Why Binge?

Binging is caused by real heartache. We may feel hurt, frustrated, ignored, alone, disappointed or violated. It feels like confusion magnified by self-doubt. We binge because we're searching for a feeling. That feeling is our heart connection, and it's vital  for happiness and healthy eating.

Binging happens when we lose sight of our heart. Maybe we find it in the bottom of the container of ice cream, or licking the spoonful of mayonnaise? Maybe not. It doesn't matter. What matters is being willing to start over.

The person we're trying to get approval and understanding from is ourselves. The answer is: Yes! You are good. You deserve to be respected and loved. The truth is, Life is a constant experience of rising to the occasion. Be honest with yourself.

Are you  hungry for approval ?

Mark Twain said, "A man cannot be satisfied without his own approval."  Am I Really Hungry? is a handbook full of easy ways to recognize what you really want and how to achieve this goal.

We all have real needs that can feel like hunger. Hunger can be physical, emotional, social or intuitive. We may eat to release stress or hold on to a memory. When we know what we're hungry for and how to get it, satisfaction feels like self-control.

Why not give yourself a chance? We only fail when we give up.

Losing our heart connection feels like a 'bad mood'. Certain foods may end bad moods.  Next time you notice a disconnect, ask yourself what you really want. Then, find your favorite binging buddy - perhaps ice cream - and enjoy a normal serving because you deserve sweetness and love from yourself. Being good to yourself is the first step towards defeating a habit of binging.

Def Leopard: Pour Some Sugar On Me

Is more better?

People ask me if eating 'more', instead of strict dieting, can ultimately be better for keeping a healthy weight? 

Sometimes, the answer is yes, but -

This is tricky because, eating more is not about quantity, it's about quality. 

• More is good if:
• Focus is on nutrition, not taste or calories. This way, we feel satisfied longer and burn calories efficiently. This helps our body burn fat and not muscle.
• We drink more. Often we think we're hungry when we're thirsty. 
• Try drinks without added salt or sugar. 
• Drink water. Add a squeeze of lemon or teaspoon of fruit juice or 1/2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar for refreshing flavor!
•  Be careful: Don't be trapped into retaining fluids.
• We can find salt in a milkshake! Salt is used in ice cream because of its special property that lowers the freezing temperature of water. 
• There are 55mg of salt in a can of Coke! It's like drinking a pizza.
• "Natural" flavored bottled water may contain sugar or salt. Save your money and your body, drink from the spigot. 

• When eating less calories than our body genuinely needs, our metabolism alters. To cope with the stress, it slows down to stretch the calories further for long-term survival. It's physically instinctive to stabilize our weight for survival. 
• Additional results of calorie shortage:
• We feel hungry and unsatisfied by what we're eating.
• We do not lose weight because our body adjusts to the new regimen.
• When we resume eating 'normally',we gain weight.

Our bodies are not machines but they are efficient and designed to respond to what we eat and how we treat ourselves. Put the right fuel in to get results you're looking for. Adding foods or regimens that you're not suited to digest, or deal with emotionally, creates problems. 

Here's what everyone needs to have more of at every meal:

• Love
• Self-Respect
• Dignity
• Laughter

Tune in with your senses to know what feels good to your body and heart. More is better when we focus on quality, nutrition and common sense. Bon Appetite! 

Love Eating

People don't love eating just for the food. For the connoisseur, food alone is love, but for the rest of us, eating is a communal experience. Eating meals together, we drink each other in with our eyes, fuel our hearts with laughter and satisfy curiosity with conversation. We may learn what we need to know by a nod or a grunt. We connect and reconnect, not only with our physical selves, but also with people who share our lives. That connection is part of the delicious puzzle of love. 

Often, dieters hate eating because it represents restrictions, boring food choices or frustration. That attitude causes weight gain, binging, depression and anger. It's the opposite of love.

Intuitive eating is an attitude of self-respect, tough love and personal transformation. It's a direct connection with liking the way you look and feel. You may discover that you love eating because you like being good to yourself.

It's intuitive to love eating. If you find you've lost the love, now is the perfect time to reclaim it. Let yourself evolve into a more delicious person by giving up soul draining resentment and picking up good vibrations, like courage and dignity, when you're around food. Feed your soul some love. You deserve it. Instead of feeling deprived or hostile around food, try this:

• Tune in to the excitement of taking control of your choices. Eat less, but talk more.
• Talk about the taste. Ask other people what they think. If you're a parent, this is especially smart with kids. It slows down eating, creates easy conversation and tunes them in to their bodies.
• Choose to feel worthy. Honor yourself by not giving in to negative feelings. Turn fear about eating into a focus on sensual enjoyment. Feel the love.

Eating connects us with personal satisfaction, good health and added energy. When you choose to be a sensual eater, you'll discover eating is easy to love.  As you use your senses to really taste, smell and feel how good food is:

• Your body digests food more efficiently. 
• You burn more calories. 
• You eat less.

Eating is the opportunity to tease your senses with pleasure and bring comfort to your body. By sharing the physical pleasures of taste and smell at a good meal with others, we automatically feed emotional hunger. Eating connects us with each other. That's something to love.

Chocolate, Libido & Binging

Valentine's Day is packed with libido raising chocolates and other waist expanding temptations. How do we enjoy it without being trapped by the sweetness of the treat?  Of course the celebration of love is a good thing. How do we avoid unhealthy temptation and embrace tasty love?

To separate love and libido from unhealthy temptation when you're enjoying a treat, look at your sweet and your sweetheart and check-in with the way you feel.

1. Confusing eating with satisfying intimacy causes disappointment that leads to binging. The libido thrives on anticipation, not big meals. Taking it slowly keeps you in control. Plan a light meal like tapas and put on some music. All of our senses connect with libido. Be creative with the way you choose to enjoy your treat and your evening. Rub a piece of chocolate across your lips and try to have your partner lick it off without either of you laughing. Of course, laughter is a libido boost- way more than chocolate. Libido is the drive for physical intimacy a feeling of anticipation, an openness to possibility and romantic potential.  If you feel this:

• Be true to yourself by taking your time. Patience heightens anticipation which makes your experience more exciting.
• Take it to a higher level with eye contact while you savor your treat. Also give the verbal pleasure signal of "mmnnn". 
• Just take a nibble, because you want your body to be relaxed for the next part of the evening. Feeling full signals your body to focus on digesting food. That kills libido.
•  Say Thank you! and mean it. Let the big picture come into focus naturally. 

2. Love, like eating, is an inner connection.  Food only represents love when we savor it; binging is a kind of disconnect. A great and enduring love affair is founded on open communication and mutual respect. The loving way to eat is to keep open communication with your body by tuning-in with your senses before and while you eat. It's the intuitive way to respect your body and to respect yourself. Love feels like a light in your heart, or it is a peaceful, gently exciting sense of being appreciated that is relaxing and deeply affirming. Real love is a direct connection with dignity and self-respect.

• When chocolate represents love and you take a nibble, your energy will soar. This is a happy feeling that lasts as long as you stay true to the feelings of dignity and self-respect.
• Get sensual. Love yourself by eating lightly and let that lightness connect with your heart. Touch your partner's fingers. Smile while giving your partner eye contact. Make love with your eyes - if you dare!
• Share a taste with your partner and say, Thank you! from the heart. You will feel satisfied, leaving the remaining chocolate as a symbol of love and anticipation for the future.

3. Temptation, created by emotions and stress, causes binging. Taking control of the temptation can be a turn-on for both of you, because it makes priorities clear. Take control by focusing on the big picture. Your priority is to appreciate each other and the meaning of the celebration. What you eat should compliment the evening, not rule it. Temptation is an urge often accompanied by a subtle feeling of frustration, a whiff of self-defeat in the air. If you feel this:

• Remember to be true to your body and your heart, together. To stay connected with your intuition, use determination to feel good about your experience.
• Take a taste and savor it with a "mmnnnn". Look your partner right in the eye and feed him/her a taste.
• Say Thank you! and mean it. 
• Thank yourself because you are focused on what you want and who you are.  You are honoring yourself. Love will find you through your smile as temptation turns into self-confidence. You will feel it.

Plato said, At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet. I guess, in a perfect world we would all be poets. Enjoy your chocolate, dance with your libido and fall in love all over again this Valentine's Day! Be loving towards yourself. Write a poem about chocolate instead of eating it, or share it with a stranger. Tweet about it. Remember, whether it's a cold winter day or hot in July, Love for you is in the air every day.

For more common sense ways to deal with temptation and frustration around eating and to learn how to tune-in to your body with intuitive sensual thinking download: Am I Really Hungry, 6th Sense Diet:Intuitive Eating

Body Games

Restrictive dieting is a body game that hits us emotionally. Does your body complain? Being nagged - whether it's physical, like cravings or emotional, like social pressure - is unpleasant and tiring.

When emotional demands override physical needs, the result can be craving junk food, which starts a cycle of binging. Binging is a knee-jerk reaction to stress that fills us with guilt and our body complains with tension, high blood pressure, discomfort, exhaustion, and a general sense of dissatisfaction.

Our bodies don't play games with us. Our body is a vehicle we use to maneuver through our day and our life. Our senses are how we tune-in to our body. Even though noticing what we sense helps us stay on the path of healthy eating choices, when we're trying to watch our weight, working hard, dealing with social stress and don't have a lot of time, it's easy to ignore what we sense.

 Small decisions you make every day create the big picture of your life.
When you're around food, notice what you see, taste, touch, smell and feel in your gut, and your options will be healthier.  

In our busy lives, we need more time to succeed; we don't need body games. The next time you're craving something, here are some healthy options to junk food binging to have in your freezer.

• Unsweetened frozen blueberries, strawberries, blackberries or raspberries are satisfying for sweet noshing. Berries taste good, and contain anti-oxidants and fiber. Anti-oxidants are good for fighting the effects of air pollution, and fiber keeps us regular. 
• Unsweetened frozen cantaloupes or mangoes are also delicious to have on hand. 
• I like to freeze seedless grapes for a cool snack.

Frozen fruits can be mixed in the blender with ice cubes, milk, unsweetened juice, or yogurt for a fruit smoothie. In the morning, have a smoothie with a handful of walnuts and almonds for a quick, healthy, and power packed breakfast.

To get more great tips for healthy eating or help understanding how eating can push your button, download: Am I Really Hungry, 6th Sense Diet : Intuitive Eating. 

For gently connecting with your senses, download: Fine Tuning, Connecting with Your Inner Power

Eat for Success

What is success? Is it self-control? Is it fitting into the new pair of jeans without a struggle? Is eating success knowing there's a half-gallon of chocolate chip ice cream in the freezer and leaving it there? What does success feel like? Is it comforting, a personal victory, a step on the path to satisfaction? The answer to all of these is, Yes! 

Success, whether it's climbing a mountain or pushing away a mountain of food, is about self-discipline, self-respect and smart choices. It's always about personal quality and determination. There are always options when we use our eyes with curiosity and common sense. Common sense is learning from mistakes so we don't repeat them.

Success is an attitude. Knowing how to eat when we're hungry and stop when we're not - takes attitude. Cultivate the attitude of loyalty to yourself.

Think of eating as a sport. Intuitive fitness is a body-mind connection.

• Tune-in with your senses for safety and satisfaction when you're around food.
• Don't disconnect from your heart when you eat. You won't succeed. Every sport takes heart. Our hearts connect with dignity, self-respect and personal strength. Access these for eating success.
• Go after what you want for yourself by respecting your body, heart and spirit. Eat to get strength. Forgive your mistakes. Never give up.

No matter how tough we are, there are struggles. Satisfaction is not giving in to frustration, social pressure or self-pity. Show yourself how good you are by being the best you can be. You are the only one responsible for what you eat. Don't let eating be a blind habit. Instead, see it as a sport. Eat for success.

Eat for Fun

When eating isn't fun, it's a problem. Fun feels good, tastes good and keeps us smiling. How can we eat for fun and not overeat? When does fun stop and personal abuse begin? Why do some people get to eat 'whatever' they want and not gain weight? How can I take control of my diet and still have fun?

• To eat for fun, know what puts a smile on your face. Is it food? No. Food is strictly nourishment for your body.
• Feed social hunger.  Symptoms are loneliness, boredom and frustration. Food can't satisfy social hunger.
• Don't eat when you're alone. When we talk with others at mealtime, we eat less. 
• Instead of snacking in your free time, use it to play with your pet, appreciate nature, call relatives, take a cat-nap, take a power walk. Burning energy will feel like fun.
• Schedule to volunteer once a week to help others. Being appreciated is when you share energy with another or many others. It can be a smile, a thank you, a pat on the back or just eye contact. This energy connection feels like fun.

•  Take control of what's fun. Taste what you eat.
• Taste is a source of pleasure. Oral gratification includes taste and smell.
• Feed physical hunger. Symptoms include hollow feelings in your stomach, fatigue, pangs and lack of concentration. Food satisfies this.
• Smell what you're eating and notice the reaction in your body. Our bodies are always sending signals about what we need.
• Take small bites to taste better and get the pleasure. Eating fast means less nutritional benefit and you miss out on the oral gratification.
• Eat with the idea in your mind that you want to enjoy the pleasure of your food. Don't let time, other people, work or TV remove this option. Make pleasure your choice.

• Be good to yourself. See eating as an investment in your future - a way to get more energy, to have healthier skin, to increase sex drive. Choose what to eat based on what you care about.
• Discover who you are. When it comes to fun or to hunger - we are all unique. It's common to underestimate how much we eat when eating is a habit or a reaction to stress. Tune-in to what's making you feel hungry. Be curious and be honest with yourself. 
• If you have trouble being clear about what you're eating, keep a food journal to help break the cycle of food denial.
• Intuitive thinking is how to understand the source of hunger. It's the answer to undoing internal traffic jams that cause binging, overeating and emotional eating.
• Get curious about how you feel and what you think about what you eat. Write it down. You might be surprised. 

To get lots of helpful tips for transforming from a dieter to an intuitive eater, download Am I Really Hungry? 6th Sense Diet: Intuitive Eating.  Learn how to recognize and take control of frustration, temptation and social pressure. It's time to have fun!

• Learn to satisfy your intuitive appetite for clarity, balance and protection. These are your source for personal success, enthusiasm and fun.  

• Learn to forgive yourself and Carry On! Alcohol has lots of calories, but music and dancing have zero. Dance more!

New Diet

The newest diet that works takes us back to old eating rules. Feed your heart, your head, your spirit and then your body at every meal - and you will lose weight. The new diet is:

1. Eat Less, Talk More
2. Isolate Less, Socialize More
3. Trust Less, Protect Yourself More

Of course, fifty years ago, general obesity wasn't a problem. Here are some reasons why:

• Plates were smaller.
• Filling up a smaller plate makes it seem like we are eating a lot. 
• Try to find plates that are only 12 inches across and enjoy a full plate of food with every meal. 

• People did not watch television while they ate. Instead, they talked to each other.
•  Making mealtime social takes the edge off of loneliness and feelings of isolation. The result is less bingeing.
• Sharing the enjoyment of good food is satisfying and leads to other kinds of mutual pleasure.

• Food had less chemicals and was not genetically modified. Diets varied by season.
• It was easier to get healthy foods and, because our organs are always regenerating, the variety of food fed physical needs. 
• Today we can no longer trust that foods which appear pretty, are healthy for us. Fifty years ago, the worst ingredient in a frozen dinner was MSG. Today, chemicals in foods make us crave salt, sugar and oil. Some people say the greed of food manufacturing companies has created the obesity epidemic.
• If a label is loaded with words that you don't understand, don't buy the package. Today, we need to protect ourselves from the greed.  
• Instead of eating strawberries in the winter, eat apples. Eating what is in season is the best way of avoiding modified, chemically altered foods.
• Make the effort to balance how you choose what to put in your body. It's worth the time and leads to losing weight naturally and having more energy. 

Don't be sabotaged by habits, laziness or corrupt manufacturing practices. Use all of your senses, including common sense, to take control of eating options and long-term results. Download Am I Really Hungry? for intuitive insights to help deal with frustration, stress and misleading diet dogma that sabotage losing weight.

It's time for us to Get Some Satisfaction!

Tiny New Years Resolutions that Last

Happy 2014! May the New Year fill you with self-confidence and the knowledge that this year, you are going to gradually lose weight.

Resolutions that are big are like meals that are big. They overwhelm our body and are doomed to backfire. Instead, here are some easy tiny resolutions for intuitive eating that guarantee long-term satisfaction with your body and an enjoyable eating lifestyle.

• Eat with your heart. This means use all of your senses, including common sense. Take time to be sensual and you will eat less and discover truly enjoying food.
• This takes courage because it's fun and easy. Dieting is the opposite. Break the habit of diet-induced fear. Decide to stop denying what feels good. It feels good to respect your whole body - including your heart.
• Look at the big picture. See each meal as your next step along the path to permanent weight maintenance. Unless you are running for your life - another meal is just a few hours away. Eat less. Enjoy the freedom of not being bogged down with food. Listen to your heart.
• You inner voice is not judgmental and will always be protective. Thinking about eating strictly in terms of calories or rigid diets keeps you in your head which misses the point eating with your heart. Sometimes your inner voice feels like common sense. Sometimes it will surprise you. There are no rules in Life except to honor yourself. Your body always lets you know what you actually need. 
• Take 3 deep breaths if you are unsure about whether you are still hungry. Look at what you've had and notice what you notice. Ignoring what you notice doesn't change what you see. Listen to your eyes. You will know.

• Talk more when during mealtime. Hunger is emotional, social and physical. With conversation, you feed social hunger. Words, laughter and camaraderie are surprisingly satisfying.
• You will discover some of your eating habits annoying to you! It's your choice to let go of them. Don't let food get in front of personal satisfaction or long-term goals for your health. By socializing, we learn that sharing moments with others is liberating. Use this sense of freedom to eat with your heart.

Tenacity is the intuitive commitment to yourself that creates opportunities for success. Use it to take some tiny steps and trust that they are safe. Depend on your common sense. There is a fact about human nature, that until we believe we are doing the right thing, there is the chance we will draw back. Don't take that chance. It's new year! Step forward into the magic of 2014!

Make a commitment to eat with common sense and listen to your heart. 

Don't trust anything that doesn't feel right to you!

Get practical intuitive solutions that are common sense for maintaining a your healthy weight, Download: Am I Really Hungry? 6th Sense Diet : Intuitive Eating

and overcome eating challenges.

"If you can't solve a problem, it's because you're playing by the rules." P. Arden

Look Great, Feel Great, Eat Great / Three Tips

It's holiday party season and you want to look your best. Because going up and down like a yo-yo physically and emotionally feels awful, and forcing yourself to follow an eating program that feels like a struggle is awful, it's time to stop. To look great you need to feel great.

When you feel great, you know you look great and that makes it easy to eat intuitively. Here are three tips for turning holiday stress into looking and feeling great:

1. Eye Contact : No matter who you are talking to look them directly in the eye. This relaxes you because it's not superficial. Everyone looks best when they are relaxed.
2. Share Tastes : Pick your favorite holiday food and share a taste with someone you want to know better or with someone you want to renew your sense of connection with. It's almost like starting a conversation with a tease of taste. Begin with eye contact and talk about how good the food tastes. This will cause both of you to smile. You look great when you smile.
3. Soul Food : Deepen the wonder of who you are by letting yourself enjoy music, chocolate (in moderation), dancing, prayer, or being playful. Suddenly, you will remember that the gift of being alive is great and that you don't need to force yourself to do anything that doesn't feel right. The purest soul food is self-respect. It's never abusive or mean. Find a place to sit and don't do a thing. Tuning-in to your soul is liberating. You feel younger and you look great!

When you feel good, there is no emptiness to hide or cover. You respond to hunger easily and enjoy the taste and the pleasures of satisfying your body, feeling great and enjoying this holiday season. Here are three tips for eating great:

• Eat with your eyes.
• Taste with your tongue.
• Love with your heart.  

Laugh more, eat less and fill your heart with sparkle that comes from eye contact, sharing pleasures and honoring your soul.  You will look great! Guaranteed.

For practical intuitive solutions that are common sense for maintaining a your healthy weight, download: Am I Really Hungry? 6th Sense Diet : Intuitive Eating

and overcome eating challenges.

"If you can't solve a problem, it's because you're playing by the rules." P. Arden

---

Taking Smaller Bites

You want to do the right thing which is - not gain weight that your body doesn't need. You are committed to looking your best. So what happens? This is what happens to me: stress, deadlines, bills, social commitments, etc., and before I know it, I've lost my perspective of what I want.

Of course, I want to do the right thing. It's not always easy. When I reach the point of not remembering exactly what my last meal tasted like, I know it's time to take an intuitive pause. This means, I must find some alone time and use my senses to find out or end - what is wrong. Yes, it is wrong to ignore the power of our senses. The more we ignore, the more confusing life becomes. Personally, I don't like feeling confused.

Here's how I tune-in to my intuition. I eat a snack alone. I choose something healthy that I enjoy.  Today it was a piece of crusty bread with a tablespoon of peanut butter smeared across it and some yummy honey spread delicately on top.

• I look at it and pause:
• to realize how lucky I am to have it.
• to see how much I took and if the portion is what I really want to eat.
• I decide to only take small bites instead of eating the whole thing in large mouthfuls
• to really taste what I'm eating. I chew each small bite savoring it, with my tongue. This is surprisingly exciting and satisfying. 
• Because of the size of the bites, I realize I'm starting to relax non-food related emotional tension. Focusing on the food for it's flavor, has liberated me from the dragon of stress.
• I discover I'm enjoying myself. My perspective is no longer tense.

You can even do this with an energy bar or a cup of coffee. The decision to take smaller bites (or sips) and use your senses to see and savor what you are eating, is an intuitive pause that will reset your perspective so you can do the right thing for yourself. Because of the way we are wired, eating with smaller bites resets every part of our being. We relax.

Remember this the next time life is too complex, or confusing or just too busy.

• Take a smaller bite. Chew each well and swallow. Then take another.
• Let each part of your tongue tease your sense of taste so that you feel pleased.
• Be grateful you are not homeless or hungry.

How I feed myself food is a reflection of how I feed myself life. I'm determined to taste and savor every morsel of what life throws at me, because I like to feel very alive. Whether the glass is 1/2 full or 1/2 empty, we can always add more. Sip, don't guzzle, and enjoy the personal satisfaction of self-control.

For practical intuitive solutions that are common sense for maintaining a your healthy weight, download: Am I Really Hungry? 6th Sense Diet : Intuitive Eating

and overcome eating challenges.

"If you can't solve a problem, it's because you're playing by the rules." P. Arden

Stress and Weight Loss

Stress is emotional pressure that distracts us from thinking clearly. The result is, stress can cause weight loss or weight gain. Because emotional stress creates physical tension, chronic daily stress can cause a hormonal reaction so that your body thinks you're in danger. A result is your body may go into a fat-storing mode, which will make you feel a need to eat more. 

You can control this physical reaction to stress by tuning in with your senses when you eat. This works because your senses are physical, not emotional. Using your senses is a way to focus with your body. When you focus with your body, ultimately your mind shows up and it's easy to remember that you don't want to put on weight.

These 3 sensual techniques help solve the problem of stress 'hunger,' by distracting you from emotional eating.

• Breathe deeply into your belly. This guides your body to relax and eases stress-driven emotional hunger by taking the edge off.
• Taste what you eat with your whole tongue. This saturates your taste buds and identifies for your brain the fact that you are eating. It also slows you down so your body relaxes and digests more efficiently and you find it easy to eat less.
• Go into the bathroom and look at yourself in the mirror. Look into your eyes and give yourself a smile. Watch your face relax.

Stress is part of life but it doesn't have to impact your weight. Sensual thinking is a solution for coping successfully with Life stress. Today, use your 5 physical senses to reconnect with your body in a healthy way. Common sense is your 6th sense.

For practical intuitive solutions that are common sense for maintaining a your healthy weight, download: Am I Really Hungry? 6th Sense Diet : Intuitive Eating

and overcome eating challenges.

"If you can't solve a problem, it's because you're playing by the rules." P. Arden

Control Weight

Control what you weigh by getting in rhythm with your body. When you listen to music, dance! Here's what happens:

• You easily burn calories.
• You stimulate your organs so that your metabolism kicks into gear.
• You have fun. When you're having fun, there is no 'stress or binge eating'.

Control weight creeping up by eating more protein instead of empty calorie salad fillers that don't really satisfy you. Here's how:

•  If you're still hungry after a salad, eat an energy bar with at least 5 g of protein. It will help to stabilize your blood sugar and you will feel satisfied for hours. Always drink a glass of water or have another unsweetened drink with an energy bar to help your body break it down for good digestion.
• When your pants are too tight, cut your carbs in half but don't skimp on the protein. You will still feel satisfied. It takes more energy to burn protein. Eat less, chew more is a weight control mantra.
• Have one hard-boiled egg for breakfast. Eggs contain protein and iron. Both are dependable energy sources. Hard boiled eggs take longer to digest than scrambled eggs, so you stay satisfied longer. It's important to drink at least a full glass of water, full cup of coffee or tea or other non-sugared drink with the hard-boiled egg to aid your digestion. Doing this helps your body break down what you eat to get the nutrients efficiently.  btw: Oatmeal is a complex carb, not protein. Skip it if your pants are feeling tight. 

Getting a good night's sleep on a regular basis helps you control weight.

• Hormones, called Leptin and Ghrelin, are responsible for suppressing hunger  and stimulating our appetite. Getting regular sleep keeps these urges balanced.
• When you're tired, it's easy to confuse fatigue with being hungry. When in doubt about why you want to eat - take a nap for at least 20 minutes. That could do the trick.

Use common sense every time you eat. Be a little bit outrageous. It's important for controlling your weight to have fun by being playful and easy with yourself. An unusual way to control your weight is to Think Positive: Imagine you are standing naked on a stage.  Inhale, lift your sternum up, hold your stomach in and lower your shoulders. Now, listen to the applause. You're starting to take control of your body. You can also do this when you're wearing clothes.

For simple tips for self-control, download: Am I Really Hungry? 6th Sense Diet : Intuitive Eating

"If you can't solve a problem, it's because you're playing by the rules." P. Arden

Breaking rules

-->I have discovered that when rules get tedious, it’s time to change them. That feeling is an intuitive nudge. It's physical. Listen to your body. The only rule that makes sense 24/7 is to protect yourself.

Rules are made to be broken. 90% of rules are designed to expire. They should come with a time-stamp. Generally, rules are created to solve a problem or correct confusion. Good rules fix the problem.

Rules teach and we learn. For example, with dieting, you may decide to have desserts only on weekends as an experiment to gently lose weight.You make it a rule. It becomes a handrail to keep you on track and then it becomes automatic, part of you. You feel a calm,  healthy sense of accomplishment. The rule has done its job.

The rules made for breaking are ones that serve no purpose. They are the ones that feel tedious. We need to let go of them and see what needs fixing and what doesn't. It's important to look at the big picture.  Ask yourself:

• If I eat what I want right now, how will I feel about it in an hour? 
• Is this rule important to achieve my long-term eating goals?

Today, nearly everywhere, rules are broken. It's time to think outside the box. Problems, like everything else, change. This is part of the topography of living. Everything upgrades, including your needs and your eating goals.  Upgrade is another word for change.  If your needs have changed, ask yourself:

• What has changed? How can I use it to my advantage?
• How does my body respond to this old rule? Does it still make sense for me?

With intuitive eating, instead of rules, we have guidelines - universal values that are easy to feel -  such as curiosity or dignity. No rules, just guidelines to help you think with your senses and feel with your mind. What do you see? What do you feel? What do you think? It's time to think differently by tuning into your body. That is way to respond to what's real instead of trying to fit what you eat into a neat box of rules. Change is normal. Living and eating need choices. Stress and daily surprises all create unpredictable circumstances at mealtime. Listen to your body. You will know when to break the rules.

For great eating tips and easy insights for making your own rules, download Am I Really Hungry?.



#janebernard