We found out a little over a month ago that my mom needed surgery. What we thought were gall bladder problems turned out to be a tumor. Of course, I’ve spent a lot of time worrying. Her surgery was last week, and she did terrific. I’m exhausted, but happy that it’s over for her.

I’m also up against a December deadline to (finally!!) finish my grad degree in computer science. Yep, it’s been a while, I’ve change instructors, changed plans, etc., but it looks like it’s going to happen. I have a lot of work to do in the next six weeks though.

Now, to add to my list of things to handle, I think I’m getting sick. My fever is 99.3 tonight, my throat is sore and I have a headache. Wonderful!

I’m trying to get caught up on twitter, stumbleupon, facebook, etc. tonight. I may not be as active onlne for the next month or so, but I won’t be totally off either. Wish me luck!

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The gist of the article is this, we often over-estimate the strength of our willpower. And those who are the most confident of their ability to resist temptation are the ones who fail the most, and the worst.

If you’ve ever been on a diet, no one has to tell you that temptation often wins out over willpower. If it didn’t you wouldn’t need to keep dieting, would you? There are some things you can do to give yourself a better chance of succeeding.

1. Admit that there will be temptation, and accept that it may be hard to resist. Those who were most humble about their willpower were the ones most likely to succeed in resisting, according to the article.
2. Avoid situations where you’ll be tempted, as much as possible. Think of times when you usually “blow it” and try to do something different to help you resist. Television time is a tough one for me, so I try to keep busy knitting, writing, cleaning house, etc. If I just sit and watch television, I can eat hundreds of calories before I even realize it.
3. Build good habits. We’re creatures of habit. Often we do things without thinking, so it’s only smart to take advantage of that. When was the last time you ate a whole tub of popcorn at the movies before you realized it? Or maybe you ordered dessert before you remembered you were on a diet? Work on replacing those bad habits with good ones, and you’ll find yourself doing healthy things automatically instead.

So, the next time you’re faced with a situation that might cause you to fall off the wagon, take some time to build up your defenses before-hand.

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If you want to submit your health tips, today is the deadline for getting them in!

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Read my first post on the topic, Dealing with Stress.

I’ve been doing some reading and a lot of thinking about stress and stress
eating and how that’s affecting my weight and weight loss efforts.

Stress and Eating

This article was a real revelation to me. In short, we eat in response to stress because our bodies have evolved to need a calorie boost in response to stress. Eating that chocolate or bag of chips tells your body that everything is fine so it will turn off the stress response. No wonder that trip to the vending machine feel so good!

Of course, the easy answer is to get rid of the stress, but that’s also more of less impossible for most people, me included. I’ve found it helpful over the last week to just remind myself WHY I have the munchies and realize that it’s stress-eating, not real hunger, motivating me.

So, here is what I’ve been working on. When I feel the urge to munch, first I take a minute and evaluate how I feel. Am I worried, stressed, upset, etc.? Often I am. Then, I try doing something else for a little while to take my mind off the stress.

This often happens at work, where I’m limited to what I can do. I’ve found that taking a walk up and down the hall can help. Getting physically away from my desk and phone helps me to remove myself mentally from the stress as well.

I’ll ignore my e-mail and/or phone, particularly if they’re the root of the stress, and simply work for a while. I may switch up what I’m working on and choose something a little easier to give my mind  rest.

No, I’m not resisting the call of junk food all the time, but I am resisting more than I used to.

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I have to say, so far so good. I’ve gotten at least 15 minutes of exercise each day so far.

• Oct 2, walking
• Oct 3, walking
• Oct 4, went to the apple butter festival, so that was LOTS of walking. It was also a corn dog… but that’s okay.
• Oct 5, moving some things upstairs

I am very sore and achy today, so I’m not sure what’s up with that. My back is killing me, but I’ll do my 15 minutes tonight.

I’m not a big fan of exercise, but I realize that I need to do it to lose weight and generally improve my health. However, I do like the feeling of accomplishment I have when I do it regularly, not to mention the health benefits. I haven’t been doing it long enough to notice any changes yet (except maybe the soreness!), but I’m sure that will come along too.

As a little added bonus, I’m going to give myself permission to order a sweater’s worth of yarn at the end of my 30-days of exercise, if I’ve stuck it out until then. Yes, that means I can’t miss a single day of exercise, or no yarn. Ouch. I find that these types of rewards help keep me on track. After all, it’ll be a while before I start to see any benefits from the exercise itself, so it’s nice to have something to look forward to until that happens.

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Hitting A Wall

Originally uploaded by JOE M500

I’ve managed to lose only a couple pounds since starting to use SlimShots about two weeks ago. I do think I eat less, but I haven’t been taking the time to write down everything I eat. I think I’ve got a couple problems.

• First, I still eat too many sweets. When I’m tired and stressed, that’s what I reach for. Lately I’ve been really busy at home and at work, so I keep going for the sugar fix. That has to stop.
• I’m not getting any exercise. Hubby is sick with a bad cold, so we’ve put off putting that gym membership to good use. I think a little exercise might just be the think I need to start the weight loss up again.
• I know from experience that I sometimes just get “stuck,” and there’s really nothing to do but keep trying to do all the right things and wait it out. It’s hard not to lose patience, but I’ve done this enough to know it’ll end eventually.

SlimShots Update

Like I said, I’ve been doing SlimShots for about 2 weeks, and I’ve lost 2 pounds.

The taste is still pretty bad. I’ve also noticed that it tends to give me heartburn sometimes, especially if I had a light breakfast. I don’t remember reading that that’s a typical problem, but my stomach tends to be a bit sensitive.

I usually just need to take one shot a day now. If I get a bad case of the munchies, I’ll take a second in the afternoon, but that only happens about once a week. I do find that I’m eating less, to the point that I’ve skipped dinner a couple of evenings. I have to wonder though if the quick drop in my calorie intake has something to do with the failure to lose weight. Maybe my metabolism is resisting?

Well, I’m off to get a decent night’s sleep, for a change.

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I haven’t been exercising, and I’ve been eating whatever is quick and easy, not necessarily what’s best for me.

I did try slim shots, but being sick, I don’t really need an appetite suppressant! I’ll post a detailed review later, but I’ll say here that I think they’re worth it.

Here is some interesting reading in the meantime.

Weight loss benefits last for diabetics, even if they later regain the weight.

10 Commandments of Healthy Living

Living with Diabetes

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This recent study compares three popular diets: Low fat, low carb, Mediterranean. The results weren’t surprising, to me at least.

All three work when it comes to weight loss.

The Mediterranean diet and low carb diet actually performed a little better, presumably because both allow more fat in the diet. These also resulted in better blood glucose and blood lipids, which may seem a little surprising.

Fats do help control appetite, and fats do help moderate blood glucose. I know from my husband’s experience that a low fat meal and a higher fat meal with the same number of carbs will have different effects on his glucose.

I think it’s better to think of these more as lifestyle changes than as diets. A diet is something you “go on” to lose weight, and come “off” when your willpower fails or you drop the pounds. To really lose weight and keep it off requires permanent changes in your eating and exercise, not on again off again diets.

Of course, the diet lifestyle change that works best for you is the one you can stick with.

Technorati Tags: diet comparison

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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how our thinking, whether positive or negative, affects weight.

Last Friday, I had a rough day and wound up the day feeling down. Guess what? Yep, fell off the diet wagon. Why is it we do that?

I think the negative feelings make it harder to stay on track, because somehow, we start to think that we’re not worth any better. Do you ever say those sorts of things to yourself? Do you postpone taking care of yourself, doing things for yourself, because you aren’t the right weight, haven’t exercised enough, don’t look just right?

That’s not a very constructive way to be, is it? You wouldn’t withhold those things from your husband, your kids, your friends, would you? Would you tell your husband to put off buying new clothes for work until he loses his spare tire? No, but we do it to ourselves all the time.

Then, the vicious cycle begins. You already feel bad about yourself because of your weight, then you start denying yourself things you enjoy until you lose weight, get into those jeans, whatever. So, what’s left? When you get stressed, you turn back to food because you haven’t built in any other “comforts,” have you?

So, here’s my challenge to you (and to me). Find some nice things to do for yourself this week and practice self-comforting that doesn’t involve food. If you need to, write down some reminders.  You deserve to look good and feel good right now, now some day.

Positive Thinking Can Bring Good Health 

Avoid Negative Thinking 

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You may have heard that bariatric surgery is being touted as a cure for type 2 diabetes. If you’re diabetic, or know someone who is, you may be taking a harder look at the surgery and whether you should have it.

As many of you already know, my husband is a type 2 diabetic. We’re not considering surgery for him. His doctor hasn’t brought it up as a possibility, but we’re both against surgery unless it’s a last resort. Neither of us are health professionals, but we do have some specific reasons for our decision.

First, I think you have to be careful of the media. Stories tend to get exaggerated, and this may be no exception. Anyway, we all know not to get our health advice from the media (including blogs!) anyway, right?

Second, remember that the REAL benefit isn’t the surgery, it’s the side effect of weight loss. So, it stands to reason that if you can lose weight without the surgery, you get the benefits without the surgery risk. I know… sometimes that’s a lot easier said than done.

I have a prejudice against jumping to surgery. My preference is to try the least invasive, drastic approach first. Surgery is risky (obviously), so it’s something to be considered carefully. Even more of a concern is the fact that doctors still aren’t sure of the long term risks of bariatric surgery.

If you’re considering it, I’d suggest you talk to more than one doctor. Find out what ALL your options are and what the risks are. Nothing is a silver bullet, and decisions like this have to be made carefully. You’ll be asked to make huge lifestyle changes before and after the surgery, so ask yourself if you should try to make those types of changes in order to AVOID the surgery first.

Finally, be sure you find a doctor who is experienced in the surgery. Ask how many your doctor has done and his track record. This isn’t a time to be shy about asking questions.

Here are some links for further reading.

Surgery may cure Diabetes

Bariatric Surgery Risks

and more Bariatric Surgery Risks

Preparation for Weight Loss Surgery 

What to Expect from Bariatric Surgery

Long Term Success Tips

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