Can You “Derek Jeter” Weight Loss?

Saturday was an incredible day for a baseball fan, and especially for a New York Yankees fan like me.

That sunny, hot summer day will be forever remembered as the day the first Yankee reached 3,000 career hits in the game we call “America’s Past Time.” Now, the Yankees are known for winning. They own 27 World Series titles, far more than any other team in history. And they count the greatest baseball players of all time as their players and leaders: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Roger Maris, Whitey Ford, Reggie Jackson, Phil Rizzuto, Bill Dickey, Elston Howard… the list goes on and on. Despite some wicked records from some of the greatest hitters of all time, no Yankee had hit the pinnacle of 3000 hits.

Until Saturday, July 9, 2011.

That’s the day long-time Yankee shortstop, Derek Jeter, connected with an off-speed pitch from the Tampa Ray’s pitcher David Price and sent it over the fence in left field. Not just a hit! A homerun!

For long-time Yankees fans, like myself, it wasn’t really a surprise that it happened. But it was no less satisfying. It was the culmination of a career we’ve watched for 17 years. Unlike many athletes in this free agency/rapidly moving society of ours, Jeter has played his entire career for one team.

Now, weight loss. How do the two connect?
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Independence from Food

In the U.S., it’s Independence Day! Is today the day you will declare your independence from using food in any way that does not serve your body well?

Create Some Fireworks in Your Life!

Create Some Fireworks in Your Life!

In our food-driven society, we use food for a myriad of reasons that have nothing to do with hunger or physical need.

Just a few of the very common food excuses:
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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…)

I’m So Over Food

A few weeks ago, my husband offered to go out for ice cream after dinner. He rarely wants dessert. In fact, I used to be the one sending him out for ice cream.

“What do you want?” he asked.

“Ummmm, nothing.”

“Really?” he said. “I’ll get your favorite. Coffee.”

Don’t you just love it when someone pushes food at you?

No! I don't want any!

No! I don't want any!

(But, actually, I’m pretty impressed he knows my favorite, so I considered it a moment.)
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