Excerpt from The S.L.I. Method

It took an eternity it seemed, but my newest book, “The S.L.I. Method – A Foundation for your Belly, Brain and Body” is now available for sale, just in time for New Years.

Thanks to everyone who stayed patient and sent me words of encouragement along the way.  The book has suggested meal plans, lots of tips, tricks and stories to keep you motivated, and a complete 8 week exercise program with photos to show you proper form ($15.99 for paperback, $4.99 for Kindle).  This is based on what I have done on my own for the past seven years as well as what I recommend for my clients.

It’s not a bodybuilding competition prep guide, it’s written for all the women who have reached out to me to say they want help getting back on track and want a how-to guide that’s easy to follow and deals with real-life situations.

Here is the introduction to my book.  I hope you enjoy it.

The S.L.I. Method

The fluorescent lights were harsh as I walked into the small dressing room at Wal-Mart and faced the one thing I had been avoiding—the mirror. I locked the door behind me and slowly pulled off my T-shirt. It wasn’t mine. I couldn’t fit into my own shirts anymore, so I was wearing my husband’s T-shirt, which was black and boxy and made me feel sexless. The shirt did have a benefit though, it was long enough to cover the top of my jeans, which I could no longer zip all the way up, the reason for today’s shopping excursion.

Buying bigger pant sizes was like admitting defeat, which was exactly how I felt.

I remembered the last time I felt good, really good, standing in front of a mirror. It was 1999 and I had moved to Hollywood to become a movie star. Thanks to an extreme diet and a 25 year old metabolism, I had achieved dress size nirvana—size 3! But I wasn’t just skinny, I was strong. I had been doing exercise videos and lifting 15 pound dumbbells while watching along. I looked confident. I felt beautiful.

But 13 years, two kids, and a struggling business later, here I stood in front of the Wal-Mart dressing room mirror in Pflugerville, Texas wondering what the hell happened to me. My hair was in a messy mom bun and I looked old. I stared at the rolls of back fat popping out of my old bra with disgust. I looked at my stomach with resentment. My face was swollen and the laugh lines around my eyes didn’t seem funny to me. I felt like crying.

Why did my good body abandon me and punish me with this one? It made me so mad! I had tried everything, everything! I bought those pre-packaged foods. I only ate the diet frozen dinners that tasted terrible and always left you hungry. I had recently run a half-marathon for Pete’s sake and still couldn’t shake the weight. I was jealous that my husband could eat literally whatever he wanted—McDonald’s, bags of chips and dip, alcohol every night, and never gain a single pound, but if I even looked sideways at a bagel, three pounds would attach themselves to my ass.

I was angry with my body, I was angry with my husband, I was angry that even though I was trying so hard nothing worked and women’s magazines seemed to mock me, saying I was just full of excuses. Tears welled up in my eyes as I was overwhelmed with shame and the fear that nothing, nothing would ever work for me.

Does this sound familiar? Have you ever looked into a mirror and wondered where you went?

I wrote this book for you. You, specifically. Because I’m going to tell you how to find an ever better version of you. Think of me as your guide on this journey, because I’ve been where you’re at right now and I know how to get you out of that unhealthy ditch you’re stuck in.

When I was 38 and my doctor told me I was borderline obese, I decided to try something radical—I entered a bodybuilding bikini competition knowing absolutely nothing about the sport. In five months, I lost 50 pounds and won back myself. It literally changed my life, which is why I wrote my memoir, She’s Losing It!

I felt like I had learned the secret to being slim and now, with this book, I am able to take all that I learned through years of bikini competitions and hours at the gym and distill it down into a simple method that can be followed and replicated by anyone who has the tenacity to go for it. I know it can work because not only has it worked for me, but for my clients (ranging from teen to 54) who have the bikini trophies to prove it.

Your new body starts here, with the S.L.I. Method.

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Lisa Traugott is a personal trainer, Mom’s Choice Award writer, original cast member of FOX/John Cena’s “American Grit” and has a monthly fitness column on Bowflex.com. She won Ms. Costa Rica Sports Model 2017 and her transformation story was featured in Muscle & Fitness Hers, Good Day Austin, Great Day Houston and Austin Woman Magazine. She blogs at ShesLosingIt.com and is passionate about her clients.

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