addiction2food

V olume 1 Issue 11

Offering helpful information, insights, articles, tips, recipes, humor and motivational tools to assist you in finding recovery from your addiction to food.

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About the Author

BJ is a recovering food addict and a registered nurse. In 1989 BJ found recovery as an inpatient at Glenbeigh Hospital of Tampa. After returning home she discovered that her recovery resources were limited. But she knew that if one wanted recovery badly enough one could find it anywhere. So BJ set about finding and/or founding services which would primarily help her to grow in recovery but consequently helped many other food addicts..

BJ worked as a registered nurse for almost twenty years. Most of that time was spent working in intensive care, adult and child psychiatry, adolescent addiction and home health care. This experience was useful in establishing the "Eating Disorder Information and Referral Service" which was housed at a local Women's Center in Upper Michigan. It was there that she helped her clients find recovery!

Learn to Forgive Yourself

The Toddler Diet
{source not known}

People are always on the lookout for a new diet. The trouble with most diets is that you don't get enough to eat (the starvation diet), you don't get enough variation (the liquid diet) or you go broke (the all-meat diet). Consequently, people tend to cheat on their diets, or quit after 3 days. Well, now there's the new Toddler Miracle Diet.

Over the years you may have noticed that most two year olds are trim. Now the formula to their success is available to all in this new diet. You may want to consult your doctor before embarking on this diet, otherwise, you may be seeing him afterwards. Good Luck !!!

DAY ONE
Breakfast: One scrambled egg, one piece of toast with grape jelly. Eat 2 bites of egg, using your fingers; dump the rest on the floor. Take 1 bite of toast, then smear the jelly over your face and clothes.

Lunch: Four crayons (any color), a handful of potato chips, and a glass of milk (3 sips only, then spill the rest).

Dinner: A dry stick, two pennies and a nickel, 4 sips of flat Sprite.

Bedtime snack: Throw a piece of toast on the kitchen floor.

DAY TWO
Breakfast: Pick up stale toast from kitchen floor and eat it. Drink half bottle of vanilla extract or one vial of vegetable dye.

Lunch: Half tube of "Pulsating Pink" lipstick and a handful of Purina Dog Chow (any flavor). One ice cube, if desired. Afternoon snack: Lick an all-day sucker until sticky, take outside, drop in dirt. Retrieve and continue slurping until it is clean again. Then bring inside and drop on rug.

Dinner: A rock or an uncooked bean, which should be thrust up your left nostril. Pour Grape Kool-Aid over mashed potatoes; eat with spoon.

DAY THREE
Breakfast: Two pancakes with plenty of syrup, eat one with fingers, rub in hair. Glass of milk; drink half, stuff other pancake in glass. After breakfast, pick up yesterday's sucker from rug, lick off fuzz, put it on the cushion of best chair.

Lunch: Three matches, peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Spit several bites onto the floor. Pour glass of milk on table and slurp up.

Dinner: Dish of ice cream, handful of potato chips, some red punch. Try to laugh some punch through your nose, if possible.

FINAL DAY
Breakfast: A quarter tube of toothpaste (any flavor), bit of soap, an olive. Pour a glass of milk over bowl of cornflakes, add half a cup of sugar. Once cereal is soggy, drink milk and feed cereal to dog.

Lunch: Eat bread crumbs off kitchen floor and dining room carpet. Find that sucker and finish eating it.

Dinner: Drop pieces of spaghetti onto back of dog, insert meatball into ear. Dump pudding into Kool-aid and suck up with a straw.

REPEAT DAYS AS NEEDED!

HUMOR AND HEALING:
THE "LAUGHTER FACTOR"
Karyn Buxman, RN, MSN, CSP, CPAE

Life must be lived as play. Plato

Ed Shanks shifts his weight, getting comfortable in the Lazy-Boy while the nurse adjusts the drip rate of his chemotherapy. He picks up the remote control and flips on the video tape he has chosen, "The Best of Laurel and Hardy." Sound appropriate? Sure is. Is it beneficial? You bet. Patients of all kinds are discovering the numerous healthy benefits of humor.

Benefits of Laughter: Scientists are now finding evidence to support what most of us have suspected all along: that humor and laughter are good for you. William Fry, PhD, of Stanford University in California and one of the leading researchers in the field of humor physiology, states that humor, mirth and laughter have impact on most, if not all, of the major human body systems.

While Ed is laughing at Laurel and Hardy, what's going on in his body? During his laughter, Ed's heart is exercised by an increased heart rate and blood pressure that is then followed by a relaxation phase. This in turn, results in improved circulation. In Ed's gastrointestinal system, the muscles involved in the act of laughter massage internal organs resulting in enhanced digestion. In the respiratory system, laughter enhances the intake of oxygen-rich air. When Ed laughs, he inhales more deeply and then forcefully exhales air at rates up to 70 MPH!

Ed doesn't experience muscle tension during the moments he is laughing. In Ed's musculo-skeletal system, his muscles are stimulated and then become relaxed. This explains why individuals frequently lean over or hold on to something during a robust laugh, becoming "weak with laughter."

Dr. Fry likens the effects of laughter to physical exercise. While laughing may not compare episode for episode with marathon running or swimming, it doesn't require a specific time block or equipment. This makes it especially appealing to those who are home bound or confined to a bed or wheel chair.

Obstacles: Despite the fact that clinical evidence supports making humor and laughter part of the health regimen, many people are reluctant to take the plunge. This occurs for several reasons. One is that laughter and play are undervalued in our culture. According to Dr. O. Carl Simonton, medical director of the Simonton Cancer Center and co-author of The Healing Journey, some patients and their families have been scolded for having a good time. They risk hearing comments such as, "You aren't taking your illness seriously enough" or "How can you enjoy yourself when your loved one is dying?" And yet play is one of the key components to the healing process.

Many folks want to put off playing until they feel better. But it is important to note that you shouldn't wait until you feel better to play; you play and then feel better. Simonton says that play helps shift our perspective, increases our flexibility, raises our energy levels, boosts our will and desire to live, and moves our body in a healthy direction.

Getting Started: What can you do to increase your "laughter factor"? To start with, give yourself permission to laugh. Recognize that laughing is beneficial for you and your loved ones and that you're taking positive steps toward an action plan for better health.

Make a conscious effort to put humor into your daily routine. At the Simonton Institute, patients are encouraged to strive for one hour of play per day, seven days a week. This includes weekends, holidays and vacations. As an exercise, Simonton has his patients list 40 activities, half of which cost less than $5 each. He explains that it's important to have a long list of options, because when you need play the most may be when you have the hardest time thinking of something fun to do.

Keep props handy. Visit a toy department and buy yourself a toy all your own. Koosh Balls are a great place to start. They are bright colored, have a stimulating texture, and can be used for a variety of things including juggling.

Start keeping a humor diary of things you find funny, whether they are jokes, anecdotes, signs, memos, license plates, or cartoons. Then refer to this diary on the days when your energy and spirits are sagging. Start your own collection of humorous books, tapes, and videos.

Look into organizations that promote therapeutic humor such as The American Association for Therapeutic Humor and The Fellowship of Merry Christians. They provide periodic newsletters that are available at relatively low cost to keep you abreast of the latest developments in this fast growing field.

Make a contract with yourself to incorporate some type of humor into your life immediately and on a regular basis. Unintentional humor is terrific when it happens, but humor has too many benefits to let it happen by chance.

A highly sought humorist and nationally recognized expert in therapeutic humor, Karyn Buxman, RN, MSN, CSP, CPAE helps people achieve balance through stress management techniques, including humor. To sign up for her free bi-weekly e-zine, LyteBytes, e-mail subscribe-lytebytes@humorx.com or visit www.HumorHabit.com

Avoid Negative Thinking; Choose to be Positive
By Global Health and Fitness [ Website ]

Experience Life - Throw Out The Things That No Longer Serve You

Many of us participate in an annual event called "spring cleaning." Every year around April we clean out our closets, drawers and garages - keeping the items we need, tossing the things we no longer use. But how many of us do a self spring cleaning? How many of us toss our personal 'stuff' we no longer use or need? I know it??™s January, but it??™s time to clean out our mental, emotional and spiritual closets. It??™s time for a 'winter cleaning.'

Everyone has a past ??“ both good and not so good. Everyone has personal "stuff" they have gone through that has helped to create the person they are today. And while you can be grateful for your life experiences, you don??™t need to hang on to the "stuff" ??“ the emotional, mental and spiritual pains you have experienced - that brought you to this point. Sometimes the "stuff" stays with us longer than we need it to. It sticks to us like invisible sticky notes. Your parent??™s divorce ??“ it??™s on a yellow square stuck to your stomach.

That high school sweetheart who broke up with you before prom ??“ it??™s a fluorescent green sticky note over your heart. Your 4th grade teacher who called you "stupid" when you answered a question incorrectly ??“ it??™s written in all caps on a purple note, stuck on your throat. These things are part of you. They have served you in the past in some way ??“ as a protection device, etc.

But, at the same time these things have prevented you from living your life to the fullest, from experiencing everything deeply. The day has come to take off the training wheels. It??™s time to live life without a safety net.

You become what you affirm: positively affirm your greatness, genius and fullest potential.

ACTION STEP

To winter clean your personal "stuff," you??™ll first need to take inventory of what you have collected. Go to a quiet place and sit down. Place a small wastebasket beside you. Take out a pen and a journal or notebook. Close your eyes and picture yourself standing in front of you.

Now, look closer at yourself ??“ there is a protective, plastic cover wrapped around you. It??™s preventing you from really connecting with the world. And it??™s preventing the world from connecting with you. Reach out, yes, physically reach out, and pull the plastic off your protected self. Now you are able to see those emotional, mental and spiritual sticky notes that have attached themselves all over your body.

Start at the top of your head and write down the information on each sticky note. Maybe one of them reads: "I??™m not smart," or "I??™m not good enough."

Once you have taken an inventory of your "stuff," examine each of them. As yourself these questions: - Where did this idea come from? - How did it serve me? - Why is it still here? Once you know these things, it??™s time to let them go, one by one. How? Speak to each of them and say: "Thank you for serving me in my past. But I no longer need you in my life. I release you." Then physically reach out, remove the sticky note from yourself, wad it up and toss it into the wastebasket. (Yes, I know this may seem a bit "strange," but your mind and body responds to physical action.) Once you have removed the item you??™ll need to replace it with something ??“ so you won??™t feel like Swiss cheese. Come up with something fun ??“ maybe you??™ll replace each sticky note with a gold star or a happy face. Whatever you like.

Repeat this for each sticky note. When you have removed them all, take the wastebasket out of your home and dump the remains into a dumpster or outdoor trashcan. You may feel a bit sad, tired or awkward after this exercise. You??™ve lived with this "stuff" your whole life ??“ it became a part of you. These feelings will pass within a day or so.

This exercise will allow you to take inventory and remove your personal "stuff" that has held you back from experiencing life to the fullest. Take the time to complete it and soon you will feel lighter and more energized than you have in years.

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