Some call it binge eating, others call it compulsive eating, some call it emotional eating or food addiction. Whatever it is, I believe it is the single most common barrier to weight loss.

It is common knowledge that in order to lose weight you have to create a deficit of calories burned over calories eaten.

It is also common knowledge(and common sense) that you should create this deficit by eating high quality food and participating in activities that increase your energy output.

THAT is the secret of weight loss..all there is is right there.

So what is the barrier to weight loss? In my personal opinion it has to do with a distortion within our culture that has not created only an epidemic of obesity but even more serious, an epidemic of food disorders, or what I like to call disordered eating.

Much attention has been placed on anorexia and bulimia(as it should be) but the opposite is also disordered eating. I believe that most overweight and obese people have disordered eating as do many of the normal weighted people.

I believe THAT this is the problem.

What do I think caused this? I have come up with a list of contributing factors.

1. We were raised by children of, or children of the children of the depression. There was a shortage of food that scarred the psyche of an entire generation who became afraid of famine. Eat your dinner, clean your plate, starving children in China or Africa, look at how much your cousins eat. All of these message were instilled in us.

2. Our mother's attempts at dieting. We watched their disordered eating and absorbed their misplaced attempts to be slim.

3. The distortion of what is ideal beauty in our society...we all should be five foot ten with two silicone blobs on our chest weighing 102 lbs.

4. The diet industry. It is the single biggest contributor to the disordered eating we experience in our society.

5. The convenience industry. It has packed our food full of chemicals.

6. The junk food industry. It has labelled junk as food.

7. The combination of all of the above that imprinted false messages upon the collective psyche of the culture.

The cure? Reprogramming the messages.

Step one: No more dieting
Step two: No more dieting
Step three: No more dieting

Step four: Decide to do it.
Step five: Do not purchase anything from the diet industry again.
Step six : Throw out the scale..you do not have a weight problem, you have a eating problem.
Step seven: Do it.
Step eight: Do it.
Step nine: Do it.
Step ten: Keep doing it.

Tools: A note book and paper...you will need to get to know yourself, you will need to write some stuff down. This isn't a program, this is your life..you are going to find out what you love so you can keep doing it and do more of it, and what you can easily let go of. This includes food.

Access to the Internet..assuming if you are reading this that you have that.
An account at www.sparkepeople.com..focussing on lifestyle change, not weight loss!

You can purchase some recommended readings..these are books and tools I found informative and helpful in my journey. They are not from the diet industry.

I recommend The Biology of Believe by Dr. Bruce Lipton to understand how the brain works.
I recommend hypnosis.

I recommend an iPod if you can afford it. You can download many things for free, audio books, all sorts of things..as part of the change you will walk. A lot. And why not learn while you do that.

If you can't do not use that as an excuse not to do it. No more excuses

Hypnosis is a fantastic tool for rewiring the subconscious. I recommend Kym and Hypnotransformations. Go here!

I recommend Excuses Begone by Dr. Wayne Dyer.




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Back on track? Is there such a thing? I've been trying to get to this blog but real life has been crazy lately. I'll give you a quick run down. My littlest kids came down with H1N1 about 6 weeks ago. Since that time they have battled illness of one kind or another, ear infections, pneumonia, stomach virus, bladder infections, strep throat. Yeah, it's been crazy!

I have a wonderful friend on Facebook and we share a lot of common beliefs about attitude and life and we got into a conversation about excuses. She posted that there is a correlation between compulsive eating and a cluttery house. I posted that my house was cluttery these days because it wasn't a priority with all the illness in the house. She replied something about "excuses."

This got me thinking. I've generally given up the "excuses" thing. Haven't I? I've stretched and broadened my scope of interest, worked on my overeating, worked on my writing, started news reporting, started a part time job. There is nothing that can stop me right?

Except sick children. When my children are sick all else comes second. The world stops for our home and I stay close. First of all, my husband works away and is home two days of the week, so it's me alone, with them. I am the one who has to go to the doctor(which has been once a week for 5 weeks now) and I'm the one up at night, administering medicine(sometimes forcefully because they both hate it) and I am exhausted and mentally and emotionally unable to keep up on anything else. The house gets messy, I get messy, it's not a fun time.

Excuses? Nope..damned good reasons I say. Who the heck cares about clutter? Who cares about weight? What's a pound or two when your children are miserable and sickly and need you? Whats a little mess and dirt? Why waste my time worrying about such trivial things as those are when I've got children who need me. The rest be damned, I'm cuddling my feverish baby and watching Max and Ruby with them!

And then I tried on my pants. They are loose. I've lost weight in the last 6 weeks. Not a lot but some. I've been crazy busy and while my diet hasn't been ideal I've not had time to snack on junk or think about food or eat for any reason other than hunger pangs. My cluttery house hasn't contributed to my emotional eating at all but some of that might be because I've been working on it for so long that I no longer identify as a compulsive eater. I am gaining a happy and healthy relationship with food that has nothing to do with losing weight.

The other day I picked up copies of my show. I watched myself on television which is not a flattering medium. I immediately thought, Oh my God I'm HUGE. Then I looked at the other reporters who are quite normal weighted in real life, small even, and saw that they looked bigger too. How distorted is that? But it was also enlightening! If they aren't as big as they appear on screen then I'm not either.

And my face, my hair, everything looked pretty good. It looked like me. I like the way I look now. Healthy, happy, eyes full of joy.

I still have no idea what I weigh..but I know I feel happy, I know I'll go to the gym again and work out regularly once the kids are well again and life settles down a bit. Someday I'll sleep. And tomorrow night I'm going to see my favourite band, Blue Rodeo alone. That'll settle things for a good long while.

My affirmation: I no longer make excuses, but I also don't stress over the reasons my life is cluttered and out of control occasionally. I am able to find peace in the clutter and know that this too shall pass.


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Today I am joining the local gym! It's a self-serve type place, just small but perfect for this little town. With the weather being so unpredictable and then when it's been nice, the kids were sick, I decided that I'll pay my $40 and go at my convenience.

I'm feeling decidedly weak and out of shape and a few pounds have crept on making my size ten jeans tight again.

I've decide to use the Body For Life Workout. It's intense, short and easy to follow. For years I followed Body for Life and it worked well and kept me fit for a long time.

I'll also run on the treadmill because I'm simply not getting out there now!

The best thing about this gym is that it's open 24 hours so I can go any time. No excuses now!

Does anyone have any favourite exercises, gym tips etc.? I'll be mostly on my own so any tips for a new weight trainer would be fantastic!

Affirmation: Hard work becomes easy to perform when you stop making excuses for not doing it! I will do the work!





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Today I welcome Nancy Telfer as a guest blogger. Nancy lives in the same area of Ontario that I live in and I've been following her work for a while. Please feel free to use the comment section to ask any questions and I will make sure Nancy has the opportunity to provide the answers for you. Welcome Nancy. We conducted this as an interview so I'll just post it in that format for clarity.


Breeze: Tell me about yourself and your credentials.

Nancy: I have studied & practiced various health 'diets' throughout the years. Food Combining was the first. It involved not eating starch with protein. With that change in my diet, I lost 15 pounds, but it didn't seem to be the perfect 'diet' and I continued to research. I, then, became a vegetarian and ate no more meat. I lost more weight and yet, didn't feel healthy. Then, I discovered the 'Living Food' lifestyle. I have have been a 'rawfoodist' or 'living' for almost 5 years now. I am a Certified Raw Lifestyle Coach/Nutritionist and coach one on one as well as teach about the benefits of Raw & Living foods in a class. I am the manager at Nutrition House, Festival Marketplace Mall in Stratford, where we carry books on Raw & Living foods.
I have also studied energy work. I have studied Reiki, Reconnective Healing, EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) and more recently BodyTalk. I am an EFT Practitioner as well as a BodyTalk Practitioner. It is my passion to help people heal their bodies.


Breeze: What is a raw food diet?

Nancy: A raw food diet is only eating what is living, It is a vegan diet that opens up your taste buds when you discover just how delicious your food can be. It includes sprouts, greens, fruits, veggies and fermented foods.

Breeze: Are you vegan or just raw? For example would you drink raw milk?

Nancy: Vegan. I do not drink any milk raw or otherwise. I don't believe that our bodies need milk except from our mothers.

Breeze: What are the advantages of eating raw foods to your body?

Nancy: You have so much energy, need less sleep (so you can get so much more done in a day); your skin will tighten, your hair will change for the better and you will look younger than what you are. You no longer have digestion problems as your food digests on its own from the foods enzymes. You will have the enzymes in your body that will produce oxygen to heal your body and bring it back to its natural state. Pain & dis-ease free.

Breeze: What does cooking do to foods?

Nancy: It destroys the foods enzymes and minerals making it foreign to your body. It will therefore, be harder to digest and need more energy from your other organs to digest the food.

Breeze: Do you miss hot food? How do you avoid feelings of deprivation?

Nancy: I am currently eating a 90-95% living food diet. When I was 100% I did not miss the hot food at all. For every food that you cook there is a raw alternative. There are amazing dips & pates, lasagnas, pastas, soups, and even desserts. I make amazing chocolates - I call them 'Sensational Chocolates'.

Breeze: Does it take a lot of time to eat raw?

Nancy: You have just as much time to create raw as you do a cooked meal. Most of the dishes are created in very little time. You can make what I call 'gourmet' raw dishes that can take lots of time (but worth it) or you can simply whip something up. That is up to you and how much time you have.

Breeze: Is it hard to buy raw foods beyond produce? Where would you buy raw nuts and chocolate for example

Nancy: Raw foods are not hard to come by, but it is just produce that you need. I do focus on organic foods though. We have Gentle Rain & Pfennings which both have a huge variety of organic foods. Zehrs even carries some organic foods. You can buy crackers and cookies online through a few different websites. It is much easier to buy your own dehydrator and make your own. With a dehydrator, you can make crackers, bread, muffins, cookies and so much more. Raw nuts are available at Gentle Rain, although they are not considered 'raw' to most rawfoodists. The nuts are from California and they passed a bylaw where ALL nuts are now heated to kill bacteria in them. This bylaw was fought but still passed. True raw nuts are available online but is quite costly. I continue to use the 'raw' nuts available at Gentle Rain.
Chocolate?? My favorite. In my 'Living the Rawfood Lifestyle' class, I discuss the amazing benefits to eating raw chocolate, otherwise known as cacao. You can purchase raw cacao powder, nibs & beans at Nutrition House (we currently only have the powder in stock) to make your own chocolate treats. There is also a couple of companies that have a chocolate bars that is 70-80% raw - both delicious (and available at Nutrition House). I am currently discussing with the owner of Nutrition House, putting together a 'chocolate' package. This package will include everything that you need to make your own chocolates, including my 'secret' recipe. Stay tuned for more information on my website.

Breeze: Can you provide us with a recipe of something yummy that is easy to make

Nancy: Here you go!
Italian-Style Zucchini Pasta Pesto
For the pesto:
1 large bunch basil
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 garlic cloves
2 tsp sea salt
Another Variation of Pesto:
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 cups basil
1/2 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp sea salt
Blend all ingredients in a food processor until well blended and smooth

Pasta - peel a zucchini; discard the peel; continue to use the vegetable peeler and make 'noodles' . You can also add chopped mushrooms and chopped soaked sun-dried tomatoes to this dish.

Breeze: Where can we learn more about this lifestyle and if we are considering it where would we start?

Nancy: I have a practice where I help coach people to get started with this amazing lifestyle. I also hold classes that will give lots of information to get you started. Information is handed out at Nutrition House and posters are posted at Gentle Rain. Information on up & coming classes are also on my website www.rawsomenutrition.com

Breeze: Do you have to be 100% raw or is it advantageous to be even 80% or 90% raw?

Nancy: Your body will tell you what is best for it, you just have to learn to listen to it. Right now, I am doing very well at 90-95% raw. There was a time that I needed to be 100%. Either one is about choice. You choose what works best for you. You will even reap the benefits of adding more living foods to your existing diet.


Breeze: Thank you Nancy for your informative post! We look forward to your next installment on EFT!



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The children seem to have kicked the virus! They still have a cough, the little one in particular but we're much better around here and just in time for Halloween!

During the course of being housebound I fell into a conversation with a friend of mine, Darleen Degrieck. Darleen is a yoga instructor and a practitioner of ayurveda. I had posted that I believed the body is a self-healing organism and that it wants to be well and wants to return naturally to a state of wellness and that if allowed to it will do that. I also apply that to weight loss. If we allow it our body will naturally return to its optimal weight. We just need to feed it and nourish it properly both with the foods we give it and the thoughts we think.

She sent me a quote from a draft she is working on with some colleagues about influenze from the Ayurvedic perspective. I could apply this to general wellness as well as weightloss and I thought I would share it here with you.

"For me the gem of Ayurveda is that it is a practice of self-love and self-care. Disease is dis-ease, lack of ease, lack of flow, and it begins in the mind (hence the usefulness of Yoga, which teaches us how to manage and control the modifications of the mind). Nourishing thoughts and beliefs serve to nourish the body. Destructive thoughts and beliefs have the opposite effect. (I can honestly not say if the vaccine is effective or not, and to be perfectly honest, I'm not terribly interested in engaging in the debate, except to reiterate the obvious that worry, anxiety and fear are not nourishing emotions.) If anything, I believe it's a question of choice. And we have the choice to believe and even rejoice in our inherent wellness and the cellular intelligence of the physical body. We can engage our minds in this practice of well-being by steering our focus towards the things that we love, laughing as much as possible, having fun with our children, removing should from our vocabulary, singing, dancing, caring more about what we think about ourselves than what others think about us, being in nature, trusting, releasing judgment, developing deep appreciation for and understanding of what we've already lived. Loving the body that carries our soul on this journey is paramount. To choose our thoughts and intentionally direct our focus is the ultimate practice of self-empowerment. Thus, if you choose to vaccinate, be firm in your belief that it is the best possible choice.

For us in the northern climates going through a period of seasonal transition, with weather conditions that are erratic, cooling and drying, the natural inclination is to nourish the body with foods that are comforting, wholesome and grounding. The season of eating clear, fresh, raw foods for balancing heat is passed, and we are now wanting to cook stews and soups, and eat nourishing grains. This is the best time of year for eating meat, if you choose to partake. Taking time for "cocooning" follows the natural and environmental cycles. Alignment with nature is a very nourishing and grounding practice."

If you are interested in reading more from Darleen's point of view you can see her blog. and she also recommended a book by one of her teachers Dr. John Douillard, The Three Season Diet.(click link to purchase on Amazon)










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When the flu is in the house my eating habits become erratic however that is the time when I'm most likely to focus on eating super healthy foods. I had started to drink a lot of green tea for the metabolic benefits and it did seem to be helping but since my children have been fighting this flu bug I've taken to researching foods that are antiviral and of benefit to fighting off those types of disease.

Who would have guessed that the green tea I've been drinking lately has added benefits of having antiviral properties ! Maybe that explains why I've been able to keep it away so far!

And I've been making a smoothie and sneaking good things into it because, let's face it, vitamin D tablets, vitamin C powder and green tea aren't all that appealing to healthy adults never mind sickly kids.

So being the sneaky mommy that I am, I've been adding good stuff to a very delicious smoothie that the kids love. Here is the recipe...adjust it to your taste and needs.

1 cup orange juice
1 cup frozen fruit(any kind)
vitamin D tablets crushed(amount recommended for whoever is drinking it)
vitamin C powder or tablets crushed(amount recommended for whoever is drinking it)
strong green tea steeped and cooled.
honey or other sweetener to taste.

Blend in blender and enjoy!

and of course..add whatever you want to make it yours...but avoid dairy which increases congestion in many people which isn't a chance to take when avoiding or battling the flu!

Stay Healthy!



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Healing vibes are requested today. My two youngest children, Sophia and Martina have influenza which is likely H1N1! Right now it's uncomplicated and I am trusting their young healthy bodies will fight it off and let's hope we avoid the complications that cause all the problems.

The odds are on our side but I think some added healing vibes from the blogosphere couldn't hurt so please aim them towards my babies.




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Today I found an interesting article on Spark People! I love it!

You can find it HERE!
Please read this. It's fabulous!



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It has been a busy time! I am about 3 chapters from a completed first draft of my novel! Such an exciting time for me! I have several stories for the television news show to shoot including one today and my days have been full and exciting.

And I've neglected this space and I apologize! I've also neglected myself so you are not alone.

When life is so busy it's hard to find time to cook properly, exercise, meditate, just be and it's easy to fall back into the habits that are easy...quick food, junk food, sugar, too much caffeine. And it's easy to gain weight.

Then along comes pms. Oh yeah, cookies good, vitamins suck..that was me last week. But this week I'm back again.

Yesterday I made a huge crock pot of vegetable soup and today I made a meatless shephards pie and it feels great to eat foods full of the stuff a body needs to be well and fit.

Now if the weather would accommodate comfortable walking I'd be completely back on track.

I always find the seasonal adjustment a challenge so I'm looking for a non weather-dependant activity that is free and doesn't involve a video..I hate working to videos...it's just unnatural!

So that has been my challenge lately and I'm afraid I haven't held up well. I do find that my committment in real life corresponds with my committment to this blog..so I guess I'd better hang around!

I may just walk up and down the stairs ten times a day or something odd like that!

Also, I am toying with the idea of starting a local support group based on my ideas here. It wouldn't be a "weightloss" group but instead focus on the behaviour that leads to weight issues and eating issues. What would you like to see in such a group? Suggestions are appreciated!

If you have any vegetarian recipes that are easy and delicious I would appreciate a link as well. I think I'm in a rut and need something new! I try to eat seasonal so something hot and winter vegetable-ey would be perfect!

Affirmation: I adjust to change well and I am flexible, eating the best foods as they are available.





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A multitude of diet plans promote a "eat a lot of food, lose weight" or something along those themes. Lately I've been wondering if that is one of the problems with the diet industry. We all know that the formula for losing weight MUST have a eat fewer calories/burn more energy aspect. That's simple biology, it's how it works. So most people, in an effort to not be deprived want a program or a diet that allows them to eat more food with fewer calories. This isn't necessarily a bad thing if the lower calorie foods are the highly dense nutrient packed type like spinach and other fruits and vegetables.

The problem with this is that it is catering to our need to be eating large and frequent meals. We want to eat because of the emotional satisfaction we get from eating.

My hypothesis is that we have to reduce our emotional need to eat large amounts of food. We have to eat smaller, delicious, rich, filling meals. We need to work on reducing our need to fill ourselves up with food to tamp down our emotional issues. We have to work on minimizing our compulsion to eat when we are bored, we have to eat smaller meals.

So large huge massive salads may be jam packed with nutrients however realistically they take more time to eat than many people have. If the program doesn't fit in your life you won't do it. Plus we don't want large amounts of salad, we want large amounts of the comfort foods, the junk foods, pasta, icecream and chocolate.

What if instead of finding the diet that allows us to eat the most while still losing weight, we focus on eating until we are satisfied, eating even the nutrient dense foods in moderation and picking up our activity level.

This is where we need to find tools to work on ourselves not on our diets. Let's face it, we all KNOW what we need to do. We need to work on setting ourselves up to do them.

I believe the the key lies in our subconscious and that the only way to have success retraining the subconscious so that it helps us on our path to optimal health and ideal weight.

My suggestions are hypnosis, affirmations(particularly as you fall asleep), energy work, meditation, stress management, adequate sleep, hormonal balance, and regular activity and exercise. A complete lifestyle change is in order that focuses less on food, less on diet, more on self fulfillment and balance.

Affirmation: I will focus on retraining the voices in my subconscious to accept that I am filled up by life and not by overeating.



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