Boyfriend's Bad Eating Habits

Dear Charlotte,

I have a new boyfriend and he is great. However, he has some really bad eating habits that I have started to pick up too. We love to eat together, go out, snack late, grab late night ice cream, or coffee drinks. I have realized that we go from one meal to the next, with snacks in between—and a lot of the time it isn’t really healthy food either!

It has been such a fun and happy time and I don’t want it to stop. However, I have gained 15 lbs and stopped walking and biking on the weekends… instead we wake up and pick the restaurant we are going to that evening over a big greasy breakfast, and then settle down in front of the TV with snacks all day.

We laugh and eat… but is my relationship doomed if I stop eating with him day and night? Or is my waistline doomed if I choose to see where this relationship will go?

Stuffed Stephanie, NYC

Dear Stephanie –
Oh… the joys of a new relationship! Going out and having fun, laughing and enjoying time together is part of the joys of getting to know a new prospective partner.

My advice to you would be to start to look for ways to bring other activities into your time together. Enjoy eating… and don’t feel guilty for enjoying it. But, spend more time working in a trip to the park, or a visit to the bookstore. What other things do you like doing? Do you like to travel or go to art galleries? Do you enjoy hiking or exploring the city? Find some other things that allow you to spend time getting to know each other and having fun—besides eating.

Eating is a part of our day. It can be an activity along the way, and an occasional destination, but it can’t be the only thing you get done each day. As you have already figured out… that isn’t healthy.

Enjoy being in a new relationship—it is fun and exciting. Slowly bring in other things the two of you might like to do together, have in common or take time by yourselves to do the things that also make you happy. Your relationship will blossom or bust, but don’t let food be the reason for either.

It sounds like you have a great start of a relationship. Good luck taking it to the next level… a place with more to do and less to eat!

Charlotte Smith
Eating Consultant and Life Coach

Become The Real You will instruct you on how to listen to your own body. How to eat whatever you want to achieve and maintain your perfect body weight! No more diets, no drugs, no counting calories. It’s simple...and it works!

Become The Real You is a process is for anyone who:

--Is tired of yo-yo dieting
--Wants to return to their natural shape
--Wants to come to peace with food and their body
--Wants to lose weight permanently
--Wants freedom from food obsession
Contact Charlotte today to learn more at 800.496.7710

Dealing with Stress at Work

Dear Charlotte,

I have been dealing with a lot of stress at work, including long hours. I used to take walks on my lunch hour and eat healthfully, and now I just snack at my desk. During the last year I have gained a lot of weight, and I don’t feel as good about myself. When I get home I am so frustrated I just eat until I go to bed.

What should I do?

Michelle J.
New York

Dear Michelle,

For many people, food is a comfort when times are tough. It keeps us occupied, distracts us from facing difficult issues and consoles and sooths us when we are down.

But emotional eating, (eating as a way to suppress negative emotions, such as stress, anger, anxiety, boredom, sadness and loneliness) can lead to weight gain. And emotional eating often leads to eating too much, especially the higher calorie, sugary or salty foods that aren’t good for us.

The good news is that you have taken the first step to ending this cycle of emotional eating and taking control of your weight. You may not be able to change your stressful work environment, but you can change how you deal with it.

Your afternoon walks are a great place to start. The added exercise will help you clear your head and be able to deal with the afternoon better. You will be more productive, less stressed and the added benefit of being a great healthy habit that may help you lose a few of those unwanted pounds.

I would like to work with you more to help work through your emotional eating habits. If this is something you would be interested in, please give me a call at 800.496.7710.

Charlotte Smith
Eating Consultant and Life Coach

Become The Real You will instruct you on how to listen to your own body. How to eat whatever you want to achieve and maintain your perfect body weight! No more diets, no drugs, no counting calories. It’s simple...and it works!

Become The Real You is a process is for anyone who:
--Is tired of yo-yo dieting
--Wants to return to their natural shape
--Wants to come to peace with food and their body
--Wants to lose weight permanently
--Wants freedom from food obsession
Contact Charlotte today to learn more at 800.496.7710

Feeling Healthy

Dear Charlotte,

I have always considered myself to be a “healthy” person—I ate right, exercised, etc. But in the last two years my weight has ballooned and I am tired all the time. I have no energy to exercise, or even cook. I find that I am binging on junk food or stopping at fast food restaurants all the time.

I am depressed and I know I have fallen into a bad cycle. How do I get out?

Marleen G.
Tennessee

Dear Marleen,

There may be a medical reason for your weight gain and fatigue. Twenty-seven million Americans suffer from a thyroid condition, and left undiagnosed, it can be very serious. My advice to you is to get yourself to doctor first to see if this could be the situation in your case. A thyroid condition can be easily detected with a blood test, and easily treated with medication.

If the thyroid is not to blame for the weight-gain (and even if it is) then we will next look at the causes of your bad eating habits. How do you feel after you get fast food? Physically, are you satisfied by these meals? Emotionally, do you have guilt when you don’t eat “healthy?” If I have the pleasure of working with you, I may ask that you keep a food diary, (not to track calories, I don’t believe in that) but rather to make you aware of how food makes you “feel.”

You are right that you are in a “bad cycle.” It is one that so many of us have fallen in to, however, it is one that can broken. And when this happens, you will be healthier—inside and out!

Give me a call at 800.496.7710.

Charlotte Smith
Eating Consultant and Life Coach

Become The Real You will instruct you on how to listen to your own body. How to eat whatever you want to achieve and maintain your perfect body weight! No more diets, no drugs, no counting calories. It’s simple...and it works!

Become The Real You is a process is for anyone who:
--Is tired of yo-yo dieting
--Wants to return to their natural shape
--Wants to come to peace with food and their body
--Wants to lose weight permanently
--Wants freedom from food obsession

Contact Charlotte today to learn more at 800.496.7710.

Upcoming Wedding--Need to Lose Weight!

Dear Charlotte,

I'm getting married soon and I need to lose weight quickly! I have been exercising for weeks and can't even lose 1 pound. What am I doing wrong?

Michelle C.

Dear Michelle,

I highly recommend losing weight slowly and correctly. If you go on a “crash” diet, you will just yo-yo back—maybe even before the ceremony. This is a stressful time, and you need to be at your best, and that means eating properly and getting plenty of rest. In terms of your diet, try and eat several small and nutritious meals throughout the day. These small meals will keep you going and stop you from snacking—and you will feel better too. It is also important to keep a food journal. Track what you eat and how you feel. Remember to eat only when you are hungry and don’t over-eat. When you are full—stop.

You may find by just doing this you will start to shed pounds, but I guarantee you, that if you follow these simple steps you will begin to feel better about yourself and your body.

Congratulations on the upcoming wedding and feel free to give me a call at 800.496.7710—or email me at charlotte@secretsofslimpeople.com.

Charlotte Smith
Eating Consultant and Life Coach

Become The Real You will instruct you on how to listen to your own body. How to eat whatever you want to achieve and maintain your perfect body weight! No more diets, no drugs, no counting calories. It’s simple...and it works!

Losing that last 5 pounds

Dear Charlotte,

I have been trying to lose “that last” 5 pounds for a while now. I know I need to cut down on junk food and exercise more, which I have been doing but can't seem to lose it. I am clearly doing something wrong. Can you tell me how many calories I should be eating, or help me with a meal-plan?

Cathy M.

Dear Cathy,

My first question would be “why do you think you need to lose 5 lbs?” Too often I think we get caught up in the number. Do you feel good? Are you eating when you are hungry? I cannot help you with a meal plan, or the amount of calories you should be eating. These are very superficial things. You need to think about why you eat, and the best way to do this is to start a food journal.

Log not only what you eat and when, but how you feel before and after. Are you eating when you are hungry? Are you contented when you are done, or are you over-full? When you start to realize why you eat, and start listening to your body, you will lose that “last 5 pounds” if your body is meant to lose them.

Please call me at 800.496.7710 or email charlotte@secretsofslimpeople.com, and we can discuss what roadblocks you have to achieving your goals.

You may visit my website at http://www.secretsofslimpeople.com.

Charlotte Smith
Eating Consultant and Life Coach

Become The Real You will instruct you on how to listen to your own body. How to eat whatever you want to achieve and maintain your perfect body weight! No more diets, no drugs, no counting calories. It’s simple...and it works!

Yo Yo Dieting

Dear Charlotte,

I am 29 yrs old and I have been yo yo dieting a lot. It usually happens because I work a lot and go to school and also have 2 small children. I will often eat off schedule and miss my work outs. I weigh 135 (I am 5'5”) but it always seems to stop there. My goal is to not lose too much weight, but to tone and eat healthy. I am just not happy with how I look, but I always find a reason not to eat right and exercise when I should.

Samantha R.

Dear Samantha,

Yo-yo dieting is all-too-common and more proof that diets don’t work. You need to stop trying to focus on a particular diet and listen to your body. Do you eat when you are hungry? How does the food make you feel? Answering these questions will be the first step for you in making a life-long change. If you are yo-yo dieting, you are probably not losing “fat” but water and muscle-mass…which is why you find that you are not as toned as you would like. If you continue to get regular exercise, and eat when your body tells you it is hungry (and stop when you are full), you will have a healthier relationship with food, and a healthier body to show for it.

Start by creating a food journal and write down everything you eat for a week—including how you feel before and after you eat.

I look forward to talking to you more about this and perhaps doing some one-on-one coaching over the phone to get you to your goal.

Please call me at 800.496.7710 or email charlotte@secretsofslimpeople.com. You may visit my website at http://www.secretsofslimpeople.com.

Charlotte Smith
Eating Consultant and Life Coach

Become The Real You will instruct you on how to listen to your own body. How to eat whatever you want to achieve and maintain your perfect body weight! No more diets, no drugs, no counting calories. It’s simple...and it works!