Catching Up With James – Part 2

Earlier this year, for the first time ever, I interviewed a Bright Liner for the weekly Vlog. His name is James Hefke, and his story is a testament to the magic that is BLE. The last time we checked in with James, it was before COVID. So I thought it was time to catch up. In this week’s Vlog, James and I discuss his journey so far, how he’s been handling the pandemic, and all of the incredible rewards he has experienced as a result of his program. I highly recommend you take the time to watch—this one is a must-see.

WATCH THE FIRST INTERVIEW WITH JAMES

WATCH THE SECOND INTERVIEW WITH JAMES


Comments

  1. Jean

    James- you give us all hope. Thank you for sharing your journey with all of us.
    I was always questioning whether to join B L E but your story gave me the courage and hope that I can also do this… one day at a time..
    I want to wish you so much happiness and all the best in your education. You will be an amazing Nurse!

    Jeannie
    Canada 🇨🇦

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  2. Amy

    Omg Susan, let the man talk!

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  3. Nena Gray

    This conversation is so beautiful. Thank you, James, for sharing your experiences. You are being so brave to open up to all of us strangers — I don’t think I could ever do it! — and I want you to know that your experiences are so inspiring to me. Thank you so much. And thanks to Susan for the idea of following you along on your journey. You have inspired me, and reassured me, and made me feel like my own goals are possible. Thank you very much, and I wish you all the best as you create your new life. I look forward to the next vlog with you.

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  4. Judith D Linden

    I am inspired again. I am old enough to be James’s grandmother and I have lost over a hundred pounds in my life, and gained it back! I want to lose 50#, the same as James. I am going to start again and will stick with it. I will love to see him at goal and on maintenance.

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  5. Barbara P Meyn

    Oh James you are doing so well. You are such a handsome guy. Keep up the good work & good luck studying nursing. You will be a wonderful addition to our profession.

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  6. Amanda Kay Creighton

    That’s it! I’ve been commenting as I’m watching rather than watching until the end… I love what Susan is suggesting near the end – to make peace with the former version of yourself is essential.

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  7. Amanda Kay Creighton

    Yes, the certainty is clear. And it is also important for us to notice what we are avoiding or keeping away. This is where the inner work is essential. What about who we have been is being resisted so much? It is through INCLUDING and transcending our past that we become truly free…

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  8. Amanda Kay Creighton

    What did you say Susan – the “what the hell effect and ____ effect”? I didn’t catch it under your breath.

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    1. Susan Peirce Thompson

      The what-the-hell effect in full effect.

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  9. Saskia delang-Lenters

    Congratulations James! You look incredible! I agree you have a conviction of steel. You are young and can look forward to most of your life as a healthy (quite handsome I might add) man with the freedom to pursue your goals and enjoy your life. I couldn’t be happier for you. I LOVE your interviews. Yours are the most inspiring to me yet, hands down. You are amazing inspiration of how someone can completely change their life for the better! God bless you indeed.

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  10. Vicky Goddard

    I just spent 2 weeks with my oldest daughter in NC, she is 50 years old and has multiple serious health issues. She weighs 350 lbs. I’ve been doing BLE since May 21 and had her doing it while i was with her. But she manages a business that keeps her at her desk 10-12 hours a day . Could you or James H. call and encourage her? I’m terrified i will lose her!

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    1. Nina

      Did she see the Vlog? Maybe you could watch it together? And when it comes to work – maybe she could delegate more? I really like this Vlog, but I wish they would respect the NMF terminology and not mention specific foods.

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  11. Kathy

    Keep up the cycling James. Group cycling´s great too (if Covid restrictions permit:) Hope your dog is getting longer walks too. Might it like agility training? Just a thought. Anyway keep up with what your doing. Looking forward to the next interview already!

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  12. Esmarie

    this interview made me cry – so happy for James – he looks GREAT and I cried for myself for not being able to get back onto my BLE journey – have been trying and trying and just not getting there. All of the best to you James – keep on keeping on – you’re doing great and are an example to us.

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    1. Bright Line Eating

      Reach out for support, Esmarie. We are here for you! Do you have a Boot Camp house, Bright Lifers coach, or BLE buddy you can lean on? 🧡

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  13. Sonja Toutenhoofd

    Go James! I really like all three of your videos because you share the good and the bad and are willing to be vulnerable partly to help others. It’s very inspiring for both me and my husband who have been doing BLE for about a year following the book and watching free videos

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  14. Heather Hudson/Victor Riemland

    Yeahhhhhhh!!! So happy for you. You are an example James of how wonderful life can be.
    God bless you!

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  15. Monica Dean

    Yea James!!

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  16. Satinder

    James you are killing it!

    Keep up the amazing work we are rooting for you x

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  17. Monica Dean

    Fantastic Vlog! Yea James!! I’m so happy for you!

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  18. Nancy W. Goss

    Beautiful piece!

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  19. Linden Morris Delrio

    Go James! Go Susan! I loves yah!!! ROCKSTARS!!! <3

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  20. Lisa

    Awesome James! I am so exited for you! I’m wishing you a great life! My 3 year BLE anniversary is October 10 th and I am a crystal vaser.You got this!

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  21. Anna B. Rosa

    When I posted the previous comment, it was intended as a response to Anne’s dismay over Susan donning Jame’s pant leg. I didn’t expect it to show in the main comments area.
    So let me add a thank you to both Susan and James for the inspiration provided thru this video. I have a 130 lbs to go before I reach my goal weight. Even this early in the BLE journey I am already experiencing some of the calmness of mind that James reports.
    In contemplating the BLE regime, I got so freaked out I ate everything in sight for about a week or more in advance. I was greatly distressed at the idea of weighing my food, planning my food etc. yet, unbelievably that distress disappeared within the first day or two of BLE.
    The Bootcamp is out of my financial reach, so I appreciate the inspiration that comes with these vlogs. I will take to heart the warning James provides about getting over confident, and about how difficult it is to hop back onto a regime, that just before deviating had been so easy. I keep reminding myself this: if I had a friend who had quit smoking, or drinking for 5 years or more, would I ever think it would be safe for them to have one little cigarette or drink once in a blue moon ? Of course not! I’d be worried sick for them. And yet I know that many a smoker or drinker has been hooked back into their addiction by just one misstep after years of abstinence. It is just too easy to fool oneself into believing that it surely wouldn’t happen with harmless food. Statistics show otherwise. Thank you James for being brave enough to share how over confidence can trip us up. I will try to remember this lesson. It is far wiser to learn from others mishaps than to learn it the hard way through experience.

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    1. Bright Line Eating

      You have a wonderful perspective, Anna. Thank you for sharing with us here.
      (Also, don’t forget about our scholarship program!!
      🧡

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  22. Anna B. Rosa

    Admittedly, at first it was a little distracting since I was expecting to see James at least hold the pants up to himself. However, sincee I don’t expect that Susan would ever do something disrespectful or unkind to anyone, (especially on camera with thousands watching) it was easy to exercise a bit of patience to see where the unexpected was going.
    After Susan put most of her body into one pant leg, James easily saw the point, that the weight he had shed was equivalent to almost an entire other body.
    As a excessively large person myself, I can appreciate his thrill at what this illustrated to him; as beautiful as Susan is, isn’t it great that he doesn’t have to pack that much extra weight along with him with every move he makes . . . not on his walks, not around the house, nor up and down the stairs. It illustrated his newly found freedom that continues to find more liberation as he follows BLE.
    I’ve lost 44lbs of the 174 lbs that I seek to shed. I have another 130 lbs to go, coincidentally the same amount of pounds that James has shed in less than a year. Seeing the difference 130 lbs makes was beautifully illustrated when Susan donned one pant leg. It gives me great encouragement to continue along my journey with BLE.

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  23. Patti Yeske

    Love this so much!! I said the same thing when I look at that Patti. 127 lbs ago. I changed from being ashamed of her and embarrassed by her to a love for that Patti. She had been through a lot and didnt have proper coping skills. I used food for comfort. BLE has changed my life in so many ways. I have a heart of gratitude !!

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    1. Bright Line Eating

      Yes! That other Patti just didn’t know yet, hadn’t found BLE yet. So much love to this Patti AND that Patti! 🧡

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  24. Susan

    James, you are truly a source of teaching that inspires the empowerment of taking control of your health on all fronts. Your connection with Susan and BLE demonstrates what is possible when you connect with first yourself, then with others for reciprocal caring support and set a clear direction for your future based on a changed identity. Keep inspiring us, the world needs this more than ever!

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  25. Phyllis

    Thank you Susan and James for this follow-up interview. Wow to see those first clothes being so big now, I remember that first interview and thought you looked well dressed to face the camera’s. Thank you for the inspiration this evening. I’ve been slipping and sliding a bit but it’s not worth it and today I’m bright and clear again.

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  26. Wendy Lee

    Wow!!! These 3 videos have me so inspired!!! I love James and his story!! I hope and pray he finds his true soulmate and continues living his best life yet…..Thank you for sharing this 3 part video.

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  27. Natasha

    So amazing!. I am curious about the 12 steps they were talking about. Does James belong to another group or is BLE using 12 steps somewhere along the line?

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    1. Bright Line Eating

      Hi Natasha! No, BLE does not use a 12-step method. James follows another 12-step fellowship separate from food addiction. 🧡

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  28. Terri McLennan

    What a sweet, generous man. I wish James all the best health And happiness as he goes forward. He is truly a remarkable man and anyone fortunate enough to have him as a nurse after he graduates, will not forget him. ❤️

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  29. Karen Cole

    I cannot express how happy I am for James. What an amazing young man! After 4 years, he is actually helping me to see my program in a new light. I can’t wait for his next installment.

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  30. Allie B

    Amazing!! So happy for you, James. Your story resonates in many ways for me and I’m so happy to hear where you are now. It’s beautiful to see the level of hope and joy you have about moving forward in your life. BLE has had the same impact in my life and I understand the incredible blessing that feeling of assurance is that I will reach my goal and maintain it. If someone had told me a year ago that I would be where I am now I would not have taken the risk of believing them… but here I am, down 130lbs with about 65 more to go. Watching you and Susan with your first interview clothes brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for being so open and sharing your experiences. What a wonderful testament to what we can achieve with the right tools and a plan that works. Susan, thank you for this gift of BLE!!!

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  31. Anne

    Putting on James’ pants was disrespectful and it distracted from his story, his pain and his accomplishments.

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    1. Ieda

      I don’t think he felt disrespected at all

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    2. Michelle

      Based on her comments he wanted to do that. It sounded like it was his idea. It was a way to look back and see Howe far he had come. Listen again. There was no disrespect intended or taken.

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    3. willy

      I thought it was awesome. James seemed to be fine with it . I can understand that if it happened for you, you may feel disrespected but everyone has their own filter with which we view life and experiences.

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    4. Jen

      I thought it was weird, but not uncharacteristic of Susan. Both parties clearly consented. What a way to really bring that into perspective.

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      1. Jen

        “that” = Weight loss into perspective.

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  32. Fiona

    This is so wonderful, thank you Susan for following up with James again! I know many of us have been pulling for him from afar and it is heartening to see how well he is doing. Keep up the excellent work, James, it sounds like “automaticity” has set in. ;-D I didn’t know that James had gotten clean and sober as well as embarking on BLE. That’s a lot to take on, but I am thinking the two endeavors support each other very well. I will celebrate James’ first C/S birthday on the 29th!

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  33. Safiyyah Cummings

    😯🤯🥺😭

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