Contents:

Featured Client
Mom of Iraq Vet Wins
Weight Battle

by Elizabeth Fergason

Most people think about losing weight for a long time before doing anything about it, but what motivates each a person to finally take action is very individual.  Celia Perez, our featured client, has an especially poignant story.  It involves what you might call a bit of divine intervention.

Last April, Celia was feeling terrible.  Her only son had just left for the war in Iraq, and her doctor was insisting she take off some pounds.  

“I’m not in a good mental state to be on a diet,” she protested, explaining that the worry and stress of having her boy in Iraq drove her to eat. 

She left the doctor’s office feeling out of sorts.  She was tired of being overweight.  She was tired of her clothes not fitting.  Really, she was just tired in general, having little energy beyond what it took to get through the day.  She’d tried so many diets, but they never worked for the long term. A few pounds came off, then they came back again and often with a few more.

Driving home from the doctor, Celia was so preoccupied with these thoughts that she missed a turn and had to take a new street.  Call it divine intervention or just plain luck, but she came to a stop right next to Lite for Life of San Carlos.  A huge banner out front proclaimed “LOSE 10-15 POUNDS IN SIX WEEKS! 

Celia sat at the red light and gazed at the sign.  She was vaguely aware of the light turning green and then red again, but she didn’t move!  She was too deep in thought.  “If I could lose only 10 pounds I’d be so happy,” she thought.  She thought about her son in Iraq.  Maybe she could do it for him.  He was worried about her health. 

Next time the light turned green she drove straight home and called Lite For Life. Celia met with counselor Sandra Neff the following day and signed up for the program.
 
“Sandra was so great,” recalls Celia. “She showed me how I’d been caught up in an awful sugar cycle.  I was having cravings every two or three hours so I’d nibble on something sweet.  I always felt tired and hungry.  I never knew the reason I felt so bad was because of my blood sugar levels.”

Sandra says, “Celia was the great one!  She came almost every day to weigh in and she was very conscientious about sticking to our program.”

Once Celia got going, she didn’t stop at 10 pounds, but took off a whopping 55 pounds over about five months.  Celia lost 55 inches as well, and has never felt better.

“Sandra showed me how to make substitutes to help kick my sugar habit,” she says.  “I cut out sodas and started eating healthier whole foods, like a baked potato.  That really helped with sugar cravings.  And I make sure I take my supplements and eat my snacks on time to prevent cravings and overeating.” 

Like Sandra, Celia also attributes her success to frequent consultations. “I go in as much as five times a week,” she says.  “Having regular accountability to a counselor means sticking to the plan and sticking to the plan translates into significant weight loss.”

Celia’s weight loss isn’t the only happy ending.  In August, her son came home from Iraq, safe and sound.  He was delighted with her change.  He told me “Mom, you look beautiful, you look healthy.  I’m so happy for you!” 

And so are we!

Elizabeth Fergason is a Counselor at Lite for Life in Palo Alto

Nutrition in the News:
Mindful Reading:
Scientist Studies Mindless Eating

by Elizabeth Fergason

Extra pounds do not simply appear overnight.  They sneak up on you bit-by-bit, until one day you step on the scale and are shocked.  How could this happen?  When did this happen?

Food psychologist Brian Wansink says weight gain creeps up stealthily because at any given time, we eat more than we think we are eating.  He calls this phenomena mindless eating, and has published a book by the same name.  In a manner that is both entertaining and insightful, he describes his experiments and makes the case that we make dozens of unconscious daily decisions that have considerable influence on our weight.

According to Wansink’s research, which has been presented on Oprah and widely excerpted in the popular press, only about 10% of the many food choices we make each day are conscious choices we’ve really thought about. 

For example, we mostly rely on our eyes to tell us what is a reasonable portion is.  But the eye cannot be trusted.  For example, you may fill your dinner plate once, refuse seconds and congratulate yourself on not overeating.  The trouble is, plates are larger today than they were 30 years ago so what looks pleasingly proportional to the eye is really too much food.

Eating straight from an open package is another common pitfall, especially if you’re snacking while doing something else.  In one of Wansink’s experiments, movie patrons were given either a medium or jumbo size box of popcorn.   Recipients of the jumbo container ate an average of 21 more handfuls of popcorn than those who got the medium container, even though when surveyed most said they had eaten only as much as was in the medium container.

The conclusion of Wansink’s research is that most of us can’t tell if we are eating too much or too little.  We are not instinctive judges of portion size, nutritional value or calorie content.  A lot of us don’t even know when we feel full enough to stop eating.

The good news is that just by paying attention to small, seemingly insignificant details about how we present our food can add up to a big difference. Here are some tips:

• Work with a food scale and measuring cups and spoons.  You don’t have to do this forever, just until you develop a keen eye for portion size.

• Read labels carefully.  Many packages that look like they should be a single serving actually contain 2 or more servings.

• Portion out your snacks into plastic bags or containers, or perhaps onto one of those new smaller plates you’ve just purchased!

• Try to eat in the kitchen or dining room only.  Sit down and enjoy your meal.

• Don’t eat at your desk.  If you’re at the office, turn off the computer and stop working while you eat, or go to the lunchroom if your office has one.

• Steer clear of “dashboard dining”: driving and eating at the same time.

• Downsize bowls, and plates and even silverware.  Use salad plates as dinner plates, or buy a set of smaller vintage tableware

• Keep tempting food off the counter and in the cabinet. Wrap it in foil so you don’t see the package. 

• Leave healthy snacks like fruit and vegetables clearly in view.

• Avoid serving dinner family” style. Plate meals in the kitchen and bring them to the table.  The only bowls of food on the table should be veggies or a salad.

• Be the last one to start eating.  Everyone will think you are super polite, which you are, while also slowing yourself down and eating more consciously.

• Put your fork down between bites and savor your food.  If you’re involved in an interesting conversation, stop eating for the moment and savor the conversation.

Elizabeth Fergason is a Counselor at Lite For Life in Palo Alto

Featured Product:
Gluten-free Foods

Gluten is a protein found in many grains, including wheat, barley and oats.  It can be hard for many people to digest and lead to many health problems.  It can also interfere with weight loss. 

Gluten can be tough to avoid, but Lite For Life does carry many gluten free products.  Mary’s Gone Crackers, Blue Diamond Nut Thins and Real Foods Corn Thins are great options in the cracker department. 

We also have gluten frozen entrees, including the Shepherd’s Pie, Parma Bake and Mediterannean Risotto from Eat-Rite, the Tofu Scramble breakfast and Tofu Scramble pocket from Amy’s.  Your counselors can point out additional gluten free products.  We also take special orders.

Maureen's Tips
Conscious Eating to Meet the Halloween Challenge

Whether you are reducing or maintaining, the real Halloween challenge takes place in the days and weeks after Halloween, when bowls of leftover Halloween candy are hanging around everywhere you go.  It’s the perfect setup for mindless eating.

Now is the perfect opportunity to start practicing conscious eating!  No really one wants to end up having eaten 6 mini Mars bars, but without conscious effort on your part it can happen before you know it. 

The first line of defense is to control your environment.  Get rid of leftover Halloween candy immediately.  Don’t keep it in the house where it will tempt you.  The garbage can is a good place for junk food if you don’t feel good about giving it to someone else to eat.

If you have kids, ask them how much candy they think they should eat.  Have them select the pieces they want most, and get rid of the rest.  Consider buying it back from them for a dime a piece; they can use the money to treat themselves to something else instead.

Once you have come to an agreement about what they can have each day, portion their daily candy allotment into Ziploc bags and label them with their name and the date.  That will make it harder for you to break into their candy—they’ll really notice if you do.

If candy is left out where you work, ask your co-workers if they really want to eat it.  If they thought about it, most would say no.  If some do want to eat it, divvy it up and have them put it in their desk drawers where it will be out of sight and out of mind for those who want to join you in abstaining.

The second line of defense is to make sure you are eating well.  Don’t skip meals and snacks, drink plenty of water, and make sure you don’t substitute candy for a meal or snack.  Pay extra attention to having something healthy on hand for your ‘hungry times’ so you don’t end up going for the candy.

Remind yourself that being slim and healthy is the real treat.  It also wouldn’t hurt to treat yourself to a little something special like a good book, manicure or massage as a reward for your conscious eating efforts.  You can do it!

Maureen Sullivan, MA, CNC is the founder of Lite For Life.

Recipe of the Month:

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Apples and squash complement each other naturally, and the curry adds a warm note that makes this soup sing.  A hand blender and pre-cut butternut squash cubes make preparation a snap.

• Spectrum Butter Flavor Canola Oil Spray
• 2 cups yellow onion, finely chopped
• 4-5 teaspoons curry powder
• 2 ½ lbs cubed butternut squash (about 3 bags pre cut or 2 large squash peeled, cut and cubed)
• 2 large fuji apples, peeled cut and chopped
• 3 cups chicken stock
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation

• When the onions are tender, add the cubed squash, apples and stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer partially covered until squash and apples are very tender. 
• Using a hand blender, purée soup in the pot until smooth.  Add more stock or water if thinner consistency is desired.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Yield:  8 servings. 

Counts as:  ¼ fruit, ½ starch

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