You Must First Expect it of Yourself

On October 16, 2016, I e-mailed Dr. Elizabeth Loftus an endorsement request for my book Health Inspires: Your Way to Sustainable Weight Loss and she responded soon after with these magical words…
 
"Book sounds fascinating... happy to have it and see if I can help..."

I learned about her only three hours earlier when I whimsically chose her TED Talk for my Sunday jog listening enjoyment. Loftus mentions childhood obesity in the last several minutes of her TED Talk, along with Santa Claus (makes perfect sense when you listen), and my adrenaline shot through the roof! I couldn’t run home fast enough to Google Elizabeth Loftus, PhD. I have learned since then, that many people know exactly who she is.
 
Dr. Elizabeth Loftus is the top ranked woman psychologist on the top 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century list that includes Freud and Maslow. She is recognized for her research and expertise in false memories. She has been instrumental in cases such as OJ Simpson and Oliver North and in litigations involving Michael Jackson and Martha Stewart…and that barely scratches the surface. Her 44-page CV gives a glimpse of her life’s work, which includes her research on how false memory may influence food choices. Even after learning all of that, I still found the courage to ask for her endorsement. I sent her my book, and a few weeks later I had the most exhilarating endorsement!
 
Why would I seek a psychologist’s endorsement? For many of us, eating is what we do when we are hungry. Yet, for many others, eating is an emotional, habitual, psychological behavior. I wrote my book to inspire health seeking people to make healthy changes. I show them how, step by step, regardless of where they are on their health journey. Diets are all or nothing approaches, and all or nothing approaches are not sustainable. I debunk dieting myths, shed light on food industry gimmicks and marketing techniques, share clinical evidence, and the business of medicine. It has abundant resources on portions and healthy foods and follows the Mediterranean ‘Diet’—as a lifestyle. Most importantly, I lead you through designing your personalized approach through asking the right questions. It comes with a workbook, but the questions are in the book. YOU can create your health and the life you have imagined. 
 
After publishing, I was preparing to present at a Benefits & Wellness Forum in Long Beach, CA, when my husband encouraged me to learn if University of California Irvine where Loftus teaches was near. Yes! I asked her in an e-mail if she would be available. She invited me to her home and then we went to the local college eatery! 
 
I had the privilege of meeting this humble, genuine, kind, gracious and compassionate human being. Her students adore her and she has contributed good for this world with her research and also experienced some tumultuous times in her career. I respectfully addressed her as Dr. Loftus and she insisted that I call her Elizabeth. It took me the entire evening to adjust—and finally I said it--Elizabeth. I rank meeting her as one of my life’s most memorable and cherished experiences. It is the icing on the cake after three years of writing.

People like Loftus receive dozens of random requests each month which led me to ask her why she responded favorably to my e-mail endorsement request. She said, “It was something about your e-mail.”
 
Everything in life starts with ourselves. What do you want? How bad do you want it? Do you believe you can have it and are you willing to put in the work? Making progress is where the happiness is. This day was the perfect example of taking the path of least resistance and all of it felt right. It was one of the most energized, easily flowing e-mails I have ever written. Whatever you want for your life, you must first expect it of yourself. Elizabeth came through for me that day with shared hopes that my book inspires others, and I am forever grateful. It's nice to have support.

Her endorsement:

“Health and wellness guru Kathryn Scoblick attacks conventional wisdom about diets. In Health Inspires, she makes it clear that there is so much more people can do to master their wellbeing. Anyone who has worried about diets, or the obesity problem in our society, or simply health in general will find value in this engaging book.” –
Elizabeth Loftus, PhD Distinguished Professor University of California Irvine 
 
Available on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2w6wvoz
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Kathryn Scoblick is a certified health and wellness coach with Health Inspires, LLC  (www.healthinspires.com) and the author of Health Inspires: Your Way to Sustainable Weight Loss (Health Inspires, June 2017). She uses a holistic approach to inspire each person to reach their full potential and master their wellbeing. She is a board member for the Austin Mayor’s Health and Fitness Council, working on community and organizational health and wellness initiatives, from obesity prevention to mindfulness and stress reduction techniques. She currently works for Honor helping more people live safely at home as they age, is a health education expert on Sharecare (owned in part by Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Oz), and previously served as Director of Employer Health and Wellness for a large Central Texas healthcare conglomerate working with employers on wellness strategies and employee engagement, and co-created nutrition education tools for Baylor College of Medicine.
 
 
©Kathryn Scoblick
www.healthinspires.com

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