WATER FOR WEIGHT LOSS, EMOTIONAL EATING TURNED TO HEALTHY HYDRATION (REJOICE IF YOU HAVE AN ADEQUATE WATER SUPPLY) (ISSUE 61)

By Diane Gold

Everyone knows that water is great for weight loss. And this would be helpful because there is so much emotional eating going on. Why? It helps hydrate our skin, our membranes, our very cells so that we can get the food (oxygen) to the blood effectively and the nutrients we ingest to absorb into our intestines. And it curbs food cravings.

Did you know that a huge amount of our world population does not have enough water or has to walk to get it? According to Kathleen Parker’s article, quoting Charles Fishman’s The Big Thirst (on my pending reading list), we, Westerners, use 18.5 gallons a day flushing our toilets while there is only 1/100th of 2.5 percent fresh water on the planet or, if the oceans were broken down into mass, 2.5% of the Earth’s mass. Not a lot.

So, the first thing to do is to hail the Universe if you have enough water to drink and to consider being frugal with it so that we can make money with it and fund sending workers to third-world countries to create water infrastructures so that everyone can live more easily with water.

Next thing we need to do is to consider this simple concept: drinking 2 cups of water before every meal has been clinically proven to reduce calorie intake by 75-90 calories per meal and to increase actual weight loss by 33 or so %, according to Brenda Davy’s study in the clinical trial reported to the 240th Meeting of the American Chemical Society (August, 2010) by Davy of Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.

PRELUDE TO HABIT

Let’s look at what happens when we start to feel the twinges of hunger. These urges might be immediately after eating, 10 minutes after eating, an hour after, 3 hours apart or more. The amount of time between cravings is a non-judgmental number. The craving begins as an itch, which shows up when it shows up. If we don’t judge ourselves, we won’t be judged! Its intensity determines the level of self-control we need to master it.

Of course, different proteins (histamines and newly found proteins) cause the nerve fibers that control itching (apparently, there are itch grids on our skin where these fibers connect) to be stimulated. But, I was speaking about itching as an analogous to cravings. As we sometimes, automatically scratch, often times, we automatically eat to satisfy our hunger.

ACTION STEPS: THE ANSWER

As soon as we feel that twinge of hunger, we have to continue to notice it exists so that there are fewer and fewer times we are already eating food before we realize we have had a craving.

Once we start to notice the urge, it will be easier and easier to pick it out of our urge line-up. We won’t push it away, thinking it will go away as we quietly walk to the kitchen. We will acknowledge and embrace it.

1) And go get water, 16 oz. worth.

2) Drink it (2 cups of 8 oz. each) at a gentle speed. If we slow the process down, we can maximize the effect the drinking process will have on our appetite.

3) Taste the water as it is going down. Since water has no taste, we will have to be mindful of its subtle flavor, created by the minerals that accompany the water, itself.

4) Take a moment to realize that we can single-handedly change our actions to our food craving, by ourselves, with the power of our minds. The sensation that goes with food can be directed. How is different for everyone, but we can alter our actions. By the act of noticing, drinking and tasting!

5) Take a moment to jump up and down with happiness that we can be instrumental in changing our hormones so that they work for our health, not to put us in a position of weakness.

EPILOGUE AND FUTURE CRAVINGS

After we begin, it will be get much easier for us to recognize and acknowledge it when we have a food urge. Whereas before, we might have felt we had to sneak to eat, we will no longer have to sneak, since our first line of food defense can be healthy, wonderful water. Whereas before, we might have felt guilty for eating mindlessly, we can feel pride because we are eating as part of a technique.

We can take a giant step toward hydrating our body, being the master of our urges and setting our bodies up to lose weight, in the process.

CONCLUSION

The act of making change takes time and effort. That includes water for weight loss. The biggest effort is in training the mind (changing a habit) that when we have a food craving, we need to embrace it. We need to drink 16 oz. of water, slowly. This is great in theory, but…

What if we consistently find ourselves eating before we remember to drink?

We will work to remember the next time and be twice as grateful for the opportunity.

What happens if it’s not possible for us to drink 2 cups of water at one time right from the start?
We can drink what we can drink. The more we drink, the more we will be able to drink more. The more food cravings turn away from emotional eating and towards drinking water before eating, the happier and more self-confidence we will be. The more weight loss becomes our personal reality, the more we will become iron-clad believers.

What if we don’t have a supply of water to our home?

We can walk to get it and get happy exercise along the way.

For those of us in the United States and some other countries, we can be extra thankful that we do have water readily available. 2/3 of world families do not (National Geographic Society Geography Awareness Week, 2010). They have to walk to get their water; they have to transport it on shoulders, backs or holding buckets.

No need to feel bad that we have it; let’s use the water that is right in front of us: for weight loss, for hydration, for detoxification, for balance. And let’s be thankful for every sip.

FEEDBACK

Please leave a comment and LIKE.

DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Moms For Healthy Daughters, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert and a dedicated mom.
She feels fortunate for having grown up with an adequate water supply. She says,

“Feeling a food craving is something we’ve felt from childhood, since we have to eat to sustain. Emotional eating shows up after that. What’s new for us now is that we have the ability to change what we do with those cravings.

“We can tell ourselves to take an action. We can adjust the command we give ourselves. Even if it is as small as immediately taking a sip or two glasses of water. Any 1 step is monumental toward changing a habit. When we take a first step, as when we are babies, it is foreign, scary, difficult. Step 2, as Jaren, 1 of the big connections in my life used to say, may be scarier because we know what lies ahead.

“Step 3 and beyond are more and more familiar and possible to achieve with less difficulty. We are swaying our emotional eating into healthy drinking, 1 step at a time. This is how we change an ineffective habit to 1 that is beneficial to us.

“We have learned determination in life and in satisfying our food cravings. We are able since we have made to here. Now, we have to begin.”
____

Dedicated to the memory of Gertrude Gold, whose birthday would have been January 16. Once retired from entrepreneurship, she supported theater, music and arts, many international causes, worked at Planned Parenthood, typed Braille books for the Library of Congress. Mostly she was the great family giver who taught me always to stand up for myself and forgive. Miss you, Ma.

FOOD CRAVINGS: HOW TO MAXIMIZE THEM FOR OUR GOOD HEALTH (ISSUE 60)

By Diane Gold

Before we talk about food cravings and how to maximize them for health, I’d like to say that this article is about FAITH, not faith in someone or something else, but faith in ourselves that we may not be able to see yet. It is similar to that faith that many people attribute to a supreme entity; yet, we are going to use faith in ourselves for this lesson.

I want to mention a video clip I saw this morning. It pictures a just-turned 4-year-old girl pumping herself up by speaking positive statements to herself in the mirror. Many call these daily affirmations, you know, the kind where we tell ourselves we are amazing, happy, talented as we watch our mouth in the mirror as we say the words. This act, many have demonstrated, solidifies our belief in how amazing, happy and talented we actually are.

So, here’s a little girl, Jessica, standing on the bathroom counter, looking into her bathroom mirror, saying, with enthusiasm and self-assuredness,

“I can do anything good. I like my school; I like my dad; I like my cousins; I like my aunt; … I like my mom; I like my sister; I like my haircut… I can do anything good; I can do anything.”

DEFINING CRAVINGS

Let’s define cravings, since we all have them. A craving is a strong desire, which we all have. Synonyms for cravings are appetite, which we all need to self-sustain, and yearning or yen. If we all used our appetite for health, we would all be in good shape. But, when we talk about food cravings, we are generally speaking about following our urges without using self-control.

CHARACTER TRAITS

Like any other habit, we can change the way we act once we get our cue, which, in this case, is the food craving. So, let’s examine what we cravers have in common, for the most part.

Here are the traits that usually accompany a food craving person.

1)  Our food craving is a special cue that demands immediate attention on our part.

2)  We enjoy pleasurable sensations. We may also be experiencing what used to be pleasurable and just going through the motions.

3)  We consider the pleasure from food more important than our own health, so we are strong- willed in that we do what we decide.

4)  We are risk takers, and, like the casino gambler, we bet that eating healthier foods and amounts tomorrow is reason enough for us to gamble with our health and maintain our same habits now.

5)  We believe that eating what we currently believe to be the best pleasurable food at the moment is not such a big thing.

What we don’t count on is that, if we do this for day after day, month after month, we will seriously impair our health. But, we were willing to create a habit in the first place, so we have the ability to create another 1 or change the original one.

These traits shows we are seekers of good times, able to live for the present. They also lead to adventure and following our hearts. All of these traits are usually present in people who have not adjusted their urges to parallel how they want to look and feel. They are strong qualities that can be easily used to maximize what we do with our urges for health.

WHAT RESULTS FROM OUR CURRENT ROUTINE

When we have food cravings, and we are in the habit of acting only 1 way to them, we end up causing 1 or more of the following things to happen: we gain weight; we don’t like the fact that we gained weight; we don’t like how we look; we are replacing our sad/angry/lonely/frustrated with food; we get sick as a result of not eating well resolution.

Understanding why we act on our cravings in a way that ends up unhealthy for us is not necessary in order to add a new act to our repertoire of what routine we go through when we get the food craving cue. The important thing is what we do with the cue.

Think of a band member who is playing the wrong note because she has gotten used to playing that particular note and even enjoys how it sounds. When her band leader corrects her, she will have to change her habit to balance the group. In order to keep her job and continue playing the music that she loves, she will make the change.

It’s a little different with food, although not very. The biggest difference is that we are both the band leader and the player.

So, let’s say we have just experienced 1 of the results from our eating current routine, listed above. Let’s say we have gained weight and don’t like it. The easiest way (and 1 of the only ways) to change a habit is to tweak the routine. We have to keep at the front of our mind our weight loss goal.

ACTION STEPS

It’s time to use the character traits listed above to change our habit of bolting to eat when a craving arrives.

We have established that most of us, in some ways, are attentive to cues, pleasure lovers, strong-willed, risk takers and willing to create habits. All we have to do is immediately react to our urge cue with a new action. Much in the same way we must combat our fear when being attacked, we must automatically, whether we want to or not, get up and do something new upon feeling our craving. We have the will, and we’ve automatically done something before which is what created the habit to begin with.

1) We need to act with NO THOUGHT. Our mind will trip us into thinking. When we are thinking, we are not doing. We must be doing.

2) What we will do for our craving is go to our refrigerator and get a cup of already made steamed vegetables that we cooked at the beginning of the week to have available for snacks.

3) We can add a few drops of sesame oil and a little liquid amino acid soy-sauce alternative, for flavor. If the blandness of steamed veggies is screaming out, stir-fried veggies cooked in a drop of olive oil work, too.

4) Eating with chop sticks and chewing at least 20 times per bite, preferably 45, slows the eating process.

5) Always take a container of these veggies to work or school for 2 planned snacks, am and pm. The veggies can also be used to curb a craving at any time during the day. If we find that we need 3 cups, 2 for snacks and 1 for a craving, we will have them available.

CONCLUSION

Be confident that change is possible as long as there is a start-to-finish method in place. Even if this is the first time we ever exhibited self-control, we have a specific method with a specific action step: a systematic approach. Therefore, we all will be able to take charge and maximize our health.

Maybe we won’t succeed on day one, but day two brings another opportunity. An attempt must be made each time we have a craving so that we can get our current routine to match our current goals. What’s the worst that will happen? We will eat healthy veggies for snack. In having these veggies nearby, we will create a new habit. Our success might start off slowly, but our results will be positive, with the patience we will establish.

We will find new, exciting flavors in our veggies, too. That is something to look forward to.

Make sure not to warm our veggies, even if we think there is time. This is food kung fu. Get used to cold veggies since there is no time to spare between the food craving, our cue, and our satisfaction of that craving with a healthy action.

Microwave ovens rob nutrients from our food, and stoves take longer than our craving will wait. Eventually, when we have changed our habit from “cue to instant eating” to “cue to patience to eating healthily,” warming our veggies may be an option.

And, finally, rejoice, this is a food adventure and the next chapter in our self-mastery.

FEEDBACK

Please leave  a comment and LIKE.

DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Moms For Healthy Daughters, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert and a dedicated mom.

She believes we can change a habit but changing our routine, as long as there is a system in place in which to do it. She says,

“We always create habits, so we are practiced at this aspect of behavior. We are also not new at changing the ways that we act. We do it all the time, based on how we feel, how we must act in social settings and how we consider others who might be affected by our actions. So, we are experienced.

“All we need do is prepare what we are going to do, smile or frown and do it. The next time, it will be easier, and the next time, even easier. Pretty soon, we will be accomplished and moderately comfortable at the new action step, so much so that it will become our new habit.

“To succeed, we must have faith in ourselves and begin!”

REVELATIONS OF A WEIGHT WARRIOR, TRISH CARR: A TESTIMONY FOR MOMS AND DAUGHTERS-PART I
(Issue 34)

By Diane Gold

This article is based on an interview with Trish Carr, a speaker, author and leadership expert, who has, in her words, “gotten rid of 100 pounds,”  rather than “losing” them, because she certainly doesn’t want to look for them again.

Trish grew up in a family where her mom, an overeater, used to hide the good junk food and give the kids the less desirable junk food. When the kids would say they were hungry, her mom would tell the kids to eat an apple but would go off and eat a special high calorie snack that she made available to the kids only some of the time.

As an adult, Trish became a nurturer: in management,  with private clients and friends, much the way a mom cares for a daughter. Her candor in this interview offers many insights for those who are working with weight.

Diane
On a scale of 1 to 10, how much did you know about eating the right foods before you changed sizes, that is, lost your weight?

Trish
I would say I knew 11 about the right things to eat. My entire life weight has been an issue. I can tell you the calorie count, the fat grams, the carbohydrates for every food and how many calories I’m supposed to have in a day. What I didn’t know was that calories in are not all equal.

So that was the big thing that I learned.

I could have an ice cream sundae of calories, or I could have something nutritional like fruits, vegetables and protein and that my body would react differently.

Diane
Growing up, were there snacks in the home? Was there junk food…?

Trish
Oh, yeah. You know it’s so funny when I look back on being a child and food around my house.

My mother was an overeater. My mother would actually hide the food she didn’t want the kids to get.

Diane
Meaning the junk food?

Trish
Well, the good junk food. There were these cookies out there. (Trish names a cookie.) She would hide those so we couldn’t get to those. We know they were good; we wanted to have some, right?

Whenever we said we were hungry, her response would always be,

“Have an apple.”

Or have something nutritious. But there was always junk food around.

Diane
Now, were the [named] cookies for your mom?

Trish
Yeah. Occasionally, she’d buy ‘em so we could have them, too.

Diane
What would you say was the food that gave you the most trouble? Was there one?

Trish
No. I don’t think there would be one. I think it was a whole general overeating the wrong processed foods my whole life. And I would say a lot of that was white flour, sugar, those things, cakes, cookies, pasta.

Diane
Was that financial or just choice?

Trish
Well, growing up we had low cost foods. We made Sloppy Joe’s. Things over rice, things over pasta. So it was a combination of both (financial and choice). But I think we weren’t around healthy food. It wasn’t about healthy food. My mother wasn’t eating healthy; therefore, we weren’t eating healthy.

Diane
Did you have a male influence in your home?

Trish
My father was around until I was around 12 or 13. [He] was a New York City Fireman, so he would work 4 days on, 3 days off, so he had a real weird schedule. But when it came to food, that wasn’t his conversation.

Diane
When you started to lose weight, did you use a group weight loss program or did you go about it on your own?

Trish
This last time, which is, literally, the LAST TIME, because, you know, I’m in my 50s. So I’ve done this before. I lost 100 pounds once before in 1980. I like to say that I was a size 12 for about 5 minutes. Literally, I got to size 12. I felt really good and started putting it right back on. This time, it’s been over a year, and I have not put it back. And I’m actually smaller than that; I’m a size 10, and my weight is lower and I’m much healthier.

MINDSET

Diane
Was there a different approach? Was there a different mindset?

Trish
Yeah, even though I’ve done it in the past, the first time I remember going on a diet was I went to Weight Watchers when I was about 12 years old. And I lost 16 pounds in 3 months. That was a lot, and I felt really good.

Diane
That’s very fast.

Trish
But, immediately, it came back…
Because I have a mind problem not a food problem.

Diane
I don’t know anyone else who is different.

Trish
So, the difference this time was I chose a product. It’s not a group thing, not like Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig.I used a program called Isagenix.

Diane
Right.

Trish
And the program was created for health. It was literally created so that athletes could build lean muscle.

Diane
Right.

Trish
And what they found is that it also got rid of fat. It taught me what to eat, how to eat. And because I got my body “clean,” I actually can now feel what processed foods do to my body, what processed foods do to my energy. I never got this way before because I was simply managing calories in and out.

Diane Editorial
We as humans respond to social proof, acceptance of behavior and action of others. When everyone cheers out loud at a rock concert or basketball game, we do it, even if it is out of character for us. When everyone offers applause at the opera and no one cheers out loud, it is more likely that we will do the same so that we are not gawked at. I always enjoyed nonconformity, but that is another type of group norm.

I believe, and statistics back me up, that it’s the community of people in the weight loss programs that is attractive to us. This includes the believers in the product Trish chose to use. Of course, sometimes, we just fall into a program or product and it works for us for multiple reasons.

The fact that many programs call for fast weight reduction that people cannot maintain is something to think about. As we emphasize in tai chi, there is no rush. The student cannot absorb the information until she worked long enough to understand it.

This is why the premise of WarriorsOfWeight.com is to offer small steps to incorporate into everyday life that are easy to do and not too difficult to maintain.

Other than seeing success in others who do a group or a product, when we use a method that has worked for others and can read success stories of others (especially when the marketing campaigns are huge), we feel not so alone.

Trish
I still have the mental [state] of ‘I really would like to have that pasta’ even though I know when I eat that pasta, I’m not going to feel so good after.

COMFORT IN HAVING FEWER CHOICES

Diane Editorial
Trish and I spoke about the many choices there are of food. I referenced limiting choices through  being a vegan.

Diane
Another advantage that I have is there are so many foods that I wouldn’t be interested in eating because they have to do with harming animals that I have so many fewer choices. And I think that having many, many…choices is like a fantasy for somebody who likes to overeat.

Diane Editorial
That’s part of what “programs” do: they limit food choice.

SOME CONTROL

Trish
There’s some security in knowing you’re going to have a piece of salmon and vegetables for lunch. And that’s what got me through a year or a little bit less than that of taking the weight off. I knew that was going to be my meal for the day, and I actually looked forward to it.

For me, the getting it off, once I got a routine going and I got comfortable with how I was doing it, it was not difficult.

The hard part now is the plethora of choices that I have and so many of them are not good.

HOLIDAY

Diane
What about giving yourself a day…

Trish
I do. Sunday.

Diane Editorial
We were talking about having a day off from the strict cycle of eating well so we don’t feel so trapped in a dietary plan.

WARNING FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

There are some people for whom this break in routine might not work out well. If a special treat one day a week could wreck the momentum of success, leave it out. If the treat requires you to spend the entire rest of the week to gain control again because of your “holiday” from your food plan, don’t consider it for another two years. I, personally, would opt out of it. I would also only commit to one minute at a time rather than one whole day. This way, I am guaranteed success most of the time.

Drug and alcohol users say they have a one day at a time philosophy for abstinence. This is a misnomer and is really a one minute at a time strategy repeated over and over again. To abstain from something for 24 hours is very long for me. To abstain for 60 seconds is, most of the time, manageable.

And facing food several times a day for survival means being very familiar with the one minute at a time control method should we be determined to curb our urge to eat.

ACTION STEPS
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Balance the body, mind,spirit DAILY through tai chi, meditation, chi kung, yoga; reading a book, writing a poem or song, playing music, painting or doing athletics.

PLANNING AHEAD

Limit the amount of choices per meal.
Make a food plan for a week that starts the following day; avoid getting hungry with no plan. If there is no food plan, repeat the previous week. The monotony may get us to plan ahead more efficiently.

TIME FOR SPECIAL FREEDOM

Include a special something one day a week. If it can be a favorite food, go for it. Don’t go crazy because it could steamroll, but make time for it – a small treat that won’t upset the work for the rest of the week.

If food entitlement doesn’t work for us, we should go to a dance, watch a celebratory movie, go swimming, journal, attend a seminar, work in a soup kitchen, donate to a microloan, give the cat a bath, whatever fills the spiritual bank and fuels us for the coming week.
___
The first and third action steps increase our energy supply and fortify our reserve to march onto the battlefield of weight, which will, one day become a peaceful place to be.

CONCLUSION

Today’s interview covered childhood memories, knowledge of nutrition and current strategy for success. There are several action steps within the article to implement this week.

Next week, in part II of this interview with Trish Carr, we will hear about what causes Trish to eat and truisms for how moms can help their daughters with weight.

This very inspiring interview is a look into the life of someone who has been working on her weight her whole life. Some of her realities may be familiar to us. Certainly, her sharing her story shows us how very similar we are.    .

FEEDBACK

Please leave a common. If you relate to this story, let us know. We are always on the lookout for another story. And we appreciate them.

GETTING PART 2 & 3 OF TRISH’S STORY

Make sure to read Parts II and III of Trish’s story.  If you want it sent to you, go to http://warriorsofweight.com/go.

DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Moms For Healthy Daughters, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert and a dedicated mom.
She truly enjoys hearing about people’s journeys with weight and believes that when people share, everyone communicates on multiple levels. Diane says,

“By listening to others, we always grow. By interviewing, we get to pass it on.”