HA HA bet you thought I fell off the wagon again. Nope I didn't. My computer mouse has been broken so I couldn't use the computer. And now I'm so far behind. Will have to go back and read all the posts now. I've been walking and eating right. So all is fine here. Got a fire going in the wood stove and its nice and cosy here. Well I better get to reading the posts and see what I've missed.

I thought this was very interesting....try it and see what you score.

"Your Eating Print...it is the sum total of the foods, behaviors, situations, and moods that prompt you to lose control of food in your life. These trigger foods, trigger behaviors, trigger situations, and trigger emotions never truly leave you. You may diet, you may fast, but ultimately you will return to the pattern of your Eating Print--unless you learn to permanently avoid and control these triggers."

"Do You Use Food As Therapy?

Rate each statement on a scale of 1 to 5. A rating of 1 means the statement is rarely true of you, a rating of 5 means it is almost always true. If you completely disagree with the statement, the score is 0.

1. There is no problem that can't be solved with chocolate.

2. I like to treat myself to a nice dinner (or some other food treat) to celebrate accomplishments or a job well done.

3. On previous diets, I've sometimes cheated because I just felt I deserved a little treat.

4. When I'm particularly stressed or upset, I usually feel better after I've eaten something.

5. I have a favorite restaurant where my friends and I usually go to celebrate or just to get together.

6. I have a particular food that I always crave when I am under stress.

7. I always gain weight when I'm under pressure.

8. Whenever I've gone off a diet plan, there was something unpleasant going on in my life.

9. I always overeat when I go home to visit my parents.

10. I always overeat after a fight with my boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife.


If you scored 21 or less, you're doing pretty well--you may occassionally turn to food for solace, but you're basically an unemployed Food Therapist. If you scored 22 to 36, you are employed as a Food Therapist on a part-time basis. But if you scored 37 or more, you are one of the legions of people who turn to food first and foremost to solve (or at least temporarily relieve) your distress...... If you turn to food for solace, you are confusing immediate pleasure with long-term happiness. The alcohol addict who takes that first drink and the dangerously overweight person who eats an entire bag of cookies both believe they are indulging in pleasures. But they are distructive pleasures that will eventually cost far more than the pleasure was worth.......When you find yourself reaching for your particular "food tranquilizer," stop! Think about not just what it tastes like but what it is going to do to you. Ask yourself:
-what kind of "reward" makes you miserable five minutes later?
-what kind of "treat" makes you throw out the clothes you once loved.
-what kind of "cure" ruins your looks, your health, and your self-esteem?

For many , uncovering the Eating Print is the most liberating and reassuring moment of Food Control Training. Cooks who thought they were hopeless binge eaters discovered that they were really at risk in only area--the kitchen of their own homes. Pickers who thought they needed some ascetic program of weight control discovered that what they really needed was finger control. And Horders who believed they could never control the ravenous hunger that hit them at the end of the day learned that all they really needed was a regular eating schedule. For the first time, these men and women are able to see that their weight problem for what it is--not a mountain to climb, but a few specific patterns to master. It is truly attainable.

BOB
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This is from a book called "THIN TASTES BETTER" by DR STEPHEN GULLO
He preaches low fat, but what he says here really hits home!
See what you think.....



"Myth 1: Saying "No" to Food is Saying "Yes" to Deprivation

A few years ago, an overweight man at a dinner party told me he had gone off his last diet because he was 'tired of feeling punished.' The question that immediately came to my mind was, punished by whom? No one was threatening him with divorce or unemployment if he didn't stay on the diet. This man had exhausted himself by fighting (and eventually losing) a battle with an enemy that didn't even exist. Food Control Training is not deprivation. Living thin does not mean living without. The feelings of deprivation that you may have experienced on past diets were a product of a mind-set you imposed on yourself. No one was depriving you. You did not check your free will at the door when you signed up for the diet program. Your food options were--and are--always open. The winners at weight loss know this instinctively because they've already eaten it all. They know that when they were eating it all they were not happy, they were miserable. The more they ate, the worse they felt and the worse they looked. That life (of being fat and out of control) was not some mythological paradise and the winners never forget that. They don't surrender their free will when they go on a diet, they take it with them. When they are faced with a trigger food, they don't say, "Oh gee, I really want it, but I can't!" They say, "Sure I can have it, but I choose not to. It's not worth it--it's not worth being fat" They know, from experience, that only the thin say, "No, thank you." Don't be tripped up by the fact that you many not always feel happy about saying thing. No one is always happy about what they have to do to make their lives better. But they are happier for having done it.......Feeling deprived is really just another way of surrendering to the control of food. It is a denial of your freedom and self-determination. You don't need a diet or a doctor to control your food intake. You have the knowledge and the power to do that all on your own. You simply need to use it......You cannot focus your life on food and be thin. Being a foodie is antagonistic to living thin. If getting control of your life and weight are your goals, then you have to pick what is important to you and go with it. The beauty behind this deal is that once you make the decision, life becomes so much easier. Dieters spend so much time worrying about their failing willpower, they don't see that control power is more important than willpower. Once you master control, each day is no longer a continuing battle requiring willpower because the new way of eating and thinking about food becomes as automatic and natural as breathing.

Myth 2: Doing without hurts

These trigger foods have no place in your new life of thin. Remember, the reason you are passing up these foods is because they have caused a problem in your life. Eating them was not a paradise, it was responsible for misery. Not eating them can only make things better. Besides, you've already tasted it all, there are no more surprises. You lnow the taste and texture of virtually every treat imaginable--what more can it give you? Think of it like a businessperson: It's simply not a good trade-off. It's not a good deal. The evidence of the Eating Print is irrefutable. If you haven't been able to control a particular food in all the years you've tried to lose weight, do not torture yourself with talk of "I'll just have a little." With these foods, it is actually easier to pass up the food entirely than to try to have a little. Where there cannot be moderation, there must be elimination. (And there cannot be equivocation, for ambivalence is the core of lapsing back into the old patterns.) I can think of nothing more masochistic than tasting a trigger food, reactivating all the old urges and cravings, and then trying to be satisfied with a little bit when you know there is more there just waiting to be eaten. That is what leads to feelings of deprivation. That is what leads to despair and binge eating. Simply say that this food is not for me, it is not worth the chaos and the weight gain that it will bring into my life.

Myth 3: Doing without is abnormal

Frequently, I hear people say, "Oh, but I just want to be able to eat normally." I remind them that being fat isn't a normal condition. And I wish for them that they can live their lives at a normal weight. I wish that for you. That is far more important than worrying about what they next person is eating or what they think about what you're eating.

Myth 4: If you can't have it, you'll binge

The same people who cannot imagine saying good-bye to their favorite foods usually believe that they will go off the deep end and binge if they try to totally avoid those foods. Even some health professionals fall for this myth. After all, they say, forbidden fruit is always the most seductive. But what they don't get is that for tens of millions of us, having a little is much harder than having none. That's why we freely choose to strive for this goal. It is not imposed upon us by some higher power or authority, causing us to rebel like an adolescent with food. They have got it backward. For most of us, bingeing has nothing to do with avoidance. It has everything to do with availability! Trigger foods that are available, that you allow yourself to have, are the ones you will find yourself bingeing on. That's why you have a problem with weight in the first place. You binged on the same foods time and time again......If you abuse the high-calorie/high fat variety, you'll abuse the low ca/low fat variety, perhaps even more. (And for us low carbers, translate that to low carb treats)

Myth 5: You'll never enjoy food again

The great irony of our foodie culture is that is has such an extraordinarily limited imagination. Most modern American rely on a very small, very dull, and not particularly healthy assortment of foods that they eat over and over again--the same few vegetables, the same few meats, and the same snack foods that satisfy an eat-and-run lifestyle. Despite the fact that we can buy practically any food--no matter how exotic or out of season--at any time of the day or night, few of us venture beyond the limits of our favorite foods. "But I can't live without them! I can't live without them!" That is what the deprivationists would have you believe. They claim the lure of these morsels is so powerful that trying to eat without them is like trying to breathe without air. But the foods that this society considers so vital--the sweets and snack foods that so many people live for--did not even exist for most of human history.

Boxing it in

One of my clients is a middle-aged attorney named Gilbert. When I first met Gil he had a list of trigger foods and situations as long as his arm. Over the course of two years he managed to get them under control--except one. Gil's problem trigger is a rich, flakey confection called rugelah. He loves it. Left to his own devices, he would happily eat his way through an entire bakery. He's tried to go cold turky, and he's decided he simply does not want to do it. This doesn't mean Gil has resigned himself to spending the rest of his life fat. On the contrary, he's absolutely committed to maintaining his healthy weight. But he has arrived at a compromise with his most persistant trigger--one thta allows him to enjoy it on occasion without losing control. He has mastered the art of boxing it in.

Regelah is a classic holiday food. Gil's compromise is a simple one. He allows himself to enjoy rugelah--as much as he wants--at two parties each holiday season, no more, no less. He doesn't buy it the rest of the year; he never has it at home, but he enjoys it to the fullest at his two allowed parties. He has moments of wanting it at other times, but they're bearable because he knows he'll have his chance later......By boxing in your trigger to specific, carefully limited situations, you can have the best of both worlds--an occasional taste of one of your old favorites without the loss of control. Boxing it in only works with trigger foods that are indeed controllable. If you have a trigger food that always sends you into a tailspin, it's not a candidate for boxing in. As always, when choosing your "boxable" foods, absolute honesty is required. Otherwise they will box you in to a life of fat.

When you can't have everything you want, you can still have everything you need!

Foods cannot possess you, seduce you, or deprive you of your free will. The only power they have is the power you give them. And whenever you turn that power over to food, you are depriving yourself of the right to be thin, the right to be healthy and fit, the right to own the clothes you want and to look the way you want to look. That is the real deprivation."

BOB
_________________

Hi Guys:

Today has been a pretty good day. I went to the gym after dropping Britt off at school, only to be called off the treadmill 25 minutes early since Lane was cranky and screaming. I then went over to Toys R US to buy a few more Christmas things, and walked out spending $135. I gotta stop now!!! I did get a free stuffed Nala (from Lion King - $30 value) for spending so dang much money there. It will look nice sitting under the tree; it is pretty big. It is amazing how fast those dvd's & videos can add up...it didn't feel like I spent $135.

I ate the biggest burger of my life today. I went to Carl's Jr. and ordered a guacamole cheeseburger (I did bring my own bread). The darn thing must have weighed 5 pounds. I did eat the whole thing and it was good. They put some sort of thousand island sauce on it though that I wiped off. The rest of it was delicious, but I am still full; it's definately a man's burger!!

chrisd: I highly doubt you will find much information on Eosonophil Esophagitis, as it is a very newly diagnosed conditon. This lady that Britt sees was voted one of Arizona's Top Docs, and she has done a lot of research on it, and is still educating many other doctors about it. Too often, dr's are diagnosing gerds or some other reflux disorder instead of this, and treating it incorrectly. If you need any other info., I will give you all I have. If he has bloodwork drawn and his white blood count/eosonophils are high chances are he could have it.

Ken: How did I get myself up at 4:30 to get to the gym???? Well, I told myself that I only have to do it one day a week, and there are several women who are there at 5 a.m every morning before they have to go to work. If they can do it, I can do it one day a week. Agave syrup tastes almost exactly like honey, so you can use it in so many things....hot tea, oatmeal, baking...the list goes on and on. I can only find it at one health food store here, and had to order in online prior to that. I do have a digital scale from Wal-Mart, but I also have a Health-O-Meter regular gauge one, and they are right on. I just like the digital better. Congrats on the 4# loss; it is so nice when other people start to notice.

BOB: NO, I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT BOB KEPT STELLA (the whiny one). My husband thinks I am petty, but I cannot stand to hear her whiny voice. I think he was smart to let Mary go though. She was absolutely drop-dead gorgeous (the prettiest of the bunch, I think), but was too anxious to get the family going. I think he also felt a barrier with her family not speaking English. I am definately pulling for Kelly Jo, and think he has already made up his mind that it will be her. BUT, I predict that he won't propose! I think he will say that he want to pursue the relationship, but is in no hurry to marry. We'll see. I look forward to next week's episode when they bring the other women back (that Le-Ann *itch).

Well, I never got the roast on to cook, so I will go throw some chicken in the oven, after I change Lane's diaper....hmmm, maybe I'll do the chicken first:lol: .

See you all later!
Nat

Hello everyone....hope you have been having a good week. It's almost over.....

We have been hunting most of the days. Seen a couple today......but they were the wrong sex. Then as we were coming home right along the road, on second look, was a buck. But of course you can't shoot then!! Oh well, we still have time.

It is so cold. It is supposed to warm up to the 40's this week end. It has been 0 degrees here in the mornings. This is why I dislike winter. Don't know why we head south.....yes, I do. I don't want to leave home!!

Put a big roast in the oven yesterday, with potatoes for dh, and onions, carrots, and cabbage for me. So we will have leftovers tonight. That one easy night for me!!

Brant is supposed to be here tomorrow night to go hunting with Ted. So I am going to try another new recipe. It is called "Cider Pork" I have some SF cider that I will use. Sounds yummy!!

Jack-k-- Wow you were out of everything huh? Usually I spend like that when I am out of everything that I get at Costco....laundry soap, dish soap, paper plates etc.... Wings sound good. I am going to have to get busy and make some. Have fun at the races!! Do you ever win anything??

Deb-- How long are your folks staying? You must be very proud of your son, Michael. There is nothing wrong with being a nerd.....they keep the world running!! Who else would keep things going for someone like me?? I understand absolutely nothing......

Pancho-- Good for you girl. Glad you are back down. I seem to be stuck again. I think that since I have such a small amount to lose now.....10 pounds, it is going to be ever soooo sloooow!! I have a couple of different recipes for Pumpkin Cheesecake. If you don't like the one you try let me know.....I will look up mine.

Cheryl-- :wave:

Heart-- You were so close to the new territory mark.....hope that you get back down quickly. Drink lots of water....and continue your exercising. Glad you had such a great time!

Keng-- Lunch sounds great.....I will be right over.

BOB-- you wouldn't stay out in that dog house long if you lived here. It is too da*n cold!!

Toni-- Good for you....still OP! We are burning the pellet stove....it is so cold. I don't like this at all.

Well gang hope to be back tonight.

Hi y'all.

Ok, I was doing good reading the posts that I have missed today from just plain laziness UNTIL I got to BOB's!!! That's so long I'm gonna have to come back after supper is done and everything is quieted down a bit to read that. I just wanted to pop in right quick and let everyone know that I'm thinking about y'all, but after all my running this week, I took today "off" sorta. I haven't done anything that didn't really really need doing, like some darn laundry. Eating is still great, which I'm very shocked at that with all the Halloween candy lurking all over. I'll start thinking about it and decide that I want some, but then I turn around and give myself a kick and grab some fruit or nuts or something like that leagl. So I'm pretty proud of myself right now, just hoping the weekend doesn't ruin it all for me. Well I gotta go before I burn things up in the kitchen and have everyone mad at me. I'll talk to y'all later.

Jenn

Well, here it is, Thursday evening, and I don't think I have been on since Tuesday. Did anyone miss me? :( Doesn't look like it! I am tired, and going to hit the pillow in a little while. I worked today, and am scheduled tomorrow as well. Today was ok, but the dang phone was driving me crazy. Everyone do me a favor, ok? If you are going to call a bakery to order a cake, at least know how many people you want to serve, the flavor cake, and what you want written on it BEFORE you call! I can't believe the people who think its perfectly ok to put me on HOLD while they figure it out! I am expected to do a certain amount of production each day too...it is after all what I get paid such a high salary for...to decorate, not stand around like some kind of a nobody while people yak about whether the name is spelled with one t or two!

Ok, rant is over. Hopefully, I will not yank the phone out of the wall tomorrow.

Eating today was better than it has been for a few days. I chalk that up to going back on my Phentermine today. It tends to suppress appetite.

I tried to read the posts from the last time I was on, and I just could not get my brain to function. I hope I will be forgiven, even though I know I don't deserve it.

KITTY: Where in the Atlanta area are you? I live in Peachtree Corners. I am delighted to see another Georgian on here. Keng joined recently, and there is one other member who has been absent recently. Guess I will have to call her and find out why she is absent. If you live over near here, Harry's Whole Foods has a lot of neat stuff we can have. They also have a good supply of Agave and at the best price anywhere! Welcome to the board! Oh, and I am glad you like Publix cakes...I am a cake decorator at Publix here in Atlanta! ;)

DEB: I can relate to your frustrations on your birthday. I have had that happen. Tom's family was always very low key about birthdays. His is the 26th of December, and he swears his mother would stop his father as he went to hand him the last present under the Christmas tree, and say, oh, not that one, its his birthday present! Often even in Christmas paper! My family was more into birthdays. One year, my mother forgot mine, as did everyone else. Tom did not do much, and the kids did about like what Michael did on yours. It hurts! I am so sorry you had to suffer that pain. But I am also going to point out, as you have already figured it out, that over eating did not help the pain at all. You only hurt yourself. I don't know what happened with Tom, but about three years ago, something changed. He came to a realization that he was a lousy lover. (I don't mean physically but emotionally) He did not want to be that way, and he started changing how he handled things. Now he is wonderfully supportive emotionally. Can you talk to Eli and tell him how hurt you feel when he acts that way? Maybe calm, deliberate communication without accusation, but evidence of your pain would make him see the error of his ways.


BOB: Thanks for the emailed funnies. I LOVED the one about the widow...tee hee!

SEF: Don't give in to your daughter. You don't have to give her anything. If she is so unappreciative of you, then she doesn't deserve a thing. Please remember you are a beautiful, precious child of God, and He loves you beyond belief! You can be my mom, and you don't have to give me a thing. Your activities and sense of humor remind me of my mother, who died seven years ago. I miss her so much some times! Reading your post makes me want to smack your daughter.

PANCHO: I followed your saga with the babysitter. I suppose the woman felt her business was reference enough? Was she bonded, or did she have any kind of certification? Here is a suggestion: do you attend a church? Call the person in charge of children's ministry and ask them if there is someone they could recommend. All our babysitters came from church. I only had one bad experience, and it was just a girl too young to handle the kids. I did not use her after she left my baby in a poopy diaper all night cause she did not want to change her. She never SAID that, but it was obvious. At the church I worked at, all child care workers were background checked and trained, and many churches are going that route, so it would be a logical place to start.

Ok, I have been full of advice tonight. Sorry...:^:

Off to beddie bye for me! Take care everyone!

Good evening everyone...I cant believe this week is almost over already. With going back and forth to the hospital it seems like this week just flew by so fast. GM is still there...and now they are saying probably will be until at least Monday. Seems like they are finding one thing after the other. Shes starting to ***** about things, I guess that means she is starting to feel a little better. :)
Went on the scale today and I am up almost 5 lbs..but I went on like 1/2 hour after I ate, plus TOM. Im praying thats why its up. i will die, if I really gained that much. I will go back on over the weekend to see what it really is. I have to say I have been eating a lot this week. All legal stuff, just a lot of it...I blame it on TOM.


PANCHO - I was at Toys R Us also today and was able to get a Simba and a Nala. They are really nice, even nicer that they are free! :)
So, you are right...I couldnt find anything on that esophogus thing. But, he did have blood taken about 3-4 months ago and everything came back normal. Maybe it was just a phase..tomorrow will be 18 days without anything happening...so I will just wait it out and see if and when it happens again!
I cant wait to see next weeks Bachelor. I couldnt stand Leanne. Very upset that Mary is gone, I liked her a lot. But, of course pulling for Kelly Jo.

KEN - Good luck with the cookies...I just finished the last of them..they are really good. Very almondy! :)

BOB - I cant believe Savage is gone. I kinda liked him. Im so mad that they didnt vote Jon off...how arrogant is he??

Off to bed..have a good night!

Chris

Just a quick check in before heading off to bed. Don't seem to have much energy tonight. Think I will hit the hay early.


Sef-- I don't know much about the situation with your dd other than the fact that she is sounding very selfish. I hope that you will stick to your guns! The presentation sounds wonderful. Very interesting! I bet some of the quilts were gorgeous.

Monet-- Of course we missed you.....just know how busy you are. Figured you would be around when you had the time!! I haven't ordered a cake since I got married!! My sil was our baker....she loved doing all the kids birthday cakes, and she did a great job!!

Chrisd--I know the stress that going back and forth to the hospital can cause. Only for me it is a 70 mile round trip. Was sure glad when it was over. Glad to hear your GM is starting to feel better. I am sure the weight gain is just fluid. Drink more water.

Sweet dream you all!!