It’s fun to alter photos, and here’s one for helping your face (or your friends’ faces?). Look younger, see how you’d look after that face lift you’ve been wanting. lose some fat cheeks? Sure, just in a photo, but hey, it’s a start. Check out Real Allusion. Note: The model they use is hardly 20-years-old so it’s not a huge change.

Here’s a tutorial on using Photoshop to alter photos (Hint: this is what they do to magazine photos which is why everyone looks so perfect).

Someone sent me a link to a web site that can alter pics to make you look thinner. Now I can’t find that link, so if you know of anyone doing this, please send me a note or comment below and let me know! Here is one I found on my own (maybe it’s the same, I’m not sure) Fit Pics.com, for just $19.95 they’ll alter the photo you send to make you look as you would if you lost some weight. This can a be a great way to visualize yourself thinner and also to get emotionally over that hump (the “who will I be without my weight issue hump). The price is much less than trying to learn to do this yourself, but if you already have Photoshop there are lots of tutorials out there, just search Google or your fav search engine for “photographs instant weight loss” or something similar.

When is the Right Time to Get Started?

Most people start a new “plan” on a Monday. This is to give themselves the chance to get ready, as if they are starting a race. Think instead of starting a new eating plan as beginning a hike or climb – you are going to take one step. It can be today, it can be tomorrow, it can be in the middle of the day (new concept!). You’re taking just one step, not the whole trip.

That first step isn’t so difficult unless you’ve decided you are going to make drastic changes, especially if you are trying to avoid all the things you like the most. That plan won’t work for the long-haul, and can be part of the reason you find it difficult to get started, or you keep “getting started” over and over.

If I’m trying to convince myself I’m never going to do something ever again, I know it’s a lie, and it will be much harder to make the real commitment. Instead take it easier and just choose one habit you’d like to change, one food, one day of the week. Think in terms of small changes; eating three pieces of fudge instead of the whole pan for instance.

But What About the Holidays?

Are you sitting in the fence because the holidays are approaching? “I don’t want to be dieting at Thanksgiving.” “I can’t diet now, I have cookies to bake.” Oh, the excuses. They run so fast this time of year, don’t they? Just chase them right out of the room. Excuses are like asses, we all have one, just some are bigger than others.

There’s no better time than right now to get started on the path to lifelong freedom from a weight problem. I enjoy the holidays, I love to bake, I eat all the goodies, and I don’t gain weight. Read how I made the mind-shift one Thanksgiving Day and lost weight without dieting. That was the turning point for me, and all I did was decide I was going to eat until I was satisfied, not gorge myself but eat all I wanted, eating slowly, enjoying every bite.

I was going to make a point to taste what I was eating. The turkey wasn’t going to jump up and run away, I didn’t have to rush and get it over with. I wanted to enjoy the meal and the company fully, instead of groaning in pain a half hour later.

Have you ever been so full you thought you’d burst and just then someone says, “Who wants pie?” “I do!,” most of us say, thankful we wore an elastic waistband. Deciding to enjoy but not overdoing it means when that question arises you know if you want dessert now or would rather wait a bit. It’s not a crime to wait 30 minutes or an hour. The pie is not going to float away, and if you are worried it will be gone, then you’re eating out of a fear of scarcity, which at my house just is not a problem. We generally have about half a pie per person, easily, not counting all the other goodies.

That one Thanksgiving dinner changed my life. I still remember how awestruck I was when I realized I felt wonderful, satisfied, full, and I’d eaten everything I wanted. I waited until I felt hungry again (hunger returns, yes it does), and then I ate again, and I’ve eaten tens of thousands of times since then including many more Thanksgiving dinners.

The holidays are a great time of year – this year let’s enjoy them more fully.

EFT suggestions for the Holidays

The holidays can be a time of year fraught with emotional ties. If being with your family distresses you, start now to lessen the emotional intensity and you’ll breeze through the holidays this year. If you know certain people will push your buttons, practice now.

“Even though I hate the holidays, I deeply and completely accept myself.”

“Even though my family makes me crazy, I deeply and completely accept myself.”

“Even though last year Aunt Edna said I looked fat and why didn’t I stop eating, I deeply and completely accept myself”

“Even though I know my husband’s wife Big Bertha is going to give me ugly looks and say mean things and I just wish I could stuff a big sock in her mouth, I deeply and completely accept myself.”

Don’t worry if you have tag-on thoughts while you are tapping. I often do. Things like, “Aunt Edna is a cow,” come to mind. Sometimes things you might think but would never say in polite company are quite appropriate while doing the tapping. These thoughts may make you smile, even laugh out loud, and that’s a good thing. It’s okay.

Keep Your Issue In Mind

The main thing is to keep your issue in mind while you tap (that’s why you keep repeating the reminder word or statement). If the emotional intensity is present (even though it may be muted) while you are tapping, then you will release the intensity of the emotion and interrupt that well worn pathway (the path is the regular routine of upset; how just thinking of an event can make you upset for instance). Don’t be afraid to bring up the issue you want to release.
That’s how EFT works.

(These are general ideas – if you can plug in specific names, places, events, it works all the better.)

Now is the right time – start now. Use EFT on your holiday issues. If you need ideas, send me a note. Have fun with it, give it a go and let me know what happens.

The Scale Is Not My Friend

I got a surprise when I stepped on and found I’d gained over five pounds. In one week! Now how does that happen? I don’t know all the answers but I do know I haven’t done anything unusual so there’s no logical reason. Because of that I’m not going to knock myself around or say, “I’m gonna start a diet on Monday,” since it’s most likely water weight that’ll come off all by itself when my body’s ready to let it go.

It’s quite unusual to wake up and suddenly be heavier, so if you quickly gain five or more pounds in a week with no obvious reason (I’m not talking about the five pounds you gain because you’re eating everything in sight but when it comes out of the blue, unexpectedly–you know the difference) and it doesn’t disappear on its own.

Looking for clues. Have you changed or started any new medications? Eaten any foods you don’t usually eat? Water retention can be a side effect or reaction to other things you’ve ingested so be a detective.

Notify your doctor if rapid weight gain continues as it can be a sign of illness or drug reaction. Generally it’s nothing to get worked up about and if you’re eating a reasonable amount of healthy foods it’ll fall back off all by itself. Don’t go all crazy and jump on the latest fad diet andwagon. Just Relax. Have a cup of tea. You will be fine.

If you know EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) use it on your anxiety: “Even though I’m huge, I deeply and completely accept myself.” If you don’t know EFT, it costs nothing to learn and you have everything to gain in learning how to lose weight for good. Get The Daily Bites, Little Lessons in Losing Weight the Easy Way

Word on the street is its illegal to annoy on the Internet if you do it anonymously, but perfectly fine if you do it with your real name. That’s not quite correct. Here’s the best explanation by The Volokh Conspiracy in A Skeptical Look at “Create an E-annoyance, Go to Jail.”

The text in question is within H.R. 3402, the “Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005″ which added the following:

“Whoever… utilizes any device or software that can be used to originate telecommunications or other types of communications that are transmitted, in whole or in part, by the Internet… without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person who receives the communications… shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.”

Read in part this seems pretty stiff, two years for being annoying? But this only part of a larger text, so without reading in its entirety, you cannot interpret the language at all. Frankly, interpreting law isn’t an easy task. That’s why we leave it to the lawyers.

That said, the word annoy is pretty ambiguouss and certainly isn’t on a par with abuse, threaten or harass, but hey, that didn’t seem to come up in debate. Maybe next amendment.

Meanwhile if politics gets you crazed and wanting a snack, remember to use EFT: “Even though I hate _________ (insert political affiliation here), I deeply and completely accept myself.”

You can talk yourself back down when a snack attack hits, if you are pro-active, meaning, just do it. Before you start to munch, try EFT. Just for fun. See what happens. Worst case scenario it won’t do anything, and best case it’ll make you see what’s happening. Then you can decide, do I really want to eat this? It’s fine to eat, but try to stop eating in a trance and watch the pounds disappear.

If you or your children suffer from diabetes, you need to know about Bios Life 2

Clinically proven to reduce cholesterol and now blood pressure, but even more exciting is what it can do for someone with diabetes. David Allen, Ph.D sent me the following explanation about why Bios Life 2 would be recommended for anyone with diabetes:

“Bios Life 2 is a natural way to help diabetics reclaim safe, stabilized blood glucose levels, while at the same time controlling their insulin production. It does this by decreasing the rate at which food is absorbed, consequently helping blood sugar to remain steady throughout the day. This effect helps to prevent both high and low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia.

“If diabetics increase their daily intake of soluble fiber, they can better control their disease by decreasing their typical glucose and insulin spike caused by high-carbohydrate food, stress, and “tired” pancreatic cells. Taken before a meal, Bios Life 2 can significantly “flatten” these spikes and allow the body to digest nutrients more evenly.

“Controlling insulin spikes may not only regulate a diabetic condition, it also may promote weight loss, increase mental acuity, and supply more energy. In a clinical trial conducted by the Certified Diabetes Educators of Diabetes Control, Bios Life 2 showed itself to be an extremely effective natural substance in the fight against diabetes. This independent study showed that diabetics using Bios Life 2 had a reduction of HbA1c, triglycerides, cholesterol, and fasting blood glucose levels.”

That’s awesome, and frankly, everyone should be using Bios Life 2. If you aren’t getting enough fiber (are you?), you need Bios Life 2. It’s a powder you mix in water and drink five or 10 minutes before you eat, but what I’ve noticed is I almost have to remember to eat because it seems to affect my appetite.

So think about it. Do your kids get enough fiber? Do they eat any vegetables at all? Fruit? Hardly. Mostly they eat chips and junk, no matter what you pack in their lunch. Kids have vending machines and food courts at school now. They drink soft drinks all day and munch candy along the way, so fiber may be the primary missing ingredient. It certainly cannot hurt to try a non-drug approach and see what happens.

If you’re in the Portland/Vancouver area, call me to drop in for a sample of Bios Life 2 or the Lean Control System for weight loss and I can demonstrate EFT for you as well! More on the products is available at Unicity’s Make Life Better site. Use my Associate ID No. 98006201 when you order. If you want to know more just call or e-mail me for more info.

If you’ve just launched your annual 3-month eating binge from Halloween until New Years, I gently suggest changing that program. There is no reason to eat yourself silly for the next three months only to spend the following nine trying to lose what you gained.

Instead, try something different this year and stop holiday weight gain.

1. Learn EFT. It’s easy, quick, painless and you can use it all the time for life stresses and more. It helps with eating and weight loss because it relieves stress, and we all know stress leads to weight gain (at least many times it does — some actually lose weight when under great stress). These pages explain EFT and NLP and how they can be used for weight loss, then the last page has worksheets so you can learn EFT basics for weight loss. [links open in new window].

2. Get The Daily Bites. Sent two or three times a week, short lessons in how I use EFT to maintain my 80 pound weight loss and how you can do the same. The Daily Bites – EFT for Weight Loss

3. Start to use EFT daily. I shouldn’t be surprised, but I still am at how many people learn this simple technique and then still don’t do it. That obviously suggests they aren’t really ready to lose weight at all, but hey, use EFT to get over it. Start with “Even though I don’t know if I’m ready to lose weight, I deeply and completely accept myself,” and take it from there.

4. Learn E.A.T: Eating Awareness Training. I’ve included this in Session 5 of the Ending Emotional Eating workshop, but you can adopt the principles simply by paying attention when you eat. Start with your next meal. Sit down. Look at the food. Notice the colors, texture, smells, etc. Be there.

Take a small bite and feel the food in your mouth. Move it around. Chew, suck, nibble, (eating is quite erotic). Don’t be in a big hurry to swallow, savor the brief moment of the food in your mouth, and see what you notice that you hadn’t noticed before. Do this with every single bite for an entire meal and see what happens.

One thing I can guarantee is it takes a long time to do this, so you’ll find yourself wishing you could hurry up, and that leads me to the question: Why do we think so much about eating only to rush ourselves through it? Interesting question anyway.

Take your time with your food. Eat an apple and really notice it. How does it sound when you bite in? Is it sweet? What’s the texture? Do you like that texture or would you rather it be something else? Every variety of apple is different. Get a few and have a tasting party.

When you stop to notice what you’re eating you’ll also experience the sensation of being satisfied and that’s the first step toward learning how to eat like a person without a weight problem.

Remember, it’s perfectly fine to overeat once in awhile, but change from overeating regularly to overeating on occasion, and you’ll start to lose weight. If you gobble your food, you’re likely eating far more than you need simply because you aren’t paying attention to the signals your body gives about being satisfied, content, happy. Give yourself a chance to experience this, just once this week and you’ll discover a whole new world of eating.

5. Think of the holidays as a time for lots of opportunities for your “occasional” indulgences, but the rest of the meals, eat normally (meaning like a sane person). This isn’t your last chance to eat candy, so don’t act like you have to eat it all.

Weight Loss Chat

Studies show that having a support system is key in a weight loss program. There are many sites that offer forums and chat, and I participate in several.

This week I hosted my first weight loss chat at at WeightLossBuddy.com (WLB) and it was great! It can be tricky when questions come at you rapid fire, but all-in-all, it was a great time had by all. I’ll likely do more weight loss chats there, so check them out. My site, OneMoreBite-Weightloss also has a chat feature in The Back Fence.

What’s The Back Fence? So glad you asked. The Back Fence is a place to visit your neighbor, and at the OMB site, it’s a place to talk about what’s working for you with your weight loss, new ideas, and learn a trick or two from the veterans who’ve lost weight and kept it off (I lost 80 pounds for 18 years and counting). Yes, it’s a weight loss forum, but there’s more…

Soon I’m starting regularly scheduled chats too, and my helper, Hollis sits in the forum at all times. She’ll chat with you on any topic. If you drop by, she’ll start asking you questions, and it’s fun. She’s learning all the time so soon perhaps she’ll give weight loss advice and suggestions too.

Why Fear & Anger Make us Want to Eat

We have friends who up until a few days ago lived in New Orleans. Last year when hurricanes threatened we asked, “Are you evacuating?” “Yes” they replied and then returned to their city unharmed a few days later. This year it is hurricane season and we can’t reach them. All their contact information, addresses and numbers were located in New Orleans, a city that has suddenly ceased to exist as we once knew her. The fear and anger has reached the boiling point in those of us watching events from the safety of our homes and yet, people who drowned in their homes thought they were safe too. Many are still waiting for someone to please come, and we don’t know if they’ll reach them in time.

We’ve become a country that protects the world but not ourselves, and it’s very frightening. People who live in other Gulf Coast areas are fearful wondering, “Could this happen to us?” If you’ve noticed you suddenly want to eat or that no amount of food seems to be enough, don’t be alarmed, nor surprised. It makes sense given the reports of “no food or water” reaching our ears.

When your sense of safety is shattered, who will pick up the pieces? Even if you had money it couldn’t help get you out of New Orleans right this moment (Sept 3, 2005). Every person still there is on equal footing, but the platform on which they are standing is unstable and crumbling beneath their feet. I play for all the people still waiting and hoping help will come, and wish I could do something, but what can I do?

EFT Borrowing Benefits via Surrogate Tapping

Here’s something we can all do: An EFT sandwich using Borrowing Benefits together with Surrogate Tapping. Both Borrowing Benefits and Surrogate Tapping are well known to those who practice EFT. Here we’ll be combining them to help relieve your anxieties, rage, despair, whatever you are experiencing right now, and also it will help if you’ve suddenly found yourself unable to feel full no matter what you’ve eaten. Living through a horrific event or witnessing others while they suffer creates a hole in our hearts. For many this feels like hunger. It may feel like a gnawing, aching emptiness, but since it’s actually heart hunger, no amount of food can fill you up.

That’s why external events sometimes cause eating behaviors that you may not previously have thought were linked. Everything that happens around you affects how you feel and how you attempt to take care of yourself, and eating is simply a way we take care of ourselves. If you feel you’ve lost control around food, or you can’t get enough to eat right now, don’t despair. When you feel grief stricken, horrified, and helpless you can fill that emptiness with purpose and hope, by doing something proactive such as this exercise.

Note: If you don’t know what EFT is about, read this brief three page introduction to NLP & EFT and it’ll make better sense. Although the OMB (One More Bite’s) tools and examples focus on weight loss, EFT can be used for any issue and is very effective for fears, trauma, anger, sadness, grief, phobias, and more.

What is Borrowing Benefits?

Borrowing Benefits is the term for the happy side effect of getting relief for your issue while tapping along with someone else for their issue. This happens often in groups and workshops. We will all benefit in this way from doing Surrogate Tapping.

What is Surrogate Tapping

“Surrogate Tapping” is doing EFT directly for someone else; they don’t even need to know you are doing it. It’s the type of thing you might use as in, “Even though he’s a crotchety old ….” Many use the Surrogate Tapping technique for animals and pre-verbal infants and toddlers. It is equally effective whether the person is across the room or across the country. I know how ridiculous that sounds, but hey, it’s something you can do and certainly cannot hurt, so why not give it a go?

I propose we all do a few rounds of EFT over the next 24 hours for those still suffering in and around New Orleans and anyone directly affected by the disaster. Millions of people have lost their homes, their businesses and jobs, their lifetime treasures and momentos, photographs, and everything that made any sense in their lives, and their very real horror is alive as electric currents mixing in the air we are breathing right now. I’m sure it will help us individually and may help relieve some suffering outside ourselves as well.

“Even though I know my small voice cannot be heard, I deeply and completely accept myself.”

“Even though I feel awful, there’s nothing I can do to help, and I feel guilty that I can’t do anything, I deeply and completely accept myself.”

“Even though people are starving and I’m eating a steak dinner, I deeply and completely accept myself.”

“Even though I feel guilty for what I have, I deeply and completely accept myself.”

“Even though I’m angry (at Bush, the administration, the police, the criminals, the terrorists, my second grade teacher, the world, maybe even God), I deeply and completely accept myself.”

“Even though words cannot begin to describe the depth of my despair, I deeply and completely accept myself.”

“Even though I just want to eat and I wish I didn’t but I do, I deeply and completely accept myself.”

“Even though I’m afraid I’ll never get enough food to eat, I can’t seem to fill the emptiness right now, I deeply and completely accept myself.”

“Even though the fear is too thick to see through, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”

“Even though I know it’s not my fault, I still feel somehow like I should have done something, and I deeply and completely accept myself.”

Change these words to whatever is happening for you right now, but if you are presently suffering with thoughts of fear, guilt, shame, indifference, whatever it may be, go ahead and do a round or two of EFT on that right now, then later tonight and again tomorrow.

If you were relatively happy until you read this, I apologize. I had so many clients today tell me they were angry, I thought it should be tackled head-on.

See my next blog post on a free tele-class I’m hosting on this subject Sunday and Monday, Sept. 4 and 5.

 Katrina Victims & Anyone Who Needs Help with Fear & Trauma

I am hosting a free EFT for Anger tele-seminar tomorrow (Sunday, September 4, 2005 at 1 PM PST) and again on Monday, September 5, 2005 at 8:00 AM PST for anyone who’d like to do a group session on their fear, anger, disbelief, whatever is happening for you, bring it to the call. Send a blank e-mail to tclass@onemorebite-weightloss.com for an autoresponder with details of the first call. The same access code and number will be used for the second call as well.

I hope you’ll join me. If you’ve never done a tele-conference, their fun. You just call a number and listen in. If you want to speak, and the moderator (in this case me), has set it up so participants can speak, you can just pipe right up. Depending on the number of participants that can work well or get crazily out of hand. I don’t anticipate a stampede so I do hope some of you will be able to join me. Monday is a holiday, so hopefully a lot of you will be off work and can phone in to listen or add something to the call by speaking up!

There may be an alternative for those suffering from PCOS (Polycystic ovary syndrome), a hormone imbalance that interferes with normal ovulation. Women with PCOS do not have normal, regular menstrual cycles and may have multiple small cysts on their ovaries. The main problem is the hormonal imbalance which affects other body systems, such as the metabolic and cardiovascular systems.

British researchers in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism’s February 2005 issue reported that from 10%-50% of PCOS patients are obese. It’s also well known that reducing weight can greatly help alleviate the symptoms of PCOS.

Metformin is often prescribed, a diabetes drug, given to reduce the chances of miscarriage. Metformin itself does nothing for weight loss.

Xenical versus Metformin for Weight Loss

This excellent article by WebMDHealth.com reports on a study done with PCOS sufferers to see whether Xenical may help them lose weight and relieve other symptoms, including excess testosterone. Results showed those taking both drugs found a reduction in testosterone, significant because excess testosterone is largely why women with PCOS have side effects such as excess facial hair and have difficulties with conceiving and carrying a child to full term.

This is very good news, especially if Xenical also helps with weight loss, since even a small drop in weight can also help alleviate PCOS symptoms.

The side effects of Metformin which are reported at a 30% or greater include: diarrhea, gas, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, bloating. Yuck. That doesn’t sound so sweet. Three out of 10 is a pretty significant number in my book.

If you suffer from PCOS, it may be worthwhile to ask your doctor about trying Xenical.