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It's sad but true, but most of our eating habits and the reason we tend to be larger individuals can all be traced back to things we learned as children. ~Mom!~ Put that phone down and let me explain before you call me and rant about how I blame everything on you... Let me clarify that just a little bit. Think about this before you tell me I'm out of my mind - these are some of the things that we learned from our parents when we were children.

Clean your plate

Don't eat that it will ruin your dinner

Those are the two most prevalent things... I also was told not to drink while I was eating (my digestion wouldn't work right.) Do I fault my parents for it? No, they didn't know any better - they were probably taught the same thing when THEY grew up, but it is time for us to stop making the wrong choices just because we were taught that way!

Number one - do NOT clean your plate! Yes, you paid for the food - of course you are going to feel guilty if you 'waste' it - that is what we were taught. Look around the next time you are dining out - find a thin person and see if THEY clean their plate... Chances are, they don't. Do they feel guilty about it? They don't seem to, does the world come to an end? Nope - hasn't yet... So what is the difference? You - who carries the weight of the world on you shoulders and around YOUR middle (because it IS YOUR solemn duty to clean your plate while thinking of all the starving children in the world) eat every last morsel of food, while the thin person picks at theirs, eats what they want, and pushes the rest away when they are full. Do they think of the starving children? IF they do they send a check - because finishing that last bit of food never saved anyone and may well be the downfall of YOUR health!

Oh, now comes the good one... Don't eat before dinner, it will ruin your appetite... And WHAT is so bad about that? It's hours between lunch and dinner, and let's face it... As a nation we are sitting down to dinner later and later every night. So with lunch at 12 or 1 in the afternoon and dinner at 8 or 9, that is 8 to 9 hours of self induced fasting that our body is having to cope with! Get hungry around 4? Of course we do, and what do we think? Nope - can't eat now, it will ruin my dinner. Dinner rolls along and we PIG OUT because we are starving to death! No thoughts of a diet going on there, we are just too hungry to NOT eat. If you had eaten that snack at 4 when you wanted it - gotten something healthy and nutritionally sound to pull you through until dinner, YOU wouldn't have eaten everything on your plate and your partners plate! Hunger has nothing to do with willpower, if you are starving, you are going to want to eat. You are going to want to fill your belly - and nature is going to push you to do it. The longer you wait, the more mindlessly you are going to do it - so THINK ahead... Eat something before dinner, and then at dinner have the soup or the salad (low cal here people - no cheddar broccoli creamy stuff! *lol*) Then it's easier NOT to clean your plate. :-)

Drink as you eat! I don't know about you, but my father told me that if I took a drink during dinner I was going to ruin my body and my mouth would stop producing saliva to help in the digestion of my food. I know - it's absolutely ridiculous - and I never listened to him, but still there are people out there who DON'T DRINK ENOUGH! Water is vitally important to our weight loss and healthy eating efforts. Without it our bodies don't function right, but above that - it is a wonderful weight loss tool. Once again look around you and watch a thin person at dinner. They sit there, conversing, enjoying the company, looking around, food is NOT the most important thing on their mind! That's where YOU have to be too... And that's hard, especially when food (for so many of us) is a huge issue. That's where water comes in. If you sit there, slowing down, taking a drink of water between eat bite, putting the fork down, looking around, and conversing... It's going to take you longer to eat, it's going to make you feel full before you finish your meal, and it's going to help you not to eat so much. Partly because you are stuffed with all the water you are drinking, and partly because you are giving your brain time to catch up with your tummy and KNOW when it is getting full BEFORE you overeat!

While we are on the subject of going slowly through our meals, think of this too... Chew each bite as much as you can. No more wolfing down your food. Stop and savor your food, take the time to enjoy each and every bite to the fullest. Not only are you drawing out the time that you are eating (much like the water giving your brain time to know your stomach is full) you are taking the time to really experience what you are eating, which satisfies your hunger more so then plowing through your plate.

So the next time you eat, either at home or out... Think of these things. Leave your childhood 'baggage' behind you and leave some of that excess weight behind you too. We don't have to clean our plates, we don't have to skip snacks, we DO have to drink lots of water and we do need to start enjoying our meals AND our lives. It's important and if it means bringing things home in a doggy bag because you didn't want to waste - then by all means do it, but give yourself some of that same consideration. You are worth wasted money - your health is worth wasted money - and a few dollars a year wasted at meal time could mean thousands saved later when you avoid serious medical issues because you are thinner and healthier!

Take the challenge! Are you a food phobic, a mindful muncher, or a snack fanatic? Take this quick test to find out!

1 You wake up, wander into the kitchen and peer into the refrigerator. If this were a cartoon, the balloon over your head would read

a) Wonder if there's enough milk?

b) Pasta for dinner? Tomorrow night is fried chicken. Think I'll pack the tuna salad for lunch.

c) That leftover pizza is calling my name. I better get in a run before work.

2 After stepping on the scale and discovering you've gained five pounds, you:

a) Try a 24-hour juice fast.

b) Continue to eat the same foods, just less of them.

c) Get discouraged and have a few cookies to feel better.

Whenever life gets a little hectic, you tend to:

a) Think about food constantly: Is it lunchtime yet? Chinese takeout tonight?

b) Slim down. You forget to eat.

c) Try to stick to your regular diet (well, more or less).

4 Your first thought after an upsetting phone call?

a) I want to unwind in a bubble bath or veg out on the couch in front of Friends reruns.

b) I'll feel better if I go to my favorite restaurant with a friend.

c) I've got to hit the gym.

5 imagine reading the nutrition label on a package of crackers at the supermarket Your eyes zoom directly to the:

a) Calorie count.

b) Fat content.

c) Ingredients/nutritional value.

6 When PMS cravings hit, you help yourself to a couple of scoops of Rocky Road and.

a) Proceed to polish off the rest of the carton.

b) Swear off anything sweet for the rest of the day.

C) stop.

7 To celebrate your recent promotion, a friend takes you to a fabulous French restaurant You.

a) Pass on the bread, but order something a little richer than normal.

b) Live it up to the hilt; after all, this is a special night.

c) Get fish or a Pasta dish and turn down dessert.

8 As a kid, you.

a) Couldn't wait for meals and were often rewarded for good behavior with sweet treats.

b) Didn't give much thought to food, unless it was a favorite dish like macaroni and cheese or PB&J.

c) Were always being prodded to clean your plate.

9 Suppose you do overindulge. Chances are, you've splurged because you're.,

a) Bored, angry, blue or under a lot of stress.

b) Surrounded by friends or family members and having too good a time to worry about what you're eating.

c) Alone- and you feel guilty about it after the fact.

10 Mark the following statements with a T (for True), an F (for False) or a D (for "That Depends"). You:

a) Can hardly remember a time you weren't on a diet.

b) Tend to feel guilty about every pretzel or french fry that passes your lips.

c) Think about food several times each hour.

d) Are a fat-free junkie -never buy anything else.

e) Have trouble eating slowly.

f) Will do almost anything to keep the peace among family, friends and loved ones.

g) Consult the scale every day.

h) Tend to fluctuate wildly in terms of weight (three or more 10-pound swings in the past three years). i) Frequently feel lethargic, rundown or wiped out. j) Keep a running calorie count in your head that you rarely, if ever, let yourself exceed.

Figure it out... Add up the points awarded for each question (a=2 means you add 2 points to your score if you picked A as your answer.)

1) a=1 b=2 c=0

2) a=1 b=0 c=2

3) a=2 b=0 c=1

4) a=1 b=2 c=0

5) a=2 b=0 c=1

6) a=2 b=0 c=1

7) a=1 b=2 c=0

8) a=2 b=1 c=0

9) a=2 b=1 c=0

10) true, false and depends answers

a) T=2 F=1 D=0

b) T=0 F=1 D=2

c) T=2 F=1 D=0

d) T=0 F=1 D=2

e) T=2 F=1 D=0

f) T=2 F=1 D=0

g) T=0 F=1 D=2

h) T=2 F=1 D=0

i) T=2 F=1 D=0

j) T=0 F=1 D=2

Results...

0-12 food phobic

Unlike folks who nosh for gratification, you get your kicks out of denying yourself. "Rigidly controlling your intake can be a means of feeling competent," says Kearney-Cooke. Often, she adds, women in this group are as fixated on exercise as they are down on food, working out to the exclusion of other activities. They may also have unresolved conflicts with controlling family members or feel out of control in significant areas like their love life or job. "To someone in this situation, it feels like the only thing they can regulate is what they put in their mouths' she says. "Holding the line becomes an obsession, sometimes to the point that they lose excessive amounts of weight or pass up invitations in order to avoid temptation."

To get yourself into a healthier relationship with food, try keeping a food journal. Suppose it's 5 p.m. and you've had your daily calorie ration. You may tell yourself, "If I eat any more, I'll be a whale." "Well, that's distorted thinking, and just writing it down can give you some needed perspective:' says Kearney-Cooke. While you're at it, ask yourself, "What am I really worried about?" Also recommended: Boning up on nutrition to be sure you're meeting your daily requirements -and cultivating the range of relationships and activities that make a person well rounded in ways other than the physical. They aren't fattening, so all you stand to gain is some satisfying self-esteem!

13-26 Mindful Muncher

For you, food is just another of life's essentials, no more or less a focus than work or going out with friends. Which is not to say you don't enjoy it. "People in this range have a confidence and positive body image that make them feel entitled to eat," says Kearney-Cooke. "When they sit down to eat, even if it's a quick bite at their desk, they're able to relish what's on their plate." You're not immune to the odd yen for Twinkies, but you handle urges sensibly, a knack you may have picked up early on. "If your parents' approach was 'Sounds like you're hungry; would you like a snack?' as opposed to "I'm the mom, and I want you to eat this," you probably learned to treat your needs with equal respect," explains Kearney-Cooke. That means you heed internal eating cues like "Uh-oh, energy dip; time for some fuel" and "Enough, already ... I'm full." Without all the emotional baggage, you're free to develop food strategies that work. "I used to eat ice cream every day," says Edward Abramson, Ph.D., author of To Have and to Hold; How to Take Off the Weight When Marriage Puts on the Pounds (Kensington, 1999). "1 discovered I can control my sweet tooth by buying a small frozen yogurt and eating half each day." Have you struck similar deals with yourself? Maybe you haven't had to, given your admirable attitude toward edibles. Keep up the good work!

27+ Food Fanatic

You know you have a bit of a problem with food. If you have a high metabolism, you may still be able to pack it in without gaining an ounce, says Kearney-Cooke -but you feel out of control and have an overly emotional relationship to what, when and how you eat. Most women in this category equate food with comfort on a subliminal level that's tough to resist. Some habitually avoid conflict or take on too much and eat to soothe the resulting tension; others have dieted so much that they've simply forgotten how to tell if they're hungry or full. If this type sounds like you, Kearney-Cooke suggests tracking your eating for a week. Just recognizing what triggers a food frenzy can help prevent pig-outs. Another useful tactic: When the urge to merge with an Oreo hits, wait 30 minutes and ask yourself, "What do I really want?" You may find a chat with a friend or quick walk is just as good. And if not, you've made that Oreo a conscious choice and are less apt to overindulge.

If you scored on the compulsive or phobic end of your this eating spectrum, therapist Ann Kearney-Cooke, Ph.D., suggests making mealtime more of a ritual. Start by lighting a candle or turning off the phone. Then sit down, concentrate on your plate, and don't do anything else while you are eating. No reading the paper or watching television. Afterwards, blow out the candle or have some tea to make the end of the meal. Some women even brush their teeth as a sign that they are done eating for the night. It's a simple strategy, but it works. Once you learn how to eat mindfully, you naturally develop a more realistic, rewarding relationship with food.

Successful dieters are aware that HUNGER and APPETITE are not the same. Actual physical need is the basis of true hunger, which you should feel about six hours after an adequate meal, while appetite can be triggered by thought or sensation. But perhaps you really ARE hungry and do need food midway through the morning or afternoon or when you get home from work. Most diets can be adjusted to allow you to eat a little something then, and some are actually set up to include for, five and even six small meals a day. A fruit, a light protein snack or a small salad may make the difference between comfort and discomfort - and may keep you from overeating later. You can't eat at just any time, though, and there are a variety of ways to handle your cravings...

Plan something to do that is interesting and pleasurable, during any time of the day that's regularly a problem for you - think of it as a 'mini-break' and learn to look forward to it.

Do a few calisthenics or yoga postures, go up and down stairs a few times or just stretch and bend; this should distract you and diminish your appetite. 

Take five deep breaths - and skip the food.

Do a small chore when hunger strikes suddenly - tighten all the screws in the house, load the washer, sort the magazines, take out the garbage. You'll feel good about yourself for having accomplished something, and you won't have eaten.

Sip a drink of water slowly, or use a straw. If chilled, fresh spring water is available to you at work, that's ideal. Otherwise, keep some water handy in a jug with a spigot for easy serving.

Lie down and relax to find out if you're really hungry or just tense. If your tense, try exercise.

 How can you prevent someone in your family from becoming obese?

First, remember that weight problems can affect the whole family. If one parent is overweight, there is a 40 percent chance will be; if both parents have weight problems, the possibility for overweight offspring increases to 80 percent.

Also, familiarize your family with low calorie recipes and meals. Healthy food habits are good for everyone.

Be sure to serve children small portions; they can have second helpings if they are still hungry.

Do NOT insist that everyone clean his or her plate.

Never keep junk food in the house. Serve fresh or dried fruit, snack mixed, fruit juice frozen on a stick, or popcorn as a snack instead of sweets and salty treats.

Try not to bribe or reward children with food. And never say, "You must be hungry," when your kids are grumpy.

Avoid starting solid foods for a baby too soon. Check with your doctor; most now say that about six months of age is soon enough.

Don't make meals the center of family social life - think instead of sports, games, or just good conversation.

I'm going to be totally honest with you and tell you that when I decided to Road Test the vegetarian based Ornish's Eat More Weight Less diet - I thought it was going to be a piece of cake because I often go days without meat. It seemed easy enough, the principals break down to these simple guidelines...

No animal products except egg whites and non-fat dairy foods

No more than 10 percent of total calories from fat

No more than 10 milligrams a day of dietary cholesterol

Approximately 15 percent of total calories from protein

Approximately 75 percent of total calories from complex carbohydrates

Restricted salt intake for patients with hypertension, heart failure or kidney disease

Moderate sugar intake

Less than 2 ounces per day of alcohol

No caffeine

I figured the hardest thing about going vegetarian would not be giving up meat, but the limited sugar intake and the caffeine - which I could NOT do! *lol* I have one cup of coffee in the morning, leaving one small vice in my life after all I would be cutting out seemed like a small concession for Dr. Dean to make. :-)

Day one passed, I did great. Here in the middle of cattle country - you don't see many vegetarians, and there isn't a whole lot of vegetarian fare on most menus. I did find that I could find something to eat at every restaurant that I went to. Most have veggie plates, salads, pasta sauces without meat - it is possible if not easy to eat this way. Sometimes it took some arranging with the waitress, special orders for no sauce or butter, but it could always be done. Day two was great, I did well - just as I had expected. Day three, sitting between my mother and her steak and my son with his chicken - I was FEELING my self-imposed vegetarianism! *lol* Now don't get me wrong... It wasn't that I was feeling the effects of not having meat, the only thing I had problems with is getting my protein so that I felt FULL. Being on a carb based diet and getting that protein in without eating beans and legumes is tough - and there AREN'T a lot of low fat low calorie choices that suit those needs when you are eating out What really got to me was the fact that I COULDN'T have meat. Not that I shouldn't, but that I COULDN'T. It's like I've always said - tell me I CAN'T have something and I want it all the more! Those last three days, Wednesday evening, Thursday and Friday nearly KILLED me! Not because I couldn't LIVE without the meat, but simply because I wanted it!

I won't ever again say that I could easily be a vegetarian, because _I_ could not... Give up meat? For a few meals sure, no problem, but do it totally - forever - without even a bite here and again - I'm a wimp and I just couldn't do it. My five day ordeal - which didn't quite last 5 whole days, taught me some very important things about myself. One, that I CAN go anywhere to eat and not order things that are unhealthy and things that will pack those pounds onto this body. No, I may not want to eat the veggie plate, but it's not bad. It may not have KIM YOU CAN EAT THIS on the menu - but every single place that I visited I could GET something that is lower in calories and fat then the regular choices on the menu.

The second thing I learned is that I cannot be told (as in the Ornish diet) that I can eat all I want as long as I don't eat what I am told not to. I didn't lose anything this week, and watching my calories I DO lose weight. I found that I was almost always 'hungry.' Not real stomach churning hunger (at least not all the time) but this unsatisfied, 'wanting' is hard to deal with. I did find also that those REAL stomach churning hunger pains hit a lot more on this diet and while I didn't have too many calories each day - I did eat more then I generally eat (I went from around 1500 and being satisfied to 1800 and still walking around thinking about eating!)

My third revelation is a great esteem for those out there who ARE vegetarian and living the lifestyle. It's not an easy choice. I love that I can 'visit' it, and still reach over and snag that prime cut of chicken off my son's plate while still enjoying my vegetable stir-fry. I like being able to grill fish on the grill and have a succulent spicy morsel but still enjoy a salad for lunch - I can't do what you do, what empowerment your lifestyle must give you...

The Ornish diet DOES do wonders for those who have heart disease... It is and CAN reverse heart disease - there is no doubt about that, but for weight loss - for me - I just can't do it! I'm weak, I'm humbled, I'm a carnivore and I just can't help myself! :-) For those of you looking for an alternative way of eating - this can be a most wonderful thing... Low fat vegetarianism is THE way to go - IF you can do it. I am sure that the weight loss with this program is slow and steady, and as long as you keep to the not TOO hard to follow rules - it can last you a lifetime of good health, but be warned - it is hard to sit there surrounded by meat and not have at least one tiny little bite... At least it was for this person. :-)

Hello everyone! I hope everyone has been doing well, I have done very well this week. My memory on the other hand doesn't serve me as well (I can't believe I forgot to mention the Junior Mints I had at the movies---UGHHHH! Have you ever noticed how well Junior Mints and Popcorn go together? LOL). This week has been a breeze, I actually have cut down on my sugar intake and although I was very cranky the first three days I made it through. The Food Mover is doing me justice, I realized that using that along with keeping my food journal that I do a lot of munching while watching TV, this leads me to a horrifying conclusion: I eat out of habit! Not only that, I am a boredom eater. It is scary to look at myself this way, with honest eyes, but knowing this about myself makes it easier to try and change all my nasty eating habits.

I did one bad thing this week, I ordered a Pizza... I say that while cringing- I ate three pieces. But on the bright side, I originally would have inhaled the whole pizza by myself in record time! Just ask Kim, she has seen me do it. I tried to eat each piece very slowly, chewing each bite 20 times. By the time I was on my second piece my jaws were aching and the third piece was looking not so good from my jaws point of view. I ate the third piece anyway, just a note: I gave the crust to my dogs. It is really hard to eat dinner with two drooling dogs staring at your food as if they were trying to levitate your it right off your plate and onto the floor!

I have taken a lot of time to try and evaluate myself and my eating habits, I have realized that I have ate dinner at the dinner table three times this month alone. We usually sit in the living room and eat while watching TV. So that is one thing that I know must change. This of course will be easier when I bring the table in from our garage. I am sanding it down and trying to re stain the top, so that has been my sad excuse. I will re-stain my table and put it back in the dining room to have mealtime in its appropriate place.

Aside from all, I have started walking in the evenings, one mile a day. I notice that I feel much better and have slept more sound than usual. Since I have gotten on the subject of exercise I must tell you something that struck a friend of mine as hilarious. Two years ago I told my husband that I wanted a home gym, that way I didn't have to go anywhere to work out. After weeks of badgering him he went out and surprised me by buying me a Total Gym 2000. That would be the Chuck Norris and Christie Brinkley endorsed home gym. The infomercial made this home gym look very simple to use. The best exercise that my husband got from it was lugging it up and downstairs when we moved. I have a separate little room we use to exercise in that I put my stationary bike and the total gym (It is really an atrium for plants, equipped with a water faucet to make watering your plants easy. It would probably serve better as a plant atrium, I would probably be in there more!). A good friend came over and as we were talking she asked how I liked the Total Gym 2000, I told her that it is great because unlike my stationary bike I can hang more clothes on the Total Gym 2000. The look on her face was as if she thought I had gone mad, however I later learned from her husband that she used her treadmill for that very same reason. Since that time, which was in February I have made the attempt to work out using the Total Gym 2000, and I must say that it is the most complicated exercise device that I have ever used! Not being a very graceful person I nearly did a face plant when trying to get off the Total Gym after doing leg lifts (my foot got stuck in the glide rail, had it not been for the atrium being so small I would have kissed the carpet!) The instruction book was designed with a physics lover in mind. So here I am, on the day in and day out mind level of a two and a half year old (my toddler makes me watch Disney movies all day, everyday!) trying to read and follow directions for the flexibly challenged, in my case I rank top class in that category. So I spent time trying to figure out how to do arm extensions, and not realizing just how pressure this machine uses from your own weight I nearly knock myself out when finishing my last set of reps. All in all, it ranks a 5 on a score of 1 through 10. Let's just say _I_ will keep up with my walking and stationary bike instead. There is my journey for this week, and although I have found all these nasty eating habits about myself it makes me want to change them even more so. I will keep you posted about my walking and the food mover for next week. Wishing all of you great health and much fun! Julie

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water1/2 cup cooked or canned pumpkin

1/4 cup diet margarine1/4 cup instant nonfat dry milk powder1/4 cup packed brown sugar1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

2-3/4 cup bread flour

1 package (1/4 oz) active dry yeast

In bread machine pan, place all ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select basic bread setting. Choose crust color and loaf size if available. Bake according to bread machine directions (check dough after

5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoon of water or flour if needed).

Makes 16 servings (1 loaf)

(This site is chosen by me - not because I get royalties or any special privileges by recommending it to you - but because I genuinely feel this is a _good_ site for helping us along the way to fitness and a healthy weight.)

 DISCLAIMER: The opinions and statements in Slim Pickin's Weekly are not intended as medical advice. Its intent is solely for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes. If you are interested in pursuing or trying any of the dietary changes, or following up any of the advice in this newsletter then it is suggested that you contact a health professional before doing so..

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