Can Hypnosis Really Help? (feat. Rita Black)

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[00:00:19] We have so much locked in in our subconscious mind that we have a huge lawyer size evidence folder that. We failed and we have a zero evidence folder that we've been successful. So there's so much gravity behind this belief, and it is rooted in identity. Welcome to Salad with a side of Fries. I'm your host, Jenn Trepeck, talking wellness and weight loss for real life.

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[00:01:06] And it's actually funny. When I first launched this podcast back in 2019, I wrote the show description and included in that description was a line about wondering if hypnosis can really help our health efforts. After, I guess now we're six plus years later, I have met many hypnotherapist, yet none I felt were really the best fit for an interview until I was introduced to today's featured guest.

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[00:01:56] Shift weight mastery process and smoke-free. 1, [00:02:00] 2, 3. Programs have helped thousands unlock the power of their subconscious to have powerful transformations into healthier and more powerful lives. Welcome to The Salad of the Side of Fries community, Rita Black. Hey, Jen. What an intro. I love it, and I am so happy and honored to be of one of many hypnotherapist.

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[00:02:41] So totally understand. Yes. Love it. So like you said, we'll start with your story really quick. Two things. One, I wanna tell everybody. Your podcast, thin Thinking is a tremendous show. Shameless plug, everybody go check out episode 2 61. That aired February 24th, 2026, featuring yours [00:03:00] truly. It was a great episode.

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[00:03:25] And then our second piece of housekeeping is the happy, healthy hub. So friends, join us in the Happy, healthy Hub. Being a member of the Hub is the next best thing to working with me as your health coach. You get a recipe each week delivered to your inbox, curated articles, additional discounts from me and our partners.

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[00:04:01] Right. I know. What a value. Amazing value. Yeah. Yeah. So for members of the hub, your recipe this week is for 20 minute honey, garlic, chicken. It has so much flavor. You could pair it with anything. Whatever you have in your fridge works, it's also perfect as we sort of move into the spring season, wanting to spend less time in a hot kitchen.

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[00:04:42] Remember, you're going to a salad with a side of fries.com/membership. This truly supports your health in addition to supporting the show and this community, so we can keep doing this every week. Okay, Rita, you started to preview your story that it started with skepticism, you know? Yes. So for [00:05:00] you, it started with smoking, right?

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[00:05:25] She said you should try hypnosis. So for me, this was early nineties, long time ago, and my idea of hypnotherapy was this like guy with a mustache and a polyester suit waving a watch in front of me and controlling my mind. And I was like, that sounds really creepy. No, but she's like, I did it in one session and I left and I had no withdrawal, no cravings.

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[00:06:18] Anyway, long story short. He said, Hey, I am not hypnotizing you. You are all, hypnosis is really self hypnosis. I'm, I'm giving you suggestions. I'm preparing you and I'm giving you the suggestions, but by the time I talk to you and then we get into the session. You're just gonna be open and receptive. And so what happened in the session was it wasn't magic or voodoo, and it was, felt really relaxed, but I didn't feel like I levitated, I didn't feel like I, uh, fell into the floor for any of you who watched that movie Get Out, you know, like you fell that the guy fell, you know, down at the floor and all these amazing weirdo things happen.

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[00:07:22] And it wasn't like, I think I, I've had many, many smoking clients who come to me and they're like, so. I'm gonna leave and I'm gonna forget that I never smoked right. Or that I ever smoked. And I was like, no, no, you're, you're gonna be fully aware that you smoked, but it will be like that's now in your past and that you are now moving forward with this new identity and I'm not gonna wanna throw up every time I see a cigarette.

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[00:08:08] Is that only 12% of your mind is really the conscious, critical analytical will power part of your mind, and that's usually the part of your mind that wants to quit smoking or make a habit change or eat healthfully or do all these things, right? The other 88% subconscious mind. Which there's many, many things going on in our subconscious mind, but when it applies to behavioral change, like quitting smoking or weight management, or health management is our habits, our beliefs, the way we communicate with ourselves and our identity.

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[00:08:58] Things really just to [00:09:00] stay as they are. So from birth, until you're in your twenties, everything your parents, teachers, life experiences get imprinted on your subconscious mind and you develop this critical filter. And I think everybody can kind of understand this because as you get into your later twenties or early thirties, I don't wanna call say set in your ways, but you know who you are.

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[00:09:46] But it would even, it would be overwhelmingly, yeah. You know, we would be switching religions every day and being open marriage one day, close marriage. Like it would just be like insane. Well, I have a question for you. Just. We'll come back to [00:10:00] how this works in this piece of it. But speaking of that critical filter, right, right.

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[00:10:27] Then therapeutic hypnosis. So stage hypnosis. When you watch, if you've gone to Vegas or gone to a show, typically what will happen is the, the stage H hypnotist will say, okay, let me get some people up on the stage. Right? And so they'll get a large group of people up on the stage and what they are doing.

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[00:11:07] Really, really quickly and easily. So they're able to sort of spot those people right away. They get rid of everybody else. So who they have up on stage are people that are, that can go into a trance state really quickly. Or the people that are hams who are just gonna do whatever they say. And what the stage hypnotist is doing are trance inductions that are really fast and really quick.

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[00:11:50] They're very short term kind of stunted brain effects. And the momentum of that because you also hear the audience laughing and it's very like [00:12:00] quick one after the other, after the other. It's sort of like you're on a roller rollercoaster. Rollercoaster roller. Yeah. It just gets you in a momentum and that's what they really count on.

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[00:12:36] Because it isn't magic and it isn't voodoo. It is a really relaxed mind state where your subconscious mind, you know, the, the critical filter becomes relaxed in the state of hypnosis. So suggestions can pass through more easily, but you cannot be made. To do something you can't, you know, you don't want to do.

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[00:13:16] So that's why it's also very important to remove the fear in the session before, because people who come in to quit smoking or to lose weight, there's a lot of fear around not just going into a relaxed state, but there's fear about change and transformation because we're so for sure. We're so stuck in our world and our world is very painful.

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[00:14:01] Mm-hmm. That exists between the conscious and the subconscious so that we can influence mm-hmm. The subconscious. Mm-hmm. So that, and, and so that the conscious and subconscious can communicate really rapidly with each other, right? Because we all want change consciously, but the subconscious mind is like, Nope, I'm resistant to change.

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[00:14:55] So you are trying to remove the fear and say, Hey, you know, we're moving from this [00:15:00] world into this world, and this is why this world is cool. Yeah. It's like I often say to people, you know, it's, we wanna be on the same team as our bodies instead of always fighting it. Mm. And so what I'm hearing you say is that this is our conscious and our subconscious being on the same team and working together Yes.

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[00:15:37] I don't know. No, I mean there's a huge list of ways that hypnosis can be helpful. I focus on those two because those are two journeys that I've gone on, but they're phobias. Even trauma can be, there are reversal techniques with hypnosis. I don't do it, but I know that trauma be B phobias. I have [00:16:00] worked with people on fear of flying, which is a huge thing for a lot of people.

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[00:16:28] Yeah. All of that is. Exists in the conscious mind. Like, you know, something I tell people, 'cause I, I often will tell people, well try this self hypnosis technique. 'cause I'm very into just people using their brains more effectively. Right. And hypnosis is a strange term. It, people are like, what's the difference between, between hypnosis and meditation?

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[00:17:12] So I think we get a little rigid about how we perceive it. I think our mind can be, and where I see my role isn't just like I said. Oh, you know, lay down and let me get you into trance and let's change you. You know, I love helping people use their minds and understand their minds more effectively and, and how their minds work against them.

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[00:18:03] Well, you know, eat this, eat that. Don't eat this. We've got it down. No bread today, the whole list. But they are in a, a subconscious pattern of night eating. Like let's say, for instance, right? Mm-hmm. So they can be good all day. Breakfast, not a problem. Lunch, not a problem for most people. But what happens towards the end of the day is our willpower, which is our decision making faculty wears down, right?

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[00:18:55] It's this pull, it's a dopa pull that the brain gets into. Now for [00:19:00] people who are smokers, that feels like, oh, I need more nicotine. It actually isn't, it's dopamine. It's the expectation that this pattern is supposed to happen. Like the pattern of eating dinner and then going outside like, oh, oh, I've got this craving.

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[00:19:32] Like, what am I going to eat? What am I gonna have? And it's that agitation. Now the interesting thing is when you get up and go to the cupboard, it's like if my phone started ringing right? And if I said, oh, ignored my phone, I'm just gonna keep talking, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then my ring, ring, ring, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

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[00:20:08] So a lot of what habit is is a ringing phone like your, the popcorn in the cupboard is calling your name and it's an agitation. You don't need it. But the brain expects that you're gonna get up, go get it, go pop some popcorn in the microwave, and as the popcorn is popping, you haven't even eaten it yet, your brain begins to calm down because it knows that the popcorn is coming.

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[00:20:54] Yeah, for sure. I think that's such a tangible example for people to, you know, I certainly relate to it. I [00:21:00] think a lot of people will. Yeah. I mean, so a lot of people feel really, really bad about themselves because they're like, why? I know what to do. Why am I not doing it? It's not your fault. It really is the way the brain is designed, you know?

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[00:21:40] Sure. Sound good? Yeah. Great. Sounds great. I wanna share a few things readers have said about my book, uncomplicating Wellness. Finally, wellness Without the Overwhelm. A refreshingly simple judgment free guide to better health wellness. That actually makes sense. That's what this book is about. Not [00:22:00] fads, not extremes, not another list of rules that you're supposed to follow perfectly.

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[00:22:35] Text the word book, BOOK to 8 3 3 8 0 1 0 5 0 0. We'll send you a link with ways to learn more and snack your copy. Again, text the word book, BOOK to 8, 3 3 8 0 1 0 5, 0 0. Okay, Rita, so I'd love it if we could, 'cause you said most hypnosis is even self hypnosis, right? [00:23:00] Yeah. What are some things, or how could we start to even make a difference for ourselves?

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[00:23:28] So I have no judgment and I am sorry I can't recommend, but what a lot of hypnosis. Apps we'll work on is the habits and beliefs, which is perfectly fine, but for a real transformation, you need to start with identity, and I'm sure this is the way you work with your clients, is this idea you're stepping into this world of being healthy, right?

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[00:24:13] So if I'm a smoker in my subconscious mind, I'm not just a smoker, I'm a wife, I'm a mother, I'm a, you know, Los Angelian, I'm a, all these things and all of the subconscious identities. Are swirling together and they create my whole idea of myself. So I have many, many identities, but they all create how I self see myself out in the world.

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[00:25:09] Now they don't. Know that world immediately, but they're in the world and because they've committed to that world, they now begin adapting to that world. And the brain begins to reiterate, right? Like, Ooh, that guy's cute. Oh, wait a minute, I'm married. I not look at guys like that. So with weight management too, it's a little different.

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[00:26:01] Like when I'm going to be an apprentice of weight, I'm gonna learn the skills of weight mastery versus trying to be good on a diet. The moment I'm a learner, I can mess up and learn from my mistakes versus. I was good, now I'm bad, and let me start over again on Monday. Right. So reiterating is something that our brain does, and our brain always wants to improve, but there are certain things we get locked into, our brain gets locked into, which is either good or bad.

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[00:26:52] Instead of being like, oh, I blew it. I'm going to eat five more brownies and start again on Monday. We're like, okay. I ate a brownie. That was interesting. Did [00:27:00] I enjoy it? What happened five hours before? Like, why, you know, did I not eat? Did I, you know, like, did I enjoy it? How would I eat it next time? It's so bizarre because like I said, and I am sure, you know, you know, you and I are aligned because we have people in the same world who are really, really smart people who are like, why do I keep doing this behavior when I know better?

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[00:27:38] So stepping into a different identity that is going to support whatever change you wanna make opens up your brain to self see you in a more powerful way. So it immediately gives you self-respect. Because we don't believe in ourselves. Like when we struggle with our weight, we don't believe even when we start something, we're gonna finish it, that we're gonna be good.

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[00:28:22] And I'm not just talking about weight, I'm talking about any change. Usually if we are mad at ourselves for not having changed yet, we have a lot of pain. Behind that. So stepping into a new identity relieves a lot of that pain and starts you from a, a better cognitive vantage point. Does that make sense?

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[00:29:01] 'cause that's the way the brink goes. Or well, you know, whatever. Taste buds. Yeah. Yeah. So if, if I wait until dinner to go, or, you know, okay, tonight I'm not gonna eat after dinner. Right. I come home and I eat dinner, the train has left the station. You're gonna night eat. Like you can't do that. So what I advise people to do is in the morning when their willpower is the highest, and they're still in that sleep state, like before they get out of bed, is to run the scenario of what they want to do.

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[00:29:52] 'cause fasting is active versus like trying not to do something. 'cause again, trying not to do something. You have so much. [00:30:00] Behind it, but fasting is active and actually opens up a new pathway in your brain. Oh, I'm gonna fast. That's something new. That's something. But anyway, so regardless of what the behavior is, you watch yourself doing it.

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[00:30:32] But what you're doing is starting to get your brain thinking about like, this is what I'm doing, this is who I'm becoming, this is what I wanna create. And going back to that idea of, because this. Piggybacks on the apprentice idea because you'll learn probably something from doing it the first night that you can then reiterate and well, maybe I will keep the popcorn in a different thing and I'll, you'll figure it out.

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[00:31:16] And the athletes do do this, I forget what study it was, but they said that athletes had, who had been injured would practice the plays in their mind like. Throwing basketball and that it was as if they hadn't been off the court practicing. They were able to fulfill it. It's very powerful. Okay, the third one, aversion therapy.

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[00:31:58] So one is the [00:32:00] water glass three days later technique, which is imagine, so that piping H slice of pizza that looks so amazing, it's all melted and steamy. Imagine it in a water glass, and it's sat in that water glass for three days. And now that cheese is all congealed and the dough is all, you know, fluffy and gross.

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[00:32:40] Ooh.

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[00:33:12] Yeah. And because of that, I sort of, my brain is going in a few different directions. I think before we talk about finding a practitioner to do more, we've talked about, you know, you have willpower in the conscious mind, then the subconscious mind getting down and starting with that identity. And we've talked a bit about meditation and some of these other pieces, but the inner communication is something that we haven't necessarily talked as much about in our time together that I feel like if we didn't address it, we'd be leaving something out.

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[00:34:09] Right. And then we have our inner rebel and they kind of have formed from a very young age to protect what I would call our inner child. And the inner critic is the vigilant part of us, and that's the part that in the subconscious mind, like I said, the primary directive of the subconscious mind is to help us survive.

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[00:34:57] So starting to look at how [00:35:00] that, for instance, in the world of weight. That inner critic will say you blew it. And it's interesting because even GLP one drugs, 'cause I have a lot of those people in my world, the mind noise that comes from that, even though a lot of the food noise has been relieved, the mind noise because of imposter syndrome and all of these things gets amped.

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[00:35:45] Right? So it is, uh, because it's covered in hair. Sorry. Trigger warning, right? Let's eat that cake covered in hair and that pizza and that cup, it looks. So appetizing. Well, let's go for it. [00:36:00] Sorry. No, I love it. No, but the rebel will drive us to eat stuff we don't even like. 'cause it's like we're gonna be back at chicken and broccoli tomorrow, so we might as well eat everything.

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[00:36:43] And because all of our thoughts, especially those critical thoughts are habits. Our brain. Right? 90% of what we thought yesterday. We are thinking today, and the thoughts are having us, we are not having the thoughts. Right. And that in my mind [00:37:00] goes back to the idea of the Apprentice because our language can change when we're talking to ourselves a hundred percent.

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[00:37:35] I wanna find a practitioner. Mm-hmm. What guidance can you give us to help people choose a hypnotherapist? I think the guidance I would say is you wanna find somebody who's been on that journey. There's a lot of hypnotherapist out there who are jack of all trades. Oh, let me do past life regression with you.

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[00:38:16] So you really wanna find somebody who is going to take a practical approach. So you, you wanna do your homework, you want to, well now you can use ai. You could probably ask AI at least for some recommendations. But I would say you find somebody who is a specialist, not a generalist. I think Yelp is frankly a great place.

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[00:38:59] [00:39:00] Yeah, and I would add to that, tell me if I'm wrong, I would add to that a trust factor, like you have to instinctually. Feel comfortable with this person? Yeah, I mean, hopefully they have either some content out there, like social media or YouTube, so you can one, see them and get a vibe from them, like hear their voice even.

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[00:39:42] Amazing. Yeah. Love it. I think this is so helpful and interesting and eye-opening and expands the tool belt of whatever. Yes, and I think there are so many ways that we are, we're just, I am so excited because I think we are coming upon that, that age [00:40:00] of understanding our minds so much better and being able to.

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[00:40:23] You ready? Uh, sure. No pressure. Alright. What's the best thing you've done for your health this week? What's the naughtiest thing you've done related to your health? You know, the salad and fries of your week, if you will. Oh, okay. What is the best thing I have done is I'll say I went for a hike with my daughter last night because that was, we really connected and that was health and soul.

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[00:41:21] Just, you know, you go in and you feel so taken care of. 'cause it's so old fashioned, it's like, uh, walking into the past. I would love to work there. I love that. That's amazing. Alright, your favorite book on any topic other than your area of expertise or you could give us a fiction book. I don't know. I love business and my favorite book, and your listeners are probably gonna know this unless they're into business, which is Good to Great.

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[00:42:09] Well, that leads us right to the next question, which is, what's your biggest pet peeve? So that, and people being unkind, you know? All right. Last one. Okay. In your opinion, what's the next frontier in wellness? Well, I think we just said it, that people. Could be. Well, my son works in a lab at, in Irvine, California and he, they are doing some crazy stuff like creating cells out of gelatin and they are, can literally now create a vein inside of you without opening you up.

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[00:43:04] Wow. They're doing three amazing, yeah. Stretching of, you know, like literally of va veins, like on machines, like amazing. Well, Rita Black, thank you for being here. Tell everybody how to connect with you, where to find all of your resources, your podcast, all the places. So I do have a free masterclass called How to Stop The Start Over Tomorrow Weight Struggle Cycle, where we get into making, uh, subconscious shifts and there is weight loss hypnosis in it.

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[00:43:58] I think those are pretty [00:44:00] good. Amazing. Yes, and we'll put links to everything so people can just click. It's super easy that way. Thank you again for being here. Appreciate how you explain everything and the way you give us tools to take action now for ourselves. So thank you. Oh, it was my joy. It was great interview.

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[00:44:42] If it's worth the hype in this week's bite-sized bonus episode, be sure wherever you're listening, click the plus sign or the follow button, and then your app will alert you when the nutrition nugget goes live on Friday morning. Well, as always, everybody, I'm your host, gen Trebeck. Connect with me on Instagram or all social media.

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[00:45:17] Thank you for having me, Jen. This has been amazing. Well, it's been a pleasure, and friends, if you are not already a member, join us in the Happy Healthy Hub. You'll go to a salad with the side of fries.com/membership. This shows your support for this podcast, this community, and your health. On top of this week's episode, in full video with behind the scenes pieces, your 24 7, ask Me Anything on the Community Board.

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[00:46:02] Thanks so much for joining us. Be sure to click subscribe or follow on your favorite podcast platform. Share us with a friend and we'll be back next week. Always remember you deserve it and you are worth it. Happy, healthy.