Newsletter
DR. BERENSON’S NEWSLETTER NO. 4
September 8, 2011
HOW TO USE WATER FOR DIET AND WEIGHT CONTROL
By Marvin H. Berenson, M.D.
Dear friends,
In considering what to write to you for our 4th newsletter I decided to acquaint you with the value of water for dietary controls. These ideas are useful for people of any age and weight, including children, even for those who have never been overweight. I ascribe my own lifelong weight maintenance to my five primary keys that I have written about in my diet book, but water stands as a unique element in the ability to gain this control.
No one is free of the need to regulate his or her diet and to maintain a healthy weight. However, in recent years there has been an increasing number of the population that has become overweight. Despite the many dietary approaches and advice that is fed the population the ability to control diet and weight has diminished. We see many small children who are already obese which augurs poorly for their body weight control when they reach adulthood.
I have treated many overweight patients over many years and have worked out a program that is both simple and extremely effective. At the heart of the program is how to use water to diminish your appetite, control food intake and lose weight. The program can be used with any diet and can stand alone as a diet technique. Most diet books stress the value of water for health but my emphasis is when and how to use it.
In its simplest form here is all you need to do. On awakening have one glass of water. Just before breakfast drink another glass of water and before each meal do the same.
During each meal drink another glass of water and before all snacks, even tiny ones, drink a half glass of water. It is clear that what you are doing is filling the stomach with water, which tends to fill you and reduce your appetite. Many people have difficulty in drinking this much water or drinking under this kind of routine. However it won’t take long to get used to it and your pleasure in seeing your weight diminish more than compensates for the initial discomfort. In a matter of weeks it will be recognized as routine and you might also find that drinking water with snacks has now changed and you only drink water when hungry or the snack has become a minor part of your calorie intake.
Some people find that the quantity of water I suggest might be too much at first. In that case cut the portion in half and start slowly, gradually adding water until you reach the limits that might be more beneficial.
If you feel you need additional help in diet and weight control check out my book, “The Psychiatrist’s Diet” that will describe the other keys to successful dieting. You can review it at www.drmarvinberenson.com.
DR. BERENSON’S NEWSLETTER NO. 3
August 27, 2011
OVERCOMING PASSIVITY AND INNER NEGATIVITY
By Marvin H. Berenson, M.D.
Dear friends,
To develop an inner sense of peacefulness and fulfillment you need to believe in your own power, sense of purpose and direction in life. It is important that you like your life and are doing whatever you can to move toward self- realization and a happier and more meaningful existence. Overcoming your inner obstacles is essential to reach the goal of inner peace that you seek. Life is striving toward accomplishment, being a loving person and believing in yourself.
Perhaps the most important attitude that a person can have is belief in one’s power. Not so simple I might add since you are easily swayed by hidden doubts, inferiority, envy, comparing yourself to others and a distorted and unrealistic assessment of your talents and personality.
If you tend to be passive and dislike that part of yourself, it is difficult to achieve the kind of personal satisfaction you seek. Unless you overcome or modify your passivity you’re probably not reaching your potential.
Unfortunately many of the facts and causes of this passivity and inner negativity are hidden or at least not clearly understood by many people. Thus this personality trait continues to influence your current and future life. It behooves you to both discover these hidden traits and to overcome them.
Here are some of the clues you need to look out for:
• Are you hesitant to speak out?
• Or the converse. Are you overly assertive and even feel authoritative when it isn’t appropriate?
• Do you avoid conflict or controversy?
• Or the converse. Do you seek arguments and try to dominate the interaction?
• Do you become overly aggressive or even angry when someone crosses your path?
• Do you seek or even crave acknowledgment for your accomplishments?
• Do you crave love and feel good when you are praised?
• Do you have unrealistic fantasies or daydreams about rising to new levels of success?
• Do you accept your position in your chosen field rather than continually look to improve yourself with increasing frustration?
• Are you obsessively driven to master more and more about your interests without feeling satisfied with your knowledge and level of expertise?
• Do you seek new ways to stir your imagination without any real sense of accomplishment?
• Do you try to overcome doubts or procrastination without facing the underlying causes and thus never seem to make any changes in this area?
• Do you deceive yourself about your real capacity and when you fail or do poorly, you offer excuses, whether in school, work or in your personal life?
At face value some of these clues may not be troubling or even indicative of negative thinking. They merely represent areas to evaluate in yourself.
In summary, it behooves everyone to be aware of those actions, thoughts and behavior that may interfere with developing a higher level of fulfillment. You must focus on ways to overcome any negative mindsets or thoughts that could be impeding your wish to improve your life. With increasing awareness and focusing on the truths that govern your life you will be on the path of change.
If you would like to learn more about ways to overcome negative mindsets and to make those changes that might lead to a more fulfilling life you might be interested in reading “Awakening Your Creativity,” which you can review on my website. www.DrMarvinBerenson.com.
DR. BERENSON’S NEWSLETTER NO. 2
August 12, 2011
Visualization of Future Success
By Marvin H. Berenson, M.D.
Dear friends,
Can you imagine the future and make it come true? The imagination is a
powerful tool of change, hope and aspiration. Many of the outstanding
motivational leaders of today such as Tony Robbins, Jack Canfield, and Mark
Hansen, to name a few, believe in the power that comes from cultivating your
inner strength and power to initiate change. Self-empowerment that comes from
your practice and belief in mental imagery is one of your keys to successfully
control behavior and thoughts.
No matter what degree of success we have achieved most of us want to
find new areas to conquer. Part of feeling alive and fulfilled is the sense of
continual accomplishment. Without such inner reward we tend toward boredom,
depression and eventually despair. We gain by giving to others, offering to
nurture young children, helping colleagues, sharing the high and low points in
friendships and feeling we have brought something worthwhile into our lives and
into the world.
We all thrive on inspirational stories and are deeply affected by people who overcome great odds and accomplish what almost seemed impossible. They become our teachers and guides. We study their methods of change, the obstacles they overcame, and the rewards they achieved. They inspire because you know that they are you.
Many tools are available to accomplish what you want. All require motivation and understanding the technical methods to master the skills to provide you a way of achieving your goal. Among those tools you are now adding visualization exercises to change the way you think, feel and act.
Those that add imagery to their toolkit will have a new key to change behavior and life. If you can imagine change and practice the exercises until the newly desired behavior is incorporated into your thinking then you become what you think. The saying “change your mind, change your life” is as real as doing real live exercises and watching your strength and endurance improve. Whether the exercise is a mental one or a physical one, the changes take place. Both require practice and patience, but both work.
Visualization exercises will help you achieve your goals. You will be joining an
increasing number of people who enlist mental power to control behavior. To
paraphrase Jack Canfield’s words “you will eventually be able to tell the single
most important story of someone who has fulfilled his or her dream.” The story
will be about you.
For those who desire to learn and even master the technique of using mental imagery my book “Awakening Creativity” which can be reviewed on my website www.DrMarvinBerenson.com can be of help. Included in the book is an “Introduction to Mental Imagery” that will give you the information you need to start your own personalized imagery program.
