A Weight Lifted

Triggers for Emotional Eating

Emotional eating is something we all engage in from time to time. For example, it's normal to celebrate with food, and sometimes nothing is more comforting than food. Still, it can get the best of us if we turn to food too often.

Annette Colby, PhD, nutritionist, therapist and author of several helpful books that look at issues such as emotional eating, lists the top 10 emotions we turn to food to help us with:

1. Feeling disempowered to change your life
2. Feeling overwhelmed or trapped and not knowing how to move forward
3. Unresolved stress and anxiety
4. Perfectionist attitudes or fear of making mistakes or failing
5. Loneliness or Boredom
6. Having a sense of insecurity
7. Feeling undeserving of the abundance and pleasure life has to offer
8. Low self-esteem or poor self-image
9. Eating to hide an emptiness inside
10. A sense of feeling deprived caused by dieting or "being good" with food

Lists like these are useful because it can be hard to figure out what's driving emotional eating sometimes. But that's the first step in overcoming emotional eating -- becoming aware of why we're doing it. Only then can we come up with strategies that will truly help us.

Check out Annette's site and her books for more useful information on emotional eating and other issues that get in the way of our being the best we can be. Check out our Green Mountain site, too, for articles we've written on emotional eating that offer specific strategies for a myriad of reasons we emotionally eat.

Requiem for a Fad Diet Author

I just learned that the author of the Beverly Hills Diet died a few days ago. There's nothing in particular I have to say about this, or the diet, that wasn't brilliantly summed up in a post on diet blog. Briefly, the post talks about formulas for these types of books: pseudo-scientific theories, celebrity testimonials, a sexy title named after a city, and a dose (large) of insecurity about being larger than the societal ideal.

The big question for me is why we keep falling for fad diet schemes like this? It does seem easy to follow the rules of these diets, which are so restrictive; we don't have to think about the choices we're making. But for the most part, we know any weight loss we achieve isn't lasting, or for that matter, healthy.

Whether we're trying to lose weight to improve our health, such as following a type 2 diabetes program, or whether we just want to fit into a pair of skinny jeans, the only answer is changing our lifestyle if it's unhealthy, or changing our minds if we're not genetically destined to fit into skinny jeans. And taking a step back, I keep asking whether research clearly links problems like type 2 diabetes with weight, or is it linked with the behaviors that lead to more weight than is good for us? I keep getting equivocal answers about this, according to whom I ask, which makes me suspect that the latter is the case. And if that's true, fad diets are the last thing that are going to help. All they do is focus on the weight, and for many people, end up creating disordered eating behaviors that plague us in our efforts to get and stay healthy.

Here's one way to implement that healthy lifestyle that includes healthy eating behaviors: Go trick or treating with the kids tonight -- taking those long walks through local streets. If you feel like eating a piece of candy or two, go for it. Bingeing on the candy obviously isn't normal eating...it's just one example of the disordered eating that diets like The Beverly Hills Diet has driven many of us to.

Tags: fad diets , Beverly Hills Diet , normal eating , type 2 diabetes program

Learning to Cook for Healthy Weight Loss

Here's a bit of weight loss information you might already know about: The research is pretty clear -- those of us who eat out more often seem to be destined to have a harder time maintaining a healthy weight. And when it comes to healthy weight loss -- fuhgeddaboutit! (Okay, so the Sopranos are over, but some things just won't go away.)

So if we want to keep our healthy lifestyles intact, whether it be for healthy eating in general or specific problems like maintaining a type 2 diabetes program, it's also clear that we need to make food at home. That's a challenge for many reasons, not the least of which is that many of us just don't know how to cook. So Green Mountain has two solutions.

First, we're sponsoring a series of healthy cooking workshops this fall with our executive chef Jon Gatewood and sous chef Lisa Fennimore. Both are seriously talented in not just making good food, but also in teaching others how to do it themselves, even within time and financial budgets. Plus, fall is a great time to come to Green Mountain. The season is changing to winter, and it offers a special feeling that you don't find other times of the year. What's more, our rates drop. :-)

The second solution is more likely for most of us, I suspect. It only involves buying the new First Kitchen Cooks DVD and popping it into your computer to quickly learn how to make some basic dishes that you can then expand on. Alta Engstrom, RD, our communications director, has formed her own company to produce this valuable tool. It's targeted at young people -- her niece Allison stars in it, and being a 20-something, talks to her peers in it -- but it's really useful for anyone who doesn't know their way around the kitchen. Check it out on Alta's website First Kitchen Cooks; you can see a video clip of it there.

So do you already know how to cook? Then consider the DVD as a holiday gift for the young person/people in your life. Chances are they're still kitchen novices, and who knows, you might get a dinner invitation out of it!

Tags: healthy eating , healthy weight loss program , type 2 diabetes program , weight loss information

Healthy Eating or Disordered Eating in Teens?

We get a lot of questions from our participants at Green Mountain at Fox Run about how to help their children avoid eating and weight problems. It's a good question. "Since the 1980s, disordered eating has become so common that it affects the majority of adolescent girls," according to Marcia Herrin, EdD, an eating disorders specialist who has updated her book The Parent's Guide to Eating Disorders: Supporting Self-Esteem, Healthy Eating & Positive Body Image at Home. It's affecting boys much more commonly, too.

As someone who struggled with disordered eating and eating disorders earlier in my life, I was intent on making sure my two children (girl and boy) didn't follow in my footsteps. I don't think they have, but it's been a challenge even with my professional understanding to help them develop healthy attitudes about food, exercise, their weights, their appearance. Our society is just too distorted about these subjects.

I found Marcia's book a good review of how to help our children avoid, or recover from, disordered eating and eating disorders. It's not easy to keep them healthy on this subject...but it's well worth the effort.

Tags: healthy eating , eating disorders , disordered eating , Marcia Herrin

Give Your Daughter the Gift of a Positive Body Image

101 Ways to Help Your Daughter Lover Her Body
By Brenda Lane Richardson and Elane Rehr

From birth to her teenage years, help your daughter to develop the confidence, physical strength, emotional maturity and respect for her body. You may even pick up a few pointers on treating yourself more kindly too! This book shows you how to inspire your daughter to participate in sports, challenge media messages, deal with difficult emotions and 98 other ways to encourage her to love herself.

To order this book or Green Mountain’s cookbook, Recipes for Living, which includes more than 50, delicious and healthy recipes, visit www.fitwoman.com or call Green Mountain at 800.448.8106.

Tags: body image , self confidence , healthy lifestyles , perfectionism .

Another No Vote for Weight Loss Diets

'Tis the season...for diets, that is.  With summer fast approaching, I can almost hear the collective worries of American (and other countries) women who begin fretting anew over what they look like in shorts and bathing suits.  Body image issues ignored, the collective answer generally runs towards starting another weight loss diet. 

With that in mind, I thought I'd pass on a few diet book reviews, books that are competing for the attention of weight-worried women this summer.  The reviews are direct from The ADA Times, a publication of The American Dietetic Association. 

• 21 Pounds in 21 Days -- The Martha's Vineyard Diet Detox -- The claim:  Detox allows the body to release toxins and excess weight.  The method:  Liquids only, including 64 ounces of distilled water daily, plus supplements.  The facts:  Some of the book's recommendations, such as food combining and colonic therapy, have no scientific merit for weight loss according to the ADA.  Our take:  Weight lost quickly -- and it will probably be lost quickly when just drinking liquids for three weeks -- returns even more quickly.  The health effects of such yo-yo dieting are nothing to toy with.
• The Serotonin Power Diet: Use Your Brain's Natural Chemistry to Cut Cravings, Curb Emotional Overeating, and Lose Weight -- The claim:  Raising serotonin levels will cause you to lose weight.  The method:  Eat high-carb, low-protein, low-fat meals/snacks the first two weeks.  Subsequent weeks vary the protein content and number of snacks.  The facts:  Whether this plan actually boosts serotonin levels has not been evaluated.  The ADA also notes that most readers will probably lose weight as they would with any calorie-restricted, low-fat diet that encourages regular physical activity.  Our take: The extra-ordinary attention needed to eat like this stands in the way of doing it long-term, and that makes it another wasted effort for most people.  Not sure whether raising serotonin levels is the real problem for most folks, either.
• The Snack Factor Diet: The Secret to Losing Weight by Eating More -- The claim:  Monitoring portions, proportions and levels of hunger and choosing nutrient dense foods will help you lose weight.  The method:  Monitoring portions, proportions and levels of hunger and choosing nutrient dense foods.  The meal plan excludes fruit entirely and allows only two starch servings a day.  The facts:  The method sounds good until you get to the carbohydrate limits.  Our take:  Ditto.  Much too restrictive, and hence not realistic.
• Joy Bauer's Food Cures: Easy 4-Step Nutrition Programs for Improving Your Body -- The claim:  Proper nutrition fuels your body; balanced meals with the 'right' calories for you helps you maintain a healthy weight.  The method:  Readers are taught to estimate their energy needs and choose among balanced meal plans of different calorie levels.  The facts:  The ADA likes it.  Our take:  We certainly agree with the premise of proper nutrition, but disagree with the focus on calorie counting.  Too many women have come to Green Mountain after years of failing at calorie counting.  It just doesn't work for the vast majority of people.

Of course, these few books are probably only a drop in the ocean that are flooding bookstores right now.  Our take on all of them: If they've got you doing anything other than normal eating, they're probably just going to exacerbate struggles over the long term.

Have a happy, healthy summer that's diet-free!

weight loss diets , diet book reviews , diet detox , Martha's Vineyard

Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters

I’ve spoken several times on the perils of going to the gym. It is a place rife with stories of women who are in the never-ending search for the perfect body, or perhaps even more illusive – someone else’s body.

Not too long ago I was going nowhere on the stationary bike in my gym and noticed two young women cycling their brains out in front of me - they couldn’t have been more than 14 or 15. Both dressed rather provocatively, in the shortest of shorts accompanied with t-shirts tied tightly in a knot under their sports bras with lots of beaded bracelets (Lindsay style) and spray on tans. They didn’t strike me as young athletes in training, but rather two friends in the gym trying to improve their bodies – bodies that were by anyone’s standards already beautiful. Well, this is America afterall (and a fat America at that), so who says two teenage women shouldn’t be spending their spare time in the gym?

Ok, me. When I was 14 never, never, would my friends and I have considered the gym a fun way to spend a sunny afternoon - so what do we suppose brought these two young women to the gym? A lack of athletic opportunities, no physical education in the schools, or something more sinister?

A wonderful new book has just been published this March, entitled, Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: The Frightening New Normalcy of Hating Your Body published by Simon & Schuster's Free Press. Courtney E. Martin a talented young writer, has written a book about disordered eating and body image from a new and fresh perspective. From Courtney's website:

"Filled with information from expert psychologists and hundreds of interviews with women with eating disorders, Courtney E. Martin's Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters is a wake-up call to women of all ages and races to recognize the epidemic of eating disorders and what it's doing to them, their daughters, friends, and relatives. Courtney Martin argues passionately that women must commit themselves to developing new attitudes about their bodies, and redirect the negative energy they spend on denying themselves contentment in order to become re-engaged with the possibilities of a better life." - Simon & Schuster

This may be the perfect gift to give that special young woman in your life who just doesn't think you get it.

For more on the subject, read an article by Marsha, "Healthy Eating, Feeding Our Daughters Well", here.

Tags: body image , empowerment , healthy eating , perfectionism .

Stumbling on Happiness

For for those of us who still allow ourselves to believe that losing a few pounds will automatically bring us the happiness and joy we seek, may want to stop and rethink why.

I’m currently in the middle of a very good book. Usually I wouldn't recommend a book before I was finished reading it, but I’m enjoying it so much I thought I’d pass it along. The book, Stumbling on Happiness, written by Daniel Gilbert, Harvard professor of psychology, is an interesting look at how our mind works. More specifically, how we decided what will make us happy and our misguided attempts at achieving happiness.

Stumbling on Happiness isn’t about how to get happy. It’s really about our attempts to plan ahead in an effort to be happy in the future and never really getting there. It is the antithesis of so many self-help books that offer the meaning of life. Gilbert isn’t trying to tell us how to find joy, but why so often our search may be erroneous. With humor, wit and a down to earth approach, he takes the high road and speaks eloquently about the human mind and its quirks. If you have room for one more read this summer I highly recommend this lovely book.

Gilbert also has a wonderful blog which you can visit here.

Tags: mindfulness , psychology , Daniel Gilbert finding happiness .

Relaxation

I was in a bookstore and came across "The Big Book of Relaxation: Simple Techniques to Control the Excess Stress in Your Life, edited by Larry Blumenfield.

Editor Blumenfeld has gathered some of the biggest names in alternative healing to discuss how to unwind and detoxify our souls and bodies. John Harvey provides a good basic chapter on meditation. Lilias Folan, of videotape fame, gives instruction on yogic relaxation. Shakti Gawain provides information on creative visualization. Feminist musician Kay Gardner gives hints on how music can soothe the savage nerves. There are other chapters on mind machines, on aromatherapy, and even on nutrition for relaxation.

This "big" book is certainly a good start, but it occurs to me that creating your own self care book, or "tip" jar, might even be more valuable. Become in tune with what makes you relaxed, happy and fulfilled, write a note to yourself to actually do those things when stress levels have you so uptight that you can't think. Just open your personal relax book or relax tip jar and make the time to do it.

Have a pleasant weekend one and all, you might even start to build your personal relaxation tips.    

Oppression Syndrome

I’m taking on a big topic today, and I’ll tell you right up front that there won’t be a neatly ribboned answer at the end…you’ll have more questions than answers.

I’ve been thinking about stress and body image and living in an environment where you’re subtly (and not so subtly) told that you’re not acceptable – because of your body size. Can this factor alone (what is known as “oppression syndrome”) account for the erroneous belief that “fat kills.”

A book I’ve been reading (“The Mind Body Diabetes Revolution” by Richard Surwit, Ph.D.) put into black and white what I’ve believed all along (from personal experience) that diabetes control can be made worse by stress and that the disease itself can also be caused by stress. Before I read this revolutionary phrase in Dr Surwit’s book, all the articles, books, journals I’d read previously never went so far as to suggest that diabetes can be caused by stress (and I’m talking the mental/emotional kind of stress, not being dangled by your heels over a vat of sucrose). Can being under the miasma of fear, disgust and self-loathing that body dissatisfaction brings cause conditions such as more weight gain, high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer?

Consider this. Instilling fat phobia seems to be the number one priority for our government, health professionals and media, despite huge body of credible evidence demonstrating that not only is the “growing fatter” argument is junk science/statistic contortions, and there are few (credible) links between extra weight and disease. Example: recently there was and continues to be a lot of interest in the study that found a connection between greater weights and diet soda, ie those that drank diet soda were heavier than those that didn’t. Their conclusion? Diet sodas make you fat. That’s like saying more crumbs are found in homes without dogs than those with dogs, therefore people without dogs are poor housekeepers. Or that there are more gay people than straight people at a gay pride meeting – therefore meetings cause people to become gay.

The recent article proclaiming that Americans were more likely to know about American Idol than to know about the (alleged) link between obesity and cancer was more of the same kind of poor science/poor journalism that contributes to the oppressive environment of body non-acceptance.

The unsubstantiated claims in this article can be used one of two ways – add to your fear and stress or 2) example to use to identify an organization jumping on the obesity bandwagon.

Perhaps I do agree with this article after all – fatness can cause every disease and syndrome known or unknown to mankind through indifference or malpractice….when you go to the doctor with a complaint, and you’re told that the answer is to lose weight and exercise more, without an exam, that makes a little muscle and fat a dangerous thing. Even if you’re at a fitness level that professional atheletes strive to achieve, if you’re a woman that’s still not “model slim” you can be told that you need to lose weight and exercise to cure your fatigue and back pain. Later you find out that you have a fast growing/debilitating bone marrow cancer that’s achieved stage 4 by the time someone finally listens to you, and you’re walking around with 3 or 4 crushed vertebrae (which makes you shorter, and therefore according to the height/weight charts you’re now borderline “obese”). That's a true story.

Yes, fat (prejuidice) kills.   

picture is taken from Largesse, the network for size esteem.

Tags: fat phobia , Kathryn Flegal , Obesity Epidemic , Oppression Syndrome .

My Father the Dog

Earlier this month I came across some old photos of me on the trail of a mountain called “White Rocks Ice Bed Trail” with my friend Elizabeth Bluemle (ps –I learned about White Rocks while at Green Mountain and it’s totally amazing - a short walk to mountain views and a really cool rock slide. Special attractions: Unique views of White Rocks Cliff, potential falcon sightings, and and optional walk to cooling beds of ice).

Soon after I got Elizabeth’s announcement of publication of her first book, My Father the Dog, and decided that it was a sign that I should shamelessly promote a friend (of mine and Green Mountain’s).

Before we get into the book, let me also add that Elizabeth is my favorite bookstore proprietress (however she can only manage the Flying Pig Bookstore with the help of Theo and Inky – sorry Elizabeth, they made me put that in there - as well as Josie Leavitt). I must also thank Elizabeth for introducing me to Diana Gabaldon (for fans of DG, a new Jamie and Claire book is out now!). Don’t hesitate to ask for advice about reading materials for your kids or you – The Flying Pig has something wonderful for everyone.

Elizabeth is someone that is always engaged in life, moving forward and actively seeking to be the light in a dark place. In My Father, the Dog (with illustrations by Randy Cecil) she makes an airtight case that fathers and dogs are one in the same. Uplifting, funny and profound all at the same time.

Here's what KIRKUS REVIEWS says:

MY FATHER THE DOG is an affectionate look at the lovable similarities between dads and dogs.

The title, cover and opening sentence groom readers for this waggish tale. "My father pretends to be human, but I know he is really a dog. Consider the evidence." Dad starts the day with a good scratch; fetches the newspaper; likes the windows down in the car; has used a tree for a pit stop; growls when startled out of a nap; chases a ball; loves snacks; he looks innocent when he "toots"; and thinks "we're the best family in the world." That's a good thing, " 'cause Mom says we can keep him." The comical oil illustrations juxtapose dad and dog in synchronized behavior enacting each activity as they amusingly express the subtly underplayed scenes to a T. Even the typeface is called "SoupBone." Tail-wagging hilarity that's simply doggone funny—and a perfect Father's Day gift. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright 2006 Kirkus Reviews (April 1, 2006)

Please visit Elizabeth’s website and read the “About Me” section and you’ll see what I mean about her sharing her “light” with others – she’s put together really useful sections for Kids and Writers too.

Tags: My Father the Dog , Diana Gabaldon , Father's Day , Vermont Authors .

Crazybusy

Excerpt from Crazybusy, by Dr Edward M Hallowell, MD

"The best reason to take your time is that time is the only time you'll ever have. You must take it, or it will be taken from you. It is telling that the phrase "taking your time" is synonymous with slowing down. If we want to live life fully, we do best to slow down. I don't suggest that we turn back the clock, trying to retrieve a bygone era when life was slower. We couldn't, even if we wanted to. But I don't believe we should want to. We should revel in our electronically supercharged, unbounded world. But, to make the most out of this new world, to avoid feeling overbooked, overstretched, and about to snap, to make modern life become better than life has ever been, a person must learn how to do what matters most first. Otherwise, you will bulldoze over life's best moments. You won't notice the little charms that adorn each day, nor will you ever transform the mundane to extraordinary."

Determining what's most important isn't a simple task, but I'm working on it all the time. How 'bout you?

Tags: Crazybusy , Edward M Hallowell, MD , time management , satisfaction .

Mindful Eating – Peaceful Eating

Time is short this week so I’m going to briefly talk about a favorite free e-newsletter.  Annette Colby, PhD, RD, author of the Eating Peacefully newsletter, holds degrees in nutrition and exercise physiology and certifications in a variety of other specialties including reikki and energy healing.  I’ve enjoyed the newsletter for a number of years – it has always been full of inspiring quotes and wise words about eating, healthy weight and taking care of yourself. 

Here’s a sample quote from a recent newsletter on the meaning of failure. 

“I have missed more than 9000 shots in my career.  I have lost almost 300 games.  On 26 occasions, I was entrusted to take the game winning shot and missed.  I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”   ~ Michael Jordan

If you haven’t guessed, this subject was addressed because failure is something that weight strugglers really struggle with.  When viewed the wrong way, failure creates fear, and stops us from trying to achieve our dreams.  If viewed as a learning experience, it can help us find the path to success.

Or read this piece on emotional eating that we asked Annette if we could feature on Green Mountain at Fox Run's website.  Annette shares some wonderful insight for someone who struggles with emotional eating.

To sign up for her e-newsletter, go to Annette’s website. 

‘Til next week…………

Tags: mindful eating , emotional eating , peaceful eating , healthy weight

Phat Girlz

Phat Girlz is a new movie starring Mo'Nique. Since Vermont is a step behind in latest releases, I've just  read reviews of this film, which have made me anxious to see it. Although some reviewers can't figure out what's going on in the movie due to their non-experience with real women's bodies and minds, I'm sure that it speaks to all women that have to remind themselves occassionally that there is no such thing as a "perfect body."

Mo'Nique is the actress that previously brought us a beauty pagent for women of substance - F.A.T Chance (F.A.T. = Fabulous and Thick). In Phat Girlz, "Jazmine" (Mo'Nique's character) is a well adjusted, self-accepting woman of size working on her career. She finds she has to confront some unexpected issues - the issues that lurk beneath and jump up when least appreciated.

Even if this movie was the worst on earth, I'm still excited to see a story about plus-sized woman that isn't depressed and planning her next diet. And there's another bonus - there's no "fat suit" to be seen in this flick.

Tags: Phat Girlz , Mo'nique , Body Acceptance , Movie Reviews .

It's Fat Free Friday!

Let's join Jessica Weiner, the author of "Do I Look Fat in This:? : Life Doesn't Begin Five Pounds From Now", in a celebration of Fat Free Friday. Jessica's mission is to silence the critical head. Jessica is a great proponent of living in the now, (as are we), and not waiting to do the things you want to do, live the life you want to live only when you reach some sort of acceptable image of yourself. For most of us, it's a never-ending waiting game.

Check out this and other Jessica Weiner books, for a good kick in the head and maybe even a little kick in the posterior.

Remember...your body does hear everything you think!

Tags: body image , non-diet , Jennifer Weiner , self esteem .

Body Image & Big Butts

What bigger blow is there to our self image than when our significant other makes a comment like “I can’t believe you ate all that.”  Well, maybe there can be bigger blows, but in the heat of the moment, it sure doesn’t feel like it.  In honor of the National Eating Disorders Awareness Week theme “Be Comfortable in Your Genes,” here’s my suggestion for how to take charge of these situations. Educate, educate, educate.  We need to teach our loved ones how their often innocent and well-meaning comments can wreak havoc on our feelings of self-worth.

Therapist Lydia Hanich in her new book Honey, Does This Make My Butt Look Big? takes on this task with a good dose of humor, which, of course, can be a valuable tool when dealing with a thorny issue like this.  The book presents typical questions or statements that can raise hackles and gives ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ answers to each.  Hanich also explains why the questions or statements are loaded, to help readers begin to really understand the whys and hows of the situation.

The book also advises loved ones how to react to loaded questions that we may ask.  This excerpt from the introduction explains:

“Does this make me look fat?”

You hear these words and freeze in your tracks. You get a sinking feeling in your stomach. What to do? How to answer? Do you lie? Tell the truth? Pretend you didn't hear? Try to distract her? Your instincts tell you to run. It's fight or flight, and you'd much rather flee because you've stayed for the fight before, and you know you can't win. With a seemingly simple question, your honey has catapulted you into a complete quandary and rendered you utterly defenseless. You're cornered, trapped. You'd rather gnaw off a foot than answer that question. Talk about a loaded question! You HATE that question! There's only one place it has ever led you to: trouble. And there's been no way out of the trap...until now.

Although Hanich promotes the book for couples, it clearly has utility for anyone with a mother, daughter, sister, friend who struggles with appearance, weight, food or eating.  Sadly, at that rate, Hanich has a potential bestseller on her hands.

For a good read to immediately help you with more supportive self-talk (what we say to ourselves has a much bigger impact on us than anything anyone else could say to us), check out our FitBriefing on size and self-acceptance.

 

body image , self acceptance , size acceptance , self talk

Tricking Your Brain Into Thinness – Dieting Gimmick or Gimmicky Diet?

Did anyone catch ABC’s 20/20 last Friday?  Titled The Fat Factor, the producers must have figured FAT would be an interesting topic as millions of American’s sat in front of their TV sets feeling overfed and perhaps a little bit guilty about their late night turkey sandwich.

After talking to Wynonna Judd and Carnie Wilson about their trials and tribulations as weight struggling women, the focus turned to the newest diet book, The Flavor Point Diet written by Dr. David Katz. (It doesn’t go unnoticed that Katz is the senior medical correspondent for ‘ABC’, as well  as the diet doc from ‘Celebrity Fit Club’ fame, and a featured columnist at O Magazine).  A pretty media savvy doc, I’d say. 

Described by Rodale (his publisher), as a “groundbreaking diet drawn from cutting-edge science that maximizes your eating pleasure, optimizes your health, and guarantees permanent weight loss, by combining foods selected by flavor,” Katz believes you can meet your weight loss goals by tricking your brain into being satisfied for very long periods of time.  You won’t eat when you’re not hungry and therefore lose lots of weight, faster. 

Sounds revolutionary, doesn’t it?  However, I’m not sure how this diet satisfies the plethora of other problems people face when struggling with their weight, like emotionally eating, managing their stress, time and management issues and competing priorities, just to name a few. 

Nevertheless, the strategy is to follow ‘flavor themes’ by week, day, meal and dish, to eventually reach your ‘flavor point’ where you feel full and satisfied. According to Dr. Katz, too many flavors (variety) offered to your brain and the less successful your dieting will be.  “The concept is very, very simple. An excess of flavor variety over-stimulates the appetite center in the brain," says Katz.

The research offered to back up his theory comes from research conducted at Yale's Prevention Research Center, where Dr. Katz is director.

It’s important to note I haven’t read the book (it comes out this week), but it does sound like the premise may not lend itself easily to the lifestyle of a typical busy American woman.  Themed weeks, days and meals sound awfully challenging.  Not that you can’t lose weight on this ‘diet’ or any other ‘diet’ for the short term, but can you live with it?  Is it a lifestyle? How long can you really eat this way or any other rigidly described way? Isn’t it more important to understand how to achieve long term success around healthy eating and weight management without dieting?  We think so.

Tags: diet books , dieting , weight loss .

ABC 20/20 .

Taming Your Chew

Conquering that insatiable desire to eat is a compulsion that many of us face as we try, often in vain, to overcome our obsession with food.  In Denise Lamothe's critically acclaimed book, "The Taming of the Chew", she describes the enemy as 'the Chew', that "hurtful, persistent, out-of-control part of each of us." According to Dr. Denise, 'the Chew' is what keeps overeaters from sticking with a healthy eating plan and can compel them to go on eating binges.

This summer Dr. Denise Lamothe PsyD, HHD will be a featured lecturer at Green Mountain at Fox Run during their regularly scheduled program on the following dates:

August 21 - 24, 2005 - September 11 - 14, 2005 - September 18 - 21, 2005
 
Here are some program highlights:

• Understand causes of food control issues from physical, emotional, and spiritual perspectives.
• Realize how our socialization process creates a context in which it is nearly impossible to avoid food control problems.
• Know what a holistic approach is and how to incorporate it in planning and implementing personal care for yourself and others.
• Appreciate physical, emotional, spiritual and environmental reasons why so many people today struggle with food control and other substance abuse issues.
• Develop powerful strategies for achieving and maintaining emotional and spiritual health.
• Gain a breadth and depth of knowledge about your personal relationship with food and appetite.
• Learn many ways to eliminate guilt and shame, to take responsibility for choices and to implement health-promoting changes.
• Design a personal, individualized plan to take control of your health and to achieve and maintain a healthy body, mind and spirit.
• Discover renewed zest for life and to formulate a plan for maintaining balance and approaching life creatively, positively and joyfully.

For more information about this special program and others, visit the Green Mountain at Fox Run  homepage.

Tags: compulsive overeating, dieting.