Book Giveaway for January!

This month’s book contest features the “Just Tell Her to Stop: Family Stories of Eating Disorders , by Becky Henry.

 

This fascinating book offers a different perspective on eating disorders.  If you have experienced disordered eating, or have children who might be susceptible, it’s a must read.  Parenting a child in today’s world, which is focused on controlling food, food addictions, setting up bizarre behaviors with food, binge eating and food struggle, isn’t easy.  It’s a food focused and foodcentric world.  This book helps you understand the struggle for control.

Two ways to win!

1.  Go to America’s Weight Loss Catalyst Facebook Page by clicking here and hitting the “Like” button.  You’ll be the bonus of tips and motivation every morning from the facebook page!

2.  Visit any other blog post right here on this site and post your comments, opinion or questions.  We’re always happy when you share the blog posts by using the buttons at the bottom of the page too!

You get one entry for every action you take!

Share the Catalyst experience on social media and you’re automatically entered to win this month’s book:  Just Tell Her To Stop: Family Stories of Eating Disorders by Becky Henry!

 

A Yearning Greater than Weight Loss

A recent blog post by Shay Sorrells, who was on Season 8 of NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” inspired this post.

I couldn’t find a place to comment on her blog, but I wanted to share my perspective on her “lessons.”

 

Do these people look like they will find their essence in those apples?

Shay called her post “The seven biggest mistakes I made after Loser” and they went like this:

  1. I stopped measuring… [food]
  2. I took a break… [she says another person suggested she do this and she listened] (more…)

Zapping your “Sticking Points”

Weight loss takes time.  I’m often asked to define the best loss rate.  My answer is:  “The best rate is what your body and mind will allow.  It will take as long as it takes YOU.”

There are natural restrictions on what your body will release in terms of weight.  If you are careful to burn fat and nothing else (optimal because the body fights back when other elements of the body are threatened), you will release as much as your body can process.  The process of burning fat is quite complicated, and doesn’t happen as efficiently as burning some butter on your stove – misunderstanding this is a big reason most people never achieve permanent weight loss.

The Scale Can't Tell What's Going on Inside the Body

Did you know that, if you could burn one pound of fat in a day (and you can’t), it would take

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Abandoning Ourselves

Have you heard this quote?

“The chief cause of failure is trading what we want most for what we want at the moment.”

The road to weight loss is littered with bad trades!

We vow to attend a barbecue and avoid drinking alcohol, since that often sets off compulsive eating. But, in the moment, perhaps under peer pressure from the host or hostess, we throw the vow away and plunge headfirst into a margarita.

Alcohol can lead to relaxed boundaries around food.

Alcohol can lead to relaxed boundaries around food.

We promise to eat in a healthy manner but, when the first meeting of the work day shows up decorated in doughnuts, we’re on a sugar high before the boss can say “Good morning!”
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The Many Faces of Hunger

As our culture becomes more and more fixated with excess weight and dieting, we grow fatter. As weight loss methods proliferate, verging on the dangerous, we risk serious bodily harm to get thin, but never seem to get there. Unexpressed desires, hungers and needs drive this counterproductive behavior.

Through the years, my clients have shared many forms of hunger with me and with each other in my year-long weight loss class. Often, they describe a deep, endless hunger they feel in a sharp, visceral way – a deep hole that is never filled, no matter how much food, drink and drama are added to the void. That’s what I thought about when I saw this video:

The hunger we feel has nothing to do with food. (more…)