Obesity Free Forever Blog™

Hi Everyone,

It has been many years since I was first diagnosed with GERD and Gastritis.  I’ve been off medications since I lost over 140 pounds, with the exception of an occasional dose of Maalox. 

To add routine to my healthy eating plan, I decided to try one new food a week.  Yesterday, I tried Weight Watchers mint cookie frozen dessert.  Even though I know that mint is one food us folks with GERD and Gastritis should avoid, I did it anyway. 

Not smart!!!  My symptoms of GERD and Gastritis came back within one hour of eating the delicious dessert! 

Well, we live and learn and here is my lesson.  Medical professionals tell us that mint, caffeine, fatty foods and large meals all contribute to symptoms of GERD and Gastritis.  Even if you have not experienced symptoms for sometime, like I have, these factors can still affect us.

Take care,

Georgene

Hi Everyone,

I was recently asked what the causes of obesity are.  Actually, obesity can be caused by several factors including genetics, environment, social and behavioral.  Here is some background information on each of the causes of obesity.

Obesity due to genetics is very rare.  At 280 pounds, I wanted to believe that genetics was my problem but no dice! 

Environmental and social causes of obesity often go together.  Environmental factors are whether you have access to eating healthy food and exercise for weight loss.  Social factors are those cues or triggers that drive us to eat.  Social causes of obesity can be as subtle as going to a restaurant known for fattening foods every Tuesday with your friends or as blatant as your spouse filling the house with junk food when you start a diet for fear you’ll leave him when you get skinny!

Behavioral causes of obesity are the choices we make.  Whether we pick eating healthy food and a weight loss program or we choose to continue our bad eating habits remains within our control.  Keeping our bad eating habits is an example of a behavioral cause of obesity.

The effects of obesity were devastating for me.  Besides the health problems I developed such as severe shortness of breath and symptoms of GERD and Gastritis, I suffered from depression and social isolation. 

What’s the obesity solution?  Take control today!  Think about the cause and effect of your obesity and make a list of how obesity is holding you back.  Writing down the cause and effect of obesity and looking at the limitations it caused me was the first step I took in 2004 to lose over 140 pounds.  Once I made a decision to accept obesity no more, the path became clear and I’ve kept the weight off ever since.

Georgene Dana Collins, 134 Pounds

Here’s my latest picture as of October 31, 2008. 

Take Care,

Georgene

Hi Everyone,

I am traveling again, this time for work, and once again there are challenges to my healthy eating plan.  Here are the strategies I am using to stick to my healthy eating plan.

I planned my food intake before my trip and shopped for items that stored well without a fridge.  Luckily, though, the hotel I am staying at has an option to use a fridge during my stay for a minimal fee.  I brought items such as salads, fresh fruit and Jello brand diet jello (a staple food of mine!), and stored them in the fridge.

I also brought lots of Fiber One products such as my favorite cereal and bars.  In addition, I brought along some of Aunt Millies high fiber bread.  Fiber is very important to maintaining a healthy eating plan and it is equally important to prevent my symptoms of GERD and Gastritis.  Of course, everyone knows that fiber helps reduce the risk of many cancers, especially colon, which is a family history of mine.

Maintaining my healthy eating plan was easy on this trip because I was able to drive.  However, in the past, I’ve shipped my favorite foods to the location I was traveling to.  I just called ahead and asked for the process to ensure my box would find me once I arrived.

Maintaining a healthy eating plan is easy with proper planning and anticipation of challenges.

These are the tips I continue to use to maintain my weight loss of over 140 pounds, which I have kept off since 2005.

Take Care,

Georgene

Hi Everyone,

My travels for school this week have been a little trying, especially for my healthy eating habits.  Challenges such as a bad flight and a long check in time of one hour became quite stressful for me yesterday.  In fact, I felt so stressed, I was tempted to overeat on some Fiber One cereal!  Although Fiber One is still considered eating healthy food, I would have only ate because of stress and not due to hunger.

Stress eating reminded me of the weight loss motivation I used to lose over 140 pounds in 2005.  There are some days that seem to just spiral out of control and even the best weight loss plans get challenged.

Here are the tips I used to keep my weight loss motivation and achieve a healthy BMI (body mass index).

Identify where you feel your stress.  Stress can develop pain in the neck, head and shoulders.  I feel my stress in my neck and stomach.  Once you become aware of your individual symptoms of stress, you can work to reduce it quickly.

Find things you like to do that give you a brief break from the stressful environment without food.  Some examples are to take a bubble bath or a walk or possibly listening to your favorite music or venting to a friend. 

If you do accidentally eat in response to stress, forgive yourself quickly and go back to your healthy eating plan with your next scheduled meal.  Everyone makes mistakes and it is important to accept yourself “as is”, with imperfections.  The benefits of healthy eating the majority of the time is that you have a frame of reference of what the best weight loss plan is for you.  Trust yourself to return to your healthy plan and let go of your mistake quickly.

Finally, remember why you began your healthy eating habit.  Did you want to improve your health?  Do you want more energy to play with your children or grandchildren?  Was your weight holdng you back in your career or personal life?  My weight loss motivation came when I could no longer take medications for my GERD and Gastritis symptoms.  Each of us has a different weight loss motivation and it is important to keep it in mind frequently for days when you don’t feel like eating healthy food.

Take care,

Georgene

Hi Everyone,

Recent studies show the importance of weight loss for women.  Overweight women at 40 that stayed overweight as they aged were found to live 2 years less than those of normal weight.  Obese women at 40 died 4 to 6 years earlier compared to normal weight women.

Healthy women weight loss plans include low fat foods.  In fact, low fat foods were found better for health than lowering carbohydrates to lose weight.

Another study showed overweight women are at risk of type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease.  The risk of stroke was increased for women ages 35 to 54, especially when a majority of their fat was carried over their stomach.

At 280 pounds in 2004, I was at risk for many chronic illnesses.  One chronic illness that I experienced that made me miserable was GERD.

Losing over 140 pounds helped me live longer and freed my symptoms of GERD and Gastritis.  Maintaining this weight loss since 2005 has improved the quality of my life tremendously!  If I could learn to lose weight permanently after over 25 years of trying, I am confident you can too!

Take care,

Georgene