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Do you have a weakness for a particular food
that you can't overcome?
And whenever you eat this food, you usually
eat way too much of it?
Or do you have the habit of overeating whenever
you are in a certain place or doing a certain
thing?
And now you associate that place or activity
with an opportunity to eat?
Do you sometimes find yourself eating that
food in that place... without even knowing
you're doing it?
If mindless eating is controlling you...
you are not alone and there are simple ways you
can learn to take back control of your life and
your waistline.
In this newsletter, you are going to learn how.
Tell me if you can relate to this...
There is nothing more comforting than a hot,
cheesy pizza after a hard days work... or
actually maybe there is...
How about eating that hot, cheesy pizza WHILE
watching my favorite TV show after a hard days
work?
Yeah. Now that's comfort.
This used to be my favorite "splurge" ritual.
You know, on days when I felt like I had been
really good or when something really bad had
happened that I wanted to forget about.
I would call the pizza place just as I was
leaving work (on speed dial of course) and place
my order. So that just as I had made it home and
slipped into my most comfy sweats... the doorbell
would ring.
"Pizza Delivery!"
Music to my ears. My taste buds are already
starting to salivate.
I would plop down in front of the couch and
get lost in pizza/sitcom heaven. I wouldn't even
remember what reality was, or even WHO I was until
the hour had passed and my show was over.
Then I would look down at my delicious pizza
thinking about what I was going to do with the
leftovers and realize...
It's Gone!
I ate the WHOLE thing.
Did I enjoy it?
I think so. But really, I can't remember much
about eating it.
This happened on more than one occasion.
And the GUILT that followed would always come
on strong.
I would tell myself that it wasn't that big of
a deal. I mean, so what if I ate too much... it's
just food.
It's not like it's REALLY serious.
It's not like when I used to smoke cigarettes,
or like my dad's addiction to alcohol.
Really, I'm not doing so bad.
And then I would wonder why... no matter how
much I exercised, no matter how many times I ate
healthy...
Why was I getting fatter?
See, it wasn't until I got control of my
mindless eating habits that I got control of my
weight.
And before I could get control of this bad
habit that was destroying my emotional and
physical health, I had to figure out WHY I felt
the "urge to splurge" in the first place.
What is your "urge to splurge"?
Now, I'm not talking about shopping here. I'm
talking about splurging on food-- LOTS of food.
Every woman has an excuse-- something that
lights the fuse of their 'urge'.
It's the excuse they use for why it's okay to
eat a whole pizza, or a bag of potato chips, or a
box of cookies...
We have to have some justification BEFORE we
ever start down the path of gluttony.
Here are some of mine:
"I had a really stressful day and I deserve
some happiness."
"I worked out today, or I took the stairs
instead of the elevator, so it's OK to indulge."
"I should be allowed to have some fun during
the day. I'm entitled to some enjoyment, right?"
These excuses were powerful in many ways.
They would silence my guilt, they would numb
my true feelings, and they would sabotage my
hard work and efforts to lose weight.
I'm not going to pretend that it was easy to
even LOOK at these excuses for why I was pigging-out.
No one wants to admit that they are a pig.
Or that they are out of control.
But it is a good idea to take a good look at
yourself and bring your 'secret excuses' into the
light of awareness.
These excuses may very well be the reason why you
have not succeeded at losing weight in the past...
And why you continue to get fatter.
Now, you may be thinking, that's enough of the
"Let's get-in-touch with your deeper-self treatment
plan. I just wanna learn how I can stop my hands
from shoving crap into my face!"
And so here's where I suggest the no-fail
solution...
High-Voltage, Electrical Shock Therapy.
What?
It works with controlling cattle, right?
No, I'm just kidding.
Controlling mindless eating is difficult, and
I'll admit, in the beginning sometimes painful.
But when you have effective tools to get you
through the hardest part of BREAKING THE HABIT-
the pain factor goes down and the success
factor goes up.
Way up...
And breaking bad habits makes you feel good about
yourself, and you will start to get good feelings from
making good choices instead of relying on food.
Sounds good, doesn't it?
Ultimately, you will want to take a look at
why you overeat and where your addiction to food
comes from.
If that were easy we would all already being
doing it...
And we wouldn't be fat in the first place.
Getting real with yourself is not going to
happen overnight.
Your "urge to splurge" excuses have been with
you a long time... probably since childhood, and
they will resist coming into the light of your
adult awareness.
Don't worry.
I'm here to help you through this.
I've got 3 great tips you can start using
TODAY as you begin to ask yourself these deep and
important questions that will ultimately FREE YOU
from your food addictions.
These concepts I am going to share with you are
a personal blend of everything that I have studied
and tried in my own life and with my own struggle
with mindless eating.
And part of that study and learning includes
having the courage to really look at what it is
that is making you turn to food and why you
lose control...
But that's another newsletter for a different
time.
First, let's get some victories under your belt
so you can begin to feel good about yourself and
take control of your eating.
Okay, here we go...
#1. Have Fun Without Saying F*** It
Remember when I admitted to you that one of
my secret excuses for mindless eating was, "I
should be allowed to have some fun. I'm entitled
to some enjoyment."
And so whenever I was in 'fun mode' all my
cares about losing weight went out the window.
I didn't think 'fun' and 'watching what I eat'
could even be in the same time zone, much less
happen at the SAME time.
So if I was going out to a party, or socializing
with friends, or out at a movie... I didn't bring
my 'eat right' attitude with me.
And I indulged...
Big Time.
Now that's fine if these opportunities for fun
were only happening every once in a while, but
the truth was that they were happening every week
... and sometimes several times a week.
It seems that every other day or so I was
finding an excuse to stop caring about what I was
eating and how I was eating it.
I was giving myself permission to go into 'fun
mode' MORE OFTEN than I was asking myself to
eat sensibly and with good intentions.
That's not a great formula for losing weight.
So what was I going to do?
Stop having fun?
That's not the way I want to live my life.
I know how important having fun is to my spirit
and keeping my youthful attitude... so I wasn't
going to give that up.
I had to find a way to still have fun AND use
mindful awareness when I was eating.
I started to experiment with different things
and found solutions that really work.
For example...
I never leave my house hungry.
When I would take 5 minutes to eat a piece of
fruit and a handful of almonds BEFORE I went to
a cocktail party (or sometimes while I was
driving over there), I found that I didn't even want
to eat those fattening fried appetizers they were
serving.
In the beginning, I had to really think about
it... but now it's just a habit... I never leave
my house hungry.
Start stocking up on fruit. And place it
near your front door where you see it all the
time. You'll begin to think about it too.
And just wait till you try this --
I love going to the movies, but I didn't love
the association I had with movie theaters and the
popcorn/candy/soda indulgence I had grown up
with.
This one was a hard one to break... but I did
it and so can you.
I found a way to enjoy watching movies without
stuffing my face with crap.
And it really is crap, isn't it?
Have you ever found yourself chomping down on
some sugary or salty snack, and WHILE you're eating
it, you're thinking "this tastes like crap"... but
you still keep eating it?!
You are not the only one.
A food psychology professor at Cornell
University named Brian Wansink did an
experiment where he gave people free popcorn at a
movie theatre.
The only problem with this popcorn was that it
was stale... Like 5 day-old stale.
And you know what?
People ate it...
They ate ALL of it.
The study showed how mindless eating clicks on
when you give yourself 'permission' to eat
everything.
People who had the medium sized tub of popcorn
ate it until it was all gone... and the people who
had the jumbo size tub ate all of it too.
The only thing that stopped people from eating
the popcorn is when the popcorn ran out.
Kinda makes you wonder about your own eating
habits, huh?
Are you eating because you really enjoy it and
it's fun, or are you eating because you've TOLD
yourself that
STUFFING YOURSELF = HAVING FUN
Even when stuffing yourself ISN'T fun.
Something to think about.
Now when I go to the movies I don't even stop
at the snack stand.
I pop in a piece of gum to keep my mouth
occupied with something to munch on, and I bring
my own bottle of water.
I also try to sit towards the front and in the
middle of the aisle so that once the previews
start, it's not so easy to get up and buy those
sugary snacks.
I know that once I've made it past the 'danger
zone' and I'm settled comfortably in my seat with
gum to calm my munchie cravings, my water to
hydrate me, and lots of people who will be
annoyed if I get up and walk in front of them...
I'm good to go.
I've made it through a night at the movies
WITHOUT feeling like a pig that has no
self-control.
Realizing that you are going to be in a tough
situation, where your willpower will be put to
the test...
But STILL going out and having fun...
By just preparing BEFORE you click into your
'fun mode'...
You'll be able to bring mindful eating into
all the activities you enjoy.
I know this is easier said than done... but
you CAN do it.
#2. Get Banned From The 'Clean Plate Club'
Most of us have grown up with our parents and
grandparents telling us "finish everything on
your plate".
And if you're like me... you listened.
It was family tradition to never walk away
from a meal until you were absolutely stuffed.
And then mom would say that we were officially
members of the "clean plate club".
And at the end of every meal, we would all
brag about how stuffed we were...
"No. I'm WAY more stuffed than you are."
"Uh-uh. I ate so much more than you did."
I carried this bad habit into my adulthood...
even when I was alone and had no one to brag to.
One day, I was sitting back barely able to move
because my tummy was so full, and I asked myself a
question that I had never thought of before...
"Why do I always stuff myself until I feel
uncomfortable?"
I thought about it for a long time.
And then I realized that I had to eat as much
as I could at every meal because...
the monsters that lived in my refrigerator
were hungry too, and I had to fight for every
scrap of food I could find...
...no that's not really the truth...
there was a bomb placed at the bottom of my
plate and if I didn't eat all the food and
uncover it before the time ran out then I would
explode...
...okay that wasn't really the reason...
The truth is... I DON'T KNOW WHY I THOUGHT I
ALWAYS HAD TO EAT EVERYTHING.
I guess the childhood belief that 'good girls
finish everything on their plate' was so ingrained
into my psyche that I had no free will and never
thought to question it.
That day changed everything for me.
I did not want to be ruled by some part of my
hidden mind that was making me fat.
And so I set out to learn how to do it
differently.
In my research, I uncovered a fascinating story
about the people of Okinawa, a small island off
Japan.
The people of Okinawa have the longest life
expectancy of anyone in the world and researchers
believe it is because of their diet.
By the way, if you want a specific, scientific
look at ALL of my finding on the best things to eat,
you can get that information here:
http://www.andreasanswer.com/ebook/?s=10099&e=1
Along with a diet rich in vegetables, fruits,
and fish... the Okinawans also have this technique
of knowing when to stop eating.
I call this the 'Okinawa Principle' and once
I adopted it into my eating behavior EVERYTHING
CHANGED.
I no longer left the table in pain or felt
tired right after I ate... but most importantly,
I started to lose weight.
So what is the Okinawa Principle?
Glad you asked...
You only eat until you are 80% full.
That means that you stop eating BEFORE you
feel that stuffed feeling.
I know, crazy huh?!
I always thought you ate UNTIL you felt
stuffed.
But the research I found explains why our
American eating method gives you a painful feeling.
See, it takes a while for your brain to realize
that your stomach is full (some studies show up
to 20 minutes).
So if you continue to eat until your brain
tells you you're full... then you've eaten too
much.
And once all that extra food hits your stomach,
your stomach cries out in agony because it is
being stretched beyond it's limitations.
We've all been there.
It doesn't feel good, and now you know how you
can stop it from happening again.
Don't wait until you are 'full' to stop eating.
Eat until you are ALMOST full (or 80% full) and
your stomach will have the perfect amount of food
to digest and give you energy WITHOUT having to
store all the excess calories as fat.
And instead of feeling full, lazy and sluggish,
you feel energized from the food you have eaten.
And that, my friend, is a VERY good thing.
If you're having a hard time incorporating this
new eating principal, just do what I did...
Instead of my grandmother standing over me
telling me to "finish everything on my plate"...
I imagine my grandmother as a little Japanese
woman, how she might look if she lived on the
island of Okinawa, and saying what she would say
if I had grown up there...
"Now honey, don't stuff yourself. Only eat
until you are 80% full."
#3. Make Changes To Your 'Binge' Environment
Where do you lose control?
We all have a favorite binge spot.
Maybe it's in your car as you are driving to and
from work.
Maybe it's your desk where you stock candy and
snacks to munch on throughout your work day.
For me, it was my couch. There was nothing I
loved more than trancing out with some fattening
treat and a long movie or a tv-watching
marathon.
When I started to become aware of the choices
I was making that were making me fat, I could not
deny that I would 'lose all my willpower' as soon
as I plopped down on that couch.
Even if I told myself, I wasn't going to eat
that much... I would either lose this willpower
or I would just stop caring as soon as the soft
couch cradled me like a child.
So how did I overcome this mindless eating
trap?
I stopped eating on the couch in front of the
tv.
I went out and got myself a nice table that I
enjoyed sitting at with supportive chairs that
kept my posture straight.
Just changing the position I was sitting in
while I was eating, and always eating at a table
helped me to get control of shoveling food into my
mouth without even knowing it.
So if you lose control in the car...
Guess what...
You're not allowed to eat in the car anymore.
By incorporating this simple rule into your
life (if this is where you usually eat junk food),
you can make radical changes to your health.
I know it may be that you eat in the car
because it is convenient, or because you don't
have time...
You're going to have make a choice:
Make excuses... Or make PROGRESS.
When you force yourself to eat at a table you
may discover that it is more convenient to eat
something healthier than french fries from the
drive-through.
And if you constantly munch on sugary snacks
and candy while you are working at your desk...
Move the candy jar.
If you work in an office, keep the candy in
the office kitchen where the microwave and the
table are.
If you want some candy, you're going to have
to take a break, get up, walk over to the kitchen,
and sit down at the table where everyone can see
you eat your red-licorice and chocolate covered
nuts.
After you eat one or two, you will probably
feel like it's time to return to your desk and
get some work done.
Bring a bottle of water.
Just a thought.
The good news is that you don't have to
completely change everything about your eating
habits all at once.
Just figure out where your 'weak' binge spots
are and adjust your behavior to make it a little
more difficult on yourself to over-indulge.
Okay, got It?
Good. Now it's your turn...
I've given you 3 tips that you can start using
TODAY that will help you to get control over the
mindless eating habits that are destroying your
weight loss success.
It's not about changing your diet, it's about
changing your habits... and mindless eating is
among the worst...
And, at the same time, mindFUL eating is among
the best habits to get you on the health track.
Remember that this is not impossible and
any woman can do this.
You don't have to change everything about your
lifestyle in order to achieve mindful eating.
Small changes will make a big difference.
Be patient with yourself.
Beliefs about food are strongly ingrained,
and it will take time to change.
The truth is, learning to go from mindless
to mindful in your eating habits is a small part
of a much larger whole that can make breathtaking
changes in your life.
Once you start down the path, each change not
only becomes easier-- they actually REINFORCE
EACH OTHER.
Gradually you get stronger and healthier on
the inside-- on the emotional level.
The body part then just falls into place on
it's own.
Start using these 3 tips. And when you are
really serious about taking it to the next level--
When you are really serious about learning
why you don't already have these good habits--
When you are really serious about making these
and other good habits a simple and enjoyable part
of becoming healthy inside and out--
When you are really serious about letting go
of the excuses and ready to seriously confront the
fact that the only thing holding you back from
being happy, and from loving yourself enough to
look in the mirror and learn how to DO THIS...
I will be right here, grateful for the
opportunity to share it all with you...
Even if you're not ready to adopt these new
techniques into your life just yet, just starting
to think...
"I'd like to move in the direction of new
beliefs."
Or...
"I'd like to think in terms of self-restraint."
Will get you started in the right direction and
soon you'll be on your way to making changes that
will produce results.
The more often you bring this into your adult
awareness, the easier it will be to let go of
your old habits that are making you fat.
Talk with your friends, eat with your family,
and openly start discussing your desires to move
toward mindful eating.
And keep watching your email inbox because
I'll be sending you some more great tips on how
you can get control of your weight forever.
So until then...
I believe in you.
I know that you are moving into a great place
of positive health and happiness, and I'm honored
to share in your transformation.
Love and Light,
Andrea
P.S. For more articles like this one, sign up for my
free newsletter at www.amazingbodynow.com
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