Program Review: 2B Mindset

Just what the heck IS the 2B Mindset?

It's a nutrition program.

But doesn't Beachbody already have lots of nutrition programs?

Well, yes, but... this is just something altogether different than anything Beachbody has ever offered before.

The best way I can describe it is that Beachbody's previous nutrition programs offered the WHAT without devoting attention to the HOW.

For someone who is already skilled at changing their eating habits in service of a health goal... sure, it's effective to say "limit your carbs to 4 half-cup servings daily and choose whole food sources."

For someone who starts each day with the best intentions but can't seem to break the junk food habit, and constantly feels defeated due to her seeming inability to control her eating habits... a different approach is needed.

The 2B Mindset program fills that gap. Through a combination of actionable tips and guidance on shifting the way we think about food, it provides the tools for people to break up with emotional eating once and for all, and bring their eating habits under control.

I struggle a bit with using the word "control," since it can have such a negative connotation in the context of eating disorders. As with just about anything else, it's up to us to exercise our discretion, and determine whether we're exerting control in service of a positive health goal, or exerting control in the name of self-harm. Motivation matters... and control isn't inherently a bad thing.

I'm seeing with my clients that this program is helping them finally feel like they are controlling what they eat, rather than food controlling them. This program also incorporates intuitive eating and learning to listen to your body, and I think that's part of how we know we are exerting control in a positive rather than a negative sense. Cravings can be a sign that we aren't eating enough; the 2B Mindset gives you a framework for investigating this systematically to determine the right amount and type of food for you to eat so that your body reaches and maintains its healthiest weight.

The 2B Mindset starts you off with four basic tools: drinking lots of water, eating lots of veggies, tracking what you eat, and using the scale daily.

This may not sound like anything revolutionary... but it's the way the elements are assembled together that makes this program so effective. For instance, the tracker you'll receive when you enroll in the program helps you become a detective when it comes to your own weight loss, investigating what factors help the scale go down from day to day and week to week, and identify the reasons when the scale goes up.

Of course, the use of the scale in itself can be a loaded issue. Much like the concept of control, the scale can be used for a positive or a negative purpose. If you keep in mind that it's a tool, nothing more and nothing less—and that you are not defined by the number on the scale—then it can be a very useful source of information as part of the complete picture, alongside other pieces of the puzzle such as measurements, how your clothes fit, muscle tone you may be noticing in pictures or the mirror, energy and how you feel, and more.

The 2B Mindset program isn't all about shifting the way we think about food—although that is a big part of it. The four foundational behaviors (water first, veggies most, tracking, and the scale) are the first tips you'll learn and practice as part of this program. Then we'll dig into food groups and how to structure your meals and snacks—and trust me when I say this program has a different approach to the food groups and meals than anything I've tried before, including all the other Beachbody nutrition programs!

What I love the most about this program is how very practical it is. Some of the tips involved help us with what can be the biggest mental battles when it comes to food... allowing us to find a sense of food freedom instead of continually feeling like we are fighting with food! Examples of those include only buying foods we can control ourselves around (so if there's a food you regularly binge on, just don't keep it in the house), and keeping "two hands on the wheel" by holding a cup of tea or otherwise occupying your hands when someone around you is eating something that tempts you... hence the photo that accompanies this post! I initially got this putty as part of physical therapy for my hand injury, but I learned that it helps me resist candy cravings and focus better during work projects that require concentration! Now I use it all the time... and I may not have noticed that if it weren't for this program!

The 2B Mindset program also offers strategies for how to handle meals at parties, at restaurants, and while traveling. It focuses on convenience and on practices that will fit every lifestyle—so you don't have to feel like you can't eat in restaurants if you want to eat healthy, and you don't have to feel like your nutrition goals go completely out the window every time you go on vacation. There may be some recommendations in the program that nutritional purists would scoff at—such as dinners cooked entirely with the microwave—but in my opinion, if this gets someone eating 4 cups of vegetables a day when otherwise they'd be microwaving a frozen burrito, that's a win!

The program was developed by Ilana Muhlstein, a registered dietitian who herself was overweight as a child. She learned some of her strategies at a summer camp for weight loss, and others by observing behavior in the families of her friends and how that was different from her own family's habits (and might explain the difference in weight, at least in part). She ultimately lost over 100 pounds, and decided to become a nutritionist to share the lessons she learned with others. Her program, which combines the scientific approaches she learned in school with her own observational learning, was used in a weight loss clinic at UCLA where she effectively helped hundreds of people lose significant amounts of weight and keep it off. The program was then refined over a period of two years in development with Beachbody, making it even more effective—and that's the 2B Mindset we are all experiencing today!

Check out these results from members of the coach test group!

As part of the 2B Mindset kit, all participants receive lifetime access to the videos. This is a separate membership from Beachbody on Demand; Beachbody on Demand subscribers do not get access to the 2B Mindset videos without paying an additional fee, and 2B Mindset participants do not receive access to the rest of Beachbody on Demand. (There are, however, combo kits that include both; you can check out purchase options here.)

In addition to the 40+ program videos, you'll also get access to the digital program materials; there are many digital handouts, charts, graphics, etc. to help you retain what you learn in the videos and get the most out of the program.

You'll receive a paper tracker that covers your first three months of following the program, with the option to buy a new one once this one is full, or access (free/included) to the digital version to print more tracker pages for yourself. You can also do your tracking and watch the videos in the iPhone/iPad app (an Android version is currently in development).

Your kit includes a hard copy of the Go-To Guide that summarizes the structure of the program for your reference, as well as a recipe book that includes even more recipes than what's in the video library. Your kit also includes a water bottle, to help you get meet that all-important water quota on the go—and it's inscribed with several of the mottos from the program, to help you keep the 2B Mindset at the top of your mind and practice it!

All in all, I think this is an excellent program that has the potential to be life-changing for anyone who has struggled with weight loss; who's tried many diets but not yet succeeded at making healthy eating a lifestyle; who has hit a weight-loss plateau; or who has struggled with emotional eating and wants to end the fight with food once and for all.

Learn more about the program here or contact me at the email address in the footer with your questions.