Published: Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011 / Updated: Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011 04:50 PM
’Tis the season, but not for dieting!
It’s getting to be the season to diet, even before the holiday foods become available. I don’t really have any big plans. I just want to make room for the extra calories.
I must admit I am addicted to sugar. I could have stopped at the donut shop and jammed a whole donut in my mouth recently, while no one was watching. But I decided against that. I also did not stop at my coffee shop and get my 500-calorie whipped cream-topped coffee drink.
Researchers have uncovered the real reason we reach out for comfort foods like Twinkies, mac ‘n’ cheese or ice cream when we are feeling overwhelmed and blue. It’s not just that those treats are delicious; it’s that the fat in them triggers an upbeat mood by lessening activity in nerve cells that cause sad emotion! Volunteers who were saddened by looking at depressing images and listening to melancholy music felt 50 percent better after receiving fatty acids from Twinkies via a feeding tube that bypassed their taste buds (so the researchers could rule out any mood-boosting effect from flavor) compared to folks given a fat-free substitute, according to the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Even better, you do not have to eat a lot. Just a few bites and you’re cheerier fast!
Exercise also makes weight loss easier, but more importantly people who move more are more likely to keep pounds off. I hate to exercise. My salvation is walking and I do walk a lot.
The other night, I woke up in the middle of the night with night sweats. No donuts or my favorite drink with whipped cream has been a real nightmare. I got up and ran to the kitchen. It really was just a bad dream. My donuts were right where I left them and my empty coffee cup was next to them. I will not mention DIET again. It makes me have some weird nightmares.
Eleanor Roosevelt wrote, “Women are like tea bags. We don’t know our true strength until we are in hot water.”