Don't let "he's a boy" or "he's a teenage boy" be an excuse

I was walking through the aisles of Walmart today, looking for sweet and sour sauce. (And I decided to go with Sweet Chili sauce instead, taken from the Asian Foods shelf. I think this is what Wendy's uses - a spicier version of sweet and sour - and I liked it. Anyway, two women whom I didn't know were talking to each other. One was telling the other, "I didn't get home until late, only to find that "he" hadn't eaten. Well, he's a boy. So I was up at 10 pm making him hamburger helper. Now, I didn't dare ask her how old her son was, but I got the idea that he was a teenager - i.e. someone fully capable of making himself a peanut butter sandwich or sticking a tv dinner in a microwave, but because he was a "boy", it hadn't occurred to him to do this. So she as his mom had to feed him at 10 pm at night, instead of telling him, jeez, kid, make yourself a sandwich next time. My nephew's dad is kind of the same way. Oh, the kid knows how to use a microwave - and leave all the wrappings of whatever food he's eating on the counter for mom to clean up, and the plate and glass and other crap of what he ate down in his basement "TV and computer room" for her to pick up - his sole chore to earn money is to take the dishes from the table where they eat (him, his mom and dad) to the counter, where his dad or mom will then proceed to do what's necessary to put them in the dishwasher. The stairway bannister that separates the living room area from the flight of stairs going down to the basement, is somewhat loose. Once I said, "These railings are loose. Can't you do something about that?" And my brother in law said, "No, and it's going to get looser, because we have a teen-aged boy in the house." That's what he always says. The garbage remains on the floor because "he's a teenaged boy." He gets into mischeif because "he's a teenage boy." Not that he gets into serious mischief - just unthinking stuff - like sitting around on his butt playing computer games while his mom humps in 6 bags worth og groceries... he's never been taught that it's polite to help out! Why am I ranting like this? Oh, to my point. The kid eats like a pig. All day long. Of course he rarely has an appetite for dinner, and since he's hungry after dinner he'll start snacking. But he never gains an ounce... because he has a fast metabolism. Most guys do have fast metabolisms, and they can stuff themselves until they're about 40 and never gain weight. But once that metabolism slows down...then the paunches start to develop. And while some women have fast metabolisms, most don't, and they have to work to keep their weight at its optimum point - work by watching what they eat, having only small desserts instead of gigantic desserts, and things of that nature. The story of our lives...

Skip Fad Diets and Make Healthy Eating a Habit Instead

From FitSugar.com: Skip Fad Diets and Make Healthy Eating a Habit Instead
There's a reason why they're called yo-yo: those diets that have you subsisting on just a few calories a day inevitably lead to ups and downs on the scale. A recent study backs up what many people who've struggled with weight loss already know: when researchers put dieters on a deprivation diet of about 500 calories, it worked at first, with study participants losing an average of 30 pounds over eight weeks. But it wasn't sustainable: most participants ended up gaining, on average, 11 pounds back within the year of the study, even with continued dieter's counseling, and reported that they felt "hungrier and more preoccupied with weight."

So why is it hard to maintain weight loss on an extreme diet? It's not just because of all the temptation out there; deprivation diets cause the body to go into starvation mode, making you feel even hungrier while your body holds onto pounds instead of shedding them.

Instead of trying the next fad diet that alters your hormones, start a program you know you'll be able to stick with. Plan meals so you can cook more of them at home, make healthier but still tasty choices when dining out, and allow yourself small indulgences every day. For more ways to turn "dieting" into a lifestyle, read these 3 essential eating tips for weight-loss success.

Set Realistic Goals and Celebrate Them
Pounds don't drop off instantly, so it's best to set small realistic goals rather than large ones to keep you motivated and on track. You might have the large goal of losing 40 pounds, but it's best to break it down and say, "I'll lose two pounds by the end of next month." You'll be psyched rather than let down if you surprise yourself and lose it even sooner. Be sure to attach a reward to that goal so after you drop, for example, five pounds, you treat yourself to a new fitness tank top or a massage. Of course you don't want the celebration to undo all the good you've done, so avoid high-calorie food rewards.

Have a Plan
Losing weight doesn't miraculously happen just because you have good intentions. You must always have a plan when it comes to what you're eating to avoid grazing or feeling so ravenous you grab the first unhealthy food you can get your hands on. On Sunday night, set aside 30 minutes or so to write down a plan for every meal and snack for the seven days. Hit the grocery store to grab all the ingredients you'll need to carry out your weekly meal plan.

Don't Skip Breakfast
Skipping breakfast seems like a great weight-loss tactic, the logic being that you're cutting calories out of your daily intake. Unfortunately, it doesn't work out that way, since most people will make up for the calories later on in the day. Eating a meal in the morning can actually jump-start your metabolism. Choose high-protein foods such as whole eggs or Greek yogurt to reduce sugar cravings later, and make sure your meal is also high in fiber to satiate your hunger and flatten your belly, like these breakfasts made with whole grains.

Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon: Slayde Meyer's weight-loss journey leads him to marathon

NewsOK: Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon: Slayde Meyer's weight-loss journey leads him to marathon
Slayde Meyer didn't see himself as being that heavy.

But when applying to go on a mission trip in the summer between his eighth-grade and freshman years at Forgan, Meyer calculated his body mass index to make sure he was eligible to be selected.

“According to that, I was obese,” Meyer said. “That's when I knew I had to change.”

So Meyer started with the basics of weight loss — diet and exercise.

Meyer started his weight-loss journey at around 300 pounds.

From October 2008 to April 2009, he lost around 90 pounds. By the summer, he was another 10 pounds lighter.

It didn't take long after Meyer started running, his preferred workout routine, that running a marathon became a goal.

His uncle had run seven marathons.

“I always thought it'd be an amazing thing to do,” Meyer said.

Just two months after he began losing weight, Meyer was running five miles. In the spring of 2009, he entered his first race, running the 10k at the Redbud Classic.

Two weeks later, he ran the half marathon in Oklahoma City.

The next year, he accomplished the goal he'd set when he started losing the weight — to run a marathon by the time he turned 18 — at the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon.

“The moment I crossed the finish line, my life completely changed,” Meyer said. “That was my proudest moment through this process.

“I remembered how much it took me to lose all the weight and knew that I could do anything. I was unstoppable.”

Sunday, he'll run for the second time in the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon.

Training this year is a bit different, as he's worked out with Sara Williams, who will run her first marathon this weekend.

But it has helped Meyer stick with the training this time around.

Twice since his first marathon finish, Meyer has signed up for a marathon before dropping out.

“I think it's because I didn't have that accountability,” Meyer said. “Now, training with her, I feel like a failure if I don't train and get myself ready for it.”

While the confidence that his transformed image certainly helped, the knowledge that he had been through that much work to accomplish his goals boosted Meyer just as much.

“I instantly became a goal-setter,” he said.

Meyer started a student council at Forgan High School.

This year, as a senior, he's the student council president, the senior class president and the yearbook editor, among other responsibilities.

He's planning on going to the University of Oklahoma next year and majoring in international business.

Weight Loss: What's the Point?

From Huffington Post: Weight Loss: What's the Point?
Before you start reading, let me just say this is not some nihilistic blog about how meaningless it all is. I'm not of the we're-all-gonna-die-so-let's-eat-cupcakes mentality. But, really, what's the point of losing weight? Or, more specifically, what's your point?

If you're the average woman in your early 40s, you've probably spent the last 20 years or more counting calories, weighing yourself, following diets and generally obsessing about how you look. I do not for one minute believe the incredible power of the feminine energy was designed for something as small as this.

And this isn't just about women: In a recent study, more than four in five men were anxious about their body image, and 38 percent of men said they would sacrifice at least a year of their life in exchange for a perfect body.[1] That's very telling: Somewhere along the line, we've lost a sense of perspective, to the point where men say they'd die younger to look great in a Speedo.

Now, if your weight is a health issue, if it's shortening your years or hampering your ability to enjoy your life, losing weight is a noble goal. Your body should be healthy, happy and comfortable to live in. But if your weight loss efforts are driven by a desire to look like the 20-year-old model (male or female) on the cover of the newsstand magazine, that's another matter.

Losing weight is not your life's work, and counting calories is not the call of your soul. You surely are destined for something much greater, much bigger, than shedding 20 pounds or tallying calories. What would happen if, instead of worrying about what you had for breakfast, you focused instead on becoming exquisitely comfortable with who you are as a person? Instead of scrutinizing yourself in the mirror, looking for every bump and bulge, you turned your gaze inward?

One of the first books on dieting was penned as early as 1810, by surgeon William Wadd. In the first of many editions of On Corpulence, or Obesity Considered as a Disease, he pointed out our growing "apprehension of corpulence," and set forth recommendations for slimming.[2] It was a modern-world malady; from prehistoric times through the days of early settlers, much of the world's population was obsessed with eating as it applied to survival, and starvation was a more common concern than slimming. Even now, as we measure our waists and condemn our thighs, close to a billion people go hungry every day, and hunger kills more people every year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.[3][4]

One of my teachers used to ask "How does this serve you?" or "How does this serve the world?" I think that's a useful question to ask about losing weight. How much time, mental energy and passion are you devoting to your dreams and goals, your loftiest vision for yourself? What would happen if all of us took all that energy we devote to counting calories and chasing a number on the bathroom scale, and channeled it toward to developing personal integrity, enhancing our spiritual connections and serving the world?

None of this is to say we can't choose to shed some excess weight. But maybe we can do it with a sense of perspective -- and direct the outcome to something greater.

References:
[1] Denis Campbell, "Body Image Concerns More Men than Women, Research Finds." The Guardian, 5 Jan. 2012. [2] Joanna Bourke, "The long history of dieting fads." The Lancet, 2012. 379:9820, 994-995. [3] Robert Kunzig, "Population 7 Billion." National Geographic, Jan. 2011, online special edition. [4] World Food Programme, a division of the United Nations

How To Lose Weight Without Dieting or Pills

From the Huffington Post: How To Lose Weight Without Dieting or Pills

Between our obsession with our looks and the national crisis involving obesity, losing weight is constantly on the minds of tens of millions of people.

Diets and pills ultimately don't work for most people because they don't eliminate the true cause of emotional eating.

Diets fail because you have to force yourself to eat something different and eat less than you normally would, which require a lot of willpower. And the will, like any muscle, tires with overuse. Eventually, the compulsive "need" to eat wins out and you're back to square one again.

And even though pills can affect your appetite or change how you process food internally, they cannot stop the compulsion to eat more than you are hungry for.

The real source of overeating and overweight

None of the "solutions" to overeating deal with the source of the problem, namely, eating that has been conditioned to occur whenever any of the "triggers" are present. Because these triggers are negative feelings people want to "escape from," such as depression, anxiety, guilt, loneliness, unloved, and rejected -- we can describe this conditioned eating as "emotional eating."

Although there are many causes of people becoming overweight, in my experience, the single most important one is emotional eating, in other words, eating for emotional reasons when you aren't really hungry.

If you really want to lose weight -- and if you are an emotional eater -- the single best thing you can do is to eat only when you are hungry and stop eating when you get full. To do that, you have to de-condition the triggers that lead you to eat compulsively. (Beliefs can also contribute to the problem for some people.)

So how do you do that?

How to de-condition eating triggers

Here's how I used the Lefkoe De-conditioning Process (LDP) to help one client de-condition anxiety so that it no longer automatically caused her to eat.

I had her imagine a situation in which she felt anxious or upset and then asked her if in this type of situation she could imagine easily not eating without using a lot of willpower. She said she couldn't imagine not eating. I ask this question to make sure that this is a real trigger and also to provide a benchmark experience, because I ask her the same question at the end of the LDP, so she can experience no desire to eat in a similar situation after the de-conditioning process is complete and notice the change in her experience.

Next I asked her: What value do you get from eating when you are anxious or upset? She answered: I experience pleasure and I am distracted from my anxiety.

I got her to make a crucial distinction: She realized she never really wanted to eat, she wanted a pleasurable distraction from her anxiety. Eating was only a means to the end, not an end in itself.

I then helped her reach two other important realizations:

1. The only reason eating had been desirable was that it produced a pleasurable distraction that nothing else had provided at the time.

2. If she had found other ways to get a pleasurable distraction before the conditioning first started, she wouldn't have needed to eat.

I then helped her realize that, while eating might have been one way to get what she wanted, it wasn't necessarily the best way.

Next I showed her that eating when she was experiencing anxiety never really gave her what she wanted. In other words, she had a momentary pleasurable distraction from her upset or anxiety, but they didn't go away for good. As soon as she finished eating, they were still there.

I then asked her to imagine a situation when she had eaten in response to experiencing anxiety. She took a moment to do this.

Then I asked: Didn't it seem as if you could see that eating is the best way to get pleasurable distraction? In other words, didn't you discover that it was "the truth" as a result of seeing it in the world?

She told me she could really see that.

You can't really see it

When I asked her to look closer, to describe what "eating is the best way to get pleasurable distraction" looked like, she realized she couldn't really see that. It was only a conclusion she had reached in her mind and wasn't necessarily true. All she could actually see was herself eating when she was anxious and then feeling a little better for the moment.

Finally she realized that the connection between eating and anxiety had been an accidental connection made in her childhood, and that there was no inherent connection between the two.

If her mom had taken her to a movie or played a game with her whenever she had been upset or anxious, then that behavior would have gotten conditioned and now she would go to a movie or play a game whenever she experienced anxiety instead of eating.

At this point the "trigger" -- namely, anxiety -- had been de-conditioned and would no longer result in her eating compulsively. (I know that might be hard to believe, but it has happened time after time with clients and the compulsive emotional eating still had not returned years later.)

Please leave your comments and questions here about today's post. I read all posts and answer as many as I can.

For more details on how to lose weight without dieting and pills by de-conditioning your triggers and eliminating your beliefs, please see my eBook, The Secret To Ending Overeating For Good, which can be found at http://emotionaleatingreport.com.

Morty Lefkoe is the creator of The Lefkoe Method, a system for permanently eliminating limiting beliefs and de-conditioning the stimuli that cause negative feelings and behaviors. For more information go to http://recreateyourlife.com/loseweight

Meditation- A New Happy Spiritual Way to Lose Weight, Lower Blood Pressure and Reduce Stress!

From Houston Chronicle: Meditation- A New Happy Spiritual Way to Lose Weight, Lower Blood Pressure and Reduce Stress!

Lose weight by practicing meditation on the phone with Dr. Singh on Sunday, April 22, 2012.

Oyster Bay, NY (PRWEB) April 18, 2012

Dr. Singh brought from East to West the rich heritage of centuries old proven techniques to lose weight by 10 minutes of daily meditation. He wrote 13 inspirational books and has held hundreds of seminars teaching how to achieve physical, spiritual and financial richness by the practice of meditation.

Dr. Singh is now forming a nationwide group of people who may like to benefit from his weekly seminars on meditation by conference telephone calls. In Dr. Singh's words, “It all starts with thoughts. Thoughts become words, words become actions and repeated actions become habits. Gaining excess weight is a direct result of bad habits. To achieve success in losing weight permanently, habits must be changed. It is very difficult to change habits as they are rooted at the very deepest levels of our subconscious mind."

How can one change these deep-seated habits?

Meditation is the process through which one engages the subconscious with the conscious level of our mind. This way the power of mind is increased tremendously as the subconscious is a million times more powerful than the conscious level of mind. Meditation takes the mind to the deepest levels of the subconscious, where the mind controls the body, not the other way around. The mind, in this powerful state, is able to dictate that the the body lose weight by changing some habits which are the root cause of the problem.

Following are some additional advantages of meditation:

1. Meditation helps to explore inner treasures and develop consciousness to help attain inner happiness. It develops inner strength, energy and realization.

2. Through meditation, mind becomes positive and by that virtue, body starts behaving the way one wants. Negative thoughts start going away.

3. Through meditation, one begins a new kind of realization of one's bones, muscles, tissues and organs. It penetrates every cell of one's body and makes positive changes in cells. Meditation lowers blood pressure, reduces stress and stress related diseases such as heart attack and stroke. It also helps to reduce the use of hypertensive drugs and to quit smoking habit.

4. Meditation helps to channel quality and quantity of thoughts. One does not feel lonely any more. One does not feel over crowded with thoughts either. Mind does not wander around in 1000 different directions.

For a limited time, Dr. Harsimran Singh will practice meditation with the members every week from 9.00 AM -9.30 AM starting Sunday, April 22, 2012 through a telephonic conference call.

Send us an e-mail at loseweight(at)howtobehappysite(dot)com with your name and email address and you will be provided with a conference telephone number."

About Dr. Harsimran Singh:
Dr. Harsimran Singh is a philanthropist who gave up millions of dollars to establish charitable institutions. He has moved thousands of homeless people into decent housing. He has been featured in Fox News, CBS, and many other TV and radio programs. The NY Times, NY Post and many other newspapers have written full-page articles about his accomplishments. Writing books has been his way to give back to the people of America, where he landed with almost nothing. He loves to encourage people through his public speaking engagements and by providing free meditation classes.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebInspirational/quotes/prweb9413516.htm

Make large meals, then freeze individual portions

Some people don't like to eat frozen dinners because they feel short-changed by them. And its certainly true that the packaging has changed these days so that you don't get as much food as you would think by looking at the box, and the actual presentation of the food never matches the elegant servings on the box.

And then there's that stigma about frozen foods - how mom's should cook "real" meals for their kids rather than plop some TV dinner into the oven.

Well, the solution is to make your own meals, but make so much that you can divide them up into several meals, and refrigerate or freeze them, to eat over the course of a week or month.

This saves money and presents you and your family with better meals. It also saves time, if you'd like to make home-cooked meals for your family, but don't have time every day to do so, just pull out the meals you made during a cook-and-freeze weekend.

Of course, you need to label everything carefully - what it is and the day you made it - so things don't go to waste.

Now, in essence you're eating "left-overs". But frankly, I have found that most foods do taste better on the second day, because they've had a chance to marinate or set and the flavors come out better.

So give it a try.

Water, water everywhere

I typed that title into the title box, and lo and behold it came up...I've obviously blogged about this alot.

But, it's a good tip, so why not, I'll blog about it again.

The single hardest thing for any person trying to lose weight faces, is to control their appetite.

That's it. Solve that problem, throw in half an hour of walking a day, and you've got the weight control problem licked.

And if it were easy - everyone would do it and no one would be overweight.

But, really, it is easy, as long as you're willing to accept that you've got to do a bit of work - meaning, learn to get used to the feelings of hunger pains.

I'm not talking about starving yourself! Eat three square meals a day, or five smaller meals if you want to go that route. Just don't snack between meals, or if you do snack, make it carrots or something of that nature.

And drink water. Don't drink water before a meal. Yes, it will stop you from eating a lot, but then you'll just get hungry again an hour later.

No, drink water after the meal, to hold down those hunger pains until your next meal. Don't drink water an hour before your next meal. It's during that hour that you should let the hunger pains, if any, develop, so you can properly enjoy your food during whatever meal you're going to eat.

And then, after dinner, drink as much water as you like.

No pop. Even diet pop isn't good for you - indeed, diet pop is worse for you than real pop, because of the artificial sweeteners they use. Not to mention they taste lousy... (as I have good cause to know!)

After dinner, assuming you have a normal work span - 9 to 5, with the evening for your hobbies, watching TV, etc. and you go to bed at a reasonable hour, your body just naturally starts to wind down. Any food you eat will go straight to the hips or belly.

So after dinner - water, and healthy snacks.

Hope you had a happy Easter...

Now...how many people bought their kids Easter Baskets - full of Christmas like toys?

As an atheist, I find this new trend offensive...surely Christians find this offensive as well?

I mean...easter is supposed to be the day Christ rose from the dead! When I was a kid I'd get a chocolate Easter bunny, and hunt for Easter eggs, and that was it!

Now you can buy these baskets with actual presents inside like basketballs, dolls, and so on, and some candy.

That's just not right.

I can't remember when this commercialism started... maybe five years ago? Longer than that?

Anyway, you might have been given a present of chocolates for Easter, or taken out to dinner, or had a traditional Easter dinner which served almost as much food as Thanksgiving or Christmas.

If you feel like you over ate, don't despair. Just get back on your small portions and exercising every day regime, and you'll be fine.

Easter Pause

So sorry to have missed so many days of posting - unexpected family matters cropped up.

And now it's Easter, so more family matters.

Will get back on track Monday.

Thanks for your patience.

Act with a sense of purpose

Although I always counsel my clients that "gradualness" is the key, that doesn't mean that they should not spend their days filled with a sense of purpose - that purpose not necessarily to "lose weight" but rather to "get fit."

In actuality, if you "get fit", the weight loss will take care of itself.

With the advent of spring, it's easier to get fit. In addition to weight training - you need only spend ten minutes a day performing a set of exercises in your garage or wherever - dumbbell curls, leg curls, leg extensions, shoulder raises and so on. Then, walk, or ride a bike or play some kind of sport such as tennis for an hour a day. If time doesn't allow you to do this every day, try at least to do it 3 times a week.

And don't look on this exercise and sport as an onerous chore, but rather that as something that is fun. Get out their and enjoy the movement of your body, the warmth of the sun on your skin, and so on.

New month, new evaluation

Today is the first day of the month of April. The year is one-fourth over.

The first day of the month is always a good one for evaluating what you have achieved in the previous month, and your goals for the next month. In other words, you have long distance goals - you want to lose 30 pound over the course of the year. In order to achieve that, you only need to lose 3 pounds a month - and that is certainly doable.

Losing weight is a long term goal. Too many people think they can lose 30 pounds in 30 days - not going to happen. (Or if by some miracle of unhealthy abstinence you do lose that weight, you will never keep it off.)

So, from the beginning to March to the end of March, have you lost 3 pounds? By following the tips in this blog, which advocate a gradual reduction in weight. Eating whatever you want, but in smaller portions, and increasing your exercise.

Why increase your exercise? Because the more fit you are, the easier that excess weight comes off.And the better you will feel!

So spend today making plans for the rest of April. List everything you want to achieve, in daily, weekly and finally, the monthly goal - so that you can evaluate where you are when May comes around.