Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Can you help me find a new title?

Dear friends,
I am hoping to begin the publication process of my new book by the end of the week. At the moment the title is:
Peaceful Mind/Perfect Body: Six Spiritual Steps to Stop Overeating - I like it quite a lot but I am not in love with it so I am asking for feedback and ideas… Here are a few other possibilities:
You’re Not a Failure and It’s not Your Fault: Six Spiritual Steps to Stop Overeating
Peaceful Mind/Wonderful Body: It’s Not about Being Thin
Or???
If you have any ideas please let me know. I will credit any helpers in the book, of course! I would be SO grateful for your help if you have a minute…. No idea is too silly!!! Contact me at denise@deniselamothe.com ...
Biggest thank yous and blessings….Stay warm,


Friday, February 18, 2011

To Drink or Not to Drink


In his book Natural Health, Natural Medicine Andrew Weil, M.D. addresses alcohol use: “Heavy alcohol use puts us at risk of developing cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and stomach, probably because alcohol irritates these tissues directly.” Weil also states that heavy drinkers are more likely to get liver cancer and that this danger is compounded if you also smoke tobacco. He recommends drinking moderately or minimally or not at all.


Besides the physiological dangers of alcohol use, there are psychological dangers as well. Many women report that after drinking, they feel out of control, are more likely to throw out their plans to eat sensibly and to binge. Alcohol weakens their resolve to restrict “forbidden” foods and drinking often precipitates weeks or months of “out of control” behavior. This behavior is accompanied by feelings of remorse, guilt and self-disgust which can lead the drinker to drink or eat even more in an attempt to “medicate” these negative feelings (classic emotional eating).


Harvey and Marilyn Diamond report in their work that alcohol impairs calcium absorption by affecting the liver’s ability to activate vitamin D which is important in the metabolism of calcium. Christiane Northrup, M.D. associates excess alcohol consumption with increased risk of breast cancer, menstrual irregularities, osteoporosis and birth defects. She also explains that “two drinks of alcohol per night effectively wipe out rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which is the type of sleep associated with dreaming.” She wisely points out that dreaming is part of our internal guidance system and wonders why anyone would choose to suppress that guidance with alcohol. Consensus of opinion appears to be that water is best and that alcohol offers no beneficial effects. You decide.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Make Today Count!

So what will you create today? My little puppy Sapphi takes full advantage of every single moment! She is always in the present and is my role model! No kidding! Many of us go through the majority of our days on auto-pilot. We get up, shower, dress, maybe eat and then are off to work or we get involved in things at home. The first thing we know it is the end of the day. We may eat supper, watch TV or read and then we collapse into bed and the alarm clock soon warns us that it is time to get up and do it all over again. Days, weeks, months or years later, we look back and say, “Where did that time go?” and wonder what we did and why we don’t feel better.

It is easy to go through each day on auto-pilot but is that really what you want to do? Existing in a “no think” may be customary for you but what would you like your day to be instead?

How can you make today count? Please take a little bit of time each day to ask yourself this vital question. Mix up your routine a bit. Give yourself some time to play, to be joyful and to relax. Perhaps you can forego a half hour of television to engage in some activity or pastime you enjoy. What could you do differently today?

Think about you day as a gift and consider what is the very best way to use that precious gift today. Maybe you would like to call a friend you haven’t connected with lately, visit someone you’d like to see. Allow time to soak in a warm bath or to read a book you are enjoying. Give to yourself and you will consequently have more time and more energy for everything and everyone else.

Funny how that is!

Be the creator today and create your day as you would like it to be. Do this consciously. Do this daily and watch how much better you feel and how little importance to give to food. (No more emotional eating!)It will make all the difference!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Self- Image and Emotional Overeating

Our self-image is our conception of ourselves. It is not stationary or solid. It is fluid and evolves over time. As we grow and change, the way we view ourselves and present ourselves to the world changes. Most of us grew up being told how to look and act and feel and we developed standards for ourselves and expectations of ourselves based on the messages we received from others – from our families and friends, from institutions such as our schools and churches and from the larger society. It is no wonder that so many of us turned to food and began emotional overeating to soothe ourselves. These externally imposed messages may not have matched how we truly wanted to be and chances are we didn’t look, act and feel the ways we thought we “should.” We most likely received messages to be smart, thin and pretty – to be ever-smiling and nurturing of others’ needs. Many of us struggled valiantly to fit into the picture of ourselves that others painted for us and we were led to believe that this effort would bring us acceptance, approval and love. What happened instead was that we learned through our struggle that we were not acceptable just as we were. Please know that you reached a false conclusion. You are so much more that acceptable. You are perfect!