Merry Christmas!

Conquering the Binge Monster

Are you gorging on foods at night? Do you grab a bag of your favorite chips to watch TV? Do you overindulge on your favorite snack? Do you splurge and overdo to satisfy that feeling of depression? Do you find that after you open a bag of cookies it is gone or almost gone before you go to bed? During this time of year when goodies and treats are everywhere we turn, it is easy to overeat if we are not careful and not paying attention to our behavior. I know certain foods I must avoid completely or be very careful to make sure I do not go on a bender. If we follow a few simple guidelines we can achieve and maintain the weight loss we desire. It is possible to live a healthy lifestyle but requires our commitment to our success. Here are a few guidelines to help you overcome binge eating.

• Eat properly throughout the day where your body will not go into starvation mode and make you hungry and want to eat everything in sight. If you eat a nutritious breakfast, lunch, and dinner and healthy snacks in-between you will be less likely to overindulge at night.
• Drink cold water or unsweetened tea to keep that hand to mouth movement habit satisfied.
• Eat your meals at the table not in front of the TV or computer. If you are concentrating on your meal you are less likely to overeat and you more likely to eat healthier.
• Avoid eating anything while you are doing something else like watching TV, using the computer or reading.
• If you must have a snack, pre-measure the serving instead of eating out of the bag or container. It will let your brain see what you are eating and help satisfy that feeling of hunger.
• Do not purchase your favorite high calorie and high fat foods. If you are buying them for the rest of the family put them out of sight and request they not eat in front of you while you are adjusting to your lifestyle change. I’m not saying to deprive yourself and never have your favorite, just be sure to plan for that special occasion.
• If you are eating due to feelings of depression, loneliness or some other emotion concentrate on why you are eating and deal with those emotions of stress in another way that is healthier. You could take up a hobby like cross stitching, wood carving, needlepoint or crocheting.
• Brush your teeth after your meal to give you a fresh clean feeling and make you not want to eat anymore for the night.
• Go for an evening walk to help relax, relieve some stress and change your evening habits.
• Put up a kitchen is closed sign. A friend of mine told me this helps her stay out of the kitchen at night. She actually has a rope that she hangs to block the entrance.

We must remember it is a lifestyle change not a temporary fix or we will fall back into old habits. We can achieve our weight loss goals if we plan for our weak moments. If you are not eating properly throughout the entire day you are more likely to binge eat. We must eat in moderation and avoid overindulgence. I have had difficulty with binge eating in the past but by planning for success I am achieving my goals. I am sure you can also achieve victory and together we will be successful in our journey to a happier and healthier lifestyle. God Bless and Take Care.

Note: Binge eating disorder is a newly recognized condition. Most of us overeat from time to time, and many people feel they frequently eat more than they should. Eating large amounts of food, however, does not mean that a person has binge eating disorder. For more information about this disorder visit:

HealthGuide.org
MayoClinic.com

100 Push Up Challenge

I have started the six week training program which is designed to increase your strength in order to be able to do 100 consecutive push ups. I believe I can do it and I challenge you to participate as well. After you complete an initial test to determine your current level, the program is designed to achieve this goal over a six week period. It states, "All you need is a good plan, plenty of discipline and about 30 minutes a week to achieve this goal!" Of course there are some of you who can already do many push ups but most people aren't able to manage 20 and if your like me when I took my initial test, 10 is difficult. However I'm determined to achieve this goal and I believe you can too. Just click the image or this link to start the hundred push ups training program. Good luck to all of you and please report back and let me know how you're doing.

First Christmas Party of the Season

As we all know the holidays can be a time when we can easily get caught up in all of the fun and excitement and put our weight loss goals on the back burner. The holidays start earlier each year beginning with Halloween and all of the candy. Once Thanksgiving arrives, we are bombard with parties through the New Year. In fact, the average person gains 7 to 10 pounds during this time of year. So how do we prevent this? We must first make the decision we are going to concentrate on our health.

Well I'm proud to say I survived my first Christmas party last night for this year. I did not deprive myself of anything. I had a few appetizers (5 points) and for the meal I ate mostly vegetables with some lean ham and one chicken tender. I did have a small piece of chocolate cake for dessert but after tabulating the points for the day I still had 4 points left over.

We had a wonderful time! As many of you know I recently moved and this was a party for my Sunday school class. My class is the largest in the church and we have about 55 members. After we had our meal, they had all of the new members this year come up to the front to be initiated into the class, something they do every year. There were about 10 of us. As we faced the group they had us say a chant repeatedly. All they told us was that the spirit would move us and once it did to go over to the leader and tell him how. We raised our hands above our heads and started by saying "Ohwha" then we lowered our hands to about shoulder height and said "Tagoo" then we lowered them further as in a bow and said "Siam" After doing this about three times he stopped and asked if the spirit had moved any of us, which I promptly said yes. I went over and whispered the magical phrase into his ear and was able to sit down. Luckily for me I already knew what the trick was as soon as he said "Ohwha" the first time because I was a scout leader for many years. Are you asking yourself, okay how did the spirit move me or what is the magical phrase? Well, it is "Ohwhatagoosiam" or Oh what a goose I am. LOL It took a few times for some and much longer for others to get it. They kept speeding up the chant but some just didn't understand. A couple of ladies that couldn't get it were laughing so hard in the middle of all of this they had to excuse themselves temporarily so they wouldn't P in their pants. The room was in hysterics by the end and my cheeks were so sore from laughing for so long.

Then we moved all of the tables to the wall and our chairs in a big circle to unwrap presents which everyone had brought one and placed under the tree when we first arrived. We each drew a number and as our number was called we could either go get a present under the tree and unwrap it or if we liked something someone else had already unwrapped we could go and take their present from them and they would have to go get another. Once a present was taken from another a second time that present could no longer be "stolen" and the person kept that present. I had number 58 and ended up with "The Big Black Book." It is a book which has information in it on a variety of subjects everything from medical info to raising children to managing finances. I stole it from someone and never had to unwrap a present.

As you can tell, I had a really great time and was very happy I stuck to my plan to stay within my daily points. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and a very Merry Christmas!