BITS-O-WISDOM: "Laws are like sausages. It is better not to see them being made." German Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck in the 19th Century

CocoaVia, Oh My!

Now this is good chocolate. I love these, individually wrapped, just enough for one, and only 100 calories per serving. It doesn't get any better than this.

Trick is, eat these like the little treasures they are. You don't want to bite and chew, no no no. Never chew chocolate. Take a bite, then let it slowly melt on your tongue and experience the full flavor.

You'll hear about the benefits of eating chocolate but really, do you enjoy chocolate because it does your heart good or does it do your heart good because you enjoy it? Think about it. Visit the CocoaVia tm Brand Connections Listening Post

Apparently Kellogg didn't want to be left out so they've introduced a chocolate cereal in an attempt to capitalize on the growing trend of claiming chocolate is a "good for you" food. Now that's just stupid. Benefits claimed for any food have to be taken into consideration against their calories, fat, etc. Feeding kids chocolate in the morning is probably not the best way to teach them good eating habits.

Sugar Free: Is It Really Better for You?

Have you noticed the trend? They take a high sugar product, substitute an alternative sweetener but end up with virtually the same amount of calories. Yet, the label screams, low calorie, low fat or low carb. Since it's much more costly to get the "reduced," "improved" or "lower" version, I have to wonder if this makes sense.

My point? If you overeat with the regular version, you'll likely overeat the new "low whatever" version as well. This means you gain nothing for the trouble and higher cost, and it won't taste as good. Maybe it's best to let modified foods sit on the shelf and just eat the real thing.

Work on quantity--if you eat the whole thing now, work toward the point that you eat half as much at a sitting. That's real progress, and that's how you learn to enjoy a treat without going overboard. Think handful, or bowl-full, not bag-full.

Leaving the chips bag in the kitchen and take a bowl to your chair. Decide how many cookies it will take to satisfy you, then eat that many cookies. It's okay if you are eating a lot at first, because you're still eating less than before. Slowly you can eat a few less until you're having a more reasonable amount.

+++ The Daily Bites are mini-lessons in how I use EFT to maintain my 80 pound weight loss. Twice weekly and free +++

There's no "King of How Much to Eat" so you get to decide, but obviously if you're carrying too many pounds, there's a fair chance you overeat on occasion.

What I'd prefer to see is them packaged in smaller boxes so I could enjoy some once in awhile, or individually wrapped sleeves, the way they wrap Ritz crackers for instance, so I can open one, and the others won't go stale. Food packagers? Are you listening? Actually they are, but in a weird way. Have you noticed the 100 calorie packs? Any reason you couldn't repackage from the larger size yourself? Become math girl, get out a calculator and see how much "convenience" really costs.

If you have the discipline to get the 100 calorie packs and eat just one, then repackage your own and save calories and money in the process.

"The best I can hope for is that it's the original and hopefully the best fried Coke out there." -- Abel Gonzales, Jr. whose fried dough drizzled with coca-cola syrup won "most creative" at the Big Tex Choice Awards Contest of new fair foods. By "fair foods" they mean, food you eat at the fair (or any large gathering like a circus, etc.).

Case of the Missing Toobee

I wrote about this new toy, the Toobee, which was supposed to be this flying marvel. We threw it and promptly lost it. :-( Can't say how well it flew, but maybe we'll find it in the spring and try again. It resembles a can with both ends removed, so maybe you could make one yourself if you're handy.

Progress in Packaging News

Foil bags. Yup. You heard me. Foil bags. Are you happy hearing there's foil bag news? The Qbag is coming soon to a store near you, at least if you're lucky. What's a Qbag? Glad you asked. The Qbag is a foil pouch for easy grilling or conventional ovens. The idea is you can see the food, unlike regular old foil where you actually have to peek. Neat. Time saving and all. I haven't seen it in stores so can't comment on pricing.

Foods That Burn Calories

According to a 2005 "International Journal of Obesity" study, people ate 16% fewer calories at a meal if they'd sipped tomato juice spiked with hot-pepper extract half an hour before eating.

When I was younger I heard that mixing grape juice and capsicum (red pepper powder) gave a stimulant effect, and since stimulants generally reduce appetite, I wanted to try it? First I noticed my foot was itchy. It kept bothering me until I took off my shoe to investigate. Oops, I'd spilled pepper powder on my shoe laces which had leaked onto my sock and from there to my foot.

If you want to try this, watch the spills!

Low Fat Foods Can Lead to Obesity

So says the Journal of Marketing Research. Yup, they checked and apparently when given "low fat" snacks people eat more. Who knew?

Don't be fooled. Most people think low fat means up to 40% lower yet it can be only 11% which isn't a whole heck of a lot. Worst, calories can be the same, so savings are minimal. If you're going to try lower anything, don't eat more than you usually would or you're just erasing the benefits.

Be aware and be choosy. Choose the best, don't eat something because the box says it's lower in something. Who wants lower? Not me. We want fuller. Full flavor, full taste, full satisfaction. Lower? No thanks.

Does the One More Bite Approach Really Work?

"I love your Newsletter and always look forward to it. You are so open and honest with your feelings, I find it so encouraging and helpful." -- Maurine O.

"Thank you for your picture of 5 pounds of muscle vs 5 pounds of fat. I have been on Weight Watchers and am not seeing results on the scale but am also doing heavy weight lifting combined with cardio 5 times a week. I have gone from arm curling 20 pounds to 50. Keep up the wonderful work of making people healthy!" C.J

"Thank you for this issue! The saggy skin issue has been rolling around in my mind too. But I'm not going to let that deter me from losing this weight. Never in my life have I been more determined to just be at ease with the process, less focus on the "dieting" and just simply honoring my body." Julie J.

Join us in reading The Daily Bites. Maybe there's something there for you too.

Read what former and current clients have said.

OMB: Q & A You Asked I Answered

Send me Your Questions. I get too many e-mails to answer all personally (except clients) so starting now I'll include one or more of those questions in this newsletter. If you send questions watch this column.

Kitchen Gadgets or Food Porn?

Electric Peeler: Seen at Walgreens.com for under 20 bucks. It resembles a ..., well you decide. Rechargeable, cordless and waterproof. Frankly, peeling stuff is a chore I could do without. With one of these gadgets there's no reason not to enjoy more fresh vegetables.

Remember, carrots are sweet, nature's candy, so add a bit of shredded carrots to just about anything.

EFT For Life Club

You want an elite membership that no one else will even know what it means? Join the EFT for Life Club. Eyes glaze over when you say EFT which keeps it exclusive. You simply keep a smug smile knowing you have it going on and they don't. ha ha

Membership means you pay a small amount for access. That's it. No big deal, just the icky poohs will stay away, and we'll have a nice private place to chat, share ideas about what works best, and tell our stories. Look for it in January/February.

+++ Why Work with a Weight Loss Coach? +++

Have you taken seminars, read books, bought gadgets, and signed up for countless weight loss programs, and still you are struggling in your weight loss efforts? The answer you seek isn't in the next new diet.

We know what we do that doesn't work, but we can't seem to stop doing it. Where is the program that teaches us HOW TO END THE FIGHT?

Get details about the One More Bite 8-Week Workshop and see why weight loss coaching may be the answer for you   
 +++ ----------------------------------------------- +++

More on Tracking Your Progress

Food & Exercise Diary

The one I use for tracking what I eat. Simple, direct, and easy. Once you've set it up with what you regularly eat, it's not difficult to see why your weight loss efforts may be thwarted. How many calories in that restaurant meal? How much sodium? Yikes.

GoalPro 6

Need motivation? Help staying on track? GoalPro 6 is designed to help keep your eye on the prize.

The MotivAider

My favorite toy. I use this to time myself all the time, whether giving a speech or cleaning my office. It's also great for creating a daily plan to do EFT every hour on the hour for just one day.

My reviews on Food & Exercise Diary, GoalPro 6 and the MotivAider:

Fridge Graph is a free website that lets you record and graph your weight over time. Share your progress with selected people on-line for extra incentive, or get competitive and challenge a group to lose the weight together.

Supplement News

Contrave is a combination of two drugs -- naltrexone (used to treat opium addiction withdrawal) and bupropion (used to treat depression and to help people quit smoking). Contrave is intended to affect a person's craving for food and the body's regulation of energy. Contrave combines Bupropion and Naltrexone, both drugs approved for other uses than weight lo.ss but with known appetite suppressant effects. Contrave

Orexigen combines Bupropion and Zonisamide. Why the interest in combining? Remember FenPen? Individually the components weren't so effective but join them up and boom! Problem is, again those pesky side effects which in the case of FenPen caused it to not only kill a few people but be eventually withdrawn.

Q. Do drug therapies really work for weight loss?

A. Drugs are okay for short-term jump-starts but they can't do it for you. Only you can change what you regularly eat or how much you eat, and appetite is an emotionally based component as well as physical. Drug therapy is also ridiculously expensive and can (usually) introduce side-effects which may make matters worse.

Just For Fun: The Lard Bar

Food Finds: WishBone Salad Spritzers

These are great. Spray on the dressing rather than pour and save hundreds of calories. Salad dressing has roughly 100 calories per tablespoon. Pour out a tablespoon and see what a dinky bit it is, then look at what you regularly use on your salad. It's easy to get an extra 500 calories or more just from the dressing! Rather than spend all your precious calories on dressing, spritz on just enough for flavor.

You can't put oil in any old spray bottle. WishBone worked to find the right pump so once you've used it, try reusing with your own salad dressing recipe. It's worth a try. ;-)

Dressing should enhance the flavor not mask it. Stop pouring half cup of dressing over your greens and watch pounds disappear. These little extras, dressings, condiments, dribs-and-drabs of this-and-that all add up to lots of calories you don't need or want. Remember, pour responsibly.

Farm Finds: Birch Syrup

Who knew? Birch tree syrup is a weekend ritual component: newspaper, lattes and whole-grain waffles drizzled with birch tree syrup. Sort of makes my newspaper and M&Ms ritual pale in comparison.

Not only for pancakes but also brushed on chicken for roasting, drizzled over grilled salmon or steamed broccoli--now we're talking.

Book Addict News

I'm a self admitted book addict, but I totally love finding anything related to food and/or dieting. So when I saw that Mo'Nique Imes Jackson and Sherri McGee McCovey (does everyone have three names?) had a new book called Skinny Cooks Can't Be Trusted, I had to see for myself. What a hoot. It's good writing, good fun.

The cover has a recreation of the cook with full-on peasant blouse floosy-ism. She goes on to say if you actually read that book that the pictures usually don't match the recipes such as the home fries that showed tomatoes in the picture but they weren't in the recipe. Whatever. Who cares when you're wearing a low cut peasant blouse, right guys? Skinny Cooks Can't Be Trusted

What I'm Reading Now

Eat This .. It'll Make You Feel Better

Overall Direction

Oops, It's My Second First Anniversary!

Yikes. I'm not good with dates, but forgetting my second first anniversary? Not likely! We picked Valentines Day for a couple reasons: 1) Romantic, 2) Easy to remember. :-)

No kidding, I'm not the best with dates. If you didn't know, I remarried the love of my life Feb 14 2006 (that I never should have let get away), so this Valentines is our Second First Anniversary.

How to keep romance alive? Think of how you felt when you were dating. How you couldn't wait to see each other, how you loved to hold hands, and snuggle close. Remember how you thought about each other when you were apart? So now, when you're immersed in the everyday, same old, same old, remember, you once couldn't wait for the phone to ring... remember? If you think about it and smile, then you're okay.

Of course we get used to each other but you can keep romance alive by working at it. Same as you work at being healthy. It doesn't just "happen." Like love, health is no accident. Make an effort and you'll see rewards.

One More Bite's Weight Loss Articles Archives

Now nearly 70 articles! Some of the first articles: Break Through Weight Loss Plateaus

The Two-Day Diet

What's New at One More Bite in February 2007: Here's the scoop:

The 3-Day Rule: Learn to Use my 3-day Rule to get back on track. Oops, I said I'd have this in January and didn't remind myself so it's not here! Sorry about that. Coming soon ...

EFT for Life Club ... also coming soon ... man, I'm behind.

Until next time, yours in good eating,
Kathryn Martyn Smith, M.NLP

	Bits & Bites News You Can Chew On
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