A celeriac bulb was passed around for review before Diane R. was given this root vegetable to add to her stone soup. Then, what should appear in my inbox the next day? A recipe for Creamy Celeriac Alfredo Pasta. Click here for the recipe. I made this last night, and it was a hit with the family. Read the comments below the recipe for additional ideas and ingredients to add. It's a versatile recipe, so many other seasonal vegetables can be used.

It's a root, not an ingredient we might be familiar with, but it is used in many European soup and stew recipes.

Youtube video on preparation: https://youtu.be/udz4O4Pd_IE?si=wG5SFVAXgwawOvcF

How to add celeriac to mashed potatoes. It is a two-step process, but from the comments, it is mentioned a few times as delicious. 

Find a word that inspires you. Then, say it out loud every morning. Write it on a sticky note and leave it throughout the house. Then read it each time you look in the mirror, or open a cabinet, or the refrigerator. 

If you intend to be healthy, you’ll stand up, slip out of bed, and say, “I’m going to be healthy today”! As you see that sticky note, repeat, “I’m going to be healthy today!” As the days go on, keep reminding yourself that you are healthy, and healthy people choose fruit and vegetables. "I am healthy! So, I’ll make better choices at the grocery store". "I am a healthy person, so I'll go for a walk today".

This works for all intentions. So choose a word to use this week, month, or year.

Here is the pdf we used during the meeting. Print and circle the words that inspire you. Pick one; Live by it, repeat it, embrace it as your mantra. 

Each week presents an opportunity to evaluate your progress with healthy eating and working on your weight loss goals. Weekly and daily weight fluctuations are normal, but you can control what you wear to the meeting.

Wearing the same clothes for weigh-in can help you observe a downward trend on the scale. Clothing has weight, so why not wear the lightest outfit possible?

Once you know the weight of your clothing, it's easy to adjust your weight mentally after the weigh-in. A thin shirt, skimpy pants, and a light pair of socks (or no socks) can be helpful during the meeting—pack into your TOPS bag and change in the bathroom.

I've been wearing the same outfit, which weighs only 0.7 ounces (just half a pound), for years. I don’t wear this outfit anywhere else. In winter, I’ll wear additional clothing over my "weigh-in uniform" to maintain a consistent number on the scale.

Clothing can add significant weight, fluctuating by two pounds or more each week. Consistently wearing the same clothes provides a clearer picture of your progress.

For example, DM wears the 0.7-ounce outfit and has a 0.4-pound gain from the week before. DM calculates 0.7 - 0.4 = 0.3 pound loss. Happy day!

Betty B opts for fashion-forward clothing and lots of bling but wears the same outfit every Tuesday. She weighs in with a 1.0-pound gain, but since her outfit weighs 3 pounds (48 ounces), she calculates 3 - 1 = 2-pound loss. Sure, it isn’t written into her book as a loss, but in her mind, she feels good about all she did this week.

One week, Clark wears shorts and a thin short-sleeve shirt, kicks off his shoes, and has lost 4 pounds. Everyone celebrates and sings happy songs! 

However, the weather is colder the next week, and Clark wears jeans, a mock turtleneck, and a sweater - his weight spikes by 5 pounds. Despite trying to eat more vegetables, weigh and measure all he eats, and journal, Clark is dismayed and feels all he is doing isn’t working.

Clark realizes he needs to weigh his clothing as he changes before bedtime. To his dismay, he discovers this outfit with his sneakers weighs 6 pounds! If he had worn the same outfit from the previous week, he would have shown a 1-pound loss.

Now Clark brings and changes into this lightest outfit. If he gains weight, he knows it isn’t because of his clothing. “Time to tweak what I’m eating,” Clark says.

The moral of the story is to wear the same clothing each week. This strategy allows you to see even the slightest weight loss, which can motivate you to keep doing what is working or change what you know is holding you back.

Dianne Marshall, 2017 Queen Runnerup MA 

Leader, Chapter MA 0224, Falmouth

Watch this YouTube video from the Glucose Goddess for the reason to eat a savory snack. It starts at the 18 minute segment, and I recommend you watch from the beginning if you have time.

Savory snacks can keep you from being tired and hungry in the afternoon. They can also prevent you from consuming snack foods that sabotage your weight loss goals.

• Eat baby carrots, celery sticks, and sliced red/green peppers (okay to use dressing, cottage cheese, or savory dips like salsa or hummus to flavor it). 

• Harb-boiled egg with hot sauce or salt & pepper. 

• A hunk of cheese (one ounce!). 

• Handful of nuts. 

• Plain Greek yogurt 5%: add a handful of nuts or swirl in a non-sweetened nut butter.

• Artichoke bottoms or olives

• Garlic pickles (not sweet ones. Read the label; don't buy if sugar is one of the first five ingredients).

• Apple slices with nut butter (unsweetened)

Avoid bread, chips, crackers, cookies, protein bars, ice cream, cake, and fruit. Eating these items as a snack will cause your blood glucose to dip within an hour and can create uncontrollable binge eating. You know the feeling that you're not satisfied after having a snack? Well, eat a savory snack, then wait for the next meal to include high-carb and dessert foods (at the end of the meal).

Please refer to pages 6 & 7 in the My Day 1 booklet that was given to you when you joined TOPS. If you are a member of www.tops.org, you can access it there.

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic

Timely

Examples from My Day One.

I will TRACK WHAT I EAT for AT LEAST THREE DAYS by KEEPING A FOOD JOURNAL for the NEXT 2 WEEKS.

I will GET MORE EXERCISE on WEEKDAYS by WALKING 20 MINUTES (AFTER BREAKFAST OR LUNCH OR DINNER) until THE TEMPERATURE DROPS BELOW FREEZING.

I will CUT 100 CALORIES  ONCE A DAY by SUBSTITUTING WATER FOR A DIFFERENT BEVERAGE for ONE MONTH.

All but a few members had never tasted cape gooseberries. Member, Pat happened upon them at the Farmer's Market. This is a small berry, also known as a ground cherry, and is encased in a soft pod. We can grow this as an annual in a garden or pot on the patio. This is a low-sugar fruit that ripens in the fall. Often you can find gooseberry jam in specialty markets. Pat had berries and the jam to taste test. We loved it!

Watch this YouTube video on growing Cape Gooseberries from seed. There is an ebook you can download to refer to next spring to grow your own. You can transplant into a garden or a patio pot. 

Ask yourself, "Are you hungry?" If hungry, eat a meal, not a snack. Consider avoiding all snacking this week. Eat an early lunch or dinner if you are hungry. Three meals a day need to fall within your calorie allotment. Adding snacks between mealtimes adds too many calories to your day's total. You should consider eating breakfast later in the morning. Then, when you get the urge to snack, eat a healthy lunch. Then eat dinner the next time you get the urge to snack. Three meals a day, close the kitchen after dinner. Try for a week and journal how you are feeling, what you ate, and what you can do better.

Water is an important aspect of keeping full. Drinking 8+ glasses. When drinking caffeinated beverages or alcohol, drink a glass of water after each cup/glass to counteract the effects of these products.

We made water beads to attach to our water bottles to help keep track of the amount we drink daily.

Cookouts are not often healthy meals.  Though we try our best to eat healthy the other days of the year, the amount of ultra-processed food can overwhelm our senses.

This article by Allison Holliday, RDN, can help you visualize a healthy plate of food when you are a guest at a cookout.

If you are asked to bring a dish, make it a lower-calorie recipe or an item you'd love to offer the other guests. Skewers of vegetables for the grill will be appreciated. A tray of skewered cherry tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella balls or hummus, carrot, and celery sticks.  Ask the host if you can bring a garden salad.  And be picky about the dessert you want to have after the meal. Watermelon, cherries, and fresh fruit salad make a great ending to the meal. No one has ever said the store-bought cupcake was the best they ever had, so skip that! Have a taste or bite-size portion if you can't resist. And if it isn't worth it, toss it; don't eat it just to be polite.

Holidays are special, a Saturday cookout can happen every weekend during the summer. Don't confuse the two! The weekend is not special; it happens 52 times a year. 

In My Day 1, pages 10-11, you will learn to make lower calorie choices by selecting a similar food item to cut calories. Knowing this information helps you eat fewer calories over a day. If you can cut 100 calories with food swaps and add exercise to increase calorie burn by 100 calories, you could lose up to 20 pounds a year.

Swap your soda for a flavored seltzer and you'll save a whopping 140 calories.

Eat an English muffin instead of a bagel = 140 calories saved.

Try using a sandwich flat bun instead of 2 slices of bread for your sandwich = 60 calories saved.

Eat a fiber-rich small orange instead of a cup of OJ = 65 calories saved.

One slice of turkey bacon = 30 calories, instead of regular pork bacon @ 70 cal.

We sampled Bolthouse Ranch Dressing (found in the produce refrigerator case) made with yogurt. At 25 calories per tablespoon, you can save 50 calories over regular Ranch dressing.

Ground turkey or chicken is less than 1/2 the calories of ground beef.

Don't forget to read the nutrition labels! This simple habit can help you find lower-calorie options for your favorite foods, making it easier to manage your calorie intake.

Simple tricks to help with habit formation while trying to lose weight. 

Chang ONE Thing - Keystone Habits that Transform Your Diet.

Consider the following for spring allergy relief: Quercetin, Probiotics, Ginger & Turmeric.

Quercetin is an antiocidant and has shown that these foods help reduce allergy symptoms: apples, asparagus, blueberries, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, cranberries, grapes, green tea, kale, onions, shallots and red wine.

Bromelain is an enzyme in pinapple that may offer some relief from seasonal allergy symptoms by thinning the mucus that causes nasal congestion.

Probiotics, the good bacteria in your gut, may help lessen the symptoms of allergic rhinitis, as well as asthma and eczema. Fermented foods you should eat daily: kefir, kinmchi, kombuchas, miso, pickles, sauerkraut,,, shourdough bread and yogurt.

Ginger & Turmeric are spices with anti-inflammatory properties, which may help ease seasonal allergy symptoms. Stir turmeric into yogurt, kefir or milk for a tasty drink, or add to soup, stews or pasta dishes. One study found that curcumin eased sneezing, runny nose, and nasal congestion in patients with allergic rhinitis. 

from an article written by Kelli Ann Wilson for Taste For Life magazine.

Do you reward yourself when you have a loss? Are you compelled to treat yourself because you did so well last week? Or, are you the type of individual that will keep doing what worked last week to see another loss at the next weigh-in?

Yes - How or what do you do?

No - why not?

Are you willing to delay sweet treats, alcohol, and desserts for a bit to help you get to your goal sooner? Are you aware that too many calories eaten between meals and right before bed often equal more calories than breakfast, lunch, and dinner combined?

Yes - How will you handle the temptation?

No - why not?

To lose, you have to delay. You are an experiment of one and only you can make the changes necessary to lose consistently.

A 10-minute walk after eating helps get your body prepared to use the calories from the meal you just ate. This 'hack' is popular in Europe, and it is a common sight to see entire families out for a walk after dinner. 

Now that daylight lasts until 7 pm, there is no reason not to add this simple yet important routine to your day.  You can do this after each meal or just the largest meal. Start by walking for 5 minutes, turn around, and head back. Make a note of where the 5 minutes take you then tomorrow walk that far before turning around. As the weather gets nicer, you may find yourself walking farther and burning more calories.

Over the last three weeks, I've followed the method recommended by Jessie Inchauspe, aka The Glucose Goddess, to help your body heal from within. The book, The Glucose Goddess Method, is an easy read with many ideas to help you stick with a method to lower glucose spikes. 

This week try to eat vegetables before your meal. While making dinner, eat raw carrots, celery, and broccoli, or make a sheet pan of roasted vegetables and eat a serving before dinner during the week. A salad is a great beginning to a meal. This YouTube interview with Jessie Inchauspe is an excellent introduction to understanding this technique. It's just a few minutes describing the Veggie Starter hack. 

Here is Dr. Gundry's interview with Jessie, discussing the four hacks of her method.

Watch this YouTube video to learn three tips to help you achieve your goals.

Follow for 40 days and make it a habit to live by.

Get started with Dr. Becky for free: Learn her 4 Daily Habits (0,1,2,3 Strategy) for Weight Loss

You'll need to sign up  with your email for the downloadable copy of the 0,1,2,3 Strategy. 

Living the ZOE way with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall: Hugh's Ultimate Autumn Soup Recipe

I'd like you to watch this YouTube Video to get the recipe for using seasonal plants to make a soup packed with 30 different plants.

We enjoyed a ladle of our Stone Soup and a piece of Di's sourdough focaccia for dipping. Yummy!

We reviewed the article in TOPS News January/February 2024, pages 17-19.

Cue, behavior, reward. 

Here is the handout showing scenarios concerning grocery shopping. Before going to the store, you can change the lousy behavior (buying unhealthy ultra-processed food) and create a reward that can include good health and weight loss.

1. Eat your veggies.

2. Step away from the computer screen.

3. Warm up to cold weather activities.

4. Get plenty of sleep (optimal is 7-8 hours).

5. Avoid baggy winter clothing.

6. Don't head to festivities hungry -pre-eat with healthy foods.

7. Track your food intake and activities.

8. Hydrate with plenty of water

9. Schedule your weigh-ins (once a week at least).

10. Try new foods.

Eat something healthy and filling before heading out.

At the event, start with a glass of water. Sip slowly.

Wait as long as possible to tackle the appetizers. Then wait another five minutes.

Use the small plates (6”) and start with the vegetable tray or fruit bowl. Take just a smidge of dip.

Have another glass of water and think about which items are just-haves… What do I really want?

Make a second trip to choose non-dessert items that seem the tastiest.

Eat slowly. Savor each bite.

Still hungry?  Wait for dinner.

No dinner? Wait a few more minutes before making trip three. What is offered that I couldn’t have any time?

Enjoy a beverage slowly, then have another glass of water.

Breakfast isn't the best meal to eat oatmeal or cereal as it spikes your blood sugar which adds stress to your body. Instead, eat full-fat yogurt & kefir w/nuts and seeds. Or avocado toast on sourdough rye bread. Black coffee, no juice.

No diet is ideal - everyone's needs are different. He discusses milk, mushrooms, and ultra-processed foods.

Watch the video here.

After watching this other video, it dawned on me that I eat way too much food! What Tim Spector eats in a day. 

This is an easy project that is delicious and good for feeding your gut. If you buy bottled kombucha at the store, it costs $2.50 –$6. If you make it at home, after the initial cost of the supplies, it cost less than a quarter per bottle.

Please refer to this website and request the booklet on making kombucha. I've shared this with family and friends and they have followed the directions with much success. If you'd like some of my unflavored starter liquid with SCOBY to begin your own brew, just ask!

The Simple Guide to Kickass Kombucha

Here is more info concerning the benefits of drinking kombucha daily. 

Snacking at night, forgetting your water, charting your foods, snacking mindlessly, eating after dinner.

Forgetting the positive affirmations.

Affirmations: 

I'm going to walk more often. 

Feel good about yourself. 

I need to make small steps for my weight loss journey.

From Dr. Becky Fitness:

A low carb diet allows you to eat many hearty and satisfying foods. But, like any diet, you can get bored if you are always eating the same thing. 

In this blog post and video, I introduce you to five out-of-the-ordinary foods that are packed with flavor and nutrients. It's time to breathe new life into your low-carb diet!

Read or Watch to Discover 5 Unusual Low-Carb Foods to Add to Your Diet

We then enjoyed a mushroom cap that was air-fried for 10 minutes, then topped with pesto, a tiny piece of ham, and a smidge of mozzarella. Put back into the air-fryer for a few minutes to melt the cheese. This is a low carb yet tasty appetizer if you use button mushrooms. Use a large portabello mushroom for a dinner size entree.

Many apps, including the TOPS.org website, can calculate how many calories you should be eating to lose weight. The calculation uses height, age, activity level and wether you are male or female. It is worth it to download an app to track your daily food consumption as it helps you 'see' where the calories are coming from.

Here is a calculation you can use to figure the amount of calories you can eat  to maintain your weight. Eat 300-500 less calories each day to lose weight.

First, convert your current weight into kilograms. 

Current weight divided by 2.2 =___________ kilograms

_________ Kilograms multiplied by 0.9 for woman = __________ multiply by 24 = _____________ calories to maintain.

_________ Kilograms multiplied by 1.0 for men= __________ multiply by 24 = _____________ calories to maintain.

Example: To maintain a weight of 200 lbs:

200 lbs. divided by 2.2 = 91 kilograms

91 Kilograms multiplied by 0.9 for woman = 82 multiply by 24 =  1968 calories to maintain.

91 Kilograms multiplied by 1.0 for men =  91 multiply by 24 = 2184 calories to maintain.

To lose weight, subtract 250 calories each day to lose 1/2 lb each week.

To lose 1 lb each week subtract 500 calories each day.

Here is the link to the blog post "How to Succeed in Your Weight Loss Journey."

Quotes:

You do not need to eat the same thing every day, but to succeed, you should have a plan for how many calories you will eat for each meal and snack.

When we plan ahead, we don't need to make decisions at every meal.

You are running a marathon but it is a race with only one participant. You.

Stumbling once and overeating doesn't mean you're doomed.

Success is not an accident, nor should it be a surprise. Success happens when planning meets consistent practice.

Why Food Order Matters, Dr. Jason Fung

To keep blood sugar even it's best to have starch/carbs after eating protein. If carbs eaten first it causes blood sugar spikes and then acrash 2-3 hours later. Front load the meal with protein and non starch vegetables and fat, then wait 10 minutes to eat the carb/starch: pasta, rice, potato, corn, winter squash, bread.

Avoid foods that stimulate your appetite: sugar, carbs, bread and breaded foods.

Low carb eating- your body uses fat and proteins to get energy. Eliminate ultraprocessed foods that make you sick and fat.  Home cooking is the best way to start this plan.

Hard boil 6 eggs. Two eggs will be used for breakfast each day. If you practice intermittent  fasting, the eat the eggs as a snack later in the day.

Lunch is a large salad. Protein from chicken, tuna, meat, cheese or the hard boiled eggs. Use a high fat salad dressing like olive oil and vinegar, salt & pepper. Add avocado, walnuts and or sunflower seeds. Lots and lots of lettuce! This salad has the protein, fat and fiber necessary to keep you satiated.

Dinner is protein and low carb vegetable as mentioned in the video.

Pick three consective days to follow this eating plan every week. That's three out of seven days you eat a large salad for lunch, then a dinner with a meat and broccoli, or green beans.

Dr. Becky Gillaspy: 3 Day Eating Plan

From May 30-July 11, do the activities on your BINGO sheet.  Once you have a bingo, you will be entered to win $5 at the end of the contest.

It is now reported that 10-15 minutes of exercise 4-5 times a week is best for all of us. Ask yourself, what is your daily practice for exercise? Exercise helps you age with less pain, better sleep, heart, and circulation improvement, and weight loss, along with many benefits you might not see, but is happening internally to heal your body.

Fit exercise into your daily activities. How do you shape/create an environment to get more steps in? What makes sense to you?

 Start with parking farther from the entrance to the store. Take the stairs whenever possible. Go for a walk after a meal. Just 15 minutes (7.5 minutes one way, then 7.5 minutes back). 6,000 -8,000 steps a day is a good amount to reap benefits. If you don't leave your house, then you'll need to walk around more often to hit a minimum of 3,000 steps. 

Use Therabands, a can of fruit, or a water bottle to do arm exercises while watching t.v. commercials. Just 5X is enough to start. Then add another five lifts during the next set of commercials. Remember to do both arms!

Vacuum, not just when the house needs it, but every day to get more steps into your day (especially if you don't go out for a walk). Use the opposite arm about 1/2 way through to build muscle equally.

These ideas are from Kelly Starrett's Book, Built To Move: The Ten Essential Habits to Help You Move Freely and Live Fully.

You should have been there for this awesome program. We took notes, so you can review. A handout was sent home with everyone to respond to the questions and to do's that will be discussed on June 13.

Susan Machado gave the Advocate's Program, 'It's a Great Day for a New Beginning.'

Highlights of the presentation

• Make corrections to your food plan ASAP!

• Remember the TOPS vision-weight loss, support each other, be healthy, and take off pounds sensibly.

• Create a vision board with pictures and goals for three, six months, and even daily and weekly goals.

• Your goal is important to you.

• Remember your support system - log into the online content on www.tops.org

• And keep a photo of yourself on the fridge or mirror to help remind you of your goal.

• Visualize (in your mind) what you want.

• Take four minutes to think about how your day will go. 

• Say a positive affirmation.

• Success-measured by how much you share/support another. Make a difference to each other; acts of kindness help a lot. Everyone matters.

• Be patient with yourself. Keep a good attitude as best you can.

• Focus on what you can control.

• Motivation helps.

• Discipline, it's up to you to do the work that is needed to reach your goals.

• Self-control helps, along with confidence and willpower.

• Stop-think-act.

• If using an excuse - figure out how to switch it. 

• Focus- too busy, overwhelmed- consider simplifying and finding the balance.

• Journey - it's a lifelong process.

• Progress, not perfection.

• Today is the day to start.

We watched this video from Dr. Becky Gillaspey and discussed the LMNT Electrolyte as a stopper. A stopper is an activity to signal the end of eating. 

Low Carb Strategies for Summer Weight Loss

Low Fat Coleslaw, 3 servings

1 cup shredded green cabbage

1 cup shredded purple or red cabbage

1 cup shredded carrots

1/4 cup non fat plain yogurt

2 Tablespoons light mayonnaise

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon petter

1/2 teaspoon celery seeds

Mix shredded vegetables in a bowl. In another bowl mix all other ingredients and let develop in fridge for at least 20 minutes. Blend dressing over shredded vegetables.

1 cup = 65 calories.

Add chopped apple, raisins, craisins, walnuts or sliced almonds for more flavor.

No Calorie Fruit Sweetener

2 Tablespoons granulated Monk Fruit

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ginger

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Microwave Fruit Dessert

1 medium apple - firm apple such as: Granny Smith, Empire, Cortland (95 calories, 25 gr. carbs: 19 gr. natural sugar, 3 gr. fiber)

1 ring fresh or canned in own juice pineapple (10 calories, 1 gr. natural sugar)

1/4 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (20 calories, 5 total carbs)

Half and core apple, place on microwave proof dish, lightly spray with butter flavored oil. Cut pinapple slice in half. Place on each half of apple, sprinke blueberries over both halves. Sprinkle with No Calorie Fruit Sweetener mix. Cook in microwave for 2 1/2 - 3 minutes. Enjoy!

Read this article about the DASH Diet.

Dash Diet Tips

• Add a serving of vegetables at lunch and at dinner.

• Add a serving of fruit to your meals or as a snack. Canned and dried fruits are easy to use, but check that they don't have added sugar.

• Use only half your typical serving of butter, margarine, or salad dressing, and use low-fat or fat-free condiments.

• Drink low-fat or skim dairy products any time you would normally use full-fat or cream.

• Limit meat to 6 ounces a day. Make some meals vegetarian.

• Add more vegetables and dry beans to your diet.

• Instead of snacking on chips or sweets, eat unsalted pretzels or nuts, raisins, low-fat and fat-free yogurt, frozen yogurt, unsalted plain popcorn with no butter, and raw vegetables.

• Read food labels to choose products that are lower in sodium.

Use this diary to track the number of carbs, vegetables, fruit, low-fat dairy, lean meat, fat, and sweets.

Note that the amount per serving in the article is for a 2000 cal diet. 

Everyone did well over the Easter holiday. We reviewed the tips from those that lost weight and what they had done to keep from gaining after big meals and tempting goodies over the weekend.

Be proactive for yourself. It takes effort over and over and over and over. Keep it up!

Consider a food delivery option, like "Hello Fresh" to help ease you into preparing your own meals. They have good food choices with whole fresh ingredients that can help you stay on track-made from scratch and without excess items and no ultra-processed fake foods. Worth a try and less costly than going out to lunch or dinner.

Recommitting to your goal every week helps you feel rewarded and hopeful. It is a daily struggle for both TOPS and KOPS members. You need to be consistent.  As a group, we collaborate to be successful.

Patti Jean Horton is our new state coordinator. 

Nicole Johnson - Morais is now the RI state coordinator.

EWG’s Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen

Full List of Foods from EWG

Real Simple: The New Dirty Dozen

Pesticides in produce: 2023’s list of the most and least contaminated foods

Pathways To Healing: The EGW Dirty Dozen 2023

Wash your produce: 251 pesticides traced in a recent study

Yearly Opposition to the EWG's list being made public

Handout during meeting

Program for Meeting

Read the article that was presented here.

Written by

Alison Deshong, 

Staff Writer, Product Testing Team

Reviewed by

Dr. Michael Breus, PhD, DABSM, FAASM, 

Clinical Psychologist, Sleep Medicine Expert

The handout was from The Bulletproof Diet.

Many, many years ago, our leader, Barbara P, gave each member a pill bottle with 30 small pieces of paper inside. The goal was to take out one slip of paper daily and use the tip or affirmation to help us get through the day.

A member found her bottle of 'pills.' Pick a favorite, and make it your mantra for the week.

If you can’t wash it, don’t eat it.

Do something for yourself today.

Be as good to yourself as you are to others.

Write down everything you put in your mouth.

Smile all day today. It might make others wonder.

Look in the mirror and say, “I love you.”

You are worthy and deserve to succeed.

Use extra determination today.

Today only eat one slice of bread or roll today.

From the desk of Luis Villaseñor

Click this link to read What Causes Carb Cravings?  (Plus 5 Ways to Control Them)

Chapter notes:

Beware of ultraprocessed food. 

Craving is rooted in your mind and body.

Think of sugar as a drug with addictive properties.

High glycemic foods spike blood sugr - release dopamine - makes you feel good then crave more sugar.

The more sugar you eat, the more you crave.

Whole fruits do not spike blood sugar as much because of fiber. How easy is it to eat 3 oreo cookies (150 calories)? Very easy, with the possible outcome of eating more than 3 at a time or day.  How easy is it to eat 3 clementine oranges (90-110 calories)? Not as easy. By the third one you'd be feeling you had enough.

Pay attention to hunger hormones; ghrelin and leptin.

Ghrelin makes your stomach growl. The article mentions naming that growl as the goblin. When you hear that growl, don't feed the goblin. He is telling you that you have finished digesting your last meal and he wants to be fed. Delay eating at that moment. Get busy with something, anything. Clean the counter, go into another room and take care of a project in there.  Drink water, tea or coffee (no sugar/cream). Pick up your yarn and needles. Get outside and walk the  property or take a  walk. Often, within a few minutes, the goblin stops talking. This helps you delay eating. You may find you can skip a snack by not being pressured to eat just because the goblin says too. Ghrelin stalls weight loss.

Leptin tells your brain that you are full and dimishes the craving. Ultra processed foods and added sugar tricks you into 'wanting' more, not 'needing' more. Leptin helps with digestion and weight loss. 

Remove temptation. Don't buy the items that sabotage your goals. 

Getting 8-10 hours of sleep can help calm the ghrelin hormone. If you don't sleep enough, you can create more cravings and out of control impulses that seem to come out of nowhere. Start by going to bed 30 minutes earlier than you normally do. When you go to bed, it's to go to sleep. 

• TV commercials, magazines, and food shows convince us to buy their products. 

• When eating out, be aware of the size of the meals as they are always too many calories. Take 1/2 home every time. 

• Wine, beer & mixed drinks are empty calories. Drink water, tea, coffee, and broth.

• Go out for a walk, go out bowling, go out to do anything, but don’t go out to eat.

• Hunger increases when you eat sugar, so choose snacks that don’t have sugar. (Hint-carrots & celery).

• The word ‘healthy’ is overused and can make you think eating more is okay. Only eat a serving size. 

• Eat good fats like olive oil on your salad, avocado as a snack (smeared on toast is yummy), and tree nuts (almonds, hazelnut, walnuts, pistachios) to satisfy your hunger.

• Low-fat products have added sugar and more salt to make them taste good. Because otherwise, it would not be appealing to eat.

We don’t need a new year to start our _________________. Every day is a good time for a new start. Every meal is a good time to implement another tweak. It can be easy or a bit uncomfortable, or maybe you must learn a new skill. To do nothing different means nothing different happens. 

The challenge this month (because it takes 21– 30 days for a new activity to become a habit) is to use portion control at the last or the biggest meal of the day. 

Read the program HERE.

The summary PDF can be printed and read daily.

This week choose one of the 9 tips (best to start with the first one) that you will implement for the week. You’ll pick a second tip next week and then do both. But, tip one will now be done for 2 meals of the day. 

By the end of the month, you’ll have implemented 4 tips, and tip #1 will be your new normal. But don’t stop there; keep adding another tip each week to incorporate all 9. Then, by September, the new habits you started in January will be part of your life. When we start the month of HalloweenThanksgivingChristmasNewYearSuperBowlValentine we’ll be stronger in our commitment to reach our weight loss goals for the year.

This week we watched Dr. Becky's Youtube video on 10 Ways to Stop Eating Sugar.

Here is another interesting video and blog to help you decide how to lose weight.

Please make a point of signing up for her weekly emails to receive messages that somehow arrive when you need a gentle reminder to follow your plan.

Click here for a pdf of The Different Names of Sugar Used to Describe the Hidden Sugars in Packaged Foods.

"For the first time since 2007, the Department of Agriculture included raisins in its most recent tests for pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables, and the results are shocking: Of more than 750 raisin samples analyzed, 99 percent tested positive for at least two pesticides. On average, each sample was contaminated with more than 13 pesticides, and one sample had 26 pesticides.

EWG does not usually analyze processed foods like raisins for our annual Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™. But because of the heavy pesticide loads USDA found, we wanted to see how raisins compare to the fresh produce on our Dirty Dozen™ list. After running the analysis again, we found that if raisins were included, they would rank No. 1. By a wide margin, raisins would rank higher than fresh grapes, which would rank seventh.

The bottom line: Raisins are one of the dirtiest produce commodities on the market – and even some organic raisins are contaminated".

For the full article, click here, Raisins: No. 1 on the Dirty Dozen™ list?

The Environmental Working Group has an app to check the safety of food and products you use daily. Using your smartphone, click here for the Dirty Dozen/Clean 15 and the link to access the EWG app at the bottom of the page.

And here is the link to the Chlormequat contamination that has been found in cereals and oatmeal. 

https://www.ewg.org/research/ewg-investigation-dangerous-agricultural-chemical-chlormequat-found-popular-oat-based

My Valentine's gift to everyone is a pen and a heart-shaped notepad.  They come with a little homework assignment. Does anyone know what affirmations are? The website www.mindtools defines them as positive statements that can help you challenge and overcome self-sabotage and negative thoughts.   Fostering the belief that a “positive mental attitude supported by meaningful self-esteem can help a person succeed at anything.

How to use positive affirmation

   You can use affirmations in any situation where you would like to see a positive result, such as:  overcoming bad habits, finishing projects you have started, improving your self-esteem, learn to control negative feelings such as frustration, anger, and impatience.

   Affirmations work very well when used with visualization, so write down your affirmation in your notebook, look at it often and repeat it to yourself regularly.  Learn to repeat your affirmation as soon as you feel yourself slipping into the negative thought or action you are trying to overcome.  A great example is I am an intelligent person.  I WILL control my emotions and not allow my emotions to control me.

How to write your affirmation statement

   Your affirmation should target the behavior you are trying to change.  For example, every time I am tempted to use food to satisfy my frustrated desires, build up my injured ego, or dull my senses, I will remember I will take off pounds sensibly.  Or I will not be so hard on myself, or I deserve to like and love myself.

Turn negatives into positives.  If you struggle with negative self-talk..for example, I don’t know why I even try; I will never get this weight off; write the thought or belief down in your notebook, then choose an affirmation that is the opposite of that thought… I am an intelligent person; I can do this.  Write and say your affirmation in the present tense as if it is happening.  I am controlling my emotions and not letting my emotions control me.  This will help you believe it is true right now.  Say it with feeling.  Self-affirmations carry more weight when they are said or thought of with emotion.  I can give a great talk on the subject of self-affirmation, and it will help to use conviction and humor.

 Your affirmation should be personal and specific to you.  My personal affirmation for this moment will be that  I will be proud of myself for presenting this talk to my group and challenging them and myself to use the little notebook to create and use self-affirmations of positivity for yourself for the upcoming week.

Diane R.