Babies Are Smarter than Adults

I've got a 9 month old and I love watching her try new foods. She is so decisive about what she likes and doesn't like. When she's trying something she doesn't care for, she makes the funniest faces of disgust and disinterest.

Just like she is decisive when she hates a new food, she is just as decisive when she is full. Sometimes I can't tell if she stops eating just because she is distracted and preoccupied with some new stimulus. So I try to feed her more, especially at night, to ensure I can get a full night's sleep by filling her up. But when she has had enough, she will purse her lips together and move her head away from me and then shout if she really wants to make her point clear, which she often does.

There is no justifying. No inner dialog in a baby's head, "it tastes so good, just one more bite." There is no emotional eating or self-medicating, "I've had such a hard day, eating this will make me feel better." Food is just fuel for her. That's it. It's not her friend or an enemy she punishes herself with by overeating when she's upset with herself. It just is.

How can adults undo all of their justifying, their emotional eating and self-medicating? How can they relinquish their relationship with friend as their friend, enemy, or sometimes both?

Some people may need to go into counseling or attend a local Overeaters Anonymous to identify how their relationship with food got so complex and how they can change it. There is also a self-help option that can help. Here is a free chapter from my book, Stop Overeating Today! that shows you the powerful relationship between our thoughts and what we eat, and how we can change our thoughts for the better. Enjoy!

Those who struggle with overeating feel more vulnerable than usual during the holidays. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Years festivities all center around friends, family, and food. With so many opportunities to overdo it, guilt is a common reaction. Anyone in recovery knows that guilt can be incredibly damaging, acting like a magnifying glass that exaggerates the negatives. Here is a strategy from my book, Stop Overeating Today! (available on Amazon), that teaches how to break free from the guilt cycle.

Take a Vacation from Your Guilt Trip

This tip applies best to all of you who battle regularly with overeating. You may feel that it is a battle you will never win and that you lack the willpower to change.

When I was recovering from my eating disorder, I found that beating myself up and feeling guilty was not an effective way to make a positive change.

I remember one particular Thanksgiving. I was determined to stop eating before I felt full. I wanted to treat Thanksgiving like it was any other meal and not an excuse for overindulgence. As careful as I tried to be, I slipped and ended up eating too much.

At first, I felt very disappointed in myself. I had made so much progress in the former two months, only to “relapse” again. It felt like a defeat. As I sat there marinating in self-loathing, a light bulb went on over my head. I needed to stop feeling terrible and put things into perspective. Had I made a mistake? Yes. Did I regret it? Yes. Did I want to put myself through more self-loathing? No. Did my mistake determine my future? No. Could I move on? Yes. You get the idea.

It’s like I had taken the magnifying glass off of my mistake and was able to see it as a one-time event, not as a pattern of never-ending mistakes. I was able to look back at all of the progress I had made, the hard work I had done, and how far I had come. So what if I messed up once? I could call it a learning experience and move on. No need to hit myself over the head again and again.

Chronic guilt is not an effective way to grow and change. It keeps you focused on the problem. When the focus is on your weaknesses and mistakes, it keeps you from visualizing how you can change and what you can do to solve your problem.
Guilt is consuming and saps your energy. Moreover, it keeps you from remembering what strengths you do have and what progress you have made. Guilt keeps you stuck in a cycle of helplessness. Even if you have taken one step back, take two steps forward and acknowledge you are moving in the right direction.

For more information on the book or to order Stop Overeating Today! visit www.stopovereatingtips.com

It's Time to Get Moving

I had a serious eye opener last week at the gym. I thought I had been pushing myself physically enough up to that point. I was exercising a few times a week and I was in good enough shape. I wasn't eating unhealthily. But what I realized, after a kick-butt hour long class of weight training and aerobics, that up to that point, I'd hit a plateau.

I had a baby 8 months ago, my first baby. I was amazed at how much my body could change in just 9 months. And then, of course, I was surprised at how hard it was to get my body back.

So needless to say, after that incredibly challenging class at the gym, I had some perspective about what kind of activity level I needed to get my old body back. I couldn't just go for a moderately challenging walk/jog. I needed to sweat bullets and be uncomfortable in order to get back in shape. I have started looking forward to faster paced walks with intervals of running. I have worked out harder than I have in the past year. As a result, my muscles are uncomfortably sore, but I am happy to see more tone and definition. No pain, no gain, and it's totally worth it.

What does this have to do with overeating? After that day at the gym, I kicked up my activity level a big notch. And I discovered that my eating habits followed suit and I started getting more focused and more committed to making healthier eating choices.

I started eating more vegetables, and eating less carbs. I spent more time preparing healthy meals, for example cutting up celery and making a spinach salad, instead of just eating on the run.

This brings more evidence that working out, especially in a class setting or with a personal trainer, where there is more challenge and accountability, leads to better eating choices and less careless indulgence. That is what I discussed in my book, Stop Overeating Today!, in one of the 33 tips. Now I have more personal conviction to back up that strategy.

BodyBugg - A faithful little companion

This morning I showed up to a BNI networking meeting with my book, Stop Overeating Today! in hand. I put it on the table and stuck out my hand to greet the guy sitting next to me. He took one look at my book, asked where I got it, and then thrust his hand up his sleeve to show me something. He said it was kind of a pain to take off, but he wanted to show me anyway.

"I've got a gorging problem." The way he said it was in a joking lighthearted way, so I snickered softly. "No, I'm serious," he went on. "I eat crap all day long!" Then he showed me what he had up his sleeve: "This little device tracks how many calories I eat, it's awesome. It charts it so you can see what you are eating and what it's doing to your body."

Pretty awesome. That's the Bodybugg. It just fits on your upper arm. Strap it on and you'll have a little wake up call, because we all know too well, little indulgences here and there really add up.

Besides showing me his nifty contraption, he also bought my book, Stop Overeating Today!. Sweet deal.

If you have any weight loss products that you absolutely love, let me know about them and I'll do a little shout out on my blog and on my social networks. It's all about spreading good ideas.

Read the First 1/3 of the book Stop Overeating Today! for Free

Yes, it's true. In the words of Seth Godin, "the enemy of books is not piracy, it's obscurity." Since I am not just in the business of creating wealth but also of spreading ideas, I have no problem offering the first 1/3 of my book, Stop Overeating Today! for free.

Visit my website for details: http://www.stopovereatingtips.com

ENJOY!!

What's Your Responsibility with the Cost of Obesity?

I don’t want to play the blame game, but I do want to point out the fact that if health care is standardized in the US, our tax dollars will be going to pay the high medical cost of obesity: diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, etc. What is your responsibility? What is mine?

We each will have an individual responsibility to get in better shape so we’re not taxing the nation. One person’s weight problem will become everyone’s weight problem, because we all will be footing the bill together with our tax dollars hard at work paying for prescription medications and diabetes machines. That gives a new spin to the phrase “you are what you eat”. We will all be what everyone else eats.

It doesn’t help to point the finger at the fast food industry and say they combine salt, fat, and sugars in a way that hooks our brains and gives us urges we can’t control. Because then we’re still overweight and blaming something outside ourselves that we “can’t control”, so we don’t have to point the finger inward and think about our personal responsibility to ourselves and everyone else.

What’s the solution then? What can we do about the millions of people that are hooked to eating when we need a boost, comfort, or just something to take us away from our troubles or boredom? We all can’t be on the Biggest Loser and besides, we’re not all interested in being publicly showcased and humiliated. Paying for surgery to get a band stapled onto our stomachs is costly and not guaranteed. Thousands of people gain the weight back within three years of having the operation because they were still hooked to food.

I don’t want to come off as a critic, because I’m not. I want to be your biggest supporter if you have an eating and weight problem. But I want to point out the problem first because most people with eating problems keep their eyes closed, eat what they please, and live in denial. Even if taxing others doesn’t worry you, what about your own life? You’ve got yourself to worry about. Eating problems won’t go away on their own and I’m sure you are suffering for it, even if you don’t like thinking about it. Are you happy with how your body looks and feels? Can you get around as easily as you’d like? Does eating leave you feeling energized or stuffed and tired? Do you deal with guilt?

I want to help you because I know what it’s like to have an eating problem. I struggled with overeating and even bulimia, gained 30 pounds, lost self-respect and self-control, and dove into despair. What saved me was learning how to retrain my thinking around food, so urges did not control me anymore. I changed my relationship with food and believe everyone else can do the same. It just takes desire, lots of grit and determination, and a simple tool.

This summer I published a book called Stop Overeating Today! with 33 self-help strategies that teach overeating sufferers how I overcame my eating problem and how they can too. The tips are go-at-your-own-pace and encourage the reader to start slowly so retention is possible. This go-to guide is thorough, covering all aspects of overeating: emotional eating, eating at restaurants, eating at home, food shopping and preparation, eating for comfort, overcoming guilt, and more. It puts power back into your hands so you no longer can say, “I have no control.”

So, you can close your eyes and wish your eating problem and weight problem would disappear, or you can empower yourself with a guilt-free guide and start making small sustainable changes. It’s up to you. If you don’t, it’s up to all of us to foot the bill.

Yes, You Can Start Today

Here is a review of my book Stop Overeating Today! by Dr. Lisa Ann Homic, DC. She did a fantastic job characterizing what makes the book unique:

Yes, you can start today. Don't wait anymore. Make the decision and walk your new path with Camile Packer McConnell's easy to use book. As a busy business coach, she realized her clients were very easily addicted to "stress eating." She also shared her own need to "retrain my thoughts and actions." Eating is associated with many societal rituals that are positive as well as negative. This book will help the reader navigate through overwhelming days with smart strategies.

I like this book because it is portable. It can be easily tucked into a purse or briefcase for a quick pep talk any time of the day. There is space for journaling and jotting down triumphs. People don't start new things when it appears to be complicated and scary. There is no need to procrastinate because Ms. McConnell tells the reader to start slowly.

There are 33 straightforward tips to follow in the book. Her first tip: "Don't start running at 60 MPH," is the perfect beginning. She recommends starting with one doable tip and work on it for three days. The changes should be very gradual so retention becomes second nature. Her comfortable program was designed to be pressure free so negative self-talk is avoided.

The tips are sensible and she understands how it feels to be in tricky situations such as eating with friends and when comfort foods are calling. This book will teach the reader how give up the old language of overeating and translate what the body is really requesting for energy and health.

We love food but food can't love back. Stop Overeating Today helps the reader to enjoy food for sustenance only so genuine fulfillment can be discovered elsewhere through companionship and personal purpose.

The book is available for purchase at Amazon.com and Ms. McConnell's website.

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The Secret to Stop Overeating with Self-Psychology

When I was struggling with chronic overeating and bulimia in high school and college, sometimes it felt like I would never be able to stop. I felt like there was a huge weight over me and I couldn’t break free from it. I was embarrassed about my lack of control and worried about how others would perceive me if they knew. If I were to describe how I felt, my story would go something like this: “I have this huge weakness around food and when I’m stressed, anxious, angry, or even excited, I lose control and eat way too much. I’ve tried changing and eating like a normal person, but I keep going back to overeating patterns, no matter what. I’m stuck.”

In my newly released book, Stop Overeating Today!, I discuss the power of self-image and how our thoughts about ourselves determine what kind of role that we play, either limiting or empowering us. Here’s an excerpt:

“Shakespeare said, ‘All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.’ Each moment of each day we can choose which role we will play. Our habits turn us into predictable characters. We expect to act certain ways because that is how we have done things in the past. That is the label we have given ourselves, that is the role we identify with, and that is how we see ourselves. Self-image is very powerful and can lead us to blindly play a role that is not in our best interest...”

Here’s an example of someone playing a role that limits him. After Joe experiences a series of unfortunate events one morning – he stubs his toe getting out of bed, there is a traffic jam on the way to work and he is 45 minutes late, he forgot to put on clean underwear – he thinks to himself, “I am having a really bad day!” He is convinced. Now he’s out to prove it. What role is he playing? The victim of a really bad day. He is out to find more examples to prove his theory that the world is out to get him. He discovers that the hum of the air conditioner is distracting and the guy who works at the cubicle across from him is breathing too loudly. See how he is playing a role, stuck as a character, and only he has the power to change his self-image?

Now, an example that relates to overeating. Shannon has been overeating for the past eight years and is unhappy with how she looks and how she treats her body. She deals with a lot of guilt and thinks, “I am a weak person.” That night at a dinner party, after eating a filling meal, she is offered delicious gooey brownies with a raspberry frosting for dessert. Her eyes pop out of her head and her mouth starts to water. She thinks, “Well, I don’t have the willpower to refuse. Here I go again.”

How can Shannon change her self-image and empower herself? Another excerpt from my book, Stop Overeating Today!, explains: “Choose a role that empowers you…If you find it difficult to start playing a more empowering role, come up with some adjectives to describe the type of role you’d like to play.” Shannon could choose strong, powerful, and healthy as her three adjectives.

Next, she needs to imagine herself as a strong, powerful, and healthy person and think about how such a person would react in front of the tantalizing brownies. She needs to visualize specifically what she will do instead of eating the brownies with crystal clarity, as though it’s already happened. On the other side of the room, Shannon sees three friends in the middle of what seems to be an interesting conversation. She sees herself standing up, leaving the table, and heading in their way to join them. After crafting her crystal clear visualization, she makes it happen, focusing so much on fulfilling her visualization that the brownies are no longer a temptation.

Phew! Now that you have a tactic for avoiding overeating in pressure situations, do you want to take it a step further? Grab a pen and a piece of paper and write down the role you have been playing around food that keeps you stuck in a cycle of overeating. Have you been feeling victimized, powerless, or depressed? After you identify your role, take that piece of paper and rip it up and throw it away. Don’t spend any more time dwelling on it.

Next, take out a fresh piece of paper and write down a phrase defining yourself with your new adjectives. For example, Shannon’s would say, “I used to feel weak, guilty, and out of control around food, but now I realize I am strong, powerful, and healthy enough make smart decisions.” Try it. What does your phrase look like? Every time you feel the urge to overeat, pull out that piece of paper and repeat your mantra. The more you practice this, the more natural sounding it will be and the easier it will be to follow. Before you know it, you are not just playing a new role, you have become a new person with healthier habits and a new sense of self-confidence.

(For more information about Stop Overeating Today!, visit www.stopovereatingtips.com)

Your Feelings Aren't That Important

I was listening to Dr. Laura on the radio telling one of her callers to stop paying so much attention to how she was feeling because feelings are irrational. She told the caller to use her brain and think instead of dwelling on her emotions that were keeping her stuck.

Voila! That's exactly the point I make over and over in my book. Your feelings will betray you.

Let's look at a specific example. Think of the last time you overate due to emotions. What was the emotion behind it? Was your thinking rational? Did it lead you to take action that resulted in satisfaction or regret?

It's not easy to break this cycle of putting too much stock in your emotions. The other day I was practicing shifting my attention from my emotions to my logic. It was tough! I was feeling sorry for myself because of a situation outside of my control and it was putting me in a bad mood. I told myself, "This feeling doesn't matter. It's just a temporary fleeting thing. I can focus on changing my thinking and I will feel better."

It took some struggling before I was able to successfully shift my focus from my "poor me!" emotions to rational logic that the negative situation was temporary and I could feel okay in spite of it. But it was worth it because I was able to put control back into my hands and feel empowered.

So it takes work, as all good things do. So to be perfectly honest, it's not a too-good-to-be-true fix. Nothing really is (so don't believe it if it claims to be). Nothing in my book Stop Overeating Today! pretends to be. That is something people appreciate. One reader today told me, "Stop Overeating Today! gives you hope, but it's not too-good-to-be-true. It's realistic and encouraging." The same is true for this exercise. When you practice thinking yourself out of a bad mood instead of dwelling in your feelings, you will get better and better at it. The good news? You won't be stuck in negative emotions without an alternative.

So next time you are feeling too much and it's getting you down or urging you to overeat, put on your thinking cap instead.

The Guidance You Need to Stop Overeating

New research conducted regarding American's health totally supports what my book is out to accomplish Stop Overeating Today! and proves how important support really is:

"'People have lofty, admirable goals of eating healthier, exercising more and
treating their bodies better. Our research suggests though, that implementation
of these goals is challenging. Many people need help and guidance to understand
where their health is lacking and how they can improve it,' recommends Krista
Faron." (source: http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS215305+03-Sep-2009+BW20090903)

The research also indicates that 45% of Americans surveyed struggle with overeating and want to treat their bodies better. Do you fall within that 45 percent? Want a resource that will teach you how to stop overeating, even when you're stressed, tired, bored, or emotional? Want a workbook that will help keep you on track, so you can apply the strategies immediately? Visit http://www.stopovereatingtips.com to get the skinny on how to stop overeating today.

The Truth about Your Sweet Tooth

You might be saying, "Well, duh. I already knew that people eat when they're stressed." But did you pay attention to which foods you prefer when stressed? Maybe this will help you explain your fascination with ice cream after a stressful day at work.

Here I am quoting verbatim what Marci E. Gluck, PhD, Obesity & Diabetes Clinical Researcher says:

"One recent study found that rats consumed more sugar after the administration of corticosterone (cortisol) suggesting that in humans, overeating of "comfort foods" may be stimulated by cortisol in response to stress (Dallman et al., 2003). Other research has shown that restrained eaters (e.g. dieters)(Stroud et al, 2000) and those with binge eating disorder (Gluck et al., 2004) are the ones more likely to overeat following stress."

So, what is a restrained eater? Someone who is constantly holding back from eating the sweet foods their body wants to eat. But, you might ask, "Isn't that the whole premise of the book Stop Overeating Today?" Nope, and I'll tell you why.

My book is about showing people, in the moment they feel tempted to overeat, how to rethink about the situation so they actually change their minds about overeating and realize they don't want to do it anymore. Yes, of course, the brownies still smell amazing and they are gooey just the way you like them, but you realize you don't need to eat the whole pan to get the ultimate eating experience and you can stop after eating just one. Does that make sense?

So, next time you are turning to sugar, check in with yourself to find out if it is stress related. If it is, eating the whole pan of brownies won't help much anyway. Figure out what is stressing you out and work on that, instead of turning to overeating instead. If you need stress reduction tips, go to Tip #2 in my book Stop Overeating Today! 33 Tips That Will Change Your Life. If you don't have my book, then use this discount code (AUG26) to save $2 TODAY ONLY when you use Google Checkout!

My Blingvelope to Dr. Laura

Ever since I've been working on my book Stop Overeating Today! 33 Tips That Will Change Your Life, it's been my dream to have it featured as a Book of the Week on the Dr. Laura show. It would be a great honor and, more importantly, it would be able to reach a lot of people who struggle with overeating and are anxious to find resources that can help them regain control in their lives.

Recently my mom was listening to the Dr. Laura show and heard Dr. Laura say that they get sooo many books sent to them that sometimes they can't even open them all. So she recommended to everyone out there who wanted to send her their book, to make it gimmicky. Gimmicky, I thought. I can do that!

So, I know from my 17 years of listening to her show that Dr. Laura's favorite color is pink. I googled to find a hot pink bubble envelope I could send my book in. Nothing available, unless I wanted to buy 250 of them. Since I don't know what I'd do with 249 other hot pick bubble mailers, I decided to make my own.

I borrowed crafty supplies from a crafty friend of mine and got to work using pink sparkles, glue, and pink, purple, and silver sequins. I used the sequins to make the Dr. Laura logo, which is her signature and the glitter covers an entire side of the envelope. You like?

I figured, I'm only going to get one shot at this. I want my envelope to be noticed and opened.

To make it even more memorable, I inserted a cover letter that I wrote, commenting on how my book mentions two themes she discusses on her show: revenge and grit. I even got permission from the Dr. Laura legal team to use her quote on grit. So, I pointed that out in my cover letter and told her she could find the quote in my book next to the green flag. And I used one of those sticker flags to direct her there..

So, that's my plan. What do you think? I'll be sending it off in the mail tomorrow. Is it gimmicky enough and eye-catching enough?

You Would Not Believe It - 6 Ways to Celebrate that Don't Include Eating

I can't believe it. Try googling: "ways to celebrate besides eating food" and you get nothing except for a bunch of websites talking about FOOD! (How to celebrate Valentine's Day with chocolate, great crunchy snacks you can get, the works). I'm very shocked.

This isn't a new idea. I didn't specifically mention it in my book (I will in an upcoming book), but there are ways to celebrate besides eating.

I was thinking about this today. I want to motivate myself to exercise and I was thinking about possible rewards. I've heard that smaller rewards work better than bigger rewards. I actually learned that in a psychology class in college. So when I was thinking about rewards, caramel flan from a nearby restaurant came to mind. But then I thought, "No! I don't want to exercise and then eat something that will be twice as many calories as I burn off." And the more I thought about it, the more I realized I needed to make a list of WAYS TO CELEBRATE THAT DON'T INCLUDE EATING.

So there's my list. Feel free to add comments to make the list longer.

1) Take a break and plan a trip to nature. Go to your local beach, take your dog to the park, go take a picture of the sunset, take a hike in a pretty place. Give yourself permission to get out and go!

2) Take a break and watch an episode of your favorite TV show. Seinfeld, Saved by the Bell, and LOST are fun ones if you have the DVDs with the seasons.

3) Come up with a point system to get something bigger you really want. For example, let's say I fall in love with this shirt I saw online, but it costs $30. That's too big a reward for exercising for 30 minutes one time. But what if each time I exercise, it's like I get 3 points to get that shirt. Each point could be worth one dollar. So after exercising 10 times for 30 minutes, I can go online and click "Order Now!"

4) Take a break and listen to your favorite music. Use Itunes or Grooveshark or Pandora. If you want to make the reward better, buy a new song each time you exercise. It's only about $1 on Itunes.

5) Take a break and spend 30 minutes on your favorite hobby. I want to make time to put together family photo albums. I just had a baby 5 months ago and she is CUTE, so I want to make sure we capture that so we can enjoy it for the years to come.
Give yourself permission to take a break and get on that!

6) Take a break (I know, it's a common theme) and take a power nap if you need one. We all work so hard that squeezing in some extra sleep is an appealing reward.

You'll notice most of my rewards include taking a break. Maybe that's what we need. Permission to do the things we really want to do and take a break from the same old same old. Plus, taking a break relieves stress, which helps us avoid overeating because so much overeating comes from being too busy or from being too stressed.

Ok, those are my 6 ways to celebrate that don't include eating. What are your favorites and what can you add?

What People Are Saying About My Book

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IskPhJOyeE8

Accountability Buddies

I was at my grandpa's 80th birthday party this weekend in Utah and ran into distant relative who had no idea that I mentioned him in my book Stop Overeating Today! 33 Tips That Will Change Your Life He is my mom's cousin's husband. He was really surprised when I told him. We run into each other about every eight years, so it was a random thing for me to say, "I mentioned you in a book I wrote!" I showed him his cameo, in the eighth chapter called, "Get an Accountability Buddy Who Reacts Quickly."

So here's the story. You'll have to read the full version in the book, but here's the Reader's Digest version: I was at a pancake breakfast and there was a long line and I didn't want to have to stand in it twice in case I got hungry for seconds. So I got a lot of food, not sure what I would actually be able to eat. By the time I had eaten half of it, I was full. Thinking out loud I said, "I'm full. I don't want to eat this anymore." Then my cousin standing next to me, who was in town on a business trip, took my paper plate from my hands and threw it away in a nearby trash can. When I saw him on Saturday and reminded him of this experience, he asked me,

"Did you think I was rude?"

"No," I responded, "I thought it was brilliant. I didn't have to worry about overeating. The choice was made for me."

To find out how to make this tip work in your life, and to use the workbook that helps you apply this tip, check out Tip #8 in Stop Overeating Today! 33 Tips That Will Change Your Life, available on Amazon.

Sick of Being Stuck?

I went to the beach in Newport Beach yesterday at 28th Street. Growing up, I was more of a dare devil and didn't care how cold the water was. I would just run and jump in. Nowadays, I take my time, refusing to go in sometimes if it's too cold. When I was younger, I vowed I'd never turn out like that. I vowed I'd go in the water every time I went to the beach, not turning into one of those "old moms" that was afraid of the water. Well guess what? I had turned into one of those old moms, until yesterday when something strange happened.

As I was tiptoeing into the water, a little bit of that old dare devil thinking sparked inside my head and I felt like running into the water and throwing my fears to the wind. So I did. And I LOVED it.

So what do 65 degree water and overeating have in common? Our reactions to both of them are affected by what labels we give ourselves. I had stamped the "I'm an old mom who doesn't like cold water and stays on the sand" label on my forehead. It became my identity for a while and I was comfortable believing it and playing that role, feeling it was somehow out of my hands.

Likewise, labels we give ourselves after we overeat can give us a certain self-identity or role to play and affects our actions. For example, if the last three times you have eaten doughnuts you have eaten too much and gotten a bellyache, you may label yourself as someone who can't help but overeat around doughnuts. So the next time doughnuts are in front of your face, you are expecting yourself to eat too much. You may even joke about it. Since you are believing your role as a doughnut overeater, you expect yourself to cave time and again. And you will until you can figure out how to peel that label off your forehead and replace it with a new more empowering one.

Make sense? I elaborate more on this in my book, which is for sale on Amazon for $12.99 for one more week. After that, it goes up to $14.99.

So take a second and identify one of the roles you have given yourself that you don't really like or that doesn't really serve you. What is it? How does it hold you back? What would you like to replace it with?

Is Intuitive Eating Realistic?

Today's busy busy busy lifestyle makes intuitive eating seem, well, counterintuitive. It seems too time consuming to spend time tuning into the body throughout the day to discover what food it wants to eat. What if it wants a banana and you don't have one? Or, what if your body wants to eat at 10 am, but your lunch break isn't until noon? Is it even worth it?

I say it is. The reason I stand behind intuitive eating is that you will learn to pay attention to what your body needs, instead of giving into what your emotions want. And that means you will overeat less and feel better more.

For more help with intuitive eating, check out my book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0984153705 because Tip #5 will define it and explain how to apply it into your life. Not only that, there is a workbook section to help you personalize it and drive the point home.

Release E-blast

You are staring at leftover cake sitting on the counter, your mouth watering, your eyes growing larger than your stomach. You are already full after eating a satisfying dinner, but it looks irresistible. The devil perched over your shoulder whispers into your ear, “You want to eat this cake. You will be missing out if you stop eating now! It will be worth every bite.”

Most people know those feelings all too well, yet most haven’t discovered how to curb the cravings and stop the habitual overeating. Until now! Thanks to a new book by Camille McConnell, people are finding answers are right at their fingertips. The book coaches people how to make impulse-free and healthy decisions in the moment they feel like overeating. Not only is it full of informative tips, the book’s interactive workbook-style sets it apart as it challenges the reader to personalize and apply the tips, thereby generating quicker results.

WHEN YOU ORDER BY AUGUST 12TH YOU GET:
1) Discounted price of $12.99 (Retail is $14.99)
2) Signed copy
3) 3 additional tips for free

ORDER ON AMAZON NOW!

Look Inside! http://stopovereatingtips.com/preview.htm
Check out the Website: http://www.stopovereatingtips.com

Thank you!

Amazon Listing is UP!

Next week I will be starting a contest for people who want to tell their friends about this book, or even easier, send an e-mail to their friends with the link to Amazon. First prize is a free book, a free half hour of personal one-on-one phone coaching with me, author of Stop Overeating Today!, and a $25 Itunes gift card.

Keep reading to get contest details next week!

I'm on Author Central!

Amazon has this nifty application called Author Central, a place for authors to post their photo, biography, and blogs. While I will always be blogging on here, I will be RSS'ing (is that a verb yet?) onto my Author Central blog. It's cool, check it out: http://www.amazon.com/Camille-Packer-McConnell/e/B002J0FE5U/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_T1_0

While you're at it, you can see my link on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0984153705

Notice my page looks a little bare? That's where you can help. After reading my book, I would really appreciate if you could take 2 minutes to review it on Amazon. Thanks for your support!

Angel vs. Devil

It’s the old scenario with the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. You want to listen to the angel, but the devil prods, “you’ll feel better if you eat this cake” or “just a few more bites won’t hurt!” You know you are full and if you eat more you will regret it later, but your mouth is watering and your eyes are bigger than your stomach. What to do???

Order by the August 10th and get my book Stop Overeating Today! for $12.99 and see for yourself the 33 tips to make empowering and healthy decisions.

If that’s not enough incentive for you, order by August 10th and receive 3 more tips on how to stop overeating and implement the book effectively FREE.

Want to find out more? Check out 3 of the book’s 33 tips here!

Do you eat when you're hungry or when the fullness fix wears off?

This is what it comes down to. Do you eat only when you are hungry, or do you eat when you are no longer full? Your answer to that questions will help you see if you are using food as fuel to get more energy or if you are using food for comfort.

Maybe you don't get what I mean. There is a difference between being hungry and no longer being full. You get full right when you've finished your meal (hopefully not overly full). You are satisfied at that point. Let's say you eat something every three hours. Between being full and the next three hours, you're not going to be very hungry, but you won't have that perfectly satisfied full feeling the entire time either. It will wane until you are hungry again.

So what I'm saying is that there is being completely satisfied and full, there is being neither full nor hungry, and there is being hungry. At which point you eat again indicates whether or not you have a healthy relationship with food.

Some people with overeating tendencies want to have that full feeling the whole day. That's how I used to be. I thought about food all the time. (What will I eat next to get full?) It was definitely a problem. To me, eating wasn't about giving myself the necessary energy to keep moving and thinking healthily. It was to help me feel full in other ways that really had nothing to do with food. I was also eating to fend off negative emotions like anxiety, stress, and fear.

So, what about you? Is food your fuel for energy or is it your fix for other things? If you are an emotional eater that relies on having that full feeling all day long, you may want to start reading my book at Tip # 9 How to Avoid Emotional Eating or Tip #2, Lower Your Stress Levels. There's nothing more liberating than to be around food that used to be your weakness and feel no emotional connection to it at all.

Drugs vs. Self-Control

There's an article in the New York Times about research comparing monkeys who ate 30% less calories than another group of monkeys. The group that took in fewer calories showed these results: longer lifespan and less diabetes, cancer, and cholesterol problems.

So that's good news, right? At least we know what we can do if we want to live longer and healthier. What percentage of your daily calories currently includes food you ate when you were already comfortably full? Do you stop to listen to your body to find out when it's full, or do you typically just eat the portions in front of you? Learning to restrain yourself could add years to your life, which is encouraging.

But here's the part about drugs vs. self-control. The article suggests that since most people can't stick to a diet of 30% less calories than they are used to, they are going to develop a drug that can create the same results as eating less.

First of all, that's sad that there's an assumption people won't do what's best for them. Not that I disagree. Most people won't stop overeating. So let's just skip self-control as even an option and go straight to more drugs as a solution? (Because it worked so well for Michael Jackson and thousands of others with drug dependencies). Secondly, is it realistic that a drug can substitute for healthy eating? Seriously, drugs can't solve everything. We don't want to become a nation of drug dependent overeaters.

Here's the article link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/10/science/10aging.html?_r=1.

2 Most Common Situations People Overeat - And What You Can Do About It!!!

3 More Tips to Stop Overeating

It's too late to make the book Stop Overeating Today! 36 Tips That Will Change Your Life. Besides, that sounds awkward. 33 is much better.

Anyway, here are 3 more I just came up with. The second tip goes right along with the book, so it won't be applicable until you actually have the book in your hands. I included it today because it help you see how easy the book is to apply once you have it.

1. Put your fork down between every bite. Just try it once and notice the difference.

2. Mix it up and have fun with the tips in the book. The nice thing about these tips is that you don’t have to execute them in any certain way to find success. It’s not like a tennis game where you need to focus on several different factors all at once like footwork, the racket’s angle, follow through, and the direction your hips and shoulders are facing. You don’t need to remember five tips at once to find success. You can just focus on one tip one day and try another one the next day. They are easy to use, apply, and reuse, but there is no requirements to do them a certain way to be successful.

3. Stop weighing yourself every day. Hide your scale. If you are too concerned with losing weight, you will add stress to the eating experience and may end up eating too much. Just focus on feeling your best and eating intuitively. You don’t need to rank yourself based on numbers you see. If you have certain expectations to lose a certain amount of weight by a certain time and you fall short, you may get discouraged and overeat as a result. Stop playing the numbers game. It’s more important to eat healthy and be active than it is to reach a certain number on a scale.

Why the Little Things Matter

Has this every happened to you? While eating you get full with just a little bit of food left over. It seems silly to put it back in the fridge and you figure it's only a tiny bit, so you might as well finish it off. But unfortunately, it pushes you just over the edge into feeling too full. Darn! You've lost your happy place.

What's the big deal with that? The "too full" feeling will only last a few minutes. But if you're like me, you will get in the habit of tuning out your body's full signal and you'll start overeating more and more. Once you stop eating intuitively (paying attention to your body's cues about being hungry and full - Tip # 5 in the book Stop Overeating Today!) it's easy to just focus on cleaning your plate and to tune out your body.

So that's why the little bit of food left over matters. The last few chips in the bottom of the bag, the rest of the cereal, those last few bites of dinner you don't really want but you feel bad throwing away and silly putting back.

It's okay to throw it away or put it back in the fridge. Once you stop listening to your body, it's really easy to do it agai.

Bored with the same old same old snacks?

I came across across a really helpful news article today that offers fun ideas for snacks under 200 calories. It also points out the obvious fact that snacking prevents overeating at meals. It seems so obvious that it's silly to bring it up, but I mentioned it in my book too. Why? Sometimes all people need is someone to point out the obvious to them. We get off track and don't know how to get back on. We could tell someone else who is off track how to get back on, but can't seem to figure it out for ourselves.

This article also says not to graze on snacks. Good advice. There's a tip in my upcoming book, Stop Overeating Today!, that gives a creative spin on how to stop grazing. Because anyone can point out the obvious. If you want to stop grazing, then stop already. But it's easier said than done and sometimes we all need a creative new solution to nip our bad habits in the bud. That's exactly what my book does.

Another good tip in this article is to eat snacks with protein. Great tip! It's also found in the book, although it's inside one of the tips and is not a tip by itself. But haven't you noticed you will eat less if you start your meal or snack off with a little protein? Have you ever heard of Lindora? It's a fabulously successful weight loss center here in Southern California and they teach their patients to start meals off with protein as well.

I cheer this article for telling people to stay away from processed snacks and to stick to whole foods instead. Because there are plenty of 100 calorie cookie and brownie snacks you could stuff in your shopping cart, but can you actually pronounce half the ingredients in those things anyway?

Ok, so which snack idea is your favorite that you're going to try first? Here's the link to the article: http://www.examiner.com/x-12564-Boston-Healthy-Living-Examiner~y2009m7d7-Get-Snackin Not bad, huh? I'm a fan of the snacks that include chocolate. Why not?

Check it out now!! I've got a video about the book on YouTube

So you want tips to help you stop overeating when you're stressed, on special occasions, or every day?

Watch the video to find out how my book is different from all the rest and to preview one of the exclusive tips in Stop Overeating Today! 33 Tips That Will Change Your Life.

Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3V916RfM1Y

Or you can check it out on my Facebook page, on my website, or on my Myspace Blog.
Thanks for watching - the more views, the more people will be able to find out about a book that can change their lives.

What Everybody Ought to Know About Oxidative Stress

I have never heard of this. Oxidative stress. If you eat too much in one sitting, your body gets oxidative stress. I'm quoting from an article:

"Many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s , Parkinson’s, diabetes, cancer, arthritis and inflammatory conditions, and ageing are associated with oxidative stress.

The bottom line is: do not overeat and, if you do, at least try to avoid excess intakes of fats and carbohydrates at single sittings."

Yikes! Here's the rest of the article written by dietician Ann Till. Before you read it, I have to warn you. Ann Till is probably English because they talk a lot about grams instead of pounds. So unless you are a metric whiz, the numbers won't mean much. But you'll still get the main idea: http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=74604.

Has anyone ever heard of this before?

Stop Overeating Today! Book Q & A

Q: What makes this book any different from the thousands of other books about weight loss and diets?

A: This book has nothing to do with diets. I'm not a big fan of them because, in my mind, to diet means to deprive. What makes this book different is that the tips are straightforward and easy to read and apply. You could pick it up and read anywhere for just 2 minutes and find something useful you can apply the next time you eat. The tips are easy to remember. The tone of the book is conversational and fun. I wrote the book as a peer, not as a doctor or a professional dietitian or psychologist. I actually used these tips to help me overcome my overeating problem. I know they work. These tips are not arbitrary. They are supported, tested, and proven.

Q: Why did you write this book?

A: After recovering from an eating disorder in 2001, I wanted to help people do the same. I was a mentor in a recovery support group and noticed that overeating was a common problem for a lot of girls. Later, I became a life coach and when I talked with people about eating issues, discovered they wanted ideas for ways to stop overeating. Since I have struggled with overeating in the past, I wanted to share strategies that worked for me.

Q: What is your favorite tip?

A: Tip #10, which talks about how to stop emotional eating by using a self-coaching method called "The Work of Byron Katie". I learned this method at Byron Katie's coaching school and discovered it works for any negative emotion: stress, anger, fear, hurt, you name it. You basically ask yourself a series of 4 questions, which help you start thinking rationally and to separate yourself from stressful emotions. After you can see yourself more objectively, you can make a healthier and less impulsive decision. It sounds like a long process, but you can successfully go through this self-coaching method in less than 10 seconds. To learn more visit http://www.thework.com.

Q: What additional products or services will you offer to complement the book?

A: Everyone who buys the book is offered a free 15 minute phone coaching session, to help them apply the tips in the book to them personally. If they find that beneficial, they are free to sign up for more phone coaching. My rates are currently $100/hr.

Q: How long did it take you to write the book?

A: I worked on it off and on for the last two years, and pretty consistently since September '08.

Q: When will be book be for sale?

A: That depends. If you buy it on my website it will be available in about 10 days. On Amazon it will be available in about 25 days. Can't wait!

How to stop lying to yourself

We all do this. We justify, "it's the weekend so what I eat doesn't count." Really? I wish that were the case. I'm not saying to not have fun every once and a while and enjoy some highly caloric tasty food, but as long as we aren't in denial about it.

But it's not just happening on the weekend. Any special occasion fits the bill. And the more we justify to ourselves, the more we look for reasons to say today is a special occasion too because we are celebrating XYZ.

I found a really good article that talks about this "Weekend Warrior" mindset and 3 other common excuses we feed ourselves.
http://www.pr-inside.com/guilt-free-eating-and-the-four-known-r1347393.htm

The article's solution is some pricey diet program. I'm not a fan of diets. My solution is Tip # 10 in my upcoming book, Stop Overeating Today! Mine won't cost you $100+. And it will work for you every day of your life. It will show you how to catch a lie you are believing, and how to untwist it into the truth. Then, it shows you that the truth ain't that bad because it helps you get what you really want.

I'll admit, sometimes I really do want the doughnut. I'm not in denial about that.

When you just can't stop from eating a whole bag of cookies

Ever been in this situation? You ate an entire bag of cookies and then you wondered why? You weren't even that hungry, right?

I know exactly what you are talking about! That's why I wrote this book (Stop Overeating Today!). I used to be that person who would eat the entire bag of cookies and then wonder why. I would overeat enough that I decided I had to do something about it.

I decided to really tune in to what situations and thoughts set me up to overeat. What led up to it? What could I do to avoid that situation in the future?

Eventually I started narrowing down strategies that really worked, that lowered my stress, that tempered my emotions, that helped me step away from flawed thinking. I put 33 of the strategies in the book.

I can't wait to share these strategies with you, to do raffles and give away free copies of the book to blog readers, and to give discounts to make it accessible to whoever could use some 'how to stop overeating' advice.

Whether you only overeat on special occasions or you commonly find yourself emotionally eating, this book is for you. Now a word to the men on emotional eating. It is not just about eating a bunch of ice cream during PMS. I know guys who get a little stressed at work and then start munching, putting on some extra pounds in the process.

This book will have something for everyone. Let's face it, we live in America. Just going out to eat is an invitation to overeat, since the portion sizes are out of control.

Can't wait till I can show you what you can do about it! I'm expecting the book to be live on Amazon in 3 weeks. It will be on my website even sooner. Will keep you posted.

Stop Overeating Today! 33 Tips That Will Change Your Life

Have you seen the sneak peak yet? To see a book preview (with 3 of the tips) go here: http://www.stopovereatingtips.com/preview.htm

The book is almost here - yay! Pretty soon I will be adding links to Amazon.com, my website, and createspace.com to start selling the book designed to help people increase their mind power in impulsive or emotional situations and make healthier eating decisions. An e-book will soon be available as well.

Who doesn't need this book? I was on the phone with my website hosting company the other day. I'm not always the most technologically inclined and needed help. Anyway, the girl at the company asked for my domain name and I told her, "www.stopovereatingtips.com". She responded with, "I could use some of that."