Software of the Month Club 1995 March

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DIETING PRINCIPLES by M.D. Smith CONTROL BINGE EATING: To avoid binge eating, think about what day(s), time(s) and circumstances were present the last times binge eating occurred. There is a good chance you were in a negative mood, bored or both. It is likely to happen again unless you are ready when the time comes. Set up things to do to get you out of the house in a similar situation. Already have a trip to the book store, craft shop or visit with a friend lined up and written down. Also, always have a good supply of low-cal beverages and crunchy raw vegetables on hand to eat and divert yourself long enough to get interested in something else besides eating or to get out of the house. Exercise is uplifting for the spirit and body, and a short walk will do these things for you while getting you out of the house and temptation at the same time. This is what to do BEFORE a binge eating spell can start. If a binge eating spree is in progress, like ice cream or something, AT LEAST measure out a normal portion in a bowl and put the carton back in the freezer. The worst thing you can do is eat "just one little spoonful at a time"....until it is all gone. Then make a pact with yourself to get out of the house just as soon as that bowl is empty. If you can not get out of the house...at least leave that part of the house for at least 20 minutes and put your mind on something else. Concentrate on an interesting book, a game, a phone call to a friend. Twenty minutes is a magic number, because it takes that long for your stomach to tell your brain that you are full or have had something filling to eat. That's why you should eat your normal portion of food at the table, and then go do something else for 20 minutes before starting to clean up the leftovers....or to even consider eating something else because you don't "FEEL FULL". In 20 minutes you might not feel "stuffed", but you won't be truly hungry either. Finally, during an eating binge, the mind-set seems to be one of "since I have blown it now, I might as well let it all hang out and eat everything fattening in sight." Calories count just as much during an eating binge as any other time. Also the popular notion that a melted ice cream sundae has very few calories because "CALORIES DON'T COUNT AT ROOM TEMPERATURE", is also a false premise. Inside you know, but stop before it is all gone or you can not eat anymore. This is a success of sorts...just being able to stop a binge. Accept that the damage has been done and you will start eating your normal diet at the very next meal. Don't try to fast to make up for the binge, that will make things even worse for you. SALT: Yes, salt has NO calories, but it will stimulate your appetite to overeat. Use seasonings, like "Mrs. DASH", in place of salt. It is also healthier to do so and before long food will taste better and more flavorful without salt. EATING OUT: Then there is the problem of eating out at restaurants. It is easier than it used to be because of the many salad-bars that are available, even at the fast food places where the kids want to go. Have the salad bar...fine, but remember a few pointers.....NO SALAD DRESSINGS. Either take your own pre-measured diet dressing or use plain vinegar and a spoonful of oil. The dressings can easily be FIVE times the calorie content of your entire salad. Stay away from potato salad, ham salad and anything prepared with mayo and other unknown calories. Limit the egg (75 calories per ounce which equals one egg) and meats for toppings and cheese which all have 100-150 calories per ounce. Have all the greens, mushrooms, green peppers, onions, sprouts, cucumbers, tomatoes and radishes you wish. Then you can have the fruit dishes for desert and count only 75 calories per serving. (This certainly does not count peaches preserved in sugar syrup) Low cal drink and you are set. Avoid places where you have a menu and a long wait for dinner with bread and butter on the table while you wait (and overeat). If you must go to a place like this, put the bread and butter and things on another table and immediately order coffee or hot tea and a salad (with no dressing) to munch on while the dinners are prepared. Order what you know you should have, and do not scan the menu for all those tempting foods and descriptions. Order first to avoid the "that sounds good, me too!" pattern that will get you high calorie foods. As soon as you have eaten your normal portion of food, spoil what is left with a lot of salt or something so that you will not continue to eat until the plates are removed much later. BEFORE AND AFTER DINNER AT HOME: If you are the one preparing the dinner, swear not to taste or nibble while preparing the meal. A big wad of bubblegum to chew on is a good diversion. It keeps the mouth busy and keeps other foods out. Or have some carrot sticks cleaned and sliced in cold water to munch on and a diet drink to avoid taking in calories before dinner. When it comes time for the meal, make sure of several things. Serve the plates from the kitchen, not in bowls full at the table where second helpings are too easy(ask your family to indulge and go to the kitchen themselves if they want seconds). Put all your food that you have measured out and intend to eat on a slightly smaller plate (it looks like more). Cut your food into very small bites, take a bite, put your fork down on the plate,and chew the food very thoroughly and completely swallow it before lifting your fork again. This will slow your eating down a lot....very desirable. Food tastes better when chewed thoroughly,especially carbohydrates and breads. Even cut foods like apples into very small pieces and eat with a fork. You will be surprised how long a medium apple takes to eat in this manner. Have the food look elegant and appetizing. Looks add a lot to the enjoyment of any food, especially diet foods. Use good silver and china. As soon as the meal is over...if possible....leave the room and let someone else clean up and store the leftovers...even if you have to make a deal with them. If this is not possible, then at least leave the area for a while to allow time for the "stomach full" message to get to your brain. Then already have your leftover containers out and ready to put the stuff up fast. You are not a human garbage can and starving people over in China won't benefit whether you eat it or chunk it....so chunk it unless it will be used for another meal. It is even good to get used to seeing "perfectly good food" go to waste in the garbage. You have really conquered this feeling when you can buy some of your favorite food, bring it home, unwrap it and chunk it in the garbage....it may be a dollar or two very well spent to prove to your inner self that the world did not swallow you up for committing such an unpardonable sin. If it doesn't go to WASTE in the garbage it will go to your WAIST. Which do you prefer? But if you just have to save it, put it in containers that won't tempt you to eat it. After several days if no one else eats it, it will spoil and you can throw it away with a clean conscience. Then leave the kitchen and even adjacent areas. Get busy and absorbed in reading, doing something....anything to let food and dinner get completely out of your mind. Some people say that brushing the teeth is a good signal that eating is over. FOOD LOG: Perhaps the single most important TOOL in dieting, if that is the proper term, is the Food-Log. You must log everything you eat that has calories in it (don't log diet sodas and the like). This requires that you have a good complete calorie guide for all types of foods and that you weigh or measure everything you eat if not pre-measured such as 1 slice of bread = 75 calories. Yes, this is a pain in the neck to do at every meal and snack...but you must. This is the only way you are going to REALLY KNOW what you eat each day, count the calories and total each day and week intake. Other programs in this series help you see how important this is in calculations for speed of weight loss and how to maintain once you get to goal. Any weight counselor will tell you that the most successful and consistent dieters always keep and log everything, even the binges and BAD foods when it happens (yes even measure the ice cream while you are having a binge). By the way, Ice Cream has 43 calories per ounce and a full 1/2 gallon container will deliver 2,752 calories to your body, over double what your daily allotment of calories normally will be. If you won't keep a food log, you are not serious about dieting. I have known people who didn't diet at all, but just by keeping a food log, lost 10 overweight pounds and didn't think they did anything differently. Just looking at what you have had to eat at the end of the day will add to your feeling of having had enough....or may stop you when you just can't stand to put a candy bar on your food log list. There are many reasons why a food log works so well, but it can't work for you unless you are dedicated to keeping it with you at all times and using it. I keep a small reduced size log in my shirt pocket at all times. It has 21 blank blocks on it; good for a week's worth of meals with space for calorie counts of each of the foods. FOOD-PROOFING YOUR HOME: We all spend a lot of time in our homes, and that is where a lot of the improper eating goes on. The very first thing to do is REMOVE ALL FOOD from every single room and location but the kitchen. Not one edible thing anywhere in the house, but the kitchen. Then, put any foods out of sight and/or easy reach that is not part of your legal diet. The best thing is to have a separate cabinet with the junk foods that you never open. Let whomever it was bought for get it for themselves. Never take food into any other part or room of the house. Always eat only while sitting down at the table. This will help you from getting an "automatic case of the munchies" when you sit in your favorite chair in the den to watch TV. Also, don't sit in that favorite chair if it will trigger the urges to eat. Maybe you shouldn't sit at all if it is a danger time and you will feel the need to snack...go for a walk, run errands or call a friend from another room in the house...while you sip on a diet soda poured over crushed ice. GIVE YOURSELF CREDIT: When you have lost 5 or 10 or 15 pounds, give yourself credit. If a spouse fails to notice, try one of these handy ideas. Next time you are both at the grocery store, load up his/her arms with 15 pounds of ground beef...and say "that's how much weight I have lost." Another more permanent way is to get a large metal container, like a 10 gallon paint bucket. For every pound of weight you have lost, add a pound of sand in the bucket. Soon it will get so heavy it will be difficult to carry. This will demonstrate very clearly how much weight YOU are not carrying around anymore...and you can add more sand as you continue to lose. It is a very good marker of your success. You need motivation to stay on your eating plan and gradually adapt to a whole new way of eating properly. So give yourself credit for what you have done...for the good days you have had...don't kick yourself for one or two BAD days. I heard a little saying that illustrates this: "WE AIN'T WHAT WE OUGHTA BE WE AIN'T WHAT WE WANNA BE WE AIN'T WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE BUT THANK THE LORD.... WE AIN'T WHAT WE WAS !" The only caution is not to consider yourself "CURED" when you get close to or at your goal ... and go back to eating like you were when you were fat. You'll get fat again. So look at the weeks and perhaps months that you spend losing weight as training for a whole new way of eating and handling problem foods....plan to live this way for the rest of your life. It is healthy and good for you. Take your frustrations, your anger, your anxieties, your celebrations and all the emotions and if you must react to them, react in NON-FOOD ways. Heck, hit somebody or scream at somebody...that's better than quietly going to the bathroom and devouring 2 boxes of chocolate cookies, 6 twinkies, and an econo-pak of candy bars. Then you still have the anger and feelings....AND THE GUILT over what you have just done with foods. While mentioning guilt here, if it strikes a familiar cord, by all means read and print-out a copy of "REASONS" which is another program in this series. SOME PARTING THOUGHTS: "Life is like a cafeteria; there are no waiters to bring success to you." "IF IT IS TO BE; IT IS UP TO ME" You'll see this thought in another program, but the point is that YOU are in charge of your own life...so don't look to others for your success and have to depend on them to diet and reach your goal. Speaking of cafeterias...this really happened. It was a busy day in the cafeteria and Marge was having a diet salad. All the tables were filled and shortly a man asked if he could sit at the same table to have his coffee and doughnuts. Marge said sure. Presently, he finished his coffee and one of the powdered sugar doughnuts, but had not touched the other one. Then he got up and left. Marge looked at the other doughnut for what seemed like a long time, knowing that soon the bus- boy would come by and rake it into the garbage...so quickly, like a spider darting after a fly, she whisked the doughnut off the plate and began eating it. Marge was just about half way finished with it ..... when the man returned with his second cup of coffee! The worst slogan for people on a diet to ever come down the pike? "BAKE SOMEONE HAPPY" OLD CHINESE PROVERB: "That the birds of worry and care fly above your head, this you cannot change, but that they build nests in your hair, this you can prevent." Deal with life's problems when they come, then forget them. If you don't, it will all go to waist. In dieting, we all have our good days when it is easy...then we have the really rotten days when nothing seems to go right. Well, everybody has those kinds of days and we just have to get through them without letting it wreck our dieting success. It might help to remember the story of this railroad engineer when we think we are having a bad day.... A railroad engineer got up on the wrong side of bed one morning. The water for his shower was cold. His shoelace broke when he tried to tie it. At breakfast, his toast was burned. His car wouldn't start and he had to take a taxi to the yards. He was late, so when he started his train he speeded up to 90 miles an hour. Just as he swung around a curve, he saw another train coming straight at him, on the same track. He heaved a big sigh and, turning to the fireman, said, "DID YOU EVER HAVE ONE OF THOSE DAYS WHEN JUST EVERYTHING GOES WRONG?" Some of these "Principles of Dieting" are nothing more than common sense, others are methods that have worked for thousands of people in the past and can work for you. If you have the commitment to live by the plans and ideas outlined in these programs and text files, you WILL BE SUCCESSFUL ! Have a safe trip!