Think Smart & Lose Weight

By Sandy Bröcking

This would have to be the easiest book to read ever. It is 208 pages of very plain language in very short chapters, the shortest being half a page.
Sandy, a nurse, used to be heavily overweight herself. Her dialogue is striking for its non-stop, first-hand wisdom, expressed with enthusiasm and passion, and all in keeping with „true‟ Natural Health.
This book demolishes the use of unhealthy and junk foods in a most graphical and colourful way. The motivating effect this has might well be the book’s greatest offering to people who want to overcome obesity and terrible health. “Be smart – stop stuffing your poor body with „dead‟ junk food!” she declares.
Sandy’s book is not a diet book. It is a guide for people with diet-related issues who want to lose weight and are serious about keeping it off. It is a testament of what is achievable for the individual. Losing weight is not about counting calories and living on the scales, it's about making small daily changes that will contribute to an exciting new you. Sandy Bröcking’s own story is behind the innovative health plan presented which does not involve a radical or expensive diet regime.
Sandy is dedicated to saving others from what she has been through, especially the embarrassment of being greatly overweight.

Review by Roger French, the Natural Health Society

Think Smart and Lose Weight provides the perfect companion for all personal journeys towards a healthy way of life.

“I think it is a great guide to health coupled with an individual’s journey toward better eating and a more enjoyable lifestyle. This book is a fantastic and easy read.”
Emma H

“Thank you Sandy, you changed the life of a whole family.”
Alex W

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sandy Bröcking
• Release date: Mar 5, 2011
• ISBN: 9780646554518

Sandy Bröcking

A German native and now an Australian citizen, Sandy Bröcking’s keen interest in healthy lifestyle stemmed from over 17 years working as a nurse and in various hospitals, including heart surgery, in many countries across the globe. As she used to be heavily overweight herself and after first-hand experiences with multiple patients suffering from illnesses as a result of obesity and unhealthy lifestyles, Sandy was propelled to find a way to help these people. Understanding the shortcomings of the myriad of fads and diet regimes offered left, right and centre, Sandy was inspired to share her methods with the world and use her passions to help other people change their lives for the better too. A writer with a world of experience under her belt, Sandy also exercises, cycles, swims and bushwalks in her spare time. Her caring nature extends even beyond people, having volunteered for an animal rescue home where she spent four years walking dogs.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Me

AS A BABY, as a kid at school, as a teenager and as an adult I used to be big. Too big! I’m not talking about the wonderful ‘before and after diet photos’, where everybody wonders if it is the same person in both pictures. No, I want to let you know that I have experienced it all. I had horrible times at school. I was embarrassed to take off my clothes for swimming lessons. Embarrassed that I couldn’t run and was always far behind everybody else — puffing like an old steam train.

I was scared and sad, spending most of my time in the schoolyard by myself. I received bad school reports because my classmates ‘looked better’. I was bullied.

Sometimes, I felt so bad that I prayed to God and asked him to end my life.

I was caught in the food chain. I was sad and frustrated. I ate to comfort myself — which usually made me feel even sadder and more frustrated and, of course, I ate more to comfort feelings.

I just kept sitting there by myself. I was too scared to do anything. I was scared people would reject me, talk about me and make fun of me.

All my life I had wanted to go horse riding, but I was too fat. Poor horse, I thought.

So I continued to sit by myself, watching TV and stuffing my face with ice-creams, biscuits, cheese sandwiches, chocolates and anything else I could find.

What a great life!

At school, we had this horrible teacher who made us run 3km in the hot midday sun during sport lessons — and I hated it. One day I kept dragging myself along, far behind everybody else, huffing and puffing as usual. I was so embarrassed. I felt the pain of dragging along all this extra fat that was sitting on my body. I was exhausted, I was angry and just couldn’t believe that I had to keep going through this ‘torture’ every single week.

And it made me think: "Hang on, this ‘torture’ is not going to change — but what I can do is change myself.

~ And that’s what I did! ~

I started running. I ran every day — first just a little, then a little more, and I loved it! It didn’t take long before I couldn’t get by without running.

These days, if I call my mum when I’m stressed or upset, she says: Go for a run or a bicycle ride! Off I go and on my return, I am happy and relaxed again.

Try it. Go for a walk, a run or a bicycle ride when you are feeling upset, stressed out or frustrated. It can do amazing things.

Way back then, I thought: Why do I make my life so painful by dragging all those kilos around with me? So, I started watching what I ate and changed the way I thought about food. The surprising thing was that I didn’t even need to eat less for the kilos to start dropping off.

Sounds interesting? — Keep on reading.

Chapter 2

A Different Story?

MY MUM IS the most wonderful and caring mum and I truly love her. We talk on the phone two times a week for hours and have a great time.

But guess what? She is not entirely happy. She wants to play with her granddaughter. She wants to do a million things. She wants to visit me — but she can’t! She can’t even walk properly because she has to drag huge amounts of fat around. She is short of breath because her poor lungs are so squeezed by all that fat that they can’t work properly. Her bones and joints are giving way and breaking down from the heavy weight they have to carry.

I would love to bring her over to see this wonderful country and she desperately wants to visit me — but she can’t. She isn’t even able to properly fit into the seat on the plane.

There’s more to it than the ‘sad — eat more — sad — eat more’ cycle. There are many things that help pile on those extra kilos, despite us hating them so much. There are our social meetings and family celebrations. There are parties with friends and colleagues. What about all those wonderful birthday celebrations? Don’t even let me start talking about the Christmas season or the annual ‘Easter Egg Explosion’.

What do people usually do at all those parties? They eat and drink. Yes, of course there is lots of talking and chatting involved, but the main exercise is usually eating and drinking.

And whoever invites us to a party has to organise a whole lot of food and drinks. I know this from my own family, friends and colleagues, and myself — because I have been there.

What is usually happening at those parties? Think about all that wonderful food sitting there around us. Think about the bowls with tasty crackers, chips and dips. Just seeing those bowls makes you hungry, doesn’t it? Don’t we usually think: I feel a bit hungry — I’ll have a few? Then we have a few more … and a few more … and, oops, suddenly the plate is empty. It used to happen to me all the time, and not only at parties.

The other thing we usually do is have a drink … or maybe two … or more.

Have you ever noticed how hungry alcohol can make you? The other thing alcohol does is create euphoria. After one or two drinks, our bodies relax and we just want to have fun and some enjoyment … and how lucky, there is so much food to enjoy around us, and, so of course, we keep eating.

Then right on time, there is the main meal turning up and whoever makes the meal, or brings food to a party; has to do better than the person who made it the last time. Isn’t it true? Have you ever felt the pressure of needing to be better or at least to keep up with your friends and relatives? Do you often think: I have to make something really special and fantastic? It is our social rules. It is competition — and we all love our competition. Everybody wants to be the best!

There you go and create a ‘best’ meal. Take some fish or meat; add some fatty cheese to the dish, and some extra cream. Use lots of oil and butter to make it ‘taste better’.

Sour cream goes well too and you need some sauce or gravy. Don’t worry too much about the vegies or salad; nobody is going to eat those anyway.

Let me tell you a trick. If you want to get rid of your salad, add lots of gooey mayonnaise or cream and cheese to it and then people will eat it.

I have always wondered where the name potato ‘salad’ came from. All I usually find in the bowl is potato mixed up with ham or bacon, a considerable amount of egg, lots of mayonnaise, salt, and maybe a ‘lost’ pea or onion. If this ‘fat-soaked and dead mixture’ is considered a salad, I can’t help it!

It’s true, just look around. Go to a restaurant and see what’s left on the plates. It is generally the fresh salad and vegies. Most people only leave meat if they’re already had three portions, or if it’s as dry as old shoe leather. Now watch the vegies. They are commonly left on the plate unless covered in creamy sauce, cheese or some other gooey stuff.

Think about what this means for our body. Any party or family gathering you go to, they try to make you eat something you don’t want to eat — or at least your body doesn’t want to eat. You can be sure your body will tell you the next morning when you step on the scales.

And I haven’t even mentioned all the cream cakes, chocolates and ice-creams … and this list goes