Liz Josefsberg, age 46, is a New Jersey resident that spent over a decade as an employee at Weight Watchers coaching celebrities including Jennifer Hudson, Jessica Simpson, Charles Barkley and Katie Couric. In addition, Josefsberg also battled weight loss for years achieving a whopping 65-pound weight loss due to diet, exercise and training herself to have healthy habits like practicing daily stress-relief.
“You can’t just count calories and expect this weight-loss thing to last,” Josefsberg explained, detailing the philosophy of a holistic diet in her book, Target 100.
The guide starts off with details of her personal struggles with weight loss.
Josefsberg visited a diet center for the first time when she was 14 and struggled with unhealthy diet and activity levels as a teenager. Throughout her 20s Josefsberg was an actress performing on Broadway which she explained had a large effect on her quest to maintain a slim physique. She attempted intense exercise routines and crash-diets however dealing with the stress of rejection in the industry led her to struggle with periods of binge eating which fluctuated her weight.
Early 30’s
Once she hit the early 30’s Josefsberg’s weight become an even bigger burden after two pregnancies eventually reaching a total of 210 pounds.
“I couldn’t exercise in the way I had in the past, which had been one of my go-to weight-loss tricks,” she explained. “I couldn’t even run for one minute and I had run marathons before. I was actually crying, saying … ‘How will I ever get back?’”
The new celebrity diet guru decided to seek help from Weight Watchers who helped motivate her to achieve her goal weight. So impressed with her new found community of support, Josefsberg decided to apply for a receptionist role at the company during 2012 as gradually continued to keep up her weight loss momentum by adjusting small habits rather than steering clear of favorite treats like wine.
“I wanted to spend a year eating and drinking and enjoying my life, and losing weight more slowly,” Josefsberg wrote. “A lot of people make a huge mistake, where they ‘diet’ and jump into this lifestyle that they’re never going to be able to sustain.”
After only one year with the program, she already lost 60 pounds and achieved a 4-6 dress size, however, Josefsberg still felt that the Weight Watchers program had several shortcomings.
“There were a lot of foods [on the diet] that were low in points but … they were unhealthy — low-calorie, low-fat [but highly processed],” she explained.
Notes
She noted research that highlighted the importance of sleep and stress release when trying to lose weight in addition to diet and exercise and that the program didn’t focus on this holistic approach.
This understanding motivated her to become a nutrition exercise certified specialist with the help of Arizona’s National Academy of Sports Medicine and began helping private clients.
Josefsberg also decided to compile all the knowledge and support she’s learned into her Target 100 weight loss guide based on six simple pillars. She notes that eating less than 100 grams of carbs while drinking 100 ounces of water each day in addition to 100 minutes of stress relief tactics, exercise and 100 extra minutes of sleep per week.
“What’s wrong with the weight-loss industry is that it’s all about nutrition and exercise, but these other things like sleep and stress reduction and hydration are so critically important,” Josefsberg noted.
She always encourages clients and followers to approach weight loss slowly. Every week, the program focuses on introducing only one additional goal in addition to tips around correctly implementing it. All in all, achieving these targets one week at a time will make the overall experience manageable long term.
“The end goal,” she points out, “would be for you to open your eyes to the fact that there are other things that are affecting your food choices.”
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