WHAT ABOUT YOUR PARTNER?



My partner loves me.

My partner eats when he is hungry.
My partner drinks when he is thirsty.

My partner does not undesrtand compulsive eating behavior.

My partner does not understand me...

HOW CAN WE CELEBRATE?



We celebtate our friends' visit with food.
We celebtate our bithday with food.
We celebrate our graduation with food.
We celebrate with food...


Is there another way to celebrate?

WHAT ABOUT OUR BEST FRIENDS?



Our best friends love us.
Our best friends want to have good time with us.
Our best friends want to support us.

Our best friends are not addicted to food.


Our best friends don't know how to help us...

IT IS ALL ABOUT EMOTIONS



We are happy, we eat too much, we are sad...

We are sad, we eat too much, we are sad...

We are hungry, we eat too much, we are sad...




Why?

WE CAN'T QUIT IT



Quit smoking?  Possible.
Quit drinking?  Possible.
Quit drugs?   Possible.

Quit food?  Impossible.




You can't quit food and water...

WE ARE ADDICTED TO FOOD


We go to a movie theater, we buy popcorn.
We are in the waiting room, we buy snack from vending machine.
We drive, we stop to buy potato chips at the gas station.
We go shopping, we take a break to eat ice cream.


We eat, eat, eat, eat...



Are we addicted?

HOW CAN WE EXPLAIN THAT?


You see pizza, you eat.
You see chocolate, you eat.
You see potato chips, you eat.
You see ice cream, you eat.
You see dinner leftovers, you eat.
You see crackers, you eat.
You see bread, you eat...




You can't breathe...




You see pizza, you eat.
You see chocolate, you eat.
You see potato chips, you eat.
You see ice cream, you eat.
You see dinner leftovers, you eat.
You see crackers, you eat.
You see bread, you eat...



You cry...





You see pizza, you eat.
You see chocolate, you eat.
You see potato chips, you eat.
You see ice cream, you eat.
You see dinner leftovers, you eat.
You see crackers, you eat.
You see bread, you eat...

WHY IS DIETING SO DIFFICULT?



Atkins Diet- easy
Zone Diet- easy
Weight Watchers Diet- easy
South Beach Diet- easy





Moderation- the most difficult thing in the world...

CAN WE CONTROL OUR EMOTIONS?


When something good happens to us, we are happy.
When somehing bad happens to us, we are sad.
When we fall in love, we love...



When we are tired, we sleep.

When we are hungry, we eat...



It should be that simple...

OUR FEELINGS


Do you know this feeling when people laugh at you?
Do you feel ashamed when your doctor is telling you to lose weight?
Do you feel sad when you look at your old pictures?
Do you feel disappointed when you can't put your favorite dress on?


What do you feel?



Write a letter to yourself and hide it...maybe you will find it one day in the future, maybe not...


It does not matter.


What matters it that this letter will help you to understand what do you feel now, in the present moment...

WHAT DO WE DO?


When people are sad, they cry.
When people are happy, they smile.
When people are tired, they sleep.
When people are hungry they, eat.


When we are sad, we eat.
When we are happy, we eat.
When we are tired, we eat.
When we are hungry, we swallow food.


What is wrong with us?

DON'T FEEL GUILTY


I was a happy child.
I could watch tv.
I could play with my friends.
I had a dog.

My mother and my father loved me.


When I was 8 years old, they got divorced and...


I was a sad child.
I could not watch tv.
I could not play with my friends.
I could not have a dog.

My mother and her second husband hated me.



I could only count on Food.



Don't feel guilty because Food is your Best Friend.

ALL WE NEED IS FOOD


Food or food?



Food is supposed to maintain life. 

We need to consume it to provide nutritional support to our body.

Food contains carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals.

We should eat the combination of all above so our body can produce the energy that we need to survive.


Balanced food makes us healthy.




Food never disappoints us.

It does not replace a real human being but reminds us of one. 

We consume comfort food to relieve our negative emotions.

Food improves mood in our brains. 


Comfort food makes us happy.




Was John Lennon right that all we need is love?

EMOTIONAL EATING TRIGGERS



We eat a lot of food in response to feelings instead of hunger.
We eat when we feel sad, angry, lonely, hopeless, bored, out of control...

Hm, but what about?

Valentines Day?  We eat because we love!
Thanksgiving Day?  We eat because we want to share the table with our family!
Birthday?  We eat because we want to celebrate!

Do we feel sad, loneley, hopeless, bored or out of contol these days?


What makes us eat then?


Happy Valentines Day!

WHAT DO I REMEMBER?


There were few wonderful events in my life.


What do I remember about them?


My best friend's wedding?  Chocolate fountain!

My graduation day?  Pizza with pepperoni!

My first car?  Vanilla ice cream with whipped cream and chocolate sauce!

My trip to Napa Valley?  Bread with butter in Oxbow Market...not wine...



Should I be ashamed of myself?

Maybe, but the Food was so good!



All I can remember, is Food...



What do you remember?

DON'T LISTEN TO OTHERS


My mother was telling me that I was fat and forcing me to be on a diet.

I had to weight myself every day and write the numbers down so she could check them.


She was upset with me when I gained weight and happy when I lost some.


Who had a problem?


I was just a child and ate because food was my only friend.
My mother behaved like my enemy...

Food wasn't talking to me and she was, only mean things.


I believed her and felt very useless.


When I grew up, I realized that we have body and soul.


Once you discover your soul, you will stop listening to others!

TRUST YOURSELF


Sit down and close your eyes...

What do you see? 

Probably nothing.


When I keep my eyes closed, my thoughts jump from one to another and I can't see anything.
My thoughts are connected with the outside world and there are so many of them.
I don't know what to do, who is right...too much information!


I close my eyes again and ask the questions myself.
Nobody knows better what I want, right? 


How can someone tell you what to eat if they have no idea what you need?

Trust only yourself and customize your diet.

MY VALENTINE

I love my husband because he loves my scrambled eggs with bacon.
I love my husband because he loves my onion soup.
I love my husband because he loves my spicy chicken.
I love my husband because he loves my clam chowder.
I love my husband because he loves my chicken broth.

I hated myself because I love food...

DON'T PUNISH YOURSELF


Would I punish my best friend because he ate too much?
Would I punish my husband because he ate pizza?
Would I punish my brother because he ate hamburger?
Would I punish my sister because she ate chocolate?
Would I punish my father because he ate french fries?
Would I punish my mother because she ate ice cream?


Would I punish myself becuase I ate too much?


Respect yourself as much as people that you love the most...and you will never punish yourself again...

WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVATION?


We need long-term motivation...and I am not talking about the list of our goals.

I am talking about something in our brain...


I remember how excited I was about the trip to my country!  I haven't been there for few years.

I could not find a better motivation to lose some weight!
I was counting the days, knowing that once I get there, I will have a great time.
I was planning to visit my family and eat!

I had such a great motivation!  I had short-term motivation...

I lost some weight!


And I lost control as well...


My trip was wonderful!  I saw my family and ate...didn't really do anything else...
Everyone was happy to see me and I was happy to see them!

I was happy that I lost some weight and the food was so good! 


And then I came back...

I was sad and gained weight...and I had no motivation to lose it...



What is your motivation?

MY BEST FRIEND FOOD

I want to tell you about a best friend.  In general..

Best friend is someone who is always there for you when you need him.
Best friend smiles when you smile.
Best friend always answers the phone when you call.
Best friend is someone who listens and understands you.
Best friend will always hug you when you need it.
Best friend will drive you to the hospital when you feel sick.
Best friend will always give you the honest opinion.
Best friend is a person you can trust.
Best friend holds your hand when you cry.
Best friend loves you no matter what you do.


Best friend is the person you are thinking about as you read this.



Is Food really your Best Friend?

COMPULSIVE EATING? YOU JUST LIKE TO EAT!


I was alone with my problem for many years.  I could not understand what my problem was but I knew that something was wrong.

When I tried to explain to people that I ate too much food, they would say that I just liked to eat!


Yes!  As simple as that!  I just liked to eat!

What about hiding with food so nobody could see me eating?  Only food and me...was it because I just liked to eat?



I felt so lonely becuase nobody could understant me...


I was told to have hobby as the solution to my problem.

I tried.  I tried to do many things...but after a while the food would always take over.


However, I didn't want to give up!
I knew that I could help myself and I did!

It took me many years but I can tell you that there is hope and never give up!

EVERYONE CAN LOSE WEIGHT!

My grandmother makes the best coffee ever: with half & half and 5 spoons of sugar! 


A while ago she complained to me about the pain in her legs.
I knew that it would go away if she lost weight...but how can you explain to an older person that she should exercise and drink black coffee?

I told my grandmother that healthy diet and some exercise should solve the problem and she decided to try both!


We worked on the diet plan and the schedule that would best work for her. 
She made some changes with her meals and started to walk around the house.


At first she could not adjust to the new lifestyle but the pain went away and it was her best motivation!

She lost a lot of weight and exercises every day!


Now my grandmother drinks coffee with milk and sweetener and uses bicycle to go grocery shopping!


I think that this story shows that everyone can lose weight!

CHALLENGE YOURSELF


We all know the taste of warm bread in the restaurant.  Some like to eat that with olive oil, some with butter.  I don't know any single person that does not like it!

We sit at the table, talk to our friends and then comes the warm bread!  We grab it without thinking...


I could never resist it!  I promised myself so many times that I would not touch the bread and it never worked. 

Of course I could not eat just a little...I had to eat till the basket was empty!


One day my husband and I had friends visiting us, so we decided to take them to our favourite restaurant (with delicious bread).

I wanted to go but was afraid to eat too much...


I told my husband that I want to eat healthy and knew that this dinner might ruin all my efford.


He on the other hand, loves wine.  For him, steak without red wine is a waste...but he promised me that will not have any wine if I don't eat the bread.

I could not believe that he was able to do that for me!


It was so hard not to eat this bread...

However, I was looking at my husband drinking soda ( he didn't have to but did that for me )  and it helped me a lot!


Sometimes we say that something is just not possible to do...but we have to try, try to challenge ourselves to see...