Some Days Are Tougher Than Others

So how did you do? Holidays are always tough. Family and friends. They compliment you on your weight loss, say you look amazing, and ask you, 'how did you do it?!" But they don't really want to see or hear about the discipline it takes, and they certainly aren't ready to hear about it if they're not willing to do it themselves. Couple that with all that homemade food staring you in the face at holiday gatherings, especially while everyone else is piling up their plates, and it's hard to turn it down. If you didn't, or if you feel you still overate, even though you tried not to, do NOT beat yourself up. Do not throw up your hands and say, "Oh what's the use." Because you know how important this is. And you can do it!

Remember that no matter what kind of food day you had yesterday, it should have no bearing on how you are going to treat today. Don't give in to the temptation that because you 'blew' it one day, that means you might as well give up. Treat every day as a new food day, get right back on your plan, write down your foods, and write down your calories. Stick to your predetermined total. Don't listen to those old tapes in your head that say you have no discipline or that everybody in your family tends to be heavy so you might as well not fight it. Don't do that to yourself. You can do something about it. You are doing something about it. You are worth doing something about it. Never forget that!

Are You Hungry?

What does hunger feel like? And how do you keep it from ruining your day?
First, the feeling of hunger: Do we really know what that is? Are you truly aware of what it feels like to have that grinding tugging feeling in your stomach? Many of us have forgotten what hunger feels like because we’ve got used to reaching for food anytime we’re bored or need a little comfort or we’re celebrating something wonderful. We reach for food so often we never really get a chance to ‘need’ food because we eat whenever we ‘want’ it.

There are some health experts that believe when we think we’re hungry our bodies are often simply in need of water. Drink a glass of water and your urge to eat may actually go away. When calorie counting, you have accepted that you are no longer going to reach for just any food in any amount at any time you want. You have agreed to be in better control of those mindless wants. But that also means, especially at the beginning, that there will be times when you feel actual hunger pains because for the first time in a long time, perhaps ever, you’re denying yourself a little bit. Don’t panic. You’re not starving. We need a reminder of what real hunger feels like. I’m not saying you should make yourself double-over in a quivering blood sugar low. I’m simply saying that by calorie counting, limiting your portions, and limiting the times when you take in those portions, you are allowing your body to need food before you feed it. If we waited until we actually needed food instead of grabbing something just because we’re too bored to do anything else, we wouldn’t be in the shape we’re in now. We are a society of instant gratification. Everywhere we turn, we’re bombarded with TV commercials, billboards, fast food signs, all implying that if we love ourselves, we'll treat ourselves to a mouth-watering this or that because we deserve it. Well, I say just as you discipline a child out of love in order to mold them into a better person, we should discipline ourselves out of love, too. Aren't we worth it?

But how do we keep hunger from ruining our day? Well, here's something you might find interesting. A recent study published in the July issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience suggests that hunger actually makes us feel happy. Apparently when we're hungry a hormone called ghrelin increases, but what scientists now believe is that the hormone may also reduce stress, increases motivation, and may make us more social; at least that's what it did for lab rats. So be a little hungry and be happy.