Truly my favorite time of year…I love the lights, the music, the evergreen garland, the parties and, let us not forget, the array of beautifully decorated cookies that only emerge for this tiny window in our calendar year. I couldn’t always easily include cookies in my list of holiday loves. For many years it was a complicated relationship. … Continue reading
I don’t remember when my former New Years tradition began but I am guessing it lasted for at least 20 years. Gearing up to the big day I would get intoxicated with excitement about my resolve to be perfect in my eating and exercise habits. I would completely convince myself that this was THE YEAR, … Continue reading
This time of year can induce feelings of dread; the taunting of the treats in the cupboard, the overage at the end of the night when not enough kids came by, the guilt about the carnage of shiny wrappers in the trash bin. Halloween doesn’t need to be so frightful. There are ways we can approach … Continue reading
Sitting in the restaurant the other day with my daughter I became aware that I was experiencing a familiar dynamic of dis-ease as I repeatedly looked at the waiter and toward the kitchen doors, as if my very impatient stare could result in a quicker delivery of my lunch. I had been so wrapped up in … Continue reading
There is a common expression in therapy circles “what you resist persists” and never have I found that more true than in the realm of food. This is why, for me, dieting is so dangerous and so ineffective. The constant restriction keeps us locked in a constant battle with the object of our obsession…food. We move between periods … Continue reading
There was my hand reaching (for the fifth time) into the bag of M&Ms that was leftover from decorating my son’s birthday cake. It was that same mindless emotional eating experience that I have had many times before where the food feels like both an alluring comfort and an all-powerful adversary …and I don’t even … Continue reading
That my body never lies. That food is not scary and enjoying it is my birthright. That ‘big’ ‘round’ ‘curvy’ are just words, descriptions, nothing more. No more menacing that ‘blue’ ‘cold’ or ‘salty’. That all of us deserve to be completely free in our bodies and in our beings. That the present moment is … Continue reading
Yesterday I received 2 disturbing e-mails about bullying. One was from a sweet and wonderful woman I know who shared a story about standing at a street corner while a passerby hurled a violent insult towards her about the size of her body propelling her from enjoying a normal sunny autumn day into a moment … Continue reading
When I listen to my body I realize that, despite what hundreds of diet experts say, I am not actually hungry for food first thing in the morning. I don’t usually get hungry until about three or four hours after I awaken. How many times have I forced myself to cram in a bagel on … Continue reading
Name a diet and I have tried it. I have belonged to Weight Watchers in 3 different countries over 3 different decades, I have tried the Zone, Atkins, Slimfast, NutriSystem, Herbalife and many, many others. All of them worked…for a while. Then that inevitable day would come when I would find myself on my second … Continue reading
Deeper Cravings 