MBT has been a very different program than any one I have ever done. I resonated so much with the fact that Adam said many of us know what to do, we just struggle with actually doing it, and the accountability daily was key for me. I have done many programs through the years to try to lose weight but none of them tackled the underlying emotional issues that were driving the eating. That's where Ruth came in. I could not imagine a kinder, more insightful coach. She listened to me vent and ramble and was consistently able to pinpoint the immediate challenge I was facing. Then she would offer gentle suggestions for how to move forward. We took baby steps because that's all I could handle at the time. One of the things we did initially was to have me set a 5 minute timer before I ate any sweets/ junk food. I was still permitting myself to eat the food (softening the restriction and past perfectionism which led me to binging), but we were creating some space between the impulse and the choice to eat. I truly thought I had full self-awareness but I was shocked at how many times a day I was reaching for food to settle emotions. We also focused on changing the negative thoughts in my head to be more positive. Each night I wrote down what was good about the day. It was very hard at first but then it got a little easier and I'm hopeful that as time goes on, I will find myself looking more for the positive than the negative in my life. We also tried to soften the shame that I felt after binging or eating sweets and instead focused on getting myself back on track as quickly as possible so that I wouldn't spiral out of control, saying to myself, "well I screwed up, eff it, why don't I just eat everything in sight and start again tomorrow". In terms of movement, we focused on consistency rather than intensity. In the past, I would do a tough workout program for a week or two and then burn out. We focused on 10 minutes of movement every single day. It was really hard because it felt like it wasn't enough, but I knew that building a consistent habit would be much more valuable in the long run for my health. When I got impatient and fearful that I would never lose weight, Ruth was always there to listen and hold out the hope and confidence for me that I didn't have for myself. Our work isn't done yet but we are off to a great start.