Rita Black: Sometimes the realized dreams of others spark within us. The desire to achieve our own dreams that we have set aside thinking maybe someday, I’ll get after that dream, but that day just keeps getting kicked down the road like an old tin can. So today, my interview with the amazing Gina Abrams, so inspiring that you’re gonna think again about your own dreams and think, yep, not someday, but today. Gina is a member of the Shift Community and defied the odds and achieved not one, but three major milestones in a single year. At 60 years young, Gina reached and is maintaining her ideal weight, proving that it’s never too late to take control of your weight and health. But she didn’t stop there. Oh, no, no, no. With newfound energy and confidence, she took on one of the most challenging adventures of her life. Climbing the Majestic Dolomites. Gina’s story is really a testament to the power of persistence and the importance of setting goals and the incredible things that you can accomplish when you believe in yourself. So if you are looking for some inspiration, motivation, grab that dream, dust it off, and come on in.

Rita Black: Did you know that our struggle with weight doesn’t start with the food on your plate or get fixed in the gym? 80% of our weight struggle is mental. That’s right. The key to unlocking long-term weight release and management begins in your mind. Hi there, I’m Rita Black. I’m a clinical hypnotherapist weight loss expert, bestselling author, and the creator of the Shift Weight Mastery Process. And not only have I helped thousands of people over the past 20 years achieve long-term weight mastery, I am also a former weight struggler, carb addict and binge eater. And after two decades of failed diets and fad weight loss programs, I lost 40 pounds with the help of hypnosis. Not only did I release all that weight, I have kept it off for 25 years. Enter the Thin Thinking Podcast where you too will learn how to remove the mental roadblocks that keep you struggling. I’ll give you the thin thinking tools, skills, and insights to help you develop the mindset you need, not only to achieve your ideal weight, but to stay there long-term and live your best life.

Rita Black: Hello, my lovelies. Come on in. I have got lots of goodies. I got a great episode for you today and I cannot wait to share it with you. And I also wanted to make sure that you knew right up front that we have coming up next week, starting on September 24th, a number of free online master classes that I’m hosting in honor of my birthday month called Breaking Free: Mastering Your Mindset for Lasting Weight Release. And I love, love, love teaching these live events because we dive in deep to the subconscious mind and the patterns and beliefs that keep us from getting what we want especially in the area of weight management. So you’re gonna learn how to use your mind more effectively so you can bypass mental sabotage that keeps you struggling.

Rita Black: And I’m also going to be doing some weight loss hypnosis so you can leave the class feeling ready and focused for success as we head into the amazing autumn ready to finally let go of that weight for good. So join us, go to the show notes or go to www.shiftweightmastery.com and sign up. And just the link is there. It’s so easy. Get on board, we’ll text you, let you know when it’s starting. So easy. Just sign on up. Okay. Okay.

Rita Black: So now I am looking forward to introducing you to the lovely Gina. We have been on this theme of aging and Gina and I both turned 60 within a few months of each other. So you are gonna love her story and find it inspiring because she has been all over the place with weight. And Gina has an amazing insight into this. She’s a very thoughtful person and a fabulous perspective. And I know you’re just gonna be inspired by her and her story. It is yet another testament to even if you are over a certain age and feel like a weight failure, when your mind is in the right place, you can find success.

Rita Black: So let’s welcome the lovely Gina!

Rita Black: Welcome Gina to the Thin Thinking Podcast. We were just having a laugh about bringing 60 back. Gina is, has just turned 60 as I am turning 60, and I can’t wait for you to hear her story. So welcome, welcome, Gina. It’s nice to have you here.

Gina Abrams: Oh,thank you so much. It’s wonderful to be here.

Rita Black: Yeah, we were just talking about how it’s been about a year since you’ve been in the world of shift, but like even prior to shift, you started a weight journey and, you’re so thoughtful and and such a deep thinker. I said, well, I wanna have Gina on. ’cause not only did you like we’re gonna talk about her trip up the Dolomites, but I, you know, you have a very interesting and moving frame on the aging process. And I think it’s powerful. So, but before we get into that, I just tell our listeners a little bit about you and a little bit about your entree into, you know, struggling with weight.

Gina Abrams: Sure. so I was raised in an Italian family with a mother who was a phenomenal cook. And there was a lot of value placed not only on really delicious food, like really delicious food, but on the quantity of the food. And so my upbringing was that food was important. Food was love. Food was a big part of celebration and a big part of family. My mother was obese. She was about 250, 260 pounds and always struggled with her weight. And my father, who was wonderful was definitely a product of that society’s standards around beauty. And I was always aware that he wasn’t happy with my mother’s weight.

Rita Black: Did he say things out loud or was it just kind of his way he looked at her?

Gina Abrams: It was a combination of things. And so there was a lot of contrast there, right? Because everybody loved the food and you know, but there was this also thing about weight. And then I remember the first time being aware that maybe my weight was an issue. Well, even before that, I was embarrassed of my mother’s weight. I remember an incident in fourth grade, I was probably nine years old where I felt embarrassed of my mother’s weight. So by that age, I had already learned that there was something, quote unquote wrong with being fat, you know?

Rita Black: It’s very confusing, isn’t it? My mother was obese as well, and I had, I went through a similar thing when, you know, your mom is, is very overweight, like distinguished, so from, you know, other mothers in the pack. And what that does internally to you and your psyche. And because as a child, you want to love your mother and think she’s, and you know, my mom was amazing and an amazing cook too, but there is that. I shouldn’t think this about my mother, and then I don’t wanna be embarrassed about my mother. And so you have the guilt and you have all so multi-layered. It’s just phenomenal.

Gina Abrams: Yes. I totally resonate with that. ’cause It was a combination of embarrassment and guilt and there were so many layers of feelings around that at such a young age where you’re not really capable of processing all this, you know? And it coming really the messaging coming from the outside, not from you, but you having started to absorb that.

Rita Black: Yeah, exactly.

Gina Abrams: And then at 11 years old, I think I was the first time I became aware that maybe my weight was a problem. I remember my father picking me up after I had been at sleepaway camp for two weeks and commenting that I had gained weight. And then the real sendoff into this whole dieting world was at 12 years old. I remember a boy in my sixth grade class saying that I would have a good body if I lost weight. And that’s where the whole dieting world really started for me.

Rita Black: Yeah. Isn’t that interesting too, that like, just a offhanded comment from some guy that you’re never gonna see again, but can just like trigger that whole thing, amplification of all of that in your brain?

Gina Abrams: Yeah. In an age where we, you know, equate being liked or popularity with being pretty and being thin, you know, and when those things are more important in our minds, you know, having acceptance from our peers.

Rita Black: Well, and that was also because we grew up at the same time. Super skinny was the aesthetic. I mean, and most girls weren’t trying to be super skinny, but it was the seventies and people just, you know, there wasn’t the abundance of food, I don’t think that we have now or snack food and all of that. I mean, most kids were pretty skinny, but not, we didn’t have the childhood obesity epidemic that we have now.

Gina Abrams: Yeah. And this, and we didn’t have the body acceptance that we have now. Thank goodness we have it now.

Rita Black: Oh God. Yeah. I mean, I know you have daughter a daughter. Two daughters, right?

Gina Abrams: I have two daughters and two sons. Yeah.

Rita Black: Yeah. My daughter is 22 and she really loves her body. Like Yeah. Isn’t that amazing?

Gina Abrams: Yeah. Yeah.

Rita Black: She has other problems, but she loves her body.

Gina Abrams: Yeah. I mean this, this generation, you know, we have so much in common. We have similar age kids. We’re the same age, and I think your weight struggle goes back to when you were 12 years old too, right?

Rita Black: Yes. Very much so.

Gina Abrams: We’re both in California, but I think this generation of our children have so much to deal with, you know? ’cause they have the whole layer of social media that we didn’t have. So, but I am, I’m glad that a lot of their messaging around body is very different.

Rita Black: Yeah, for sure. So, so this comment kind of spun you into the world of dieting.

Gina Abrams: Yeah. So then it became, I remember really creating a diet for myself at this time. By this time I was already aware of dieting. My mother had gone to Weight Watchers. I had sat in some of the meetings with her, you know, when she didn’t have a babysitter. So I remember some messaging around in Weight Watchers meetings. I was aware of OVS Anonymous because she had done that too. So I remember creating, you know, a diet for myself and really wanting to lose weight. And that’s when it began. And then it was just a journey of a lot of different attempts that ranged everything. Weight Watchers, Overeaters Anonymous, Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig. Then I got, as I got older, I really got into this kind of alternative health world and really started being interested in quote unquote optimal nutrition. And then started to do more extreme things like long juice, fast. I did a 20 day, two day juice fast once.

Rita Black: Wow. What was that like? What do you remember about that?

Gina Abrams: That by the end, I was 99 pounds and my hair was falling out. Literally, I was 99 pounds and my hair was falling out. But it was also, it was also, I was experimenting a lot. You know, part of me knew that this was extreme. Part of me was interested in the experimentation and what would happen. And, you know, I, I went to Institute of Integrative Nutrition. And what I really learned there is that there’s no consensus on nutrition. So, and I became a health coach, but really came out more confused or more accepting that there was no right way. And, and that, and then, you know, it brought up the question that eventually you would really help answer. It brought up the question of why is it, you know, that we’re intelligent women who accomplish a lot of things.

Gina Abrams: And I always felt, but I, I don’t seem to be able to control the two and a half feet between my hand and my mouth. Like, why is it that I want that thing and I can’t stop it from getting to my mouth, you know? That was a big question that sat with me for years and years and years. What is it? You know, I wanted to know the underlying, deeper thing. Which led me more into training and transformational work, which then led to more self-love work, which is really the basis of your program.

Rita Black: Yeah. So you were doing a lot of inner healing just on your process and on your process through life.

Gina Abrams: Yes.

Rita Black: And you, and what happened for you, like as you got into middle age, you know, as you got in your forties, did that change or like, after menopause, did menopause impact you at all? Or were you not impacted by menopause?

Gina Abrams: No, no. I was so I always would go up and down in my weight, up and down my weight. And, you know, I remember, I remember coming to the realizations like, geez, it’s not like a college degree. Once you get it, you don’t get to keep it if you don’t keep working at it, you know. I was like, oh, it’s, you know, the work of it is, it doesn’t end. So in, and it’s funny, you know, just about the hiking, I really didn’t get into hiking until, until my forties.

Rita Black: And you were on the East Coast then, right?

Gina Abrams: I lived on the East Coast in 2000. I moved to a house in the same neighborhood that I was living in, but I moved to a house that was on the edge of a reservation, a 2000 acre forest basically, that had been you know, reserved land at as green space. And, you know, I realized what a gift it was, and that I wanted to get to know it. This was before you know, there were apps like all Trails. I don’t think there was, you know, you’d have a paper map. So I made it my mission to like, get to know this forest to go in every day, be willing to get lost, be willing to figure out how to get back home.

Rita Black: Oh, how adventurous have you, I mean, that really is adventurous.

Gina Abrams: Yeah. It was kind, it was adventurous. Well, if you go alone, yeah. I don’t have a problem going alone. This is a gift. I’m gonna get to know it. And I did. I came to know that forest’s like the back of my hand, and I started hiking in it every week and taking friends, hiking in it. So in my forties, to answer your question, I was bringing in this new layer of, of not only exercise, but something I really loved doing and something that fed me from a soul level. Not just, okay, we’re burning how many calories on this treadmill today. And at the same time doing a lot of my experimentation around nutrition and and also, you know, I was having, I had a lot of kids by by 39 and a half, I had my fourth child. So I was also very, very busy as a stay at home mom with four kids and balance, you know, I had four kids in four different schools at one point.

Rita Black: Wow.

Gina Abrams: From preschool to high school. They were all in different schools. So it was a very, the forties were a very busy time for me. But weight really, you know, weight loss, I didn’t call it weight release then weight loss and optimal nutrition was important to me. I had decided at that point to you know, to stop eating meat animal products. Mostly. Yeah. I don’t fully define myself as a vegan or a vegetarian ’cause I don’t like to make those rules. Sometimes I wanna, you know, maybe have some cheese or have some fish, but I don’t, I don’t eat land animals at all. And that was, that came more from my mom had breast cancer. And so that became a heightened interest in health at the time. So that’s what was going on in my forties. But this had been a long journey, you know, I remember trying to lose weight constantly in college and for long periods of time maintaining this thin weight, but always a struggle. It was always the struggle that I wanted to figure out how did we release this struggle? How does it just become natural?

Rita Black: Yeah. And then as you went through menopause and came into you moved, you moved to California at some point, like not long ago, right? It was just a couple of years ago.

Gina Abrams: Yeah. So I moved to California in 2018. August 2018. We’re just coming up on the sixth year mark. So this, there were two incidents that had happened that really were the biggest weight gain I had ever had. And that was I was concerned about democracy. Let’s keep it at that. It was starting in 2016. And I was making this huge move from New York to California, and obviously moving kids, some kids staying in New York, some kids coming. And so there was a lot to settle than just myself. Right, right.

Rita Black: Big upheaval in your life.

Gina Abrams: Big upheaval. Upheaval. And in a very short time, I put on 40 pounds and which is the most I had gained ever. And for the first time, I couldn’t manage to lose it. I could not manage to get rid of it. So I got here to California. It was interesting. Now I was in a new place where people didn’t know that I used to be thin. So in some ways that was freeing in some ways that let me off the hook of, of

Rita Black: Interesting. Yeah. I could see that. Yeah. Like, you didn’t have to worry about people looking at you and saying you gained weight,

Gina Abrams: You didn’t have the embarrassment of like, what happened to her, you know? So it was interesting about how all these things play into our mindset. Right.

Rita Black: Oh, for sure.

Gina Abrams: Yeah. But then back to the hiking now I was in California with a whole new amazing place to experience with really gorgeous hiking. And I was struggling to do the kind of hikes I wanted at, with 40 pounds on, and I wasn’t exercising regularly anymore. And I was doing hikes at elevations. I had not done hikes before. So that was another layer that was hard. And I just, I just kind of decided that I did not want my body to stop me from doing what made my heart sing and that I had the power to help my body keep me doing what made me so happy.

Rita Black: That is so profound. I just love that. And it’s so true. I mean, I am sure too, having a mother who was obese and seeing her probably being stopped, you know, my, my mother had arthritis really early on, could, you know, was hobbling across the room. And I just, you see that, and even though I was struggling desperately with my weight, a good part of my early life, I was just like, I can’t, like, that can’t be me at some point, you know/

Gina Abrams: Exactly the same experience. My mother was always in pain, arthritis, back pain, knee pain, an ankle pain, such an effect on the quality of life. Right? And because I had been at a, at a lot of different weight, I also have very heavy, when I was pregnant, I would, I hit 200 pounds when I was pregnant ’cause I had been in a lot of different weights. I had had the experience of living in a body with a lot of weight on it and living in a body that didn’t have a lot of weight on it. And although being thin does not solve all your problems, it makes walking through life a lot easier.

Rita Black: Yeah.

Gina Abrams: And so I had that contrast.

Rita Black: Yeah. You knew you had that visceral experience of knowing what weight served you best for, like you said, doing what you wanna do.

Gina Abrams: Yeah. Yeah.

Rita Black: So what got you starting on started on your weight journey and like, was it that decision and then you started to move forward from there?

Gina Abrams: Yeah. So then, then I had this 40 pounds that I was not releasing. And no matter what I would try, I just couldn’t seem to do it. And so, you know, I started to come across approaches that were really, you know, very much based on body acceptance and self-love. And I like the approach. But what I found they were missing that you provided was marrying that with the practical side of what it takes to release weight. You know, the science and the practicalities of releasing weight. And so, you know, your program was bringing together two really important things to actually reach this goal of moving through the rest of my life with the body that I felt vibrant in. I felt not limited in. And, and there were so many pieces of everything I had ever done coming together. In a deep and practical way at the same time.

Rita Black: Yes. I love it. So you got to, you got to a certain point and then you were like, I need a little something more. And then, and then you’ve, you, you ran across the, the program and, and the aspects of it appealed to you.

Gina Abrams: Yes. And the other thing I was also that I was coming in was weight training.

Rita Black: Oh, okay. Yes.

Gina Abrams: That in addition into the hiking addition to the, to both support the hiking. Because I had hiked the Grand Canyon in 2006, and I had trained very hard for that. And I knew that my weight training made all the difference to make it relatively easy for me to come out of the canyon.

Rita Black: That’s amazing that you did that. That’s so cool.

Gina Abrams: Yeah. It’s so beautiful. So I wanted to bring consistency back to weight training, to support the hiking and also to support everything that happens when we age, if we’re, if we’re not careful, you know, like osteoporosis. And so I knew that that would be an important thing. And I was able to, I, I had done a vegan fitness program prior to shift, and that got me back on that. But there was still this missing piece. There was still this mindset around having to be perfect and, you know.

Rita Black: The good bad on off.

Gina Abrams: Yeah. And I had a lot of strong, I can’t do this anymore. Messaging. I can’t, it was a very strong messaging.

Rita Black: You mean keep going with your, the vegan fitness thing or?

Gina Abrams: No, that I can’t lose. I can’t really, not, maybe I can lose this weight, but I can’t keep it off, you know? Like that I’m like, not capable of doing it, you know, and it would, I would get a craving. And I’ve watched myself going into the pantry with this. I just can’t do it. You know, like, I’m just gonna eat ’cause I can’t do it.

Rita Black: Kind of like giving up on yourself a little bit.

Gina Abrams: So I knew, and I was aware enough from my training and transformational work and self-love that these were thoughts that I had the power to change.

Rita Black: Had you done hypnosis before?

Gina Abrams: I had not. I was very open to it. I think I believed it wouldn’t work for me. That was another

Rita Black: Would not, or would?

Gina Abrams: Would not. That was another typical messaging. Yeah. But it won’t work for me. That was another typical messaging that I would

Rita Black: Yeah. A lot of people have that. Yeah, for sure.

Gina Abrams: So I was intrigued by it. I liked the thought of bringing in something that I hadn’t tried before, even though I didn’t know if it would work for me. So yeah. I hadn’t.

Rita Black: And what I mean, what was it like as you started to engage in hypnosis and, you know, engage in the program? ’cause I think you, like mentioned you came in in last July, so almost a year ago. As a self-study student.

Gina Abrams: Yeah. I, I loved it in so many ways because first of all, it was very relaxing and calming. And two, I knew that this was powerful as far as reprogramming my neurological messaging. You know, that you get to relax, you get to spend some time with yourself while you are reprogramming your brain in an, you know, a very effective way. So I just, I just liked it. You know, there’s a lot of things that go into weight release that might, you might not necessarily like to do. It was nice to have something you liked to do, you know?

Rita Black: Yeah, that’s true. Yeah. Yeah. Weight release. I mean, it is because it’s a skill, it’s a skillset. And some of the skills are more tedious than others, but it’s just like, you know, any skill set that you, like you had mentioned that there are certain things that you do that you get, like, you get your degree and then you have your degree. Yeah. But the things like motherhood, which is like a skillset you’re always having to develop and almost like, you know, I’m always, you know, the summer has been a complete new learning set of skills, you know, with having older children who need you in the same, you know, as much or if not more, but just a different aspect of yourslef.

Gina Abrams: Different way. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And, and I also noticed as much as I liked doing the hypnosis, my lack of consistency with it. So I knew that, that it still is another layer where I’m not fully giving myself everything I want. Right. I’m letting silly other things get in the way of that. So it’s a, it’s a challenge for me now, you know, a happy challenge to like Yeah. Give myself that too. You know, why am I not doing it every night? Yeah. Nothing to not like about it.

Rita Black: Well, I think with hypnosis, you don’t have to do it every night. I mean, once you’re, once you’re kind of engaged. ’cause You’ve, you know, just so everyone’s clear, Gina just reached her goal weight, you know, or her ideal weight, you know, within this last month. So this is all pretty new, but I mean, I do definitely think when you were releasing weight before and doing all the nutrition, and, you know, I, I totally understand that. It’s like you’re, you’re we’re kind of a Guinea pig for ourselves. Like we, you know, try to figure out like the perfect alchemy of what, you know, brain alchemy and body alchemy. But it’s a skill. I mean, it is a skill set. And so, and the hypnosis is just part of Yeah. A set of skills. How did that frame, like this is skill building versus being good on a diet shift things for you, you know? Yeah.

Gina Abrams: Very. Yeah. That’s a very, that’s a very powerful approach that these are, there are skills that go into this and we can relate that to so many other things. Right? Yeah. I could relate it to hiking. So I really liked, I just, I have a very practical side. My, my college degree is in engineering, so I have a very.

Rita Black: Oh, no way.

Gina Abrams: Yes.

Rita Black: What what kind of engineering? I’m just curious.

Gina Abrams: Mechanical engineer.

Rita Black: Oh. Very cool.

Gina Abrams: But I, for six years and then I started having children, decided to be a stay-at-home Mom. But that part of me that wants to know how things work and is very practical around how do you achieve solutions is very much still there.

Rita Black: Yes.

Gina Abrams: So you know, these skills of, of weight release, they’re obvious. And yet to have them laid out there and be something that you can just work on and just practice and get good at was great. And I remember my epiphany about the perfection thing. Was not only do we not have to be perfect, but it’s in the imperfect that we actually learn why we’ve been repeating this pattern and how it’s possible to change it. Like it was an epiphany. Like, and not only do I have to be perfect, but it’s the imperfect where the learning comes from. Yeah.

Rita Black: It’s in the gray. It’s in the gray that we’re not willing to be in. And the brain doesn’t like to be in that gray, so we wanna be good, and then we’re used to being bad.

Gina Abrams: And when we’re, we’re bad, we just wanna start over to try to be good. Yeah. We don’t wanna look at –

Rita Black: Because it’s too painful to be in all of that badness. Yeah. Right. Yeah. So the gray area is something that at, you know, as you know, because you went through both the self-study and then the live, especially in the live, because in the live, we all start together. And so the power of the live is like, everybody’s going through it at one time. So they’re all having the epiphany at the same time. Like, oh my gosh, I am didn’t do this. Right. And we’re like, yay, you’re not doing it. Right. Good. I know. Now you get to learn and now your brain gets to take something on differently than it’s used to. And that’s how you break all of the –

Gina Abrams: Yeah. You were the first person who grade that you, you were the first, you know, teacher. I had many, had many, many, many teachers along the way. Sure. You were the first teacher who celebrated the, oh, great. Now what did we learn about that. Like Oh. And then like, giving yourself the permission to actually reflect there as opposed to push it away and get better. Yeah.

Rita Black: Get back to the beginning. Yeah.

Gina Abrams: Right. Was where the real shift happened for me.

Rita Black: Yeah.

Gina Abrams: In the mind.

Rita Black: And the good news is, is like you have all these skills, like most people who struggle with weight know so much Yes. About weight management. Yeah. It’s just like having permission to have a different frame on it then just allows your brain to kind of absorb it all in a completely different way.

Gina Abrams: Yes. And, and also making it very much your own, you being the leader of it.

Rita Black: Exactly.

Gina Abrams: You know, I had known that there was no right one right thing for everybody, and then, but a lot of these programs, it’s pretty much, you know, the same thing for everybody. And you really creating that permission structure of here’s, here’s guidelines and here’s tools and here’s skills, and this is your own. You know, was empowering.

Rita Black: Yeah. It can be scary at first because it is like, but me, I don’t trust me. Like, why would I trust myself? Right. But then, but once you get over that, it’s incredibly empowering Yeah. To take that ownership. Yeah. yeah. That’s so great. I love that. So as you’ve like, you know, gotten to your ideal weight, I know it’s, isn’t it interesting, because I know you’ve been at your ideal weight before. Like, I know this isn’t the first time you’ve been at your ideal weight, but like, maybe you’re at your ideal weight in a different way that, you know, you have ownership over it. I don’t know, I don’t wanna put words in your mouth, like, but the, I guess the question I was gonna ask is around the same time you went on an amazing hike in the Dolomites, and tell us about like that journey of finishing this, because I know for you, you had like, you had a stall in your weight and you had to kind of double down on self-love and seeing yourself from a different perspective in order to kind of get those last few pounds off. And I think that’s Yes. An important piece because I think a lot of people struggle with the last 10 pounds, the last, because those last 10 are really about loving yourself. And maybe speak to that if you can.

Gina Abrams: Yes. There, I had, I had gotten to a place where I was, had released a lot of weight on your program, but was stuck. And I was just staying at the same weight for months. And it was a self-induced plateau. It wasn’t like a plateau just because my body was adjusting to, it was a self-induced plateau. I was overeating just enough to be in maintenance calories as opposed to release calories. And so I talked to you then because it was going on for a long time, and I knew I needed a new perspective, and you helped me with simple, like, identity, belief changes, simple things. Like, I’m a person who has a cup of tea when they’re craving food in between meals and don’t need it, you know? it’s so simple. right?

Rita Black: Yeah.

Gina Abrams: But powerful as opposed to, okay, I’m just gonna have a cup of tea when I’ve craved. It’s like, it’s a, it’s an identity shift. I’m a person who does that. And you know, so there’s always room for being enlightened by someone who, like you, who’s been doing this and helping a lot of different people for a long time.

Rita Black: I think what you’re pointing out, and I think what for a lot of people, you know, we in the shift for if you’ve never done the shift before, you know this is for the listeners who’ve never done the shift. And for people who have done the shift too, is that when you first come in, we give, you know, we really talk a lot about identity because that’s kind of the first piece. And we have a, you know, an overwhelm or not overarching identity of, you know, being an apprentice, being a learner on a journey. But as you get more deep into your weight journey, you do start to, like, there’s many, I like many MINI like little more subtle identities that you can step into and lean into. And I figure, and I think that for most people who are successful in the long term, those, it’s that nuanced piece that, you know, they, they start to lean in and really own those pieces too. Like you mentioned, like, I’m somebody who drinks tea instead of, you know, eating or dinner or when I’m bored in the afternoon. And we, you know, that’s, you know, people are like, I’m somebody who wakes up in the morning and goes out and exercises no matter what the weather.

Rita Black: Those are the standards you start to hold yourself to. I mean, if you think of the things in life where you’re successful or you, you’re proud of your achievements, you probably see yourself as a person. Yeah. You know, in all those different places that like, you know, I am a mother who, you know, am wants my children to be emotionally sound, you know, like, I, so that is how I try to live my life. Right. Yeah. And, and I think it’s in the nuance that so much of the mastery happens. Like when we talk about weight mastery, it isn’t just about doing good on a diet, losing weight, but it’s about mastering not just your weight, but yourself and, and, and those moments.

Gina Abrams: Yeah. And being able, being able to combine those, those little things, those little practical changes and, and belief shifts with what I think is really powerful that you taught us was the visioning and which came a lot from hypnosis and meditation. So, you know, I, I would vision myself on a beautiful mountain, you know, feeling really strong in hiking clothes. I felt good in. And then how do I achieve that with where I’m at now, at, at particularly at that place where I was stuck? And that, you know, one thing that really has always stuck with me from your program is pain pushes and vision pulls. So I really got that right away. I’m like, oh, yeah. You know, you feel really bloated and awful and you’re in such pain, and the next day you just eat less and then you’re out of pain. And that just pushed you a little bit. Right. But that’s enough. But the vision really pulls you to what’s, what do I really want? What do I really see for myself? And, and, and the long term steps that get you there. But using the practical little pieces that get you there. Yeah. And I can always bring it down to hiking, because it’s the same thing. You get to the top of a mountain one step at a time, you know/ But you, you, you take the next step and the next step. ’cause You know, there’s something really amazing when you get there.

Rita Black: I love that. Tell us about your vision for the Dolomites, and tell us again. ’cause I think it’s pretty phenomenal that, you know, I, I don’t know about you, but for me, turning 60 is a turning point in many Yeah. Ways. And I mean, I think it’s a subconscious, you know built in cultural turning point, like turning 40, turning 50, you know, so there’s a lot of expectations. And I think there is a fear. I don’t think our generation is becoming invisible. I think, you know, a lot of women become invisible as they grow older, but our generation is like, oh, hell no, we’re not doing that. You know, I just went and saw Madonna a couple of months ago. I was like, oh, look at her. She’s not at all.

Gina Abrams: Awesome.

Rita Black: And, you know, we have a lot of Yeah. Amazing women examples around us who are 60 or turning 60 who, you know, are out in the forefront and, you know, kicking butt.

Gina Abrams: Yeah.

Rita Black: So for you, what is this all about and and how did the Dolomites factor into your, like, personal journey into your sixties?

Gina Abrams: I had decided a couple years ago that I wanted to go the Dolomites. I had been hiking in Portugal, actually, with a group of people who had done a lot of trips. And they said their favorite one was the Dolomites. I hadn’t heard about it. I didn’t know what the Dolomites were. So that got me on looking into that, and like, oh, that’s what I wanna do for my 60th birthday. But at that point, yeah, no, at that point, I felt like I was strong enough. But that was another place where I, I started gaining weight after that. So I had a journey to get back to being able to do that. So I knew, I, I knew that I started to feel like, okay, I have just so many years left in my life. Right? Like, could be 20, it could be 30, I don’t know, but

Rita Black: 40, 45

Gina Abrams: Yeah. Like, what? Okay. But what is it that I wish I had done more of right now? Like, what do, what do I wish I had done more of? And it always came down to hiking, to beautiful places. Just simply for the awe of it. Just for the awe of it. It’s just, and I’m, I’m really I’m always struck by these really gorgeous places that just sit there that no one sees. Because you can’t take a car there. You can’t fly there. You can only get there if you make an effort on foot. And I’m always shocked by, oh my God, this just sits here, this beautiful pristine lake with these snow covered mountains around it. So I knew I had the experience of what it was like to see that, and I wanted to see more of it. ’cause That’s what I regretted not doing more of.

Gina Abrams: And I didn’t feel like my time was up and I wanted to make sure my time wasn’t up. So that’s what was pulling me to see the dolomites, and then just saying, that’s what I wanna do for my 60th birthday, and what would be better than doing it with my family. So, you know, I announced that that’s what I wanna do. And the eight of us, ’cause I have four kids and two of one is engaged, one is married. So the eight of us went. And then this vision through the shift, that was a very easy vision to access that, you know, what did I want to feel like and look like when I was on those mountains? And it’s funny. So just be as I was packing for this trip my suitcase felt a little heavy. and like, I better, I better weigh this suitcase. We were gonna be in carry-ons and I better weigh this suitcase. So I got on the suitcase by myself, and then I got on the, I mean, I got on the scale by myself, and then I got on the scale with the suitcase. And the suitcase was the exact amount of weight I had lost when I got when I got on that scale with the suitcase. that was the week I used to see when I’m like, I can’t stay at this place anymore. It, so it was,

Rita Black: I love It.

Gina Abrams: It was like, so it was just before the trip, I reached my goal weight and saw myself on a scale with a big heavy suitcase. And that’s how much I used to be. So that was so cool. That was such a visual. It was such a, and then, and then sure enough, I have a picture, I know I posted on the Facebook page that very much looked like that vision I was holding, you know, of me. Amazing mountain outta weight I felt very good at and very strong at. And that beautiful place, it was like, kind of like a fairytale land to me. Well, is always with me. I’ll go back, this is one I have to go back to. But those, that feeling and that beauty is I see it every day.

Rita Black: That’s so cool. So what’s up for you? Like so that I, I understand like you have like that epiphany moment that imprints on you, and then you’ve got that, and you did that too. So you did that and you have that confidence of owning that. Yeah. And not only owning it, but owning it with your family, which just brings it to another elevation.

Rita Black: Did they enjoy it?

Gina Abrams: Yeah. What’s, it’s so lovely to see my family so excited about being in this beautiful place that I love so much too. And that the vision that would make me happy, made them happy too was great.

Rita Black: That’s so cool.

Gina Abrams: So what’s next is, there’s a lot of beautiful places to see that I haven’t been to, but I I wanna do things I haven’t done before. So I would like the next experience to be a little bit more immersive where you, where we were talking about before where you do a hut to hut experience, or a Fugo to Gio experience where you actually don’t come out of the mountains to go to your hotel. Yeah. But you stay in the mountains. So I just started looking into that.

Rita Black: Very cool. Yeah. So you’re going to be working towards that, which does require like, some serious fitness and training, I think. Right. You have to kind of train for that a little bit. Yeah.

Gina Abrams: But I feel like I’m doing that, you know, you know, and it’s only getting back –

Rita Black: You live, I mean, you live near mountains, so you, we, Gina’s always just so everybody listening knows Gina’s always posting pictures of her on tops of mountains. It’s not like this woman does not go to mountaintops all the time. She’s and, and it is amazing ’cause you go by yourself a lot of the time.

Gina Abrams: I do it, it, it’s a, it’s a thing that I, you know, it started because like, when I would go in the reservation, I didn’t wanna be responsible for getting anybody else lost. And I, like, I, I’m kind of pulled by what’s around the corner that I haven’t seen yet. And I don’t wanna worry about getting by somebody else into trouble. So it started out, and that, that’s why I wanted to be alone in there to explore. But I also loved the solitude. At the time. I had four kids and I was busy and, you know, so I loved the solitude. I’m not fearful, you know? So worry about who, what are you gonna encounter? What animals you’re gonna encounter. I’m not really fearful of that. You know, obviously have to be alert and know what to do. But I, it, I don’t wanna give that up out of fear, you know? Right. Because I’ve never had a problem. And I, pretty, and, and, and consistency. Another thing I’ve learned from you is really important. So I hike weekly because if I wanna do these big hikes, I gotta, like, it’s gotta be part of who I am and what I do. So I hike, I do a hard hike every week.

Rita Black: And when you say hard, how like?

Gina Abrams: Well, you know what? I, it, it, the hard changes, right. So I’ll do, do like my next hike. The next big hard hike I’m doing is something called Clouds Rest in Yosemite. And that’s, oh wow. 13 miles with about 3000 feet of Elevation Game. But we’ll make that hard. Is it, it reaches almost 10,000 feet in elevation.

Rita Black: Wow.

Gina Abrams: So that’ll be my next frontier. I’ve done 13 miles and 3000 feet of elevation, but not at not reaching 10,000 feet. Okay. I dunno if I can do it. I’m gonna find out, you know

Rita Black: What I put my money on the fact that you will.

Gina Abrams: Okay. I’ll have post that picture too.

Gina Abrams: But usually I’m doing, you know I’m doing six to to 13 miles with a thousand to 3000 feet of elevation gain. Once a week and then four times a week strength training upper body, a couple times a week, lower body a couple times a week. And then I try to get in mobility work because I think at our age, that’s really important to avoid injury, to keep us flexible, and it feels really good.

Rita Black: So do you do a whole separate session of a mobility work? Like, or do you work that into your strength training, like before and after?

Gina Abrams: Both. So I, I definitely work it into my strength training before and after each session. And I now do one like full set, sometimes it’s ABS and mobility. I follow somebody that I think has a very nice training program out there. Her name is Heather Robertson. And it’s free. And I think it’s wonderful program. It makes it very easy to stay with it and be consistent.

Rita Black: Oh wow. I’m writing down this name.

Gina Abrams: Yeah. Write it down. It’s heatherrobertson.com. She has so much content for free, but her 12 week programs and there’s about five of them is what I follow. And it’s just very easy. Push the button on, do a 40 minute workout, and then the next day, and they’re, you know, they’re meant to be cumulative over a 12 week period.

Rita Black: Yeah’s. Fantastic. Well thanks for sharing that information. So what, I have one last question, Gina, this has been really amazing. Thank you so much. So generous. What would you say for somebody out there who’s hearing you, who’s inspired by, you know, your journey, what is the first step that you would recommend if they were struggling? You know, if they were 40 pounds, 50 pounds, 60 pounds, and like, they were like, I can’t get this weight off, like four. Like, what would be the first place that they would like?

Gina Abrams: The first place is to forgive yourself. And I think giving yourself is easier when you reflect a little bit on why would I have gotten these habits. And if you often, if you look at the modeling from your parents around food or your childhood, or we very, very good reasons why a young person would’ve turned to food for comfort. I think it makes that forgiveness, that self forgiveness more authentic. ’cause It’s kind of like, oh yeah, I get it. Of course, this is what I was modeled for me. This is the solution that was available to me as a young person. You know? And then, so I think that forgiveness from a very authentic place of just a little bit reflection that helps you understand why you would’ve gained these habits. It has nothing to do with being a bad person.

Gina Abrams: It has to do with the solutions that were available to you.and the modeling that was available to you. So right there, like level the playing field on I’m not good or I can’t do this. That would be the first step. And then I think the practicality that you offer of, you know, of skills that go along with this self-love and self-love in the form of giving yourself what you really want. Yeah. And if that’s living in a body that’s more comfortable for you, that allows you to do the things that you really would like to do, that takes the limitations off. Great.

Rita Black: Yeah. Those are really, really powerful suggestions. Thank you.

Gina Abrams: Sure. Sure.

Rita Black: So what do you think about being 60? Would you recommend it

Gina Abrams: Yeah. I think it’s, I think it’s great. I mean, we’re all gonna get there and beyond. Right? It’s a train we cannot stop. Yeah. So why do you try so hard to stand in front of it, right? It’s just get on it.

Rita Black: I think the anticipation, I mean, I’ve been pretending I’m 60 for a year, so I’m okay. But I think the anticipation, you know, whenever I, when I turned 50, when I turned 40, when I turned 30, I remember the year before was, oh, you know, and then I became 50 and I was like, I’m 50. That’s pretty cool. You know, you, once you step into it, you, you’re kind of there. You take ownership and you move on and it’s, you forget about it being anything.

Gina Abrams: Yeah. For sure. 60 is one that rattles us, because I think we equate it as, oh, that’s old. You know, six.

Rita Black: Yeah. Well, we did. Yeah. Now I don’t see it so old, but yes, when I was 40, it definitely seems or older. Yes. Right.

Gina Abrams: But when we think of what we’re capable of versus what, you know, in our case, our moms we’re capable of at 50 or 60. Right. Yeah. Not close to what we can do. Yeah. So you realize you have the power to change what 60 is.

Rita Black: Yes, exactly.

Gina Abrams: And you have already. So yeah. So I think, and there’s a lot of freeing things. You know, the another thing we share is this is our first year of an empty nest, both of us. Right?

Rita Black: Yes.

Gina Abrams: Which opens up a whole new world.

Rita Black: Yes, it does.

Gina Abrams: Yeah.

Rita Black: And, and it is, it’s both terrifying and very exciting.

Gina Abrams: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It’s,

Rita Black: It is. Well, Gina, I can’t thank you enough for coming on. This has been really wonderful. Thank you for your time, and thank you for sharing all of your, I mean, very generously of your experience and, and your life.

Gina Abrams: Well, Rita, I I just wanna thank you because I know, I really understand the courage it takes to build a business that you’ve built, that serves in this way, and to stick with it. And I’m just so happy that you created this space for us.

Rita Black: Oh, well, thank you. Yeah. Thank you so much. We’ll look forward to having you back when you’ve, when you, when I’m gonna do Mount Everest, are you gonna?

Gina Abrams: I’m not a mountaineer. I’m a hiker.

Rita Black: Okay. Okay.

Gina Abrams: There’s an identity for you.

Rita Black: Ki Majaro. Is that mountaineer?

Gina Abrams: Or, I know, I’m not gonna say no to anything. Okay. But, you know, I’ll keep I, I’ll keep it open.

Rita Black: Okay. Well, we’ll, we’ll look forward to more adventures. Thank you, Gina.

Gina Abrams: It was such a pleasure to talk to you.

Rita Black: Thank you so much, Gina. And please, everyone come join me for my free online masterclass. It’s gonna be live next week. They’re free, it’s gonna be educational, but hurry, the space is limited. We’re gonna do hypnosis. They’re filling up fast. So just come and go to the show notes or go to my website, www.shiftweightmastery.com and sign up and join the party. Alright. So remember that the key, and probably the only key to unlocking the door of the weight struggle is inside you. So keep listening and find it. I will look forward to seeing you right here next week. Have a good one. Thanks for listening to The Thin Thinking Podcast. Did that episode go by way too fast for you? If so, and you wanna dive deeper into the mindset of long-term weight release, head on over to www.shiftweightmastery.com. That’s www.shiftweightmastery.com, where you’ll find numerous tools and resources to help you unlock your mind for permanent weight release tips, strategies, and more. And be sure to check the show notes to learn more about my book from Fat to Thin Thinking. Unlock Your Mind for Permanent Weight Loss, and to learn how to subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss an episode.