Success is Sweeter than Sugar

Today was the 3rd meeting of the Detox Raanana Group. This is a group 30-day detox in which we have gradually eliminated sugar, artificial sweeteners, coffee, wheat, and now dairy.

I am so filled with excitement and joy after today's meeting. The 6 remaining participants are having FANTASTIC results! All of them are down between 1-2 kgs (2-4 lbs) in two weeks which is a perfect rate of loss. They look amazing - you should have seen the glow going on in that room. And they feel even more amazing! Here are some quotes I jotted down today:

"The weight is falling off of me and I LOVE that I'm not even dieting! I am so satisfied eating whole foods everyday that I don't even feel hunger."

"I am loving all the food and do not feel deprived at all, which is a shock to me because when we started, giving these items up seemed completely impossible."

"I am no longer struggling with food and an out-of-control appetite!"

"I love fruit. I had denied myself fruit for so long because when you are dieting it's always restricted. Now that I'm eating it, I'm losing more weight than I ever did on any diet."

"There's a diet pudding in my fridge. It's been there for 2 weeks. I have no intention of ever eating one of those again!"

"I feel so happy and proud. I am no longer bloated, my weight is dropping and I feel free."

"Food looks so good in it's natural state."

"I never thought I would be able to do this and I certainly didn't expect such great results. It has been so easy with the coaching and information you have given us and with the awesome support of the group."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Dear Diet Jail,

I WILL defeat you. One client at a time. You are going down.

Sincerely,

Emily Segal

Holistic Health Counselor and proud leader of Detox Raanana

Why smart successful women struggle with food, weight, and emotional eating

By Melissa McCreery

As we all know, Oprah Winfrey isn't the only smart successful woman who struggles with food, weight, and emotional eating. I work with many clients who have accomplished tremendous things but who see food as the one place in their lives where they can't seem to take control. Frustration, self-blame and self-consciousness can make the problem even worse and lead to more stress or comfort eating, another binge, or a sense of hopelessness and despair. What's a smart savvy woman to do? Here are some areas to pay attention to if you'd like to get back in the driver's seat with food and weight.

1. Are you paying yourself first?
Where do you fall on your priority list? Many of the successful, hard-working women I know and work with juggle multiple projects and priorities. Sometimes they make the mistake of believing it would be easier just to put themselves to the side--have one less thing to juggle. Do you even show up on your priority list or have you fallen into a pattern of attending to your own needs last--if there's time? If the latter sounds like your pattern, then you probably know that the to-do list can be never-ending and if you come last, it's too tempting to resort to food as an easy, "quick fix" for comfort, stress-relief, or even a reward for that day of hard work. Learning to prioritize and budget for your own needs, wants and dreams (and learning to identify them in the first place) is more important for ending battles with emotional eating than any nutritional advice.

2. Are you holding yourself to impossible standards?
Do you have an inner perfectionist, dooming you to failure before you even start? High-achieving women can be incredibly hard on themselves. The truth is, nothing will derail an emotional eater faster than unrealistic, impossible expectations. Learn to do your best--and to keep doing your best even when it doesn't work out. That will pay off far bigger than shooting for perfect.

3. Are you a hard worker?
Hard working women often fall into the trap of believing that the way to resolve their problems with food is to "get tough with themselves and just work harder." The problem is, pushing yourself harder, in a direction that wasn't working in the first place, just creates a more painful struggle.Many times, the way out of food and weight battles is to stop pushing, fighting, and "working hard" long enough to examine the situation, listen to yourself, and start to take stock of what you REALLY need. Compassion and curiosity will help you identify your triggers for turning to food and overeating in a way that "getting hard on yourself" NEVER will. Remember. If things didn't work out, odds are the plan failed you. You didn't fail your plan.

4. Are you too focused on "flying solo?"
Have you convinced yourself that emotional eating is a problem that you "should" have solved on your own by now? Do you struggle in silence and isolation? Although smart women know the value of seeking help and connecting with expertise, a common emotional eating trap is the belief that struggles with food and weight are easy for everyone else and that it is a sign of personal failure to be struggling. I cannot adequately describe the power and effectiveness that come from applying the appropriate support, mentoring and guidance to this problem area.The truth is that emotional eating is an issue that many successful, savvy women struggle with and the nature of a busy woman's life can make emotional eating even more of a temptation. Making peace with food and finding solutions that work for you are absolutely possible--but making those changes and making them last requires a thoughtful, and yes, a smart approach.

Melissa McCreery, PhD, ACC. is a Psychologist and Life and Wellness Coach who helps busy women who are struggling with weight, stress, and emotional eating. She is the creator of the Emotional Eating Toolbox™. Sign up for a free 5 part Self-care Package Audio E-course to increase your life balance and learn more about her programs and resources at: http://www.enduringchange.com. Her blog is http://www.PeaceWithCake.com.

Typo Sorry!

Ack! I'm still getting used to blogging I guess because I keep publishing mistakes. I left the COCOA powder out of the BROWNIE recipe! Silly me. I hope no one made them and wondered what the heck is wrong with that Emily.

I fixed it. Correct recipe as below.

humble pie....

Healthy Raw Treats!

Today is Day 4 of the 30-day group detox in Raanana. This week we have eliminated sugar and artificial sweeteners from our diets. Some of us, present company included, also kicked the coffee habit as well.

Wow, holy headaches! Today is the first day I haven't felt like my head was going to explode. Makes you think twice about eating sugar and coffee if it's that painful to kick it! I wasn't even a big coffee drinker - 1 or 2 a day - but my sugar consumption was reaching alarming proportions.

So, how to kick the sweet stuff and still enjoy that sweet taste we all crave? I have some recipes of course! Easy, raw, no sugar or flour, filled with fiber, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals and super delicious too:

Raw Brownies

adapted from Jennifer Cornbleet's Raw Food Made Easy

1 1/2 cups walnuts

15 dates, pitted

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder or carob powder

dash salt

dash vanilla

dash water as needed to hold the brownies together

Grind walnuts in food processor until fine. Add other ingredients and whir. Press mixture into a pan and cut into squares (or roll into balls). Eat. Yum!

Raw Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

from Any Phyo via VegNews Magazine

1 cup raw oats

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup firmly packed pitted dates

1/2 cup raisins

Combine oats and cinnamon in food processor and grind until fine. Add dates and raisins. Form into cookie shapes or balls (or eat with a spoon right out of the FP bowl, not saying who did that!)

Creamsicle Smoothie

ala myself

1 banana

1 orange, peeled and seeded

1 nectarine or peach, pitted

1 T tahini paste or almond butter

1 T ground flaxseeds (optional)

1 T psyllium husks (optional, just adds fiber)

12 oz water

Place all in blender and blend into a thick frothy sweet shake!

HI-YA Sugar, Take That!