Went to dinner and blew it. .

A participant wrote this morning that he was doing so well but for the first time in weeks his scale went up. He went to dinner last night with several friends and couldn't say no to anything including free dessert that came with the meal even though he wasn't hungry. What you fail to realize is that every food encounter has a ritual of its own. And each ritual has an established (and very entrenched) frequency and portion size of the food and the ferocity with which you eat. Rather than overeating to the point of remorse, it's helpful to create and practice new ways to cope with the abundance of food found in most places. Otherwise you end up reinforcing a behavior that has an outcome which makes you unhappy.

Most of you end up eating not because you're hungry, but to relieve the discomfort caused by not eating. . If you find new ways to help the moment pass -- leave the table, move you or the object of your affection, make a waterglass-candle-flower-candle-salt & pepper shaker wall, push chair back. Anything is better than nothing. Take a deep breath. There. Ah. The moment passed. If you practice these things when you don't need them, you'll have them at the ready when you do need them.

Onward and downward,

Food Addiction

What do all these things have in common? Eating, smoking, gambling, drinking, shopping, spending and negative thinking.

Answer: These are all habits gone haywire

I teach a behavioral approach to weight loss. I have found that many people are cross-addictive which is why the above list have many things in common. Any questions regarding these topics and why they are so hard for you to break I'll try to explain so you can begin change.