I Ate Too Much!You know the feeling. . . you're trying to lose weight. . . struggling to resist everything you shouldn't eat. . . you did good yesterday and the day before. . . but today. . . you really overdid it!

When the feeding frenzy is over, you may be left with a lot of bad feelings about yourself -- failure, discouragement, disgust, anger, inadequacy! "I'm a weak person because I can't control myself!" "I'm a bad person because I'm hungry!" "I'm a failure because I ate too much!"

Does this sound familiar? Then let's look at this sensibly!

First of all, don't panic! Everyone on a weight loss diet overeats occasionally! It's normal to cheat sometimes!

Second, it's important to understand that hunger is not a sign of weakness. Hunger is a normal, biological function of all animals. If we didn't get hungry, we wouldn't want to eat. Just the smell of food activates the salivary glands in your mouth, and the sight or the thought of a tasty morsel causes your stomach juices to start flowing. These processes are part of our normal physiology and it happens to all of us.

The next time those uncontrollable urges take over your body and mind, RELAX. It's not easy to overcome the forces of Mother Nature. Don't get discouraged! Don't expect perfection from yourself!

Here are three CarboH Strategies to help you cope when you've overdone it!

1. "Two steps forward and one step back." Try it with the goal of reaching any point in the room. You'll eventually get there, but more slowly. Although you're taking steps backward, you're still going forward.

Look at this way. Today, you ate too much so you took a step backwards. But as long as you don't overeat every day, you'll still lose weight. If you went over your calorie limit today but have stayed within your limit most other days, you'll still lose pounds, just a little more slowly. Tomorrow is another day! So forget about today and move on to tomorrow.

2 . "The Calculator Strategy." On the CarboH plan, you don't have to count calories as long as you stick to your plan. But if you stray, take the number of calories you overate today and subtract these from your food allotment for the next two days. For example, if you're 600 calories over your limit today, subtract 300 calories a day from your meal plan for the next two days to make up for the difference. Many thin people eat this way automatically without planning for it by eating large amounts of food some days and very little on other days.

3. "The Piggy Bank Strategy." Save calories every day like putting pennies in a piggy bank. Take calories out to use at a later time or dip into the bank to cover what you overate today. For example, eat 100 less calories a day for the next three days, then splurge on a 300-calorie candy bar on the fourth day. Or, if you ate 600 calories over your limit today, take 600 calories out of your piggy bank. That will even things out. As long as the total number of calories stays within range, you'll still lose weight.

Are you hungry or thirsty? Stop before you eat! Thirst is many times mistaken for hunger. Drink a sugarless soda or large glass of water, and see if that hungry feeling goes away.

And what about exercising off those excess calories you just gobbled up? I highly recommend that you exercise during your weight loss endeavors, but not as part of a strategy plan because it doesn't work for most people. Many of us have a poor concept of how many calories we're burning off with exercise - you may feel like you've used up hundreds of calories at the health club, but actually burned off very few. Or, you ate a pint of ice cream today and planned on running an extra mile tomorrow to burn it off - but somehow, you never got around to it. Exercise should be included as part of your daily routine but not in anticipation of, or as an excuse for overeating.

So, next time you go over your calorie limit and eat more than you should have, don't panic. Remember the three CarboH strategies and put them to use.

Most importantly, if you haven't already done so, order the CarboH diet plan today. If you've been following the CarboH plan but have strayed from your diet, don't look back. Just get started on your plan again right away.

NUtritionTipS
Q- Do you eat because you're stressed?
A- Then munch on crunchy free foods allowed on the CarboH diet. Sometimes, just chewing on something crunchy can help relieve stress without consuming a lot of calories. . . and be sure to try our Free Vegetable Stew! Eat all you want. . . it's free on the CarboH diet plan!

Q- How many meals a day should you eat when dieting?
A- Never try to diet by eating just one or two meals a day. Plan to eat four, five, or six small meals a day to help blood sugar levels remain normal. When blood sugars drop because you haven't been eating, it's a signal to the body that it needs food. The body says, "Feed me, I'm hungry." The CarboH diet plan helps control hunger by allowing several small meals per day.

Where do you get your nutrition information? Most states now have licensure laws for Dietitians and Nutritionists. Be sure your nutrition advisor is "Licensed" by the State as a Licensed Dietitian (LD) or Licensed Nutritionist (LN), or in states that don't have licensure laws, a Registered Dietitian.

CarboH, Inc.
Barbara Herondorf, L.D.