Fat Therapy For Erickson #1

Okay Michelle, Session Number #1:

Michelle,

Here is a website with some interactive materials which I've heard is really good: http://www.frenchwomendontgetfat.com/.

I highly recommend you pick up the book by Mireille Guillano, "French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret Of Eating For Pleasure". I think this book is good because part of the reason diets fail is because women are too hard on themselves, and try to deprive themselves entirely of pleasure or even junk food, and then this backfires and they quit the diet in a binge.

The more you tell yourself you cannot have something, the more you'll want it. If you're looking at that chocolate cake, thinking of calories, and don't allow yourself a little bit, now and then, it will become the forbidden fruit. And there is really nothing "bad" about food, in general, and you know that. Even fats in food are essential, especially ones high in Omega 3s.

You can lose a lot of weight with a very sensible approach. And you can keep it off. I don't know what the French women's secrets are, because I haven't read the book, but I've had other friends read this and say it's excellent, and I agree with what I've read of the philosophy. However, I'm going to let you in on my secrets, and what I do, okay? So this is just stuff I figured out for myself.

First though, I want you to ask yourself some starting point questions:

1. Do you believe you abuse food?
2. Are you able to admit you are an addict?
3. Have you examined the stressors in your life and what precipitates a binging episode?
4. Are you in counseling for your insecurities and to resolve your body issues?
5. Do your lovers collapse onto you after sex and forget to roll off? Have you ever been mistaken for a waterbed?

If you have answered yes to any of the above, please read on.

1. First of all, you have to change your attitude about food. Stop counting calories. Not only that, throw out the scale. Checking your progress every few minutes will only be discouraging at first. What I do is look at food visually, with the idea that you are what you eat. You want to eat from every food group, and your body will tell you what it craves quite often, if you are lacking certain nutrients. Meat, fruits, and veggies, look firm. Now look at, or think about sauces and oils. Look at pudding. Think about soft cheeses and breads. They're soft. You need some grains of course, and hard cheeses are good for you too, but think about it. Do you want to look like a steak, or a carrot or be firm like an apple? Or do you want your body to represent a bagel with cream cheese?

2. The Little Things. My rule, is if you really want the piece of cake, have it! and then next time around, skip the french fries. It's better to have a little bit of something, than to forbid it altogether. Even if you choose NOT to have the cake, you are tricking your mind to believe you can have whatever you want, and allowing yourself to relax a little. Stress will just make you want to eat more. On the other hand, if I'm trying to lose weight, I start cutting out little things. I'll have a Whopper but tell them no mayo or very light mayo. I'll have a couple of pieces of dark chocolate but skip the donuts and scones. If you want something sweet, eat something sweet. If you want something fatty, eat somethng fatty. Just do everything with moderation.

3. In addition, you have to exercise. This doesn't have to mean running or going to the gym. I've had a gym membership only once in my life. I think the outdoors is best because you have the advantage of fresh air and sunlight. Start walking everywhere. Take the stairs. Then, if you wish, the elevator. Then the stairs. It is a fact that music decreases the sensation of pain, so if you choose to run or do something more strenuous, you can trick your mind to allow your body to go farther with music. It also keeps things from being a distraction or boring.

4. Stop checking out books about diets and start reading books about nutrition and the properties of foods. Knowing what food does for the body is very important. You don't care about calories. You want to care about the properties of foods. Pros and cons. Right now I'm eating a chocolate chip cookie (start thinking about it after my mention of such in earlier post) and drinking an espresso. I know chocolate is good for not just my brain but my body. A cookie is a little fattening, but the espresso cuts it a bit because it will enhance and increase the metabolism and sort of cuts through the fat, being acidic. It's just good to know what food will do for you. In general, fried or prepared, fast foods are not good for you, but everyone, in my opinion, needs junk food now and then. I eat it. But I also eat a lot of seafood, meat, and fresh fruits and veggies. Also, skim milk with cereal in the morning will help you drop weight. Skim milk, if you read up on it, will help you to lose weight.

5. If you drink, vodka-soda has the fewest calories. A margarita, I just found out, has about 1,000 calories. Now when it comes to food without any real nutritional value, it's okay to consider calories. Because if they're empty calories, you really want to avoid that. Also, cut out soda. For whatever reason, I swear soda pop prevents weight loss. I don't know why exactly, but even the diet stuff isn't good.

6. Recognize hunger pang. Allow yourself to become truly hungry, and then eat. Notice when you are actually hungry, and when you're not. Also, don't go too long being hungry or you'll binge. I snack throughout the day. I'd rather have 5 snacks or just nibble on something, than stick to 3 large meals at appointed times. Snacking is a good way to keep your metabolism even and prevent a binging episode.

7. Measure your weight loss by the way your clothing fits, not the scale. When your pants are too loose, buy new ones. Who cares what size they are. The problem with scales is that sometimes you gain MORE when you start working out or walking more even, because your fat is being converted to muscle, which weighs more. Numbers are just discouraging in the beginning.

That's about it. For practical eating habit advice, that's all I do. When you obsess about food, it affects your perception of your own body, others, and food itself, and this leads to overeating. Of course, we know, er...you and I know you have some other issues you need to work on, which underlie your addictive personality, but we can think about that more in Fat Therapy #2. I really don't have a lot of time to devote to this cause--my non-profit interests are not really "Save The Whales", but I think I've got some good tips.

I know you can do it! Michelle, if you will just cooperate with your own body and tune into problem resolution, you will be on your way. I want to help you, but you have to be willing to help yourself and the first step to recovering is admitting you have a problem.

Good luck!