Acupuncture for good health

I have been an avid reader of news since the ripe ole age of eight years old. Every Friday in grade 2 we had ‘current events’ where we had to choose an interesting news story from the week and present it to the class. Even back then I always looked for odd news or strange local stories.

As I grew older I started following daily news and because it was all ‘bad news’ I just gave up on it around 2 years ago. Then I stumbled onto websites that offered news of the weird and I was hooked. Since I started reading odd, strange news exclusively I have found I am a much happier person.

So it is no surprise to me that the University of Cohaina released a report that seems to prove just this. The followed the mood of 121 subjects over a period of two years. The first year they were asked to read 30 minutes of mainstream (mostly bad news) and they did a mood analysis quiz daily, with overall happiness ranked at 67%. In the second year they spent 30 minutes a day reading odd news stories (they were asked to avoid mainstream news on TV and prints) and almost immediately their scores rose to the 74% range and eventually topped out in the last three months to 76% on average.

So drop that newspaper and don’t bother reading about the financial collapse nor about the 300th murder rape in your city. Instead, head over to an alternative news site and read something that will put a smile on your face.

My new Silva EX3 pedometer finally arrived a few days ago.

Well worth the wait - no wonder they were sold out! What a difference it is making.

The cheap one I bought while I was waiting for delivery of this one started being annoying and so I didn't wear it all day. With this one you can wear it around you neck, in your pocket or in your bag and it's around 20g (less than an ounce) so you don't even notice you're wearing it.

It resets itself automatically every night (keeping a record of the last 7 days for you) - I leave it in my dressing gown pocket until I'm dressed and then it goes in my pocket or around my neck depending what I'm wearing.

No annoying click click click either or falling off your waistband when you bend over.

If you've only ever used those horrible cheap ones you'll really notice the difference though that may be less of a case if you've had an expensive one before.

As far as motivation goes, it's working for me so far.

I'm reasonably fit so I didn't start from the beginners part of my pedometer weight loss program with a gradual build up on steps - I'm aiming to do 10,000 steps a day.

First day I had the EX3 I had only done 6000 or so steps by 4pm so I did an extra 30 minutes stepping in front of "Ready Steady Cook" to help me arrive at my target and yesterday I decided to walk to the Post Office instead of driving so that I could get some extra steps clocked up and I got to almost 13,000.

Today I have not done any formal exercise so I am around the 3000 mark and so that will be me going for a walk this evening or stepping in front of the TV again instead of being lazy.

By the way if you would like to buy one I have seen these on Amazon in the Uk - the .com site doesn't seem to have them but you may get something similar on their pedometers page.

You can tell I've got something new on my brain with that title LOL but I've not gone quite mad yet.

The thing is, I started a new beading class on Tuesday morning and instead of feeling hungry around 11 am and ready for lunch, as I usually do, I was lost in a world of choosing beads from the vast array the teacher had on display and putting them together into something that resembled a half-decent pair of earrings and a bracelet.

I had a great time with a friendly bunch of people and a very helpful teacher and was totally absorbed in being creative. I could have quite happily put off lunch for another hour - it's almost unheard of for me to manage not to eat my lunch before 12 if I'm working on something on my PC at home.

So often we eat (or think we feel hungry) because we are bored.

Now what will keep me happily absorbed (and not thinking of food) may not be for you but if you can find something that interests you like that it can keep you hands busy and out of the cookie jar and your mind on the task at hand instead of on what you can eat.

The trick is to find something you love and which you can be actively involved in during your free time to stop yourself getting bored.

These days many of us spend a lot of our leisure time passively in front of the TV and that leaves us too open to thinking we are hungry (especially after watching food ads or cookery shows) ... see if you can replace some of that time with a hobby - and if you can make it one that get's you moving all the better. Unfortunately beading doesn't use many calories :)

I had an email from a lady, let's call her Penny for the sake of anonymity, who wanted to know

"I read a book to motivate myself to quit smoking...how do I get motivated, really motivated to stop eating"

The thing is, eating is even more addictive than smoking. We are biologically programmed to eat. It's definitely NOT the same as smoking. If we don't eat we die. If you don't smoke, you live longer! We can't just not buy food or stay away from other eaters. Or chew a food substitute.

And unfortunately for the state of our waistlines, it seems we are also programmed to eat as much food as we can when food is plenty so that we are able to cope with lean times ahead.

Now the trouble is that these days there are no leaner times to use up our fat stores so some of us (well a whole lot of us actually) just eat and eat to the point of obesity

Those of us who want to be slim, simply have to learn to regulate ourselves, like it or not. We have to learn to read our body's signals. To know when we are physically hungry and when we have had enough. We have to eat slowly and pay attention to our bodies.

And once you are aware that you have eaten enough you have to stop eating before you feel stuffed. And not start again until you are physically hungry.

There are a few strategies you can use to let your body (and mind) know it's time to stop eating :-

• Like smoking, eating too much (or eating when you're not physically hungry) can be a kind of habit so if you stop yourself snacking or eating too much at each meal (using sheer willpower in the beginning) eventually you will be quite used to that and stop naturally.
• If you like chocolate (like me) you may allow yourself a square with coffee at the end of your meal to signify that you have finished eating. You won't mind stopping so much, because chocolate is coming :)
• Some people find it useful to brush their teeth when eating is over. This may be a helpful strategy for Penny who used to use a cigarette to signal the end of a meal.
• You could also use clearing the kitchen of all dishes and leftovers, rinsing out the sink and putting out the kitchen lights.

Penny is also asking how she can be motivated to WANT to stop eating.

For that you need to understand what you want to achieve by losing weight and keep reminding yourself how much you want to achieve it - every time you reach for food you don't need.

If you don't want to lose weight enough then the compulsion to eat will be too great. So reinforce your reasons by going through them (in your head or on paper) whenever you can.

Plus, if you want more help with motivation and strategies to follow you can get my FREE 7 part weight loss motivation course here

When you say you had a good meal what do you mean?

A good meal could be one which gave you enormous pleasure. It could be that it was absolutely delicious. You enjoyed every mouthful and felt quite satisfied after eating it.

Maybe it included some of your favorite foods - just like your mom used to make. True comfort food.

Maybe it was pure indulgence with food you love but which you don't normally allow yourself to eat on your diet.

Maybe you pushed the boat out a bit and ate in a top restaurant and are still remembering the whole experience of dining like royalty.

But there's another definition of a good meal I would like you to think about. It's one where you don't say "That was delicious" and then regret the calories when you get on the scales the next day.

A truly good meal is delicious but it also nourishes your body and provides a good balance of protein, carbohydrate, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals without going over the top on calories. It's one which has a healthy balance between tasting fantastic and making you feel fantastic too.

You may think that such foods don't exist - that a good meal isn't a good meal without a multitude of calories and a sticky dessert but I'd have to say you just haven't found the right recipes yet.

Make it your mission this year to find one new delicious healthy recipe every month (or every week if you can manage it). Find a healthy recipe that you would look forward to eating, try it out and make sure you love it then add it to your usual list of potential meals. As time goes on and you have collected a few recipes, you will be able to have a good meal whenever you like without wrecking you diet - you'll have your own treasure trove of personal favorites.  

To find recipes take a look at the cookbooks you have at home, search for "low-calorie recipes" or "low-fat recipes" online or check out some specialist magazines from your local book store.