BITS-O-WISDOM: "The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket." -- Anonymous

Quest for the Biggest Burger

There seems to be a burger war brewing. Who's is biggest? I'm not talking those gigantic entries that take an entire platter, such as you'll find at Denny's Beer Barrel Pub. I'm talking here about what's being offered at your local Carl's Jr, and Burger King.

Carl's Jr. steps up to the plate with their Six Dollar Guacamole Bacon Burger: 1117 calories, 81 grams of fat, 29 saturated, and 2156 grams of sodium

Or, try the Monster Thick Burger. Here's an architectural rendering to get you started: (Warning: don't look before you eat or it'll make you hungry).

Add a large french fry: 621 calories, 29 grams of fat, 6 saturated,
377 grams of sodium and medium chocolate shake: 820 calories, 16 grams of fat, 10 saturated, 549 grams of sodium to really round out this "meal."

These examples of yummy meals over 2500 calories (not to mention the rest of the tally) are truly outrageous but that's what the people want say the restaurants, and that's what we're going to get. Anyone care to guess why we've gotten so fat?

That's not to say you can't enjoy an indulgence but make it once an awhile (once a month perhaps), not every week or even several times a week. And if you want to go for the six pound burger (or the largest on record at over 15 pounds), take a few friends.

See the Making of a Giant Burger

Q & A: For the Weight Loss Queen

Q. Hello, I am currently 210 lbs. I would like to get back down to my normal weight of 160. I have a computer job from 8-5 and am not able to exercise a lot because of a 2-year old. What would be the quickest and safest way for me to lose this 50 lbs. Also, how many calories a day should I intake to lose this weight along with how much exercise?

A. There are lots of options. My current favorite exercise option is using Kettlebells. I bought a set of Kettle Grips from IronWoodyFitness.com and use them with my own weights, so I can adjust the size as my strength increases. Ideal if you're short on space too because they are compact.

I'm also learning how to use Flex Bands. IronWoody recently completed a couple new DVD's for learning to use both the Kettlegrips and the Flex Bands.

The Kettlebells are like a round weight with a handle and basically you just heft them around. I do swings (two hands on Kettlebell, swinging down into a squat position which sort of cushions the weight as it falls, then swinging back up toward the ceiling, back and forth). It's a great workout and you get the benefit of all the helper muscles being involved, plus your heart gets pumping so you get an aerobic benefit simultaneously. I love my Kettlebells or more specifically Kettlegrips.

Kettlegrips are adjustable, Kettlebells are not. If you're just starting, a pair of Kettlegrips makes a lot of sense (or for women especially) because you can slowly increase the weight.

Iron Woody Fitness is the place for Kettlegrips

You can keep some Flex Bands right in your office or near your work station and occasionally throughout the day do a short exercise. No law says you must do your entire workout all at once. It's just as good to do five minutes here and there.

For calories, cut back slightly (not drastically). Make it a slow, steady progression and you'll slowly grow accustom to smaller portions.

How to estimate your calorie needs

Flavor Spray Diet

David Burke, award winning chef introduces Flavor Sprays with zero calories, zero fat, and zero carbohydrates, but with tons of flavor. Seems like a smart idea so I got a couple flavors to try: Teriyaki and Parmesan cheese.

Burke himself is not exactly thin, so maybe he's trying too many of the variations? It seems a prudent idea, so maybe check these out for yourself. I am anxiously awaiting the butter flavor to try on
popcorn

Flavor Spray Diet

Live Chat at WeightLossBuddy.com & the Back Fence

I'm not yet scheduled but will be hosting at least one chat in October at WeightLossBuddy.com. Anyone can attend but you must be pre-registered

October I'm talking about "Holiday Weight Gain" but we can talk about anything at all so come in and be ready to chat.

The Daily Bites

Get The Daily Bites for ideas and suggestions for using EFT in your weight loss program

Doggy & Kitty Slimmers of the Year Winners

Got fat pets? Here's inspiration for the little critters:

Portly Pooch Wins Slimming Award

Former Fat Cat Named Top Slimmer

Backpacks with Built-in Thirst Quenchers

Kids on the go need a way to pack along liquid refreshments and the Kids Ultra backpack from Deuter fits the bill nicely:

Deuter Usa's Motto: Sweat less, go further (er, okay)

On Cooking

Cooking Measurement Conversions

Are you analytical and like to cook? Cooking for Engineers is for you

Don't

I have a small book called simply "Don't." It's the proper etiquette rules from the 1700s and 1800s.

For example, here's what they say about drinking from your saucer:

"Don't drink from your saucer. While you must avoid this vulgarity, don't take notice of it or any mistake of the kind when committed by others. (It is related that at the table of an English prince a rustic guest poured his tea into his saucer much to the visible amusement of the court ladies and gentlemen present. Whereupon the prince quietly poured his own tea into his own saucer, thereby rebuking his ill-mannered court and putting his guest in countenance.)"

And other on that slovenly habit of coming to the breakfast table in a disheveled fashion:

"Don't come to breakfast in deshabille. A lady's morning toilet should be simple but fresh and tasteful and her hair not in curl- papers. A gentleman should wear his morning suit and never his dressing gown. there are men who sit at a table in their shirt- sleeves; this is very vulgar."

So, there you have it! Rules for the table. Dictionary.com defines deshabille thusly:

1. The state of being partially or very casually dressed.
2. Casual or lounging attire.
3. An intentionally careless manner.

So now we all know.

Books for Doggy Diets

"Give your dog a Bone" by Ian Billinghurst

"Natural Nutrition for Cats and Dogs" by Kymythy R. Schultze

"Raw Meaty Bones Promote Health" by Tom Lonsdale

Restaurants Offering More Gluten Free Menus

Taco Del Mar (located in the Western U.S. and Canada, and Mid-western U.S.) the has Gluten Free menu

Hyvee Stores: Check out their Gluten Free PDF of all products in their store

Kettle Foods is introducing baked potato chips with less fat and calories in several different flavors, such as Aged White Cheddar, spicy-sweet Hickory Honey Barbecue, and Lightly Salted, reported Food Ingredients First.

CherryBrookKitchen.com: Allergy Safe Cake Mixes and More

Food Packaging, Have They Gone Too Far

Tried to wrestle a package open recently? They are getting so ridiculously difficult to open that Stagnito, the New Foods folks, did a survey. Their results showed 61% of respondents agreed "Packaging a product to deter retail theft or tampering outweighs ease-of-use," while 39% disagreed. In other words, those in the industry couldn't care less that we cannot open these darn packages! It's time to send a clear message that we don't like these packages that are built to withstand nuclear blast, but that granny can't get open without help.

Supplement News: Weight Loss Supplements

I still have yet to find any supplement worth trying except Hoodia. Not that they don't continually try new things, but for now, I'm not taking anything else. I'll be sure to let you know if I do find something

Here's my review and experiences with trying Hoodia for weight loss. I was interviewed by Channel 8 News (KGW) for an upcoming news report on Hoodia.

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

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 emotional issues that have kept you stuck.

The One More Bite 8-Week Ending Emotional Eating Workshop and/or private sessions may be the answer. If now is the right time to end your obstacles to losing all the weight you want, then get started today.

More Info on Weight Loss Workshops or To Register

+++ --------------------------------------------------- +++

Lists of Foods to Avoid

Avoid: Hydrogenated oils (including margarine)

That's it. That's my entire list. If you avoid hydrogenated oils, you'll eat far less processed foods and lose some weight in the process. What could be more simple than that? Instead of trying to avoid a big list of foods you love, make an effort to avoid hydrogenated oils which have known negative health effects.

Try baked chips, rather than fried (potato chips, Doritos, etc.) Yes, they taste differently. It's not the end of the world. If you switch from eating an entire bag of greasy chips to having a handful or two of baked, you'll save lots of calories and be on your way to losing some weight.

Actually having a handful of the greasy chips instead of a whole bag would help too but there's something about the grease and salt that makes us want to go back for more, isn't there?

It's those small substitutions that add up to the big weight changes.

Emotions: They do Affect Weight

How does relieving childhood programming (mom said I was too fat, or couldn't do anything right)relate to your ability to lose some weight? Think about it. When you are stressed, worried, angry, it's the old programming that jumps in your head, and it's the prior coping methods you established that propel you to the kitchen.

Munching chips, crunching, eating is entirely done then as an act of aggression, whether against yourself, against someone who's harmed you, or simply as a means of escaping.

None of this is bad, wrong, or stupid. It just is. Rather than try to analyze it to death, why not just use EFT and attempt to negate it? If something happened that still causes you pain or grief, try EFT to see if it can be shifted.

We do this in baby steps. You don't have to drastically change at all. Start by getting the worksheets and materials, then get The Daily Bites where I give examples, and if you want to get right to it, take the 8-Week Ending Emotional Eating Course.

Whichever route you take, you can get relief from past programming and choose to eat based on what's important to you now.

Daily Bites: EFT for Weight Loss

About EFT & NLP for Weight

Body Weight Exercise

The Stomach Vacuum

This exercise is so simple yet so effective for strengthening the abdominals, and the abs are the powerhouse. Strong abs also support your back so if you're prone to a bad back, try the stomach vacuum.

Steps to perform: Take a very deep breath, and notice how your chest expands. When your lungs are as full of air as possible, hold your breath, and at the same time pull in your stomach muscles (think bellybutton) as far back as you can, and hold. Hold until you must expel your breath, then blow out and relax.

The goal is to achieve a longer time holding the breath and ab muscles in, up to 60 seconds. A set is one deep breath in, hold it, and breath out. Do one set three times a week the first week. Next week, if you're ready do two sets, and so on. If you build to three sets, holding for 45 seconds or more, you're a champion stomach vacuumer!

You'll notice your midsection getting smaller after a few weeks, mostly because you've toned those muscles, and aren't just letting them lie there. You can check this by looking in a mirror and letting your gut hang out as far as you can, then stand up really straight, and hold your stomach muscles in. I call it "instant weight loss." Wow. What a difference a minute can make. Posture really does count.

Always stand up proud and tall and tilt your chin just slightly upwards. For an added bonus, it's much more difficult to feel sad or depressed in this posture too.

One More Bite's Weight Loss Article Index

The Laughter Diet

Cartoon shorts of films such as Jaws, Alien, Titanic and more. Reenacted in 30 seconds, by bunnies

Taking EFT to the Next Level

If you want to learn more about EFT, get the DVD series. Low cost, very comprehensive. You can get benefits simply by viewing these DVDs. Examples don't necessarily need to pertain specifically to your issues--they call this "Borrowing Benefits" and it works because while you may be thinking of someone else's issues, you are actually getting a lot of memory connections to yours too, so tapping along with the people in the DVDs helps you attain relief without even trying. ;-)

Learn EFT & NLP for Weight Loss

Yours in good eating,
Kathryn Martyn, M.NLP