BITS-O-WISDOM: "He dreamed he was eating shredded wheat and woke to find the mattress half gone." -- Fred Allen

Tabloid Obsessed with Cellulite!

What's up lately with the National Enquirer? Have you seen the covers with featuring female stars, usually at the beach, with these big red arrows pointing to the tiniest flaw? I'd love to see what the editor of The National Enquirer looks like in shorts. These are beautiful, very thin women too, so the message The Enquirer wants to promote is that just thin isn't good enough; only perfection will do.

What a crock. Vote with your pocketbook and refuse to purchase those issues. Read them while you wait in line at the grocery if you must, but just say no to taking them home.

Calories Used in Everyday Things:

Pouring cold water on your dreams......50 calories
Fanning the flames of desire.........70 calories
Digging a hole so deep you can't get out......400 calories
Thinking about it .... 5 calories

Women's Magazines Combine Weight Loss Tips with Fattening Recipes: Why Can't They Make up Their Mind?

I've noticed a trend lately in a few women's magazines. The cover will feature some weight loss miracle, for the hundredth time (they nearly always feature that topic) and it will be nestled amongst the recipes for fancy desserts like Sour Cream Chocolate Cake. What's up with that? A recent Women's World had an article entitled "5 Delicious Ways to Beat Stress." The idea was based on the premise that high stress levels can contribute to weight gain. Their answer? Five high calorie desserts! Here they are, along with my best guess as to why they were chosen.

Chocolate Milk Cake. The "stress reduction" factor is due to the calcium. It includes evaporated milk, nonfat dry milk, and 1 1/2 cups of milk. Research shows calcium lowers stress, and less stress equals weight loss, so eating cake made with lots of milk will reduce stress. Uh, okay. Dumb logic, but there you go. The worst part? It serves 16. When's the last time you baked a two-layer cake and expected it to serve 16? That's nonsense.

Surprise Blondies. A sheet cake with chocolate frosting. I'm not sure what the surprise is supposed to be, but they named it, not me. The stress reduction in this goodie is based on ground flaxseed. A healthy addition indeed, but adding it to baked goods is not the best way to get extra nutrients. I'm not knocking the idea, just, ya know, cake and frosting isn't suddenly good for you because you tossed in some flaxseed. This recipe also serves 16 (surprised?). Bake a sheet cake and draw lines on top to designate 16 servings. When you're done laughing, pour a big glass of milk and sit down with your teensy piece and thank Women's Day for the idea.

Speaking of milk, a glass of milk reduces stress (and has far fewer calories than any of these desserts) and due to the tryptophan, it can help make you sleepy. That's why warm milk is recommended before bedtime.

No Bake Orange Cheesecake. This lovely has orange juice, gelatin, cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk (a diet food if I ever saw one), lemon juice, orange zest, and whipped topping. Raise your hand if you can guess why this cheesecake will help reduce stress? Give up? It's the vitamin C you silly! Vitamin C has been shown to relieve anxiety, so there you go. Eat cheesecake, and you'll feel better, at least you will according to Women's Day.

Frozen Hot Chocolate with Whipped Cream. I notice they used lite frozen whipped topping, but they also used hot chocolate, chocolate chips, half-and-half (okay, the fat-free version) and a garnish sprinkling of cocoa powder with chocolate sticks for flair. This little yummy contains over 400 calories each serving. Why is this going to help reduce stress? Chocolate, of course. Who hasn't heard how chocolate is good for you. There's even a book about how we (women) need chocolate like we need air. If only. Don't get me wrong. I'm a regular chocolate eater, but I'm not pretending I eat it for a health benefit. I also eat a couple pieces and put away the rest for another day (you can learn to do it too in my 8-week course). On the other hand, if having chocolate around would cause me to overeat, that wouldn't be doing much for reducing my stress now would it?

So are these suggestions a healthy way to lower stress or just an excuse to eat? It seems the stress benefits will be gone once you eat half a cake. Instead, go to a restaurant just for dessert. It's an incredible treat, and you don't have the whole pan of leftover brownies staring at you once you get home.

Chocolate & Cocoa: 'Healthy' Benefits or Negative Health Effects?

All about Chocolate

Bathtub Ice Cream

These look like real, frosty ice cream scoops of pure bath time luxury. Next time you want a snack, slip into the tub with a scoop of bath ice cream.

Gift Ideas: My favorite is "Our Name is Mud." I'm a big believer in having my own special bowl or dish and here you'll find mugs, bowls and other specialty items such as "The Man, The Myth" coffee mug, and "She Who Must be Obeyed." Great gift items like the "Vampire Garlic Jar" and the "Whatever Clock." Now's a great time to get a jump on that holiday shopping, and these are the gifts people love to receive (hint, hint to my sisters).

Rowing Machine Best Single Piece of Workout Equipment

If you can only use one piece of equipment, a rowing machine beats them all for overall fitness benefits. A rowing machine provides the best total-body workout combining a decent calorie burn rate along with a high level of resistance for muscle toning. It's one of the few exercise machines that also works the upper body muscles. If you're really a maniac, join the rowing team. We have Dragon Boat races in Portland, Oregon, and those folks are in awesome shape!

Set your rowing machine near the TV, if you are a TV watcher. Get your exercise and never miss a show! That's time management for you.

Go to a local sporting goods store and get recommendations there. When you're ready to buy, check out Craig's List (or your local paper's classified) because people are always buying equipment and not using it, so used exercise equipment is an excellent value.

Check Craig's List for Good Buys on Used Exercise Equipment

TacomaDragonBoat.org

Supplement News

Losers: Chitosan sold as a fat blocker. Doesn't work. Don't waste your money. Rather than eating slop and then taking an expensive pill to negate the slop's effects, wouldn't it make more sense to just eat better in the first place?

Winners: CLA. This nutrient continues to receive good reviews, so I wouldn't rule it out, but again, unless you are eating a clean diet most of the time, there is simply no point in paying the high price to take supplements such as CLA. Wait until you're already in pretty good shape.

Stop Snoring, End Acid Reflux Disease, Treat/Cure Gerd

All of these are common ailments when you're overweight. Not only is treatment expensive (Prilosec once commonly prescribed is now available over-the-counter) but the snoring is not going to end unless you either lose some weight, or treat the cause of the problem (H. pylori). while Prilosec reduces or eliminates symptoms, Bye-Lori can end it for good. for cost comparison between Prilosec and Bye-Lori.

A recent article about the high incidence of a cancer causing bacteria found in Weight Loss Surgery candidates caught my eye. It was found they were infected with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) the exact same bacteria that causes many other gastrointestinal disorders. Most amazing is that an over-the-counter remedy (Bye-Lori and Bye-Lori II from Life Enchancement) is available that is just as effective as the pharmaceutical but at a much better price. Losing as little as 20 pounds can sometimes end the snoring and acid-reflux disease.

News-Medical.net : Weight Loss Surgery and H. pylori

Bye-Lori from Life-Enchancement.com

Help for Overweight Teens Who Can't Afford Residential Programs

Residential school programs for overweight teens (some in excess of five thousand dollars a month) are becoming popular but there are other options. These schools provide a reduced calorie eating plan plus increased activity (sound familiar) in a safe environment. I'm glad someone is making an effort, but five thousand dollars a month! Yikes. You could hire a personal trainer and nutritionist plus my program for far less than that. Hopefully these schools offer counseling, but it isn't likely to go beyond the advice which simply does not work. People, young and old need something more such as actual techniques and exercises they can use to deal with the reasons they prefer to eat processed foods, and why they don't enjoy physical movement. It's not about the food. It's what's going on inside your head.

I tried to find stories of teens who had successfully completed these programs and what I did find instead were other options, in case you feel you are at the end of your rope and don't know where to turn.

Get Your Kids Up and Moving

First, get your child interested in some type of outdoor or exercise activity. Most overweight kids probably aren't too crazy about the idea of running and jumping but what about bike riding? Hiking with a GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) is tons of fun and anyone can do it. Adults are reporting losing 20, 30 or more pounds while they are out exploring the woods and hills in their surrounding area. An added bonus is that learning to use a GPS is educational too (math, science, physics, geography).

Martial arts is an excellent activity for kids of all ages. It helps with much more than just physical fitness teaching kids discipline, honor, and self defense. Nothing builds self-esteem faster than knowing you can take care of yourself in any situation.

Talk to your kids. Find out what they may be interested in, and then explore the options together.

My son is a good example. He was never overweight but I noticed when he was about 13 that his skin tone was flabby. He didn't go outside much, preferring to play Nintendo, and he was an excellent student so he studied every day. I wondered if I should do something to encourage him to go outside and play, but I knew he'd just say no thanks.

Help for Overweight Teens Who Can't Afford Residential Programs, read entire article ...

About Geocaching

Low Carb Treats Rated by Debbie (resident low carb expert)

Best Buys (rated 5/5)

Atkins Endulge, Chocolate Chip Cookies Peanut Caramel Cluster (like a Payday bar)

CarboRite, Chocolate Coconut Almond Bar (like an Almond Joy)

Oreo CarbWell, Chocolate Sandwich Cookies (Debbie says you can't tell the difference between these and regular Oreos, and they are yum, yum, yummy good!) I read the label and saw it was 100 calories for two cookies, while the regular version allows three cookies in a serving (it's more calories too), so that's a clear sign they are banking on the smaller portion so they can make lower overall carb content claims on the package.

But hey, as long as you read the serving size and know what you're getting that's all that matters. My question is why do they give you 16 cookies when you're only supposed to eat two at a time? Are you listening out there? Package things in sizes that make sense and we'll be happier, even if it costs a few more pennies per package.

Second Best: (rated 4/5)

Atkins Advantage Chocolate Chip Granola Bar (she admitted she's not a fan of Granola so you might rate it higher)

Third Best: (rated 3/5)

Atkins Endulge Crispy Milk Chocolate Bar (like Nestles Crunch)

ZCarb Gourmet Dark Chocolate Bar with Macadamia Nuts (she isn't a big fan of dark chocolate either, so she may be biased on this.)

Rated Blech

Pure Delite Chocolate Bars

ZCarb Gourmet Dark Chocolate Bar (again, she doesn't like dark chocolate so this bar didn't have a chance)

Hooray for Hershey's! Smaller Package Sizes

They must have been reading my mind because I spotted small sized bags of Hershey's Kisses--about six or eight to a bag! That's exactly what I want. Smaller packages, so when I do buy something, it doesn't either go stale or end up eaten just so it doesn't go to waste or waist.

I once found a store where they sold all kinds of packaged cookies in bulk so you could get two or three instead of buying a huge package just because you want a cookie or two. That would be perfect. Get two or three, eat them, and that's that.

Long ago I determined that one Hershey's Kiss has approximately 25 calories. Four for 100. Can you eat four and call it good? If you don't think you can, try the EFT exercise about ending immediate cravings, and you'll probably find that, Yes You Can!

Food Trivia:

Nearly one in every ten cows in the US supplies the Kraft company with milk for the company’s many dairy products.

Health & Wellness Web Site Spotter

National Institutes of Health

How to Get More Fiber: Fantastic Fiber at AskDr.Sears.com

+++ -------------- 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 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 now is the right time for
you to end your obstacles to way8t loss success? If yes, get
started today.

More Info on 8-week Online Weight Loss Workshop
To Register

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

Recipes: Halloween Treats

Hint: Reduce Calories in your holiday treats this year by substituting Splenda, Xylitol or Maltitol in place of sugar whenever you can!

Katy's Krazy Krunch - Low Carb Carmel Corn

No, this is not low calorie (hardly any low carb recipes are low calorie), and no I didn't take the time to figure out the nutrient breakdown. If someone wants to go to NutritionalData.com and do it for me, I would be most grateful. Katy's Karo Krunch is for a treat, not an everyday thing.

Remember: Indulge responsibly.

Fun with Gruesome Halloween Recipes

Check out my favorite site for Halloween Recipes (warning, not for the squeamish)

Tackling Cravings - Using EFT on Instant Cravings

The holidays are approaching and that's the best time of year to learn to use EFT to quell those cravings. The tendency is to not use EFT when you suddenly want a treat which is baffling to me. If you really want to stop the behaviors that keep you heavier than you want to be, why not use something that is so easy and costs nothing?

I recently wrote the process down when I decided to use EFT to "see what would happen" to a craving. I was about to put something in my mouth, and stopped in time to use EFT first. Read how I used EFT to stop a craving cold here.

PS I threw that chocolate ball out yesterday, a week after doing the above. I never did want it again. That doesn't mean I'll never want chocolate balls again, it just means that in that instance, when I wasn't hungry but just wanted to eat, I was able to stop the craving on the spot.

You can enjoy the holidays rather than deprive yourself, but at the same time maintain your weight, rather than gaining 15 pounds. It's true. Get the worksheets and The Daily Bites (mini lessons in how to use EFT) and you'll be sailing through the holidays this year.

Book Review: 5 Square Low-Carb Meals

The 20-Day Makeover Plan with Delicious Recipes, by Monica Lynn

This book includes fabulous recipes. That said, it's utterly ridiculous to think that anyone would prepare five separate meals that require actual cooking and food preparation. Even if you were a stay-at-home mom, you'd do nothing but cook all day with this program. Here's a random sampling of one day. Each meal is called a "square" (I have no idea why).

Square #1 - Canadian Bacon, Mushroom and Onion Scramble.

Square #2 - Chicken Salad with Cucumbers, Tomatoes and Basil

Square #3 - Turkey Meat loaf with Sauteed Spinach and Mashed Potatoes

Square #4 - Barbecued Salmon with Braised Cabbage

Square #5 - Chicken Quesadilla with Fresh Tomato Salsa and White Bean and Artichoke Dip

Can you picture yourself preparing those dishes? That's one day's menu. Lynn suggests an entire new set of menus for the next day. I'm laughing myself silly over this one, but yet the recipes are incredible. Don't discount a book simply because the premise is faulty. Buy this book and then try every single recipe, but frankly, I'd suggest making a few dishes a week, rather than five a day. ;-)

Most recipes serve 2 which is good or bad depending on how you look at it. I'd probably double them so I could eat leftovers the next day. If I'm going to mess up the kitchen, I might as well get a couple meals out of the deal.

How to Lower Carbs & Reduce Calories in all Recipes

Alternative Sweeteners: Take any recipe and substitute half or more of the regular sugar with Splenda, Xylitol, Maltitol or any combination thereof. Instant calorie and carbs savings! If you take a look at the Low Carb Recipe books, you'll find they have done only one thing: changed from regular sugar to a alternative sweetener. You don't need a new recipe book, just make that change yourself.

Xylitol is a sugar alcohol that is naturally present in small amounts in various fruits and vegetables. The Finnish name for Xylitol is "koivusokeri", or birch sugar. The commercial extraction of Xylitol is from birch bark. Although it is classified as a carbohydrate, this sweet crystalline substance is slowly absorbed from the digestive tract and does not cause rapid rises in blood glucose.

Check your local health food stores first to save on shipping, otherwise you can get Xylitol online.

Yours in good eating,
Kathryn Martyn, M.NLP