How to Stop Thinking About Food and Get On With Your Day

Don’t miss any of HealthyWoman from Bottom Line. Add our address, HealthyWomanfromBottomLine@news.bottomlinepublishing.com, to your Address Book or Safe List. Learn how here. September 25, 2011  How to Stop Thinking About Food and Get On With Your Day The Hidden Truth About Bypass Surgery The Lowdown on Lymphatic Breast Massage The Great Cholesterol Hoax Heartbreaking News for Folks Who Love Diet Soda   How to Stop Thinking About Food and Get On With Your Day The leftover Chinese food in the fridge is speaking to you. "I know it’s not dinnertime, but hey, I’m moo shu pork! C’mon, just a little taste." You’re not even particularly hungry, but before you know it, you reach for that take-out container and start inhaling the contents. Many people have those annoying inner voices that tell them to go eat something they shouldn’t, even though they know that they’ll regret it almost immediately. Wouldn’t it be nice if silencing those food thoughts were as easy as hitting the delete button or hanging up the phone? Well, it can be almost that easy, according to weight and health expert Stephen P. Gullo, PhD, a psychologist and author of The Thin Commandments Diet: The 10 No-Fail Strategies for Permanent Weight Loss. He recommended the following creative strategies to silence food cravings. Try them—though they are simple, you’re bound to find some, if not all, of them to be surprisingly effective. When your brain is buzzing about food... Knock out your senses of taste and smell. The aroma of someone else’s food can trigger a powerful urge to eat even if you are not hungry. Solution: Pop a peppermint breath strip or sugar-free menthol cough drop into your mouth. It will overwhelm your taste buds and blot out other scents, ending the food craving immediately. "I love pizza—but after I use a breath strip, the pizza can be right in front of me and I won’t indulge," said Dr. Gullo. Ask yourself whether you are really hungry—or just bored. People tend to gain the most weight when they have the least amount to do, Dr. Gullo noted. So, when you’re tempted to nosh because it seems like there’s nothing better to do, replace the idle food thoughts and mindless munching with a purposeful activity such as running an errand or phoning a friend. To keep food out of mind, keep it out of sight. Candy kept on the counter in a clear glass jar gets eaten quickly... that same candy hidden in a high cupboard lasts much longer. Likewise, foods placed at eye level in the front of the fridge will seem to call your name—so put your fresh produce there, and relegate that leftover moo shu pork to the back of the lowest shelf. Best: Don’t keep these foods in the house in the first place. Think of calories like dollars. Each person has a fixed number of calories in her "budget"—the amount she can indulge in without gaining weight. The goal of what Dr. Gullo calls the calorienomics strategy is to consume more food while lessening the calories—but without sacrificing the pleasure of eating. You wouldn’t blow a whole paycheck on an outfit when the mortgage was due, so apply that same mature budgeting approach to food by asking yourself, "Is this pasta something my daily calorie budget can afford? If so, how much can I have? If not, what will I enjoy eating instead?" "Pre-prepare" healthful afternoon snacks. The reason you can’t stop thinking about food at 4 pm is that you ate your lunch hours ago and now your blood sugar level is crashing. When you go too long without food, it is hard to resist the urge to grab whatever is handiest even if it’s a bad-for-you bag of potato chips. To do better: Set up a structured eating plan that includes a scheduled snack time, then prepare those snack foods in advance, Dr. Gullo suggested. For instance, to eliminate unfocused afternoon grazing, keep single-serving bags of nuts in the pantry and stock the refrigerator with raw veggies that are already cut up and ready to enjoy. Find something fun to do with your hands. Learn to knit, do needlepoint, crochet or hook rugs. Though these activities are not mentally draining, they do make you focus on what you’re doing just enough so that you can’t obsess about food. Handcrafts ease stress, too, which in turn reduces stress-induced eating. Also, when your hands are busy, you can’t easily keep reaching for food. What if you simply are not inclined to handcrafts? Chew gum—it won’t keep your hands busy, but it will keep your mouth busy and thus halt the mindless nibbling. Don’t romanticize food. Terms like goody, treat and comfort food empower food by making it seem like the antidote to life’s problems. Remind yourself that food is not your therapist, your lover or an instant happiness pill—far from it! To reduce its power to control your thoughts and actions, call it just food. Source: Stephen P. Gullo, PhD, a psychologist, is president of the Center for Healthful Living at the Institute for Health and Weight Sciences and former chair of the National Obesity and Weight Control Education Program of the American Institute for Life-Threatening Illness at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, both in New York City. He also is the author or coauthor of five books, including The Thin Commandments Diet: The 10 No-Fail Strategies for Permanent Weight Loss (Rodale), and a member of the HealthyWoman from Bottom Line advisory board. The Hidden Truth About Bypass Surgery Research shows that the majority of bypass, angioplasty and stent patients don’t live a day longer than folks who skip it... Meaning that over 800,000 Americans every year are risking their lives for nothing—suffering hideous postsurgical pain and risking serious complications, for zero benefit. Even worse, according to Dr. Michael Ozner, MD, FACC, FAHA, medical director at the Center for Prevention & Wellness, Baptist Health South Florida, bypass surgery has been found to quadruple your stroke risk. What are the options? Read on... The Lowdown on Lymphatic Breast Massage Q: I heard that massaging your breasts helps prevent breast cancer. Is this true? A: You are probably talking about a technique called lymphatic breast massage, also referred to as manual drainage therapy or manual lymph drainage. Unfortunately, there is no scientific documentation showing that this technique helps prevent breast cancer. What lymphatic breast massage can do is reduce swelling after breast cancer surgery, a common complication called lymphedema. It works by promoting the proper function of the lymphatic system, which has the job of breaking down cellular waste, removing impurities from tissues and maintaining fluid balance. By encouraging the flow of lymph fluid through the lymph vessels, this special massage technique—which uses a press-and-release pumping action—helps prevent lymph fluid from accumulating in tissues near the surgical site. Lymphatic breast massage also can ease breast swelling and tenderness associated with premenstrual syndrome... and, along with antibiotics, it can help treat mastitis (a painful breast tissue infection). For lymphatic breast massage treatment and instruction, consult a physical therapist. You can ask your doctor for a referral or find a practitioner through the National Lymphedema Network (www.LymphNet.org) or the Lymphology Association of North America (www.clt-lana.org/therapists/default.asp). Source: Gwen White, PT, is a physical therapist and lymphedema specialist with Kaiser Permanente in Portland, Oregon, and coauthor of Lymphedema: A Breast Cancer Patient’s Guide to Prevention and Healing (Hunter House). The Great Cholesterol Hoax The #1 prescription drug in America is a cholesterol drug. It rakes in about $8 billion a year. And three of the top 15 drugs are in the same category. They’re called statin drugs, but some experts call them a hoax. Did you know that... Cholesterol-reducing statin drugs are just patented knockoffs of a simple food that Asians have eaten for centuries. You can buy it in pill form in any health-food store—yet drug companies charge $1,740 a year for it! And, for those who choose to stick with their statins, they’re all pretty much the same. If you must take a prescription statin, ask for the cheapest one. There’s no proof the statin that’s #1 is any better than the generics. Learn more... Heartbreaking News for Folks Who Love Diet Soda Some diet soda lovers close their eyes to the beverage’s known potential dangers, such as an increased risk for kidney disease. But if they care about their health, they’ll want to take an honest look at worrisome new research linking diet soda to heart attacks and stroke. The ongoing research is based on an average of nine years of follow-up data from a study that began in 1993 and involved more than 2,500 participants. New finding: People who reported drinking diet soda daily were 48% more likely to have a heart attack or stroke than participants who rarely or never drank any soda. The results held even after researchers took into account age, physical activity, smoking, calorie consumption, history of heart disease and other cardiovascular risk factors. The study does not actually prove that consuming diet soda causes stroke or heart attack. For instance, it could be that people who regularly drink diet soda also tend to have other unhealthy dietary habits that contribute to cardiovascular problems. Researchers noted that more study is needed to determine what it is about diet soda—or about people who consume a lot of diet soda—that is responsible for the increased risk for heart attack and stroke. In the meantime: Just drink water! It’s still calorie-free—and if you like a little flavor, squeeze a lemon or lime into it. Source: Hannah Gardener, ScD, is an epidemiologist in the department of neurology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and lead author of a study on diet soda and cardiovascular problems.    Tamara Eberlein, the editor of HealthyWoman from Bottom Line, has been a health journalist for nearly three decades. An award-winning author or coauthor of four books, she is committed to helping other women in midlife and beyond live healthy, fulfilling lives. Her latest book is the updated, third edition of When You’re Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads (HarperCollins). She is also the "chief health adviser" to her husband of 26 years and three college-age children.    BOTTOMLINESECRETS.COM Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy About Us Contact US Bottom Line Publications | 281 Tresser Boulevard, 8th Floor | Stamford, CT 06901 You received this free E-letter because you have requested it. You are on the mailing list as healthwellness82@gmail.com. Or... a friend forwarded it to you. Click here to easily unsubscribe. To change your e-mail address click here. To update your e-mail preferences click here. © 2011 by Boardroom Inc. All Rights Reserved.