Conference turris::womannotes-v2

>	The second reason why diet sweeteners never seem to work is the very
>human attribute of rationalization.  Many people justify their 700 calorie
>slice of cake because they used Sweet and Low instead of a 16 calorie 
>spoonful of sugar.

    Yep - I've seen this all too often.  There is the classic joke about
    the patron of the soda fountain who orders "a hot fudge sundae -
    and a Tab".  Sometimes I'll order a sundae, and then say "hold the
    whipped cream - I'm on a diet".
    
    I run a popular coffee station here at ZK.  I often see people use
    artificial sweetener (I supply Equal, though some bring their own
    Sweet'N'Low), after pouring in half-and-half.  I'd wager that the
    calorie "savings" for most people who use artificial sweeteners
    is under 100 calories per day.
    
    				Steve

    If you drink 4 cans of soda per day, drinking diet instead of 
    diet-free soda will save you about 600 calories.
    
    That's before you start in on the Twinkies because of the factors 
    cited in the base note, of course.

	OK, Paul, I'll join in to make the numbers and get some female
	participation. have you seen the diet rules that have been floating
	around that say if you eat a candy bar with a diet pop the calories
	cancel out? or that broken cookies have no calories? 

	Seriously, you have me wondering if I should just go back to good
	old Classic Coke instead of diet. I sure like the taste better.
	Since I usually only drink one a day it doesn't seem I'm doing 
	myself much of a favor if this craving because of nutrasweet is
	true. Geeze, it's practically all chemicals either way, why do I
	drink this stuff? liesl

    Well, when it comes down to nuts and bolts, we're all better off
    drinking water (1st) and *real* fruit juice (2nd). Sugar is not
    good for us, even discounting the high caloric count; and Nutrasweet
    has been linked to central nervous system problems in lab animals.
    
    And I'll be the first one to admit that soda tastes better than the
    stuff that's "good for us".   :-(((((
    
    --DE
    

    re .5:
    
    The only harm that has been proven to come from sugar is tooth decay.
    As for the high caloric content, there is also some doubt as to
    the role of "raw" calories in weight gain as opposed to fat consumption.
    It's beginning to look like even dietary cholesterol by itself is not
    so harmful as when combined with saturated fats. There is also some 
    evidence that polyunsaturated fats are not as good as monounsaturated 
    fat (such as olive oil).
    
    Soda is a treat and should be treated as such. Removing the caffeine
    and the sugar so that it can become a "staple" is just plain crazy.
    
                                                   
                  /
                 (  ___
                  ) ///
                 /
    

    RE:.4
    
      Liesl,
        Be good to yourself...go back to Coke Classic!  I 
    wouldn't give it up for the world!  It tastes great,
    quenches my thirst and have an emotional attachment
    to the company (stock).  So,  EVERYONE, keep drinking
    those Coke products!!  Thanks
    
    L&H
    Paula
    

    I have an odd bit... what about pizza and diet soda or water?  On
    some diets, pizza in moderation is quite 'legal'.   But when most
    people think pizza, they think non-diet food.

As my doctor said to me, one slice of pizza is good for you. This doesn't
mean that 8 slices are better!!!

					Nigel

    re pizza:
    
    among fast foods, pizza is probably the most nutritious (i.e. burgers,
    hot dogs, etc) but that does not mean it is as good as a "balanced"
    meal.
    
                                                   
                  /
                 (  ___
                  ) ///
                 /
    

    pizza is not bad, nor anything else, in moderation.
    
    reminds me of the Football Player who went in and ordered a large
    pizza.  The clerk asked whether he wanted 6 or 8 slices, the Jock
    replied.  "Better make it 6 I don't think that I could eat 8."
    
    Har d Har har!
    
    Dave

    when I use sweetnlow, I find that it is sweeter then what I was
    used to drinking with sugar. and if I switch to sugar I have to
    use more then before to make it taste like the sweet n low stuff.
    I usually use a tiny bit of sweetnlow too!
    maybe suger is better??
    my doctor told me if I get a craving for sweets, eat the hard candy
    and not chocolate etc.  since I like the lemon sour candy, I usually
    keep a bag of that around.  
    
    vivian

    To CLOVE::GODIN and others:
    
    As I sit here munching a fig bar (because the machine didn't have
    exactly the chocolate I really wanted), I would like to know more
    about any DEC hypnosis program.
    
    I *know* LOTS about nutritition and meal planning.  I *know* the
    importance of exercise, (but am currently somewhat limited due to some
    physical problems).  In short, I don't need any more FACTS!
    
    I have lost weight successfully in the past (pre-menopause days, that
    is).  My main problem is:
    
    Compulsive eating -- mild, but real -- in the evening, especially, and
    ESPECIALLY since I started a new position here about 2-3 weeks ago!!
    (If I wait till the new-job-stress is over, I'll gain another XX
    pounds!)
    
    I have thought about hynotism to help deal with that compulsion, but
    here's my question:  If you tend to be compulsive about stuff in
    general (as I do), then won't eliminating one compulsion cause another
    one to pop up???????  Having previously been through compulsive
    religion and compulsive exercising, what might I be in for next????????
    
    Sigh,
    Nancy

    Hypnotism has worked for me, and visualization, but the key for me (in
    addition to keeping away from nibbling, munching, inhaling the entire
    contents of the fridge, etc...) is very simple
    
    yagottawanna
    
    as soon as I can let go of the emotional and mental baggage associated
    with the extra weight, and realize WHY I wanted that weight at one
    point, or why I felt I needed to be heavy in order to cope/deal/live,
    then I can lose it.  And I find I can get down a number of pounds and
    then I hit another layer of internal resistance.  The battle is not
    with food, or with exercise - I can handle both of those readily enough
    if I feel *okay* with them - it is within ME and all my coping methods and
    needs and fears.
    
    Once I have settled myself and feel good about being less heavy, I will
    be less heavy.  But nobody ever said it would be easy....
    
    -Jody
    

    My mother went to a hypnotist last week.  In the past 8 days she has
    lost 8 lbs.  This hypnotist goes through a series of hypnotic
    suggestions such as putting down your fork every time you take a bite,
    not feeling hunger, etc. in the first session.  In subsequent sessions
    (I think there are four) he goes through a regression, so you can find
    out what the psychological source of the negative eating habits are,
    and a reprogramming so you can replace the negative habits with
    positive ones.  Along with this, there is a subliminal tape she listens
    to every day while going through a self-hypnosis routine.  Mom doesn't
    expect to lose this much weight for very long but I've seen her eating
    a lot healthier since she had the first session.
    
    Nanci  

Re. -.13 (Nancy)
    
As my note indicated, I was hypnotized through a Digital-sponsored
program on my lunch hour one day.  I never experienced any post-hypnotic
symptoms (other than being very relaxed the afternoon after the session)
except for the loss of my appetite.  Actually, it was the absence of any
"hypnotized" feeling that made me doubt the success of the session for
several weeks.  I don't know enough facts about hypnotism to say whether
my experience was normal or not.

The absence of an appetite was a great blessing.  I've always been one
who lived to eat rather than eating to live.  I love food.  I spend much
of my non-occupied time planning ahead to the next chance to get food.
Suddenly (and it was sudden), I wasn't "hungry."  I'd eat at meal time,
but never felt any compulsion to eat between meals, and my meal-time
consumption was definitely down.  It was wonderful!  If it's possible to
imagine losing weight without pain and without trying, that's what it was
like.  I began losing weight the first week on the program and lost 
steadily, but slowly (about 1.5 pounds a week) for the entire time I 
continued with the effort.  In total I lost 15 of the 50 pounds I had as a 
beginning goal.  (I've since regained 5 pounds.)

There were actions I was instructed to take on a regular basis to assist 
the process.  As my note indicated, I have stopped those actions for one 
reason or another, and that's why, I'm sure, the weight loss has stopped.  
Included in my daily regimen were the following:

1.  Drink at least six eight-ounce glasses of water daily. (More if 
possible.)  Coffee, tea, juice, etc. are not a substitute.  It had to be 
clear, un-flavored water.  (As a fringe benefit of this requirement, I've 
given up caffine completely!  After ingesting 48 ounces of water, I had no 
need or desire for my morning coffee or for sodas during the day.)

2.  Get at least 20 continuous minutes of exercise daily.  I walked on my
lunch hour or rode my stationary bike at night.  It doesn't have to be
strenuous exercise, but it does have to be 20 minutes set aside for doing
yourself the favor of exercising.

3.  Listen to a 30 minute motivational/hypnotic suggestion tape every night 
just before going to sleep.  (This was the hardest part.  The tape put me 
to sleep, so for the first two weeks I had to sit up in an uncomfortable 
chair while listening to the tape so I wouldn't go to sleep.  The hypnotist 
told me that after two weeks the hypnotic suggestions would be implanted 
sufficiently that it wouldn't matter if I fell asleep during the tape, 
though I was to continue listening to it each night.  Another problem with 
this aspect of the program stems from having an ongoing romantic 
relationship.  Listening to a tape and going immediately into a deep sleep 
at bedtime plays havoc with "normal" intimate times.  Obviously there are 
ways to work around this 8-), but I suspect my husband came to hate that 
tape.  I know I did!) 

4.  Listen to a subliminal message tape "in the background" at least once 
each day, preferably continuously during the day.  At the time I was 
hypnotized, my job was not a high-intensity, concentration-requiring job.  
Now it is, and I can't have the tape going in the background like I used to.  
Of course, you can listen to the tape while commuting to work, preparing 
meals, doing any number of other things, if you have the equipment and the 
dedication to do so.  This tape did not put me to sleep, so I didn't have 
as much problem with it as with the other.

Other than those four requirements, the hypnotist just told us to eat 
"whatever we wanted, whenever we felt hungry."  The marvelous thing is I 
didn't often crave any particular food, and seldom felt hungry!  (The best 
example I can give of this is that before hypnotism, I could - and often 
did - eat an entire pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream by myself.  I wanted 
it and enjoyed every bite.  After the hypnotism, I could eat a 1/4 to 1/3 
cup serving of the same ice cream and feel completely satisfied.  You'll 
note I didn't cut Ben and Jerry's out completely, but I definitely cut 
down.)

Boy, telling you this makes me want to get out the tape and get going with
the drill again.  I really do want to lose more weight, but have never
been successful losing - and keeping it off - on my own.

Karen

    I wanted to enter my personal assessment of the hypnotism experience as a
    separate note from the experience itself.  In my opinion, the hypnotism
    worked for me because it addressed the underlying issues that lead to
    my over-eating (probably could be called a food addiction).
    
    Take the exercise portion.  A friend of mine who is knowledgable about
    the benefits of exercise and talks about heart rates and aerobic
    benefits and what the former has to be before the latter kicks in was
    distressed because the exercise I was getting under the hypnotism
    program wasn't intense enough to be doing me any good.  In my opinion,
    the purpose of the exercise portion of the program wasn't to get my
    heart going and to result in aerobic benefits.  Rather it was intended
    to get me to DO SOMETHING GOOD FOR MYSELF.  No one else could possibly
    benefit from my 20 minutes of exercise.  It was just for me.
    
    Furthermore, the hypnotic suggestion tape was full of remembering and
    forgiving exercises - learning to remember the bad things that others
    have done to us in the past then coming to a place where we can forgive
    them.  Included in the remembering and forgiving was an exercise in
    remembering bad things we ourselves had done and then being able to
    forgive ourselves.  Now all this may sound like mumbo-jumbo to some of
    you, but I believe it addressed the basic causes of my food compulsion. 
    I also know that, as a result of those exercises, today I'm not carrying
    around quite as much emotional baggage as I used to.
    
    Which all boils down to what others have said - the successful diet has
    to be in your head.  If your head's in the right place, the diet
    becomes not only easy, but a way of life.
    
    Karen                                                   

    Thanks for taking the time to enter the past two notes! Very
    interesting!  
    
    Nancy