BITS-O-WISDOM: "The food here is terrible, and the portions are too small" --Woody Allen

January is about more than just "resolutions," especially since we rarely keep them. Get onboard for a new year, new you! Let's make 2008 the year you get it done.

Accelerated EFT Weight Loss in a Weekend

Come to Hidden Lake Retreat and get motivated to lose the weight now!

February we realize January went too fast. Remember resolutions? Mostly lost, forgotten and/or we decided we didn't mean it, not really, maybe next year. Time does fly.

It's nearly spring; what happened to those plans you made? The sooner you take the first step, the faster you get where you want to go.

The 2-Day EFT in a Weekend at Eagle Creek will be the best experience you'll ever have. We're going to have fun, find new friends and best of all get clear on how to lose the weight and manage it once it's lost.

P.S. If you've previously done the 8-week Ending Emotional Eating course, you'll get a full $99 discount! Mar 29-30, 2008

Nuts to You: Good Snack Choice or High Calorie Disaster?

Nuts are said to be a good source of protein but watch out since they
are very high in calories and fat. If you eat nuts for a snack, next
time get our your trusty measuring cup and see how many nuts in one
cup. Then check this chart (all roasted/salted):

• 1 cup cashews 748.8 calories, 62.67 gm. fat
• 1 cup almonds 952.99 calories, 86.82 gm. fat
• 1 cup peanuts 836.64 calories, 70.99 gm. fat
• 1 cup macadamia 962.12 calories, 102.54 gm. fat
• 1 cup mixed nuts (w/peanuts) 876.14 calories, 79.99 gm fat

Think of nuts as condensed nutrition--a little goes a very long way. Instead of a whole cup, measure a one-quarter cup and see if that satisfies. If not, find something else with crunch, baked chips perhaps. Substituting one snack food for another works if the substitute is less overall calories/fat.

Here's someone with more time than me: they checked whether the claim
of Planter's Mixed Nuts Containing Less than 50% Peanuts was true. http://www.cockeyed.com/inside/nuts/nuts.html -- they also used the math and got into volume, weight, so I'm not the only one who thinks it matters, but alas, the point wasn't the math but how many peanuts in a can of Planter's Mixed Nuts?

Cockeyed.com also has more juvenile food humor if you're so inclined

Lower Fat Ice Cream That Tastes Good

Yes, it's true, they've managed to make low fat ice cream taste good. They claim a special slow, low temperature churning does the trick, so they end up getting twice as much product with the same amount of fat. Sounds like the usual, whip it to add air, then call it better but these really do taste good so give them a try.

Omega 3: Get More

What's the best way to stock up on those Omega 3s? Supplements are
the your last resort; turn first to:

• Salmon, pink, 3 ounces - 1,130 mg
• Tuna, light in water, 3 ounces - 230
• Ground flaxseed, 2 Tablespoons 3,710

Get 1,500 - 2,000 mg a week and you're doing great. My question, can we just sprinkle a bit of that ground flaxseed into food throughout the week? Does cooking harm it?

I'll find this out by next month's newsletter. Stay tuned ... OR if you already know, send me the info or a link.

Cookbooks We Might Not Need

Chiquita Bananas, yes, they have a cookbook and that's not all bad, but one recipe was a large pancake with cut pieces of banana for the nose and eyes and an entire banana for the mouth! The Cheerios Recipe Booklet has these wonderful recipes:

Cheese Balls You Might Want to Miss: These look like little scary bites of ick. Mix cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, Worcestershire sauce. Drop by teaspoon full and cool off for 15 mins. Then melt margarine (gross) and add Cheerios until coated. Cool that off. Roll the chilled cheese in chopped peanuts. (I'm deliberately not giving measurements because I really don't want you trying this).

Spread margarine soaked Cheerios on waxed paper then roll chilled
cheese, peanut mess into balls with Cheerios distributed evenly
around each one. Put a lovely sliced pimento-stuffed olive atop
each and serve to your horrified guests.

Help with High Cost Prescription Drugs

Washington and Oregon offer residents a free prescription drug card whether you already have insurance or not, which allows them to get prescriptions at the same price as insurance companies pay. What's that? You're telling me if I don't have insurance I pay more? Yes you do.

In fact, if you aren't insured you pay more for doctor's visits, dentist visits and just about all health care which makes no sense. At least some states try to help.

Washington: http://www.rx.wa.gov Oregon: http://www.opdp.org or call 800-913-4146 for either

Funny how we pay our premiums, the insurance companies make insane profits yet our health care costs are sky rocketing with no end in sight. High time to rein in the corporate price gouging.

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

Food Facts: Sports Drinks = Sugar-sweetened Human Sweat

Most common sports drinks are about equivalent to sugar-sweetened human sweat. Yuck. Sports drinks have the same salt concentration as sweat (but are less salty than blood). An increase of as little as 1 percent in blood salt causes thirst. Grab me a Gatorade!

Where to Find Baking Ingredients: Paris

My nephew lives in Paris and he was lamenting how he wants to bake homemade Cinnabons, yet he can't find basic ingredients we use in the U.S. Apparently in France you go to separate places for groceries, unlike the US where gigantic super stores stock everything from white flour to car engine oil.

David Lebovitz saves the day with "Living the Sweet Life in Paris" a food blog about baking and finding the best sources in and around Paris

Bad Home Cooking posted "Top Ten Crappy Dinners to Make Your Kids"
I like that No. 1 is a bowl of Cheerios, since I just found a Cheerios cook book mentioned above ;-)

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Packaging Shrinking Not Pricing

Package sizes are shrinking but prices are not. Figures. I noticed box sizes are being down sized, especially breakfast cereal, but I naively thought the cost savings would be passed to the consumer. Yes, packages are getting smaller, but you're not paying less, so get used to it.

Prepared food is your most expensive way to eat, so consider saving calories along with cash -- eat at home! I don't mean get take-out and bring it home, I mean buy and cook real food. Imagine the possibilities!

You probably have an oven and some utensils, so learn to use it. Dinner takes about 10 or 15 minutes to prepare if you've got what you need at hand. We use our BBQ year-round or get a George Foreman Grill. No need to get all fancy and multi-course, just eat easy to prepare, clean food. You and your wallet will appreciate it.

The Slimming Pool, A Weight Loss Blog

Visit The Slimming Pool, Weight Loss Blog for my latest posts about how I tackled an 80 pound weight loss and how I maintain that weight loss now, 20 years later. Drop in and leave a comment.

Home Exercise: Kettlebells

One of my best exercise equipment purchase: Kettlebells and Kettlebell handles.

The handles are simply that; handles you add weights to create Kettlebells at whatever weight you want. Convention kettlebells are set weights, usually 15 pounds or higher, but not everyone can handle that much to start, especially woman, especially woman who aren't used to exercising. The handles allow you to create smaller increments; and you can always add more weight as you get stronger.

So, why would a woman want to lift weights or swing Kettlebells around? Why indeed. The more muscle you carry on your frame, the more calories you burn at rest. That's the deal.

See: How Many Calories Does Muscle Really Burn

Fat compared to muscle models

How to Totally Screw up Your Weight Loss Progress

The "When You Were Better Off Last Month Department"

Shape runs a regular column, "Weight Loss Diary." The Dec 2007 issue vividly demonstrates how easily you can ruin your progress.

I am not pointing this out to disparage or in any way discount the accomplishments of the featured woman. That said, her results the 11th month, having lost 22 pounds and 9.6% of her body fat, with a 24.4% body fat were ruined when just one month later she comes in with 26 pounds lost (4 more pounds) at the expense of losing valuable muscle for the sake of a lower number on the scale.

She ended up with 26.5% body fat, an overall loss of 7.5%. In one short month she lost more than 5 pounds of muscle. Muscle is active tissue that you want. Muscle gives you strength, stamina, and burns calories at rest. Fat is necessary, yes, but too much is lumpy and makes you sluggish, and steals your vitality. This lady probably did nothing more than try to eat as little as possible those last few days (or a week) in an effort to show the lowest final number on the scale. Big mistake.

A female can, at best, gain a few pounds of muscle a year. Literally, you'll be happy to gain three pounds a year. Losing five pounds of muscle in one month is a disaster. I said "muscle." Don't fall into the trap of paying more attention to the scale and less to the muscle/fat ratio.

Your weight on the scale is not the sole indicator of health, in fact, it's the worst gauge of wellness. Notice whether your clothes are more loose, and if you feel better.

The older you get the more you'll find that feeling good, and being happy inside your skin is more important that being that exact size 8 or 4 or whatever. Who cares?

I've never been less than a 7, and that was when I was about 13-years old, so frankly, wanting a small dress size is the least of my concerns. I want to be healthy, I want to look nice, of course, but looking nice and fretting over loose skin, or dimples, or ... Really? Is that important in the big picture? If you've over the age of 18 you don't need to fret over no longer looking 18.

Strive for better health, looking well, feeling better, and yes a compliment every so often is great, but it's not the end all, be all of what life is all about. Use EFT to get over yourself.

"Even though I can't be perfect, I deeply love and accept myself anyway, and I'm okay." Tap on that. Or, "Even though I have to be perfect."

Remember, when doing EFT for any issue you'll get results when you focus on the "issue." Focusing on what you'd rather have does nothing (doesn't hurt, but doesn't help), while putting your attention on what you believe or think or feel, then tapping is how EFT works.

Say, "I love cookies," not "I wish I wouldn't eat cookies." Big difference in how your brain thinks about those two things. The first is the issue you want to address the second, what you want. Focus on your issue while you do the EFT: I want it, I must have it, I always do it, etc.

Sugar Blues: Eating Your Body Weight in Sugar This Year?

Here's more math; At OneMansBlog.com this fellow discovered he consumed roughly his body weight in sugar each year just by drinking three cokes a day.

How to Stretch Clothing Budget While Losing the Pounds

What's a girl to do? You've lost some weight, now find your clothes are too baggy, but you don't want to get new things every five pounds. Here's a clever idea, an invisible (mostly) belt that doesn't add the usual bulk of the belt buckle. http://www.invisibelt.com

+++ ---------- Ending Emotional Eating ---------------- +++

You've gone to seminars, read books, bought gadgets, and tried
everything to lose the weight, but still nothing works. Could
it be you're an emotional eater?

If now is the right time to end your struggle losing all the
weight you want, get started on this self-paced, home study
program today. (Includes follow-up, so you still get personal
attention).

8-Week Course Outline & Details
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+++ --------------------------------------------------- +++

The Meadow Portland Oregon Chocolate & Gourmet Salt Shop

I nearly forgot to talk about chocolate, imagine! Portland has many great chocolate shops but one I recently discovered on Mississippi Street (which has lots of fun shops) is called "The Meadow." Odd name, but what a place! They have salted caramels, which is what drew me there, since once you taste a salted caramel you'll think twice about crappy chocolate ever again.

I get into trouble because I buy myself boxes of chocolates, so I didn't tell my hubby I already bought some for Valentine's day. Luckily he doesn't get my newsletter!

Visit The Meadow and learn the joys of great artisan-made chocolate, gourmet sea salt, flowers and unique wines. BTW, the proprietor told me three ounces of dark chocolate (which is a ton, you'd never eat that much all at once, not good chocolate anyway), has more anti-oxidants than 10 pounds of broccoli. So, rumors are true that chocolate can be good for you, but they mean an ounce a day, of good quality, dark chocolate, not a candy bar or Hershey's Kisses which taste gritty if you slow down to notice.

I'm be remiss if I didn't mention Hershey's gobbled up the great chocolate company, Scharffen Berger in 2005.

Where People Crazy About Chocolate Meet on the Net

SeventyPercent.com where I first learned about The Meadow in Portland, Oregon.

OMB Weight Loss Article: End Those Cravings

Read this short article on how to end those cravings

Covered in depth in Session 2 of the OMB Ending Emotional Eating course, this gives you the guidelines.

Remember, always indulge responsibly :-)

Yours in good eating,
Kathryn Martyn, M.NLP