BITS-O-WISDOM: "Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic." --Anonymous

The JackRabbit Factor

The JackRabbit Factor, by Leslie Householder with launch including over $4000 worth of extras, ends at MIDNIGHT! Short notice I know, but today's the day, so if you'd like to take advantage of the extra gifts, now's the time.

I loved The JackRabbit Factor. I'm asked to review books fairly often and it takes something special for me to want to add a review at Amazon and Barnes & Noble but this was the exception. The story is told in a wonderful fable-like manner; even kids will love this book, in fact, I'd read it to younger kids as a bedtime story (a few chapters at a time). They'll look forward to the adventure and be learning valuable life lessons in the process.

Visit ThoughtsAlive.com for a link to order or get more information. After you get the book, return to ThoughtsAlive.com for your $4,000 in bonuses.

I Don't Eat Much, Why Can't I Lose More Weight?

Q. During both of my pregnancies I gained a whopping 100 pounds each time and I managed to lose it both times, but I'm still not where I want to be. I currently weigh 137lbs and I want to weigh 120lbs, I'm 5'4. Usually I'm really good during the week but on the weekends I tend to binge, but my question is this, I exercise 5 times a week and I try to burn at least 1000 calories(or so that's what it adds up to on the machine counter) and I eat 1000-1200 calories a day, but yet I don't seem to lose anymore weight, why?

A. You may not be eating enough. I know that sounds insane, but it's true. You have to give your body adequate nutrients or it will hold on to it's fat stores with a vengeance. The only way to convince your body that you won't starve is to feed it continually, meaning eating small amounts throughout the day.

If you are exercising regularly, then you can eat more like 1600 calories and probably you'd see weight loss.

Also, take a very close look at how many calories you really get on the weekends. It could be far more than you realize.

Q & A: Is OMB Different From Other Weight Loss Programs?

Q. I came across your website surfing for info on how to create new habits. All of the info on your site is great. I have fallen into the many traps of wanting to lose weight thinking I am and I don't. No fault of a particular weight loss program -- I just don't have the motivation--but I do want to lose 30 pounds. So if I decided to sign up with OneMoreBite--how is it different from Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers or Medical Weight Loss?

A. It's completely different. I work with the underlying issues that cause us to be how we are. It's not necessary to figure out the "why," to be able to work on the "how" though. Over the years I've learned quite a few tricks and things I tried that I found very useful, and now I've just put it all together into my course which is the 8-week Ending Emotional Eating course.

I do think the best results are those who choose to also do private sessions, but they are the ones who give me the most feedback also. We just work on whatever else is going on in your life, perhaps old issues if they still bother you, then toss in many ways to tackle the every day habits and patterns you are already doing.

The point really is that you don't have to completely alter everything about how you eat and what you do to lose the weight you want to lose, but you do have to make some changes. I still eat my favorites, but not as often perhaps. I still overeat sometimes, but not every day. So, you see, it's not about being perfect, but finding a way to be a participant in our lives, rather than just an observer.

Just let me know if you have specific questions and I'm happy to reply, and if you're ready to get started, sign up now.

Read testimonials of happy OMB clients here.

Hosting Live Chat at WeightLossBuddy.com

Join me on September 14th, 2005 6 PM Pacific, 9 PM Eastern for a live chat. Anyone can attend, just register first at WeightLossBuddy.com

My topic is the "Calendar of Excuses" but it's okay to talk about anything. The Calendar of Excuses is my list of over 297 days a year where there is a built-in excuse to eat more than usual: Birthdays, holidays, picnics, friday nights, it's all there. Suddenly it becomes more clear why we have a bit of trouble sticking to our plan to eat better. Join me, it'll be fun.

The Back Fence

I get a lot of e-mails and I try to keep up but sometimes find myself falling behind. If you post your question in The Back Fence forum, you're more likely to get a speedy response. Plus, then others can also benefit.

I called the forum The Back Fence in memory of days when women would stand at the fence while outside and talk to the neighbor every morning. Don't know anyone who actually did this, but I like the picture it evokes, hence, I'm calling our EFT and NLP Forum for Those Who'd Like to Lose Some Weight and Gain Some Sanity: The Back Fence. It's also fairly easy to remember, so tag on "backfence" to my website url and you can easily remember how to get there.

The Daily Bites

Get The Daily Bites for ideas and suggestions for using EFT

Junk Science

An Oxford University study reported a correlation between diets high in processed foods and children with behavior problems and learning difficulties. Many children now being medicated for attention deficit disorder for instance, could do even better with simple dietary improvements.

This is not to say that supplements and even pharmaceuticals are not recommend. Rather they indicate that better nutrition can help reduce the need for medication.

On Cooking:

Cooking for Engineers
Comprehensive list of ingredients you may find in food products.

Height Weight Tables & BMI

Height/Weight tables have been in use since the mid 1800s but today's standard is the BMI (the body mass index). Amanda M. Czerniawski's "From Average to Ideal: The Evolution of the Height and Weight Table," includes this remark by Margo Maine, "On June 17, 1998, the government declared the previous BMI standards too lenient and altered their recommendations. Without gaining a pound, millions of Americans, whose BMI's were considered normal on the 16th woke up the next day to learn that they were in the danger zone."

Scales, BMI numbers, even body fat measurements are all just tools. Measure progress but don't get hung up on the numbers because they can change at the whim of the government.

Cooking it Up: Recipes & Advice from Early 1900s

Meal Plans: My how things have Changed since 1908

What to Eat, An Aid to Good Health states, "The daily requirement of 2500 calories may seem an allotment approaching a starvation ration." Keep in mind, life was hard in the early 1900s. There were no washing machines, microwave ovens or even electric irons, so everyone got much more physical activity in their daily life. Imagine doing your laundry by hand?

Suggested Menu:
Breakfast: Orange, Egg & 1 Slice Bacon, 2 Slices Toast, 1 Pat Butter, Coffee with 1 Tsp Sugar and 2 Tsp Cream

Mid-day or Evening Dinner: 1 Cup Consomme, 1 Lamb Chop, 1 Potato, Spinach, 2 Slices Bread, 1 Pat Butter, 1/2 Grapefruit

Supper: Baked Beans, Lettuce & Tomato Salad with French Dressing, 2 Slices Bread (again!), 1 Pat Butter, Applesauce

Menu total: 2354 calories

"The daily limit of 2500 calories must be kept continually in sight in order to reduce or even to keep from gaining... Improvement must come from a reduction in the quantity of daily food and the substitution in the diet of articles of low-calory (sic) value for those of high value.

"This means the reduction of meat, butter, and other milk product, sugar, potatoes, bread and pastry, and the substitution of fruits and vegetables. Asparagus, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, celery, tomatoes, water-cress and lettuce may supply the bulky portion of the meal and are of low calory (sic) value. Effort should also be made to increase the bodily activities. A generous amount of physical work, calisthenics and walking are of great value." -- What to Eat, (c) 1908

This booklet was published in the early 1900s. Not much has changed in dietary advice over the last 100 years. Eat better quality foods, move your body more. It all adds up to better health.

Modern Foods Lacking in Iron
Another booklet, Iron is Health, published in 1917 states, "Doctors almost universally agree that thousands of people suffer from insufficient iron in the blood because modern methods of preparing and cooking the common foods removes most of the iron nature originally intended they should contain. Refining processes have made flour more palatable, new methods of cooking have improved the taste of vegetables, but both have removed much of the food value."

True, even in the early 1900s, they were concerned that "modern" methods were robbing food of nutrients. Add more foods as fresh as possible and you'll be ahead of the crowd.

Tin Foil Cooking

Did you know just about anything can be cooked in the oven by simply wrapping in foil, tossing on a bit of herbs, maybe a splash of lemon juice, bit of oil, or whatnot, sealing, and popping in a well heated oven? It's true.

Chicken, meat, fish, comes out moist and juicy and no clean-up!

Supplement News: New Products for Weight Loss

PinnoThin
Lipid Nutrition has introduced a new appetite suppressant called PinnoThin. Derived from the seeds of the Korean pine nut tree, it's active component, pinolenic acid, stimulates the feeling of satiety.

The same company offers Clarinol, which they say is the weight product of the year. Don't know about that. You see these products come and go. Sometimes they may be useful, other times they are simply not, especially when you notice they all say you should use with a reduced calorie diet and increase your activity (where have we heard that before?). I'm okay with trying supplements, but I'm not crazy about the high costs of most, so I tend to stick to the basics. If you want to check it out, visit LipidNutrition.com and Clarinol.com

NopaLean
Triarco has launched NopaLean, a concentrate from leaves of the prickly pear cactus.

Now, this is interesting. Korean pine nut seeds? Prickly Pear Cactus? Let food be your medicine said Hippocrates 2400 years ago.

Triarco states, "The weight management component seems to be tied to the product’s unique fiber. This particular fiber has shown an uncanny ability to bind with fats rendering them virtually undigestible."

Slimist
Dubious new product award goes to Slimist: You'll see they recommend the ever present, eat fewer calories, get more exercise regimen along with their spray. I say, skip the spray, and do the aforementioned (fewer calories, more movement) and you'll get a good result.

Substitutes that Make Good Sense

It's easy to reduce calories by a couple hundred a day, and that can sometimes make all the difference in your efforts to drop a few more pounds. Here are some suggestions. Remember, if you do reduce the calories, don't take a larger portion to make up for it, or why bother?

• Evaporated whole milk switch to Evaporated Skim Milk or reduced fat 2%
• Whole milk wean yourself down to skim, unless you are sickly and need the fat
• Sour Cream switch to non-fat sour cream. It's great!

It's those little bits of this and that you need to watch for. Handfuls out of the peanut bowl, nibbles here and there. Those can equal another whole meal in no time if you aren't paying attention, so start to notice how often you eat without realizing you're eating, and work on that this

Shame on You Award: Low Carb Magazine

This recipe was listed in the back of one of the low carb magazines, but why, I'll never know.

Recipe: Easy No Bake Cookies
C - Cup; tsp - Teaspoon; Tbl - Tablespoon

2 C Sugar, 1/2 C Butter, 1/4 tsp Salt, 1/2 C Evaporated Milk, 4 Tbl Cocoa, 1/2 tsp Vanilla, 1/2 C Peanut Butter, 3 C dry Oatmeal

Combine first five ingredients over the stove and bring to a boil. Remove and add remaining ingredients, then drop onto waxed paper. Refrigerate 2 hours.

Nice cookie recipe and all but why is this in a low carb magazine? It's sure not low carb in anyway. Not only is this not low carb, it's ultra high fat, ultra high calorie and basically should have been caught by an editor as totally inappropriate for the magazine. Perhaps the lure of advertising dollars just was more than they could afford to resist?

If you've taken seminars, read books, bought gadgets, and tried everything to lose the weight, but still nothing works, the answer may be discovering and resolving the negative emotional issues that have kept you stuck, until now.

The One More Bite 8-Week Ending Emotional Eating Workshop and/or private sessions may be the answer.

Is this the right time for you to end your obstacles to weight loss success? If yes, get started today.

Goofy Things I've Tried in Quest to be Thin

There aren't too many weirdo combinations I haven't tried at one time or another in the quest for thinness over the last 30 years. One of the oddest was Cayenne pepper (the hot stuff you sprinkle on food) and grape juice. I filled gel caps with the Cayenne which is a stimulant, and drank the grape juice. I don't recall what I'd heard about the juice itself but I'm sure it was magical.

I mix and fill the gel caps myself, so one day I noticed my foot sort of itches. I rubbed it with the other foot, and that didn't help; it still feels weird, tingly and a bit warm. I tried for awhile and nothing was helping, so I finally resorted to taking off my shoe and checking what's up. Apparently while mixing things I'd spilt some of the cayenne powder onto my sock, and not noticing, it had gotten to my toes. I gave myself a hot foot that day!

I remember liking the above combo, but the side effects made certain things a bit warmer, if you get my drift. Plus I had to be careful not to forget and rub my eyes. Yikes. So that remedy went back on the shelf.

EFT: How it Differs from Positive Affirmations

No, you can't reinforce bad behaviors by using EFT. Doesn't work that way.

Your thoughts are like rushing streams of water following a river bank. When the water first traveled from the mountain to the ocean it forged a new path. Today it flows from the mountain to the ocean along that well established path. Your emotions do the same thing. The first time a new connection or pathway is formed, but the second and subsequent times your brain looks to see if there already is an established path, and if so, it'll go that way.

When you think of the thing you actually want to stop, but you think in terms of how much you want it, or intend to do it, the brain will following it's usual groove. Then when you suddenly ZAP it with EFT, you essentially throw boulders into the stream, causing the water to splatter and twist in new directions. The flow is interrupted. Interestingly, the next time you try to take that familiar path, you can't quite do it.

When you again think of that event or issue, that old path is forever altered, so now it's different. The emotional intensity is reduced perhaps, the edge is taken off.

More on Ending Negative Behaviors with EFT

One More Bite's Article Index

When is Whole Grain Not Whole Grain

When it's a labeling lie, that's when! Our labeling laws are out of whack. Suddenly the whole grain march is on and everyone's trying to pass off their products as being whole grain. Yet if the wheat or other grain listed is not listed as 100% wheat or 100% whole wheat (or 100% some other grain), then it is not a whole grain product. End of story. Wheat flour is not whole grain, so if the label says "whole grain," you are being deceived. Why does the FDA allow this deceit in the food industry?

Kansas State University Research & Extension site is chock full of excellent nutritional information.

Allergy Alerts & Recalls

If I had a severe food allergy I'd just stay away from processed foods altogether. Case in point, two recent recalls from Nabisco.

Recall No. 1 is for consumers allergic to peanuts. Apparently some packages of Pure Milk Chocolate Covered Oreo Sandwich Cookies actually contained peanut butter filled cookies instead! How did that happen?

Recall No. 2 for those with milk allergy. Nabisco recalled a shipment of Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs Oreo Thin Crisps Baked Chocolate Wafer Snacks because some bags may contain Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs Chips Ahoy! Thin Crisps Baked Chocolate Chip Snacks, made with milk, which is not declared on the outside of the box.

Hello? Is anybody home? Why are the entirely wrong products ending up in these packages? Cost cutting by getting rid of quality control staff or what?

To stay up-to-date, visit the FDA's Food Safety & Recall page

Back on Track: Losing Holiday (or Vacation) Flab

We all gain some weight here and there. Here's how I get back on track after vacation excesses

Yours in good eating,
Kathryn Martyn, M.NLP