"An Encouraging Word" by Jean Fain

My daughter Alee introduced me to Jean Fain's "An Encouraging Word" site a few years ago. (At the bottom of the post you can read a short bio.) This morning I received this post and want to put it out here for you because it is timely and powerful as we try to find the confidence to eat and drink what we chose to rather than to allow ourselves to be talked into eating for others.

"An Encouraging Word, Vol. 39
Just In Time: Holiday Bill Of Rights
By Jean Fain / Published November 15, 2011

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Read on if you’re interested in losing weight without the deprivation associated with dieting. Feel free to forward “An Encouraging Word” to a friend.

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Pumpkin Pie For Breakfast….

With the holidays fast approaching, I’m reprinting some timely encouragement from Evelyn Tribole, an award-winning nutritionist and co-author of the mindful eating classic, “Intuitive Eating.” Even if you’ve read Tribole’s Holiday Bill of Rights in last year’s Encouraging Word, it’s definitely worth rereading right about now:

What if peace on earth could begin at the dinner table? Imagine experiencing an inner peace, free from incessant worry about what to eat. It's hard to enjoy the holidays when you are preoccupied with eating or worried about what to say to relatives who have an annual tradition of telling you what and how to eat.

To help you foster inner peace with food, mind and body, consider your Intuitive Eating Bill of Rights:

1. You have the right to savor your meal, without cajoling or judgment, and without discussion of calories eaten or the amount of exercise needed to burn off said calories.

2. You have the right to enjoy second servings without apology.

3. You have the right to honor your fullness, even if that means saying "no thank you" to dessert or a second helping of food.

4. It is not your responsibility to make someone happy by overeating, even if it took hours to prepare a specialty holiday dish.

5. You have the right to say, "No thank you," without explanation, when offered more food.

6. You have the right to stick to your original answer of "no", even if you are asked multiple times. Just calmly and politely repeat "No, thank you, really."

7. You have the right to eat pumpkin pie for breakfast.

Remember, no one, except for you, knows how you feel, both emotionally and physically. Only you can be the expert of your body, which requires inner attunement, rather than the external, well-meaning, suggestions from family

In addition to seeing clients in private practice, Jean Fain teaches behavioral medicine at Cambridge Health Alliance, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, and she writes for O, The Oprah Magazine, among other publications. More information about Jean Fain’s therapy services, audio CDs and new book, The Self-Compassion Diet, is available on her website (www.jeanfain.com)."

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177.2 Great Article/Interview

Here's a great article about food, money, Oprah, Geneen Roth, and Jean Fain. Jean Fain is a hypnotherapist in the Boston area. You can read more about her with links from the article. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jean-fain-licsw-msw/oprah-diet-money_b_870806.html

It's funny. Last night we went to a prime rib dinner at our golf course restaurant. I called ahead and asked if I could be served salmon instead, and they were very accomodating. The problem was that the salmon was extremely salty and I was extremely hungry and so I ate it. I think that's where the devil resides in my weight gain.

It is so beautiful out here right now. I hope your world is beautiful, too.

173.2 Caring and Self-compassion

I subscribe to Jean Fain's blog on line. (www.jeanfain.com) She is a therapist who uses and teaches hypnosis in Cambridge, MA, among other professional activities. One of her main interests is weight loss. Yesterday her "An Encouraging Word" post included some thoughts on self-compassion. Here is some of what she wrote:

"The practice of self-compassion -- treating yourself like a good friend or loved one -- may be centuries-old news, but suddenly it's new again. Not only did Tara Parker-Pope's blog on the subject make headline news last week, it was the number-one most e-mailed New York Times article of the day." She goes on to say that "self-compassion is the missing ingredient in every diet and most other weight-loss plans."

She quotes Kristin Neff, author of Self-Compassion who writes, “Self-compassion is really conducive to motivation. With self-compassion, if you care about yourself, you do what’s healthy for you rather than what’s harmful to you.”

As I work at keeping these lost pounds from returning, I realize that I need to keep these thoughts in mind, on my mind, in my face so that I remember that it is caring about myself and for myself that this is all about.