If you eat to soothe yourself emotionally, there’s baggage in there somewhere.  Jamie commented on my TEDx talk, saying, “Holy moly! I just connected my love of doughnuts back to childhood Sunday’s before my parents divorced….”  There’s always a reason we go for the food we do.  We want to soothe, and therefore we choose … Read more

Dairy is a wonderfully pleasurable food group – all that yummy goodness, and I love the creamy texture.  However, although I can have dairy, if I have too much, my body responds by packing on pounds.  I may envy another’s ability to consume more dairy than I can, but overindulging doesn’t help me get where … Read more

Twenty years ago, I was captivated by a certain plumeria.  Not sure what initiated my love for white flowers with pink edges, but love them I do, and I wanted one.  We found white, red, even a red and yellow version in the local shops, but this white with pink edges and a kiss of … Read more

Yes, Renée, all these ideas are well and good, but HOW do I get my head around these thoughts I’ve believed all my life?   Maybe everyone at school made fun of you for a behavior, preference, or even the color of your hair, (hello, fellow redheads!) or your parents were not very supportive nor … Read more

Like many of you, my great intentions sometimes come with very poor execution. While on my 40-year Diet Yo-Yo, I always had great intentions for losing extra pounds and keeping them off. I aspire to be more ordered with housekeeping, accounting, etc., but my great intentions to accomplish many things just don’t always get them … Read more

I’m not hungry, I just want to eat more Sigh. Whether you’ve had a rough day and feel the need for comfort or a reward of some kind, or perhaps you simply look to that item to soothe your stress, we often look to food to cure what ails us.  We get a quick dopamine … Read more

At a recent conference, I was so excited about the opportunities to learn and grow.  The flight delays, luggage issues, even the rental car fiasco had not thrown off my good humor.  I was ready, and nothing was going to derail me.  On that first morning, things were going so well – until they weren’t, … Read more

My diet was failing.  AGAIN. My New Year’s Resolution for 2012 was to lose weight, and soon it was Memorial Day weekend, and I’d gained.  In previous years, I’d worked hard to back down from my highest weight ever (more than once), but I’d been stuck in this general range for quite a long time.  This wasn’t … Read more

Freshly laid sod looks so healthy. Until it doesn’t.  My sister-in-law moved into a new house, and her “instant lawn” looked really great. Then soon, one patch wasn’t doing so well. We stood over it talking through all the things she’d tried.  They should have worked.  There was nothing more we could do but start … Read more

Alongside nutritional goals and creating support for them, we may also need emotional rules. It’s essential to find the emotional component of comfort or stress eating, and that often begins with identifying how we actually perpetuate our “stuff.” Two “Stuff Perpetuating” Habits Creep: We know carb creep, but what about what we say to or … Read more