Tuesday, May 30, 2006

diet promise

I'm so glad that eating weekend is all over with. I feel like I probably have a food hang-over. I kept my promises to myself-- day three; took to the stairs and read some pages of a diet book, day four; took to the stairs, passed up pizza and cake, ate out and left half of the fries and slaw (I always clean the plate, day five; went to a bar-b-cue and passed on seconds of anything (another first.) I know they are little things but every little change in the right direction will exchange my bad habits with good habits. Of course I am jumping on the scale often (which I am addicted to) and I don't see a loss but at least there is no recent gain. It also helps to know I am still having water retention regardless of the water pills. Surely when the excess water is gone a few pounds might take a hike. I am a year-round sweater when I move around a lot, also looking forward to the hot weather calling on more perspiration and a quicker loss in weight on the scale. I don't care if it is only a liquid loss, anything to see the scale numbers decline.

Naturally occurring sugars in fruits vegetables and milk are fine when consumed in normal recommended amounts.

With out discipline we can solve nothing!

Monday, May 29, 2006

oops

There I was being a follower instead of a leader. I was wishing everybody a good, nice, or happy Memorial Day. It's not just a day of celebration. It is a tribute day to all of the fallen soldiers. Freedom is not free. There is a price that is paid dearly. Up to 1971 it was a recognition day combined with the reflection of our lost loved ones who so bravely in war stood for our rights and fought for our freedom. There were services, prayers, speeches, and plenty of flags waving in the breeze across the grounds of their resting places. Now it is becoming a three-day holiday weekend. It is more like a time for celebration and the unofficial opening of summer. World War1, World War2, and the Korean War fallen soldiers were all honored with a ceremony by the president of the United States at the Arlington cemetery. How about the fallen "known" soldiers who gave up their time, families, and lives, all in the name of service to our Country for our continued Freedom? What about the grieving families left behind who still feel the grief and then suffer the hurting memory every Memorial Day Celebration? Then there is the men and women who already served our Country and came home and died? We should be thankful for all of these conscientious patriotic humanitarians.

Then there were the so called popular wars, the unpopular wars, and the polarized wars all with lives lost in the quest for rights and freedom. Please remember the true message and meaning of this and every Memorial Day! Can we all pitch in and offer for one day a spoken word of appreciation for all of our soldiers (living and dead)(don't forget Iraq) and their families? Maybe offer a silent moment of prayer or reflection, or how about a patriotic flag flown? Even a little flag pin worn to represent our support, our patriotism, and our appreciation to the soldiers and their remaining families. Is that asking too much? Come the 4th of July, the red, white, and blue, is evident in every direction including people wearing the colors.

All of the buzz prior to this past weekend was about how everyone was going to spend that extra day off. Unless you know, knew, or heard of someone in the service it more than likely was a mini vacation opportunity. There are times we should all stick together like we did on 9/11 and I think showing your colors to the world is a sure sign of out unity. BLESS AMERICA...



Sunday, May 28, 2006

optimal diet

The utilization of nutritional supplements may play a role in approaching an optimal diet. The basic outline of a desirable diet embraces foods which should be consumed liberally, food stuffs which must be taken sparingly, and those which should be avoided. Fortunately the foods to be consumed in liberal amounts are well dispersed in nature. Adequate nutrient intake, especially protein, at mealtimes mutes the desire for between meal snacks. To avoid the ups and downs in blood glucose try to decrease the sugar and white flour intake. It is known that the vitamin B complex plays an integral part in carbohydrate metabolism and that the need for this group of vitamins depends upon the amount of carbohydrates eaten. The most severe loss of nutrients may result during the cooking of foods. The lapse of time between cooking and eating is still another hazard. Most items with labels are processed. Hidden sugars and salts, additives, preservatives, coloring, artificial flavorings and sweeteners, trans and saturated fats, and chemicals one cannot recognize or pronounce; use your thumb nail to measure the list of ingredients, if it is longer than the nail ditch it. (A hypothesis has been that all disease is chemical and chemically corretable.) Any diet is only a temporary fix, eating healthy foods, making good choices, and keeping the body and mind active is always the best route. Don't forget to feed the spirit. Bless you all. Have a nice Memorial Day tomorrow.

Saturday, May 27, 2006

off kilter

I like to visit but there's no place like home for me. Staying over night at other places always offers for me an uncomfortable night sleep, and too much food to eat and eating out and too many chances for goodies to climb into my mouth. Just when I started a new way for me to have good habits and build up the strength to just say no to food pushers. Talk to yourself about it, you are around people who are not supportive in your daily struggle or quest. Okay self here it goes; be accountable or suffer the consequences, quit blaming others for circumstances you have the ability and know-how to control especially if you cannot change the choices. Somehow that kind of pep talk always tells me I am in my own corner and I can be my worst enemy, the choice is all mine! The day is not over think about it you can find a way to make it a day three in your count-up. I promise to walk up and down the stairs two times each while I am here and when I go home I will read a few pages in a motivational weight loss book for reinforcement. If you knew me you would know that is a feat for me and not easy and slow going with holding on both sides of the railing. I'm tired out just talking about it. Have a great Memorial Day this weekend.

Friday, May 26, 2006

diet promise

A changed attitude helps unchanged bad habits or circumstances.

I promise to myself for "DAY TWO," I will not skip breakfast or lunch no matter how busy I may be or how long I will be away from home. I will eat my three meals (my entitlement) each one separately and not all at one time calorie-wise. I will carry some food with me, if I have to, to be safe. I am not really on a diet yet. I am only promising myself to make one change everyday as the need comes up. There is a drawback here. I must first finish all of the food I have in the house before I shop for healthier foods. (There is no junk food here, still a no-fail environment.) Even with my daily water pills, my body has water retention. My ankles and my chins are swollen with liquid. Processed foods are too salty, even though they are easier and quicker to fix for a meal. It is hard to cook for one person for one meal.

I do have a confession. Last night at my function, I did stay away from the sugary desserts. The temptation was tremendous! I'm addicted to sugars. I kept thinking for that three hours what couple of desserts would I have chosen to eat and why don't I just take it home and wait until 12:00 am comes around. Then I can eat my sugar stuff and no one would know the difference, after all, I did make it past the allotted time for day one. Self denial will only make me stronger each time! At least I passed that test. It was not fun. I felt tormented. It is easier for me if I am not around the stuff, not be tempted or even think on it. I have a tendency to always put myself in food situations. One day at a time. We'll see what day three offers for me as an opportunity to change some bad habit.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

diet promise

Repetition is the only form of permanence that nature can achieve.

I can talk the talk but it is time to go back to walking the talking. For two months now, no exercises, no full blown commitments, no program, no continuance, on again and off again tries, passing the buck, giving excuses, using food to punish myself or cover up my hurts, and buying taking and thinking of food every chance I get. "SLAP!"

Snap yourself out of it and move on! I know how to keep appointments and promises. I am worth a promise to myself. I know the holiday weekend is coming up and tonight is an opportunity to be around goodies but I am going to promise myself one thing a day, to start the ball rolling towards a change in my life style again. I can't reach a destination if I don't have a goal. Just make it past tonight and you're on your way. I promise myself no salty popcorn and no sugar laden items shall pass my lips tonight!!!!!!!!

Wow, I just took a big deep breath, as if a load has been lifted off of my shoulders. I felt overwhelmed with backsliding and losing all of the ground I gained in good habits. I can do a tiny step at a time to catch up and excel my past efforts. I will call this "DAY ONE." Tomorrow is a new day so therefore there will be a new promise to myself because each day has a possibility for a new challenge. Let's say I'm on the wagon and if I don't keep my promise to myself continually and fall of of the wagon then I have to get back up on the wagon and start counting from the beginning again. The curiosity has intrigued me. I wonder how high I can count up to without starting over again? I like numbers, games, lists and goals. This sounds as if it may turn out to be fun.

I know I'm acting stupid and silly but I have been under a heavy strain and it's time to lighten up my mood. I have felt blue stagnant and helpless. Not at all like the Blue Man Group in Vegas, that show was so cool and funny. See ya........

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

diet blah

This post has no tips, facts, interesting information, diet directions, or encouraging reports about my last weigh-in. I'm too embarrassed about the blah attitude I now have and how my priority list has shifted unwillingly. If you can relate, get your blanket and pillow, this is going to be a long nightmare. Why is it my heart and head don't get along anymore? I can still think rationally. I know if I want to continue to live out the rest of my life I need to improve my health, staying obese is not the intelligent way. To take care of that business, I need to be my first priority. I'm a list person and I was on top of that list January, February, and part of March. My heart was happy and agreeable. Now my heart won't comply. It thinks it has a mind of its own. I can't find the strength to climb up that list over and over again, the word "me" keeps hiding at the bottom of the totem pole. Right now until things go back to what they were two months ago, the "diet word and efforts" has a complacent place in my head but not in my heart. I pray about everything but one of the tools I use here on earth to make decisions or solve a problem is a pen and plenty of paper. This whole week I'll write down the reasons I think my two body parts are in conflict. Anger is in the head which gives reasons but hurt is in the heart that feels the love and these feelings have to be addressed. (Here's how I'll do it.) [Write down in black and white the assumed reasons, that process can be very healing. It gets us in touch with our true inner feelings. Writing clarifies emotions which have been confused and buried in us sometimes for many years. It also sets down our grievances in black and white and places a boundary around them. Continue to write out your heart until you finally see that there is a limit to how much you have been hurt. Our grievances are only so big and no bigger. The hurt had a beginning, and it can have an end as well. After writing out our feelings we will find it helpful to give away what we've written in some way. Perhaps we will want to read it to a person not involved in the hurtful situation. Put it away a couple of weeks and reread it again to ourselves and you will find we are already feeling a little better about the situation, that our pain is not as great as it was when we first wrote it down. Symbolically release the hurt by burning the writing or shredding it and throwing the pieces away. Pray for the person who hurt you. Having forgiven wrongs done to us, we find the greatest obstacle to our willingness to make amends has been removed.] We can be "willing" to do something we don't want to do. Now that's when the head tells the heart this is what we will be doing! Well, that nightmare in itself felt good to talk about. Thanks for the trip to the couch. I think I'm ready to talk the diet talk and walk the diet walk again. Yes I am a compulsive eater and I gained 13.50 pounds. Blah blah blah. See you lighter when.

Monday, May 22, 2006

read the label

Most dieters or health conscious people do scan the labels, here here, but do we really read everything that pertains to the product in hand? No, we search for a particular item we are trying to control or cut back on or maybe even not suppose to have. What do we care most about is it the nutrition facts or the ingredients? After reading a lot of my labels, I realize with my choice of foods at home I can not have both lists working together for my intended benefits. I thought yesterday for dinner I would just have some no fat roast beef slices with shredded white and yellow cheese melted on it and a glass of orange juice labeled high in vitamin C. I was having my protein, dairy, and fruit. I thought I was cutting back by choosing some white cheese to cut back from too much yellow cheese. Three dairy servings daily help burn fat? My juice had the first ingredient listed as high fructose syrup. The cheese nutritional facts offered for me: vitamin A, Calcium, vitamin C, iron, and dietary fiber all a big "0." Then I began to finally see percentages and numbers. Not too encouraging in my book. I think I shopped when I was either too hungry or in a hurry. The package read "cholesterol free." One serving 1/3 of a cup is 80 calories but 50 calories from fat! Total fat 6 gr., saturated fat 1.5 g and trans fat 1.5 g. and sodium 310 mg. "Pasteurized process topping" the more I read the less I like the way it sounds. Then I tasted it and was more dissatisfied and the last straw on the camels back was the sight of the unmelted cheese after 5 minutes in the microwave oven. Real cheese melts in hot food. I threw out the whole 8 oz. bag of said topping that was located in the cheese dairy section of the market. After threw it out I proceeded to finally read both of the lists on the package. Ingredients: water, food starch, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, whey, salt, casein and/or casinated sodium phosphate, sorbic acid (as a preserative), carrageenan gum, natural & artificial flavor, artificial color, lactic acid, powdered cellulose, added to prevent caking, and contains milk ingredients (which is?) Oh please let us open our eyes before we open our mouths! I heard that now ketchup is considered a vegetable? How about chocolate candy is good for your metabolism and coffee is healthy too? It all boils down to weighing the good benefits against the bad benefits and everything in moderation. That advise is only good for people who aren't obsessive, compulsive, emotional eaters, uninformed nutritionally, bingers, starving humans (and there are many), or people who have no control over what they are feed by others. So good advice is not good for everyone? What a crazy mixed up world we live in. The only one thing I can ever be sure of is my salvation!!! I pray that yours has been found too. God Bless you all.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

headaches

Most of the time I know where my headaches stem from. When it is stress related there are other symptoms that occur in my body prior to the onset of a headache. I know when I've not had enough of sleep, when my blood pressure is high, if I'm a little dehydrated, had too much sun, way too many cups of coffee, slept in a bad position for my neck, ingested through my nose irritants, caffeine withdraw, suffering from allergy symptoms, or just plain getting sick; but who would think that food may be the source? Food sure gets a bad rap for a lot of ailments. Chemicals in many foods lead to the swelling of blood vessels in your head. Caffeine can relieve headaches by constricting blood vessels but once caffeine wears off, the pain can return worse than before like a rebound headache. Could it be meats with the nitrites used to preserve hot dogs, sausage and lunch meat? How about alcohol besides drinking too much (hangover), the more congeners in red wine, brandy, and champagne are sure triggers. Aged cheese like Brie and blue cheese contain the amino acid tyramine, a natural by-product of the aging process can also cause headaches if allergic to any of the these mentioned foods. Check with your doctor about eliminating these foods from your diet; then reintroduce them one by one to see if the chemicals in them are a factor. I even had a friend one time who's father got headaches if he ate eggs.

The reason I talked about headaches is I had a few this past weekend. Some of the reasons were listed up above but the bigger culprit was the fact that I walked around for three days twelve hours each, maybe one or two meals a day if lucky, and I came home with a GAIN! What's up with that? Let's label that a stress headache.

Friday, May 19, 2006

article

Think about what you eat? Take stock before you chow down. Simply making a mental note of previous meals may help you win the battle of the bulge. According to a study by the University of Birmingham in England, researchers said, all 20 female college students in the study reported similar feeling of hunger prior to eating dinner, but those who took five minutes to recall what they'd eaten earlier in the day consumed 21 percent fewer calories. K.C.

Well, here is something for me to think of besides what I last ate ( that could take forever;) if you are filled with the spirit, you can deny the flesh. Hmm, I pray about my problems but I need to talk to God about my unhealthy body that tries to control me by passing over my common knowledge of food.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

diet tips

His word says don't be double minded. I know I said I was going to finish off this weekend and start on Monday to do the diet thing. Time to start programming my mind in the right direction.

1. Don't eat so much at one meal that you're not hungry for the next meal.

2. Don't let the illusion of diet foods, healthy foods, and physical activity trick you into eating when you're not really hungry, or eating more than you need or normally would if it were non-diet food.

3. If you eat out frequently it's almost impossible not to overeat.

4. A contingency to management when losing weight is to throw away clothes you can grow into. (If I eat one more bite, I won't fit into my jeans anymore.)

5. A pasta serving is only 1/2 of a cup. Calorie wise, not counting the meat or the sauces, restaurant pasta servings equal three cups. To think I've eaten the whole plate many times!

6. Aim for seven to nine hours of sleep a night. Sleep deprivation speeds up production of ghrelin, an appetite-stimulating hormone, and slows the production of leptin, a hormone that makes us feel full. When the hormone leptin goes down appetite increases.

7. If you go for long periods during the day restricting your eating, it actually becomes much harder to eat reasonably once you begin. Simply overextending yourself by being busy the rush hours 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the day leaves little time to eat and can cause one to become a night eater, thus, leaving very little time for burning off calories before going to bed.

8. Don't forget a no fail environment is a sure winner.

I think I'm psyched-up now and ready to roll.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

stressed out

My self pity has been a selfish deplorable attention grabber. So what if I can't have what I want in my life anymore? Readjust your priority list, tie up those loose ends, look to the Lord, and get back to trying to fulfill your mission in life, that's what He requires of me. Is there really any other reason for the stop over in this world? Nothing I acquire or have will get me into heaven. Neither will it have a place in my resting box. These may be my last days or years, no more wallowing, just make the best of the situation and go back to moving forward. God looks at the heart, and I have nothing to hide.

This world is not all about me. I just heard a very very close friend of mine for the last 27 years has come back from his dad's funeral 2,000 miles away. This morning I got a call from my sister, her 13 year old daughter is being operated on this Monday morning for five suspected cancer lumps in her her lymph nodes located in her neck. And I have complaints?

Hello diet world, I'm back with a lot of excess baggage in weight, but I'm going to give it another try. The key is persistence. Starting after this weekend, that is, ha ha. One last mini break.

Care about the health of your heart? Don't keep stress to yourself. If you keep quiet to keep the peace when you and your partner fight, you may want to rethink that strategy. Women who practice "self-silencing" have four times the risk of early death (from chronic ills like heart disease, cancer and stroke) as those who speak their minds, according to data from a ten-year National Institutes of Health study. Staying silent may create hormonal imbalances, which can make chronic disease more likely. If you've rehearsed a calm approach in your mind, you may not succumb to the urge to just let the issue drop. Speak up for yourself and deal with conflict constructively. If you still find yourself quelching thoughts, pick up a self-help book, take a class about communicating with others, or consider couples counseling. It can always be worked out if that be your goal. God Bless to all and good luck in all endeavors. P.

Monday, May 15, 2006

sleepless

I don't want to blame this on Mother's Day but it is after 2:00 a.m. and I am finding myself sleepless again with a pressured heart. I feel like I'm back to not caring about talking diet stuff again. Please bear with me if I slip into another hiatus. I thought attempting to go back to one of my interests would get my mind off of things that are distressful. I put myself out there and set myself up for a bleeding heart. This sensitive turtle is retreating back into my shell for now. Please no "feel sorry for you" comments, that is not the purpose of this explanation. Bottled up feelings are not healthy. God Bless all. I need a spiritual uplift!

Saturday, May 13, 2006

taste buds

It is always easier to pass the buck and blame someone or something for my weight gain. I do like the taste of foods. When it is a particular food that makes my mouth water, I find it hard to stop eating even if I feel I am full. One more taste leads to, just one more taste, which leads to another taste! Now I can blame it on my tongue. Fungiform, tiny mushroom shaped papillae, are among our taste buds. A non-taster has fewer than twenty-three papillae on their tongue in between their taste buds. Next is the borderline taster with twenty-three to twenty-five papillae in between the taste buds. Twenty -five papillae on the tongue is a taster of foods. Then there is me. More than twenty-five papillae on the tongue between the taste buds is considered a super taster.

No wonder I love the tast of hot, salty, buttery, sour, and sweet foods. My papillae are use to stimulation. I'll have to try and incorporate bland foods into my mouth to settle down my demanding tongue for more food. My tongue also enjoys things that are crunchy, soft, rich, smooth, warm, cold, and long lasting hard tacks. I even heard one time a small, smooth, clean rock would be accepted in your mouth and your tongue would play with it. DISCLAIMER HERE: Don't anybody try this and put rocks in your mouth and choke on it.

"HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL MOTHERS!!!!!!!!

Friday, May 12, 2006

salad woes

Please don't offer me a side salad unless you see my nose twitching, my ears flopping, or my tail fluffing. I have chosen side salads to incorporate some healthy eating habits into my life changing style. A small little dish with a couple bites of lettuce and maybe something red in it, that's it? Talk about disappointment! It does nothing for my taste buds or my palate unless it is drowning in good dressing. I'm a carnivorous tiger for eating meat. I enjoy the thrill of biting into something with substance and chewing and chewing. The juice that squirts out and combines with my watering saliva performs a little dance in my mouth and my tongue gets involved. Maybe it's that animal instinct that spurs us to love eating bar-b-cued ribs that have a tiny bit of meat on them. Anyway, I thought I could make a whole roasting pan of vegetable salad for all week to keep me in line. I peeled, cut, and chopped for over 1 1/2 hours all by hand while feeling the morning hunger pangs. I had to do this all at one time because I have allergies to touching foods and it makes my hands extremely itchy and break out, not to mention the limitations of carpal tunnel. (Nothing but 14 vegetables and lettuce, dressing on the side.) For two days three meals of salad only left me with no weight loss and a ravishing craving for protein meat and carbohydrate pasta. If in tuned to body cues you will know what vitamin you are shorting yourself with. I am even craving orange juice. I don't like the way my taste buds are coming alive again. When I was worried about problems before, I lost 10.25 pounds the first week, 10.75 pounds the second week, 3 pounds the third week, and 2.5 the fourth week. Some things have improved so far but it seems as if my body is trying to catch up on what I was lacking when not caring about eating. Where is that balance in life? I guess I'll just go back to the drawling board. I do have a plan I was following and it was working slowly but surely. It is the exercising I have missed for the whole month. Self, you have the key, now use it. Have a peaceful day everyone.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

article

Laughing The Pounds Away
Here's a reason to feel a little less guilty about sitting on the couch and watching sitcoms.
Hearty laughter burns up to 40 calories in 15 minutes and increases metabolism by 10 to 20
percent, according to researchers at Vanderbilt University. Okay, at that rate, giggling won't
replace jogging as a weight-loss tool, but it's a fun way to burn about four pounds a year. GH

"Every week, I send my mother a check." "What a wonderful thing to do! What does she do with it?" "She signs it and sends it back."

Wife to husband: If you inherited a lot of money, would you split with me? Husband: If I inherited a lot of money, I'd split with you in a minute.

"How did you do in school today?" "Not bad, today we studied pronunkiation."

There's one good thing about being absentminded: You can hide your own Easter eggs.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

eating-disorder pt. 2 of 2

Disclaimer in part one 05-09-06.

I was from bulimia to anorexia bound. Anorectics can and do die. The more unhealthy you become, the less likely you will be to "pull yourself out of it" on your own. You will need psychological help and be put on a specialized program with structure, possibly medication, and individual therapy. It is a long difficult process. Without getting physically healthier, you are not likely to develop insight or good judgment.

The only thing that saved me from becoming addicted to that life style was the fact that I loved the taste and the smell of food. I didn't give my body a chance to grow accustom to starving extremely so that my metabolism slowed way down to fight starvation. I began to get somewhat educated on both eating disorders and proper nutrition. It's all about balance! Calories in should be equal to the energy put out. Moderation in all things is a happy, healthy attitude, I have been a fool. To have knowledge and not use it consistently has put me in a bad place. Now I have to suffer the consequences of complications that arise from poor eating habits. I am not giving up . I will be a survivor. Slow but sure is fine with me. In the last two years with some ups and downs I have kept off sixty pounds! Have a healthy day......

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

eating-disorder pt. 1of 2

This is not a diagnosis or any medical advice it is only things I have read somewhere and how I have interpreted it.

I probably learned my past eating disorder when I first joined some kind of diet club many years ago. I knew nothing about bulimia (binge eating and using laxatives to purge the intestines) it was mentioned as a bad habit to overcome. I can do that and and still eat, guess who has IBS. I had a perceptual distortion of my body because of advertisments touting the image of a skinny, sexy teenager as the epitome of acceptability. I saw myself as more than an inch to pinch. I even then went on three day fasts many times. I began to like the gnawing feeling of hunger and to hear my stomach growl. That always assured me that I was losing some fat. Little did I know it was eating away at my muscles, which is made up of protein, and my body needed that kind of nutrition for the day to function and have the energy to do all of that dancing I was so crazy about. I was in danger of developing electrolyte problems, which can lead to heart attack and death. I hardly ever ate more than once a day. I started to head in the direction of the other end of the spectrum and play around with anorexia. (Part 2 tomorrow.)

Monday, May 08, 2006

dry mouth

I had two cups of coffee yesterday with four teaspoons of sugar and the dry mouth has not left yet. Sugar and salt both keep my mouth dry all day long. I couldn't lick an envelope wet. I always drink my eight glasses of water daily. When I woke up this morning the middle of my tongue was like sandpaper, hard, rough, and dry. I read that drinks don't all refresh, some hydrate and others dehydrate.


While adults average 12.8-ounce beverages daily, the net gain equals three glasses of water (eight recommended) because some drinks dehydrate. Daily average:

HYDRATING DRINKS

water 4.6
juice 1.4
milk 1.3
no-caffeine soda .6

hydrating total 7.9

DEHYDRATING DRINKS

coffee/tea 2.8
caffeine soda 1.3
alcohol .8

dehydrating total 4.9

Sunday, May 07, 2006

binge-eating

Hi everybody I'm back from a heartbreaking hiatus. I did lose weight. I've lost over 21 pounds from worrying. The worrying changed nothing but my faith in answered prayers did give me strength.

I hope talking about food again doesn't stimulate my urge to overeat and use food as a feel good fix. I remember before the break, I was involved in way too many functions surrounded by food. Now I have to learn to socialize without digging in to the max! I recognize that I responded to environmental cues more than hunger. That alone, leads me to binge-eating where I consume large amounts of food in a short period of time. See you lighter.