people to weigh and measure their food, I’m generally speaking to the tens on the Susceptibility Scale. Maybe that’s not you.

Peggy Sue is doing Bright Line Eating appropriately for her needs. She doesn’t weigh her food because she “has never been one to overeat.” That’s a telling sentence. Someone who needs to weigh and measure their food would never say that, because it’s not their experience.

Not everyone needs to follow the Bright Lines strictly. Some people can use the Bright Lines as guidelines, like the lane markers on the highway. It’s not a train on a track; you can deviate a bit while still staying in your lane. 

Another point: psychologist Solomon Asch did powerful experiments to show that people will go along with what others say, even if they believe it’s wrong. People want to conform with others. In BLE, I’ve tailored solutions for those who are high on the Susceptibility Scale. If you don’t fit that model, it can feel like others are exerting pressure on you to conform to what isn’t right for you. 

In Asch’s experiments, all it took was one person to speak the truth to free others to say their own truth. What that means for Peggy Sue is that she is important to the Bright Line community, even if her experience is different from the experiences of the majority in the community. 

The reality is that I’m going to spend most of my time speaking to those who are high on the Susceptibility Scale because they need the most support. I’m like the Lorax. The Lorax “speaks for the trees” and I speak for the 10s. But today I’m speaking to those who are not. 

Our brains can indeed deceive us, and many people are scared to deviate even a little from the Bright Lines because of this. I like to give people the full roadmap for what may work for them, along with the freedom to follow it or not, figure it out on their own, and choose their path. But we’re not going to police you. There are no BLE police. 

So if you’re using the Bright Lines as guidelines in a way that serves you and it’s working for you, you’re doing great. Please stay with us, because there is a place for you even if you only follow two or three of the Bright Lines. Everyone is free to be here. Remember: to thine own self be true.

FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/6jfhvaBright Lines as Guidelines for Weight Loss | Bright Line Living | T

Today I want to talk about my journey to be able to do one pull-up. This has been on my bucket list for a long time. It reminds me in some ways of the journey to lose and keep off excess weight. Here are five similarities I’ve noticed.

First, some context: When I was young, every year we had to do fitness tests—including one to hold yourself with your chin above a pull-up bar for as many seconds as you could. I was abysmal at this, at the bottom of my class. Now, I’m almost 50, and upper-body strength is still a challenge. 

The first Bright Line Eating principle that I’m reminded of is unstoppability. When we come into Bright Line Eating, we may struggle. When I started seriously trying to do a pull-up, shoulder impingements kicked in and I was in too much pain to keep training.

Then I got frozen shoulder, and that meant at least one more year without being able to train.

This year, however, my shoulder impingement was mostly gone AND my frozen shoulder was mostly gone. I was doing treatments for joint pain, too. I had to move unstoppably through challenges to get to a point where I could start to train toward a pull-up.

The second lesson is this: my book Rezoom talks about how to ride the waves in your journey. I mention something James Clear talks about in Atomic Habits: when trying to achieve something, most people focus on the goal. But what creates sustained behavior change is to think about your identity, not your goal, and then move on to focusing on the processes that will get you there.

My process was to get a good personal trainer and do what he told me to do. I realized that my identity as an exerciser needed to be: someone who strives for physical goals and who shows up for training consistently, with accountability and support. 

That brings me to the third similarity to a Bright Line journey: accountability and support. My friend Timo asked to join me in striving for pull-ups: his goal was to do 10, my goal was to do 1. Now we do a voice memo every Sunday night reviewing our week’s exercise progress. We decided we would strive to achieve our goals by my birthday, June 29.

I got to the point where I was close to doing a pull-up about three weeks ago. But I couldn’t quite do it—I got stuck at 90 degrees. That’s where the fourth BLE similarity comes in. Last Tuesday, before going on the pull-up bar, I paused and remembered WOOP. That’s an acronym from Gabriele Oettingen that stands for Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, and Plan. It’s a way of thinking that has you visualize your plan to overcome your obstacles. 

I visualized myself bursting through that 90 degree stuck-point, and this is what happened: I made it! I did a pull-up! I was so proud!

The final Bright Line lesson is something I teach in Bright Line Mind. Achieving goals doesn’t make us happy. Was I happy when I did my pull-up? Sure, for a few days. But raising your baseline happiness requires you to be striving for a goal: the pursuit of something matters, not achieving the goal itself.

At first, I thought I’d make a new goal to do three pull-ups, or five. But then I realized that neither of those goals felt self-concordant (aligned with my Highest Self), so right now, I’m trying to become a lap swimmer, someone who can (and does!) swim for 30 minutes, three times each week, and that’s my goal. I also have a new goal to be able to do 20 full pull-ups.

When you look at your BL journey, know that reaching your goal weight isn’t going to make you happier in a lasting way. What will, though, is being someone who is striving for what matters—whatever that is for you. Maybe it’s making it through the Bright Roadmap and then doing it again to help others, or maximizing your peace and serenity in your Bright Body, or maybe you want to publish a book, or take up painting.

A bonus tip: A good goal is one that you have about a 50 percent chance of achieving. That helps you to feel accomplished when you do reach it, but