By Kate G.

You must do the thing you think you cannot do.

–Eleanor Roosevelt

I’m about two weeks away from running my seventh half marathon. I’ve been training for two months. I ran a half back in May and it went just fine, but this time I’m having a sudden crisis of confidence. I’ve been skimping on my long runs, believing they’re just too hard for me. I’m burned out.

I fantasize about skipping the race under the ruse that what my body and spirit really wants to be doing is yoga, swimming, weight work, cycling—anything but running. What gets me out the door to train these last days is the mantra I recently read in a self-help book that you can apply to anything in your life:

What if you didn’t struggle? What if this was easy?

The fact that I feel tired and heavy and slow is no reason to quit now. I wanted to hit a PR in the upcoming race, and I don’t believe I can do it. Maybe I can. Is it important? What if I don’t struggle to hit some goal that no one else cares about and instead I run the race easy? What if it’s fun? What if I trust my lungs and my legs and all the running I’ve been doing and forget the number on the scale and feel pride in my fortitude? I’m going to choose believe it’s easy. I don’t really have another choice.

I ran my first half marathon in October of 2001 in Hartford, Connecticut with a very good friend who had been a high school track star, and for the first time in my running life I really felt like I had arrived as a runner. This fall, things have naturally changed. Now instead of skipping drinks with friends after work to run or missing brunch on the weekend, I’m pushing my 3 yr old in a stroller during my Thursday run and waking up early for my Saturday long run to in order to make it to soccer practice. My training schedule includes speed work and the exhaustion and rewards that come from pushing my body to its limits. My endurance is better than it was a decade ago, and I am a stronger, more confident runner. I love the way running is a journey.

In celebration of this and my decision to keep my chin up and my feet moving, I’d like to give away my copy of Run Like a Mother: How to Get Moving—and Not Lose Your Family, Job, or Sanity by Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea.

I’ve really enjoyed reading and referring back to this book since I got it earlier this year. As the title suggests, it’s obviously focused on mothers who run or who are interested in starting, and is collaboration by the authors and a large handful of mothers they’ve interviewed about the running lifestyle. The end result is a pleasant group of essays, lists, and conversations.

In her chapter called “Motivation: Creating My Own Stimulus Package,” Dimity makes a list of what keeps her going. Some of my favorites on this topic include:           

Being able to drink a beer (or three), scarf a Twix at the movies, or order a bacon double cheeseburger without (much of) a second thought.

The active lifestyle my kids think are the norm, not the exception, and will, fingers crossed, replicate in some form.

The mellow demeanor my post-run self brings to being a parent and spouse. I’m more patient, more engaged, and less quick to snap.

Hell yes.

The book includes music playlists, advice on what to wear head-to-toe, chapters on what marathon training is like, the importance of cross training, and even a great piece on body image. The book is great fun to read and Dimity and Sarah have an active Facebook page on which they regularly engage their audience in conversations about running and help answer questions about running as a mother.

If you’d like to win this copy, drop a comment here and I’ll announce a winner the day after my half marathon: Sunday, November 6.

Jessica Pithie regularly blogs as Porky Dickens. Her interests include gold hoop earrings, complex carbohydrates and doing splits in stretch pants. When she’s not quizzing you on what you ordered for dinner or pressing recipes and the benefits of yoga on complete strangers, she can be found running a law firm, questioning her boyfriend on how lightning works or listening to smooth R&B.

249.5 was the number, handwritten in old lady cursive, on my very first Weight Watchers booklet. Up until that day I had spent many years in blissful ignorance knowing that yeah, I was fat, but not knowing the exact, mind-boggling number until that day. So there it is, I thought, as I looked upon the curly “2”, the slant of the “.5” I mean let’s just call it what it was, yeah? I weighed 250 pounds. The size of a collegiate linebacker, although scholarship money and rock hard calf muscles I did not have.

I had always been heavy. Always. Always a little thicker in the middle and chubby cheeked than my willowy older sister or any of my petite little friends. I loathed exercise and loved chips and I thought that there wasn’t all that much wrong with that.

What was moderately overweight in high school ballooned during my years at college where beer and pizza reigned supreme. Following college, I waitresses my way through grad school and after-work drinks and discounted Fisherman’s platters served to increase my bulge. Pants sizes creeped up and I continued to allow them to.

The summer of 2006 one of my closest and oldest friends told me that her mother and her were planning on joining Weight Watchers. I joined with them. It was July. I would be 26 in August. I had a feeling if I didn’t give Weight Watchers a fair shake, I would never really know whether or not I was capable of getting control of the way I ate.

I approached the Points system intellectually, pouring over my guides. I tracked, I measured and weighed, I knew the points value of absolutely everything under the sun. I was finally honest with myself about food. For the first time ever. Consciously or not, I had made the decision to at least try. Pounds came off. My face got thinner. People chirped approval. Results motivated me and I felt, for the first time ever, lighter. When you spend your whole life heavy, to even glance at feeling lighter is an incredible feeling. I kept at it. I started cooking for myself and planning out what I would eat at restaurants before I even set foot through the door. I cut down on alcohol and eliminated what I knew to be my “kryptonite” foods (i.e. pizza, French fries and any varietal of fried chicken).

When I was down 30 pounds, it was December. My brother, who also has consistently struggled with losing and gaining weight for most of his adult life, asked me “how much more are you planning on losing?” I didn’t know. I wasn’t thinking in terms of a number. Naturally, I wanted to get into the healthy weight range for my height, but my whole approach was much more of a lifestyle change. I wanted to look good and feel good. I told him at the very least, I would be losing another 30 pounds. He proposed some friendly competition with the New Year approaching. He wanted to lose as well and he wanted to put a little money on the line. We bet $500.00. The terms were that by May he would have to lose 60 pounds and I would have to lose 30. Whoever got there first, or by the first of May, would be the winner.

Up until this point I had been shedding my weight with very little exercise. I would go for walks by the beach or eek out 45 minutes at the fitness center in my mom’s condo complex, but my early successes were almost 100% accomplished by controlling portion size and making healthier food choices.

Now let it be completely clear that inactivity was the name of my game for most of my life. My favorite gym class activity was taking a zero for the day. I would come up with mystery illnesses that would send me to lie down in the nurse’s office on the day that we had to run the mile. When I was little my parents let me try every sport from soccer (in which I would get the wind knocked out of me once and be done with it), to basketball (bloody nose) to softball (pop fly to the face). I was, to put it gently, unskilled as an athlete.

But now that I found myself with $500.00 on the line and more weight to lose, I would have to find some sort of activity that I liked. I decided to try yoga. I found a hot power yoga class that was for beginners down the street from my apartment. I was completely terrified. Group fitness was not my thing. But I decided to give it a try, so I went. And I actually enjoyed myself. I started going at least one or two times a week, and incorporating more activity elsewhere; walking, running at the gym, I shocked even myself by doing pushups in my room. Who did I think I was? I got muscle tone and the pounds kept dropping off.

That May with great satisfaction, I cashed my $500.00 check. I used the money on new clothes; of course, since by the time my weight loss was complete I would have bought a new wardrobe, twice over. As time progressed on I kept committed to Weight Watchers. I needed the structure for its accountability. Every Tuesday night, without fail, I would go get on the scale for my moment of truth and depending on that week’s results I would either celebrate another success or stay for the meeting and recommit myself to staying on track. The Tuesday night weigh in was the only time I would step on a scale for the week. I liked the stability of only knowing what I weighed once a week and Tuesday nights would be the point in my week where I would hit the reset button if I had fallen off track at all. Pounds and sizes kept creeping down.

My total weight loss took me just over two years to accomplish. I lost 89.2 pounds as of the day I hit my goal weight. I started out in July of 2006 as a size 18 and I now wear a size 8 or 10, depending on where the clothes are from. I continued with the yoga even going so far as to complete my 200-hour certification this past June. I am a certified power yoga instructor and I actually wear yoga pants now for their intended purpose, not solely for the flexible waistband. How ‘bout that?

I find myself all the time recommitting to maintaining the lifestyle changes I have made. I love me some food, and I am not a naturally thin person by any stretch of the imagination, so I know that this struggle will last the rest of my life. I will always have to think about what I am putting in my mouth, what I am choosing to drink, whether or not I am getting myself out there and exercising. Recently, I felt myself sliding down a slippery slope, eating junk in the middle of the week, drinking too much wine, fisting cookies into my mouth blindly. Hi, it’s called the holidays and even those of us who have never struggled with weight slog through this indulgent time of year with jaws unhinged like snakes, sweets and eggnog sliding in. In January, at one of the yoga studios where I teach, I will be leading a 5 week workshop called Yoga for Weight Loss. I’m hoping that by connecting with other,s that I can continue to commit to myself. I love food and I always will, but I love myself too, so I’m finally showing both of us the respect we deserve.

Ah yes, the evidence…shall we? This before photo is seriously the rudest picture of me possibly ever taken. But I could not stop laughing when I opened it. Rest assured, I still meet a pizza buffet with the same zest and enthusiasm you see here, I just don’t put it out of business like I used to.

And after! Sorry the only full body shot I could find is me celebrating an intense Jenga victory. That’s why I’m leaping like a 7 year old.

Mary is a mother of four who blogs about her life at The Fish Pond .

How much weight have you lost so far?

 I’m down a total of 33 pounds from being at my heaviest, when the number on the scale scared me, but only about 28 pounds of that is since I started actively trying to lose weight.

When did you start on your journey and what is your goal?

I started officially the very end of April 2010; my goal is to lose 50 pounds by the end of April 2011. I’ve hit a bit of a plateau these last couple of months; I haven’t gained any, but I haven’t been losing, either. My plan is to hit it hard again after the kids go back to school after the holidays.

I’ve noticed that you have been working toward your goals for many months and I feel that this is a very relatable and realistic situation for many mothers trying to reclaim their fitness. What helps you stay motivated and goal-oriented?

 My mother died of a heart attack at 37, when I was 15. I want to be here for my kids, and I want to set a good example of a healthy lifestyle for them, which my mother didn’t do for me. I also think it’s important to model working hard for a long time to achieve a goal that’s important to me, and to deal with the challenges that entails – they need to see the value in working hard for something you want. I surround myself with friends who are fit and fitness oriented – on facebook, on sparkpeople, and on dailymile, and they inspire me with their efforts. I want to be healthier and strong, and as I’ve had success and those loads of laundry have seemingly gotten lighter, going up those stairs from my basement up three floors to my loft has become easier, it’s easier for me to stay focused and keep at it. I like being strong enough to carry my 11 year old up the stairs to her room when she’s being obstinate. Keeps them on their toes.

You have lost a lot of weight this past year, what are some of the exercises and dieting methods you used to lose the weight?

 For exercise, I walk. Sometimes I’ll ride a stationary bike or swim, and I try to add in strength and toning exercises and light weight work. I really want to be a runner, but my knees and ankles really, really don’t want me to be a runner. Every so often I forget and run a little, but then my knees and ankles remind me of why that wasn’t such a good idea. So then I walk. And walk. And sometimes hike for variety. I like to do 4-5 miles at a time.

For diet I joined sparkpeople.com, a free healthy lifestyle site. I more or less knew how I should eat, but I really had no idea about portion control. But I can follow directions. I can eat a half a cup of yogurt and half a banana when it tells me to. I also like that I can customize the menus to incorporate my food allergies and preferences (I will NEVER eat lima beans). I also track my exercise on there, and it’s motivating to see how far I’ve come and how well I’m doing.

What’s your fitness background like — have you always led a healthy lifestyle?

Actually, the opposite, and that’s how I got into this situation in the first place! Up until I graduated from college I weighed 85 pounds, which isn’t as alarming as it sounds, because I’m only 4’10”. I could eat anything I wanted without gaining anything, and while I walked a lot, it was walking to get somewhere, rather than for exercise. I hated any type of exercise for the sake of exercise, and did the bare minimum I needed to do to get my phys ed credits in college. Once I graduated and got a “real” job, I stopped walking so much, and the pounds slowly but steadily crept on, more rapidly after I had four c-sections in 7 years. I had wanted to do something about it for a long time, but really it wasn’t until months after I weaned my last child that I felt I had the energy to deal with the challenge – it took 9 months until my body got the message that it didn’t have to keep anyone but me alive and stopped producing milk. I didn’t stop eating like I was trying to keep someone else alive, though.

You write for your own blog, and you stay home full time with your four kids. How do you make the time to exercise?

I just try to cut myself some slack and do what I can when I can. I make sure to get dressed in my workout gear first thing, so that I’m ready to go if I get a spare moment. I tried getting up early to exercise, but I’m really not a morning person and it takes me far too long to get going – I’d finally get warmed up about the time I needed to get my kids off to school. I would like to do 3 or 4 workouts a week, and some weeks I do that, but more often it’s only two, on the two days that my younger son is in preschool for four hours at a time. We do try to do something active as a family on the weekends, so I’m at least moving and burning a few calories then, even if it’s not the pace or intensity that I can do during my own workouts.

Challenge sent in by Courtney
 
I’m getting married in July and want to add toning to my gym outings. I have broad, but undefined, shoulders and arms. The dress is strap less, and If I’m going to spend $$$ on photography I’d like to like my shoulders in the photos!

I do cardio consistently, and pilates twice a week. I have tried a noon power pump class, but my work schedule is too varied to be locked into one thing. I’d welcome any suggestions!

In my opinion, adding upper body strength is one of the more rewarding things you can do in terms of changing how your body looks. It seems like one of those things that gives good results in a not-depressing amount of time, if you put some consistent work into it.

30 Day Shred made a big difference for me in toning my shoulders and upper arms, so I give that particular DVD a thumbs up if you’re looking for an overall workout to add to your mix. Other great DVDs for overall toning, including arms, are listed here.

If you’re looking to add strength work while you’re at the gym, hey, you’re in luck! That’s what all those machines and weights are for, of course. If you’re not sure where to start, I’d suggest having a trainer walk you through the machines and maybe even draw up a plan for you in terms of weights/reps/sets.

Otherwise, here’s an easy way to fit in some strength training without committing to extra gym time or a DVD routine: buy some 5-lb dumbbells and do strength workouts at home. In your living room. While you’re watching TV. I KNOW!

Here’s a sample workout: Triceps kickbacks, shoulder presses, front raises, and triceps extensions. Do about 3 sets of 12-15 repetitions of these, using 5-lb weights.

Google “tone your arms” for about eighty billion how-to articles like this one. Or hey, try the One Hundred Pushup Challenge.

Last but not least, don’t forget about food. A million pushups won’t give you the arms you want if the muscles are buried under excess fat, so be sure you’re also focusing on healthy eating in addition to your workouts.

Readers, what tips do you have for getting good arms?

Challenge sent in by Debbie

I was wondering if you guys could put together a list of good exercise DVDs? I usually hate that stuff but with a young one around and shorter days I am doing this more often. I’ve done the Shred now for a year and it still kicks my ass. But, I was hoping to add another one or two to the mix that are still short but intense. I’ve heard good things about the Px90 but also heard it is an hour long and I don’t normally have that kind of time (only so long the kid will watch a dvd on his own so I can workout in the other room). I wanted to put some dvd suggestions on my Christmas list and was wondering if you could do a post for the holidays, pretty please?

I can only speak for myself, but here’s a list of DVDs I’ve found to be useful:

P90X Interval X Plus. Yes, it’s an hour long. Your choices are: suck it up and get an hour’s worth of exercise after the kiddo goes to bed or early in the morning or during naptime or during some other time of day when you can scrape together an hour, even though yes, you’d MUCH rather do something else, ANYTHING else, and there’s a pile of laundry and the dishes and etc, etc, etc . . . or do, say, half the video at a time.

The Interval X DVD goes through a series of exercises, then repeats them all in reverse. You could totally stop after the first set, maybe skip ahead to the cooldown at the end.

Turbo Jam 5 Rockin’ Workouts. Turbo Jam feels pretty old school to me now, with the music and all, but I used to LOVE it. The instructor does a good job of being motivating and chipper without being too annoying, and you will definitely sweat. This particular DVD set has a 20 minute workout, in addition to the other selections.

Crunch: Boot Camp Training. This is another video that feels kind of dated and a little corny, but it’s 35 solid minutes of butt-kicking moves.

Jillian Michaels: Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism. If you like 30 Shred you’ll probably like this DVD, which is a 40-minute circuit workout. No weights needed. Her No More Trouble Zones DVD is good too, and even though it’s an hour long it’s broken into body-specific segments — you could do lower body one day, upper the next, etc.

Okay, those are my top picks. Readers, do you have any DVD suggestions for someone who like short, but intense workouts?

Article by Andrea from A New Day Rises

It’s been a year since I’ve had my baby. He’s not really a baby anymore; he’s quickly bridging the gap towards toddler.

A year ago when I was swollen and poochy, waddling around with 35 extra pounds hanging off my frame, I was consumed with the thought of wearing jeans with buttons. I swear that’s what got me through the last couple of weeks.

Jack was born six days late and nine pounds. I went home from the hospital bigger than when I came in because of all the fluids they pumped me full of. I carried a lot of worries throughout my pregnancy that I wouldn’t slim down; that somehow it wouldn’t be possible. And while I was horrified by the stretch marks that showed up after the baby was born, I was more than pleasantly surprised with how quickly my body adjusted and began shedding the weight.

A week after Jack was born I tried on a pair of jeans (size 8), two sizes larger than my typical size and they fit; just barely (meaning I could squeeze them over my thighs and rear-end and I almost suffocated trying to button them). But still, they fit and I was so encouraged. It only motivated me that much more.

By three weeks post-partum I was walking every day. (I was one of the lucky ones as far as healing goes). At six weeks post-partum I was back at the gym, pushing myself on the elliptical and lifting weights. Of the 35 pounds gained, I had about 10 pounds still to go. I wrote an article here last year with my goals for the year and they rang in my head over and over.

After the holidays I added 30 Day Shred to my work out routine because it was too cold to walk outside with the baby. That DVD kicked my ass; actually, it still kicks my ass. That hasn’t changed.

What did change and has been a life-long battle for me is making healthy food choices. I’m tall and medium-thin by nature (5’8” and 135 pounds). I’ve never wavered in my dedication to exercising, but as I thinned down and reached my pre-pregnancy weight, I stopped being careful about what I ate.

‘I’m breast-feeding’ I would tell myself. And for a while, it was fine. The exercising and overall healthy choices outweighed the poor choices, but everyday I’m loosing resolve. I’m eating Halloween candy, making pumpkin bars; dishing myself up huge portions of pasta and doing stuff I never let myself do before. The worst part is I’m done nursing. No more extra calories burned.

I’m befuddled by my blatant self-sabotaging. Because, truly I like to be strong and healthy and have my clothes fit comfortably. I think that’s why I’m motivated to ‘put it out there.’ Maybe if I have to read this post, on a public site versus just letting it role around in my brain, I’ll be a little more motivated to put the cookies down.

So, before I have 10 pounds to lose (again), I’m recommitting to healthy food choices. I’m going to continue to exercise daily and remind myself that I can always have a treat tomorrow. I don’t need one today. I think it’s going to be hard.

By AndreAnna

Every weekend, my husband and I sit down and decide what we want to eat that week. We go through our recipe books, or bounce ideas off each other for new things to try. Then we make a list and go food shopping.

This is not to save money because inevitably, we spend eleventy billion dollars a week on food, but it’s to prepare ourselves for the week ahead. To make sure we’re satisfied in our cravings and to ensure we have healthy snacks and options to grab as we go.

Then when we get home, I re-package almost  everything. I take the bag of Baked Lays, the pretzels, and the trail mix, and weigh, measure, and bag them into serving size portions. Since we’re on WW, I even write the POINTS value on the outside of the baggie with Sharpie.

We slice the fruit and veggies and put them into tiny Tupperware containers. We pre-pour our serving size of cereal into paper bowls, seal them with plastic wrap and stack them on a shelf. I even have little containers that hold 1 cup of milk with a pour spout. Sometimes, I make steel cut oats or farina for the week on a Sunday, and portion out the week’s breakfasts.

The food scale remains on the counter, so when we’re making our lunches for work or plating our meal for that evening, we know how many ounces we’re eating. So that we can be aware of what a true portion is.

I try and make controlled, healthy eating Idiot-Proof.

Rather, Busy-Working-Momma and Daddy-Proof.

Does it take a significant amount of time each weekend to do all this chopping, cutting, weighing, measuring, labeling, bagging? Sure. Sometimes it takes two-three hours. If I’m making batches of food for the week, like oatmeal or chili or soup, it can take an entire afternoon. I do it while watching football or while my kids play underfoot. Or I let my three-year old help me measure. “No, MOMMA, That says ONE, not FWREE!”

I’m sure some of you are sitting there – and someone actually said it to my face while rolling her unibrow-covered-eyes at work – that they would never! have! such! time! for! this! You have a life! You’re too busy! And though I don’t get offended easily, I felt snappy and insulted. As if I sit at home all week long with my head up my ass thinking, “Gee, I’m just soooo bored. I wonder if those children should eat today or if those papers will edit themselves?”

Dudes, when I tell you I’m busy, I’m effing busy. I have a 3- and 1-yr old. I have a full-time deadline-oriented job for a worldwide publisher as a technical editor. I work in my office twice a week (for which the commute is 53 miles EACH WAY) upwards of 14 hours a day. On the other days, I work from home, taking care of the kids, the house, the dog, my job, my writing commitments, exercise, social events. I. Am. Busy. Happy. Oh, insanely happy, but really fricken busy.

But I do this.

I find the time because it’s important to me. Eating well-controlled portions, being able to grab a pre-chopped bag of fruit on my way out the door, having a warm breakfast already made when I’m rushing to the office – is important to me.

If you think you don’t have the time to do this, I want you to think about this: How many hours a week do you spend watching TV, playing on the internet? I’m gonna guess a lot more than it would take to portion out and plan. I’m not saying everyone needs this kind of organized control in their lives to succeed at eating healthy. Plenty of people do just fine with their portion control. I do not.

So maybe it’s not about the time you have, because if we really face it, no matter what circumstances – a favorite TV show, manicures, girls nights out, date nights -  we have time for what we want to have time for.

And it’s about damn time I made time for myself.

I deserve it.

YOU deserve it.

(P.S. down 8 pounds in two weeks at WW. Husband down 13.)

EDITED TO ADD: A few people asked for some pictures, so I took some for you. Here’s a link to my Flickr set.

Challenge sent in by Tiffany

One week ago today I was diagnosed with Scoliosis. X-ray has confirmed that I have a ten degree curve in my lower back. I have sciatica pain in both my legs and I have an issue with my hips that my doctor didn’t even get into during my visit last Thursday because she was too busy drilling the importance of Calcium and Vitamin D to me. Oh, AND I have the beginnings of Osteoporosis in my lower back.

My first call today was to the rehabilitation place down the street so I can start physical therepy. I did some research online for message therepy places in town for the deep tissue message my doctor wants me to have (that my insurance does NOT cover, mind you) and got a couple of good candidates. I want to get better and be healthier. I want to be mobile and painfree in my 30′s for the love of everything that is holy!

This isn’t the usual sort of question that gets posted here, but I asked Tiffany if I could share her challenge with you guys anyway. I don’t know anything about adult scoliosis and treatment methods, but I’m hoping some of you might have some experience with it. Any ideas for exercise options that won’t make Tiffany’s pain worse?

Challenge sent in by Courtney

When I started my first professional job, I decided that I’d eat lunch at my desk during the day instead of going home for lunch (we live in a town small enough where I could go home). Our office gets quiet during the noon hour, and it’s often the best time for me to get stuff done. And we usually have leftovers I can take, which makes it healthier and cheaper than going out. But now 2.5 years later, I think my mind has associated “sitting at desk” with “must put something in my mouth”. I get the munchies when I sit down. I crave something to eat while working on a 12 page staff report. I’m almost always between snacks; yogurt, apple, crackers and cheese, chocolate covered cinnamon bears. Since I’m finally coming around to the idea that I can’t justify eating like crap by saying “but I worked out today”, I’d really like to break this habit. But clearly I can’t abandon my desk. So far, I’ve bought lollipops to stick in my pie-hole every time I get a craving, but I’d like to wean myself off of these too. Anyone have a suggestion?

I have that problem when my day is dragging. Like when I could SWEAR it’s 5 PM but the clock says it’s only 2:45? Yeah.

This is basically the same as any other snacking-when-you’re-not-actually-hungry issue, made more challenging because you’ve got an environmental trigger going on (DESK = FOOD). I eat at my desk too, but I do have to wander all the way downstairs and into the snackroom to get something, so it’s a bit easier than if I had a bunch of snacks nearby.

So: how about not bringing a bunch of snacks? I mean, bring what you need to eat to feel fueled and energetic throughout the day, but maybe leave the chocolate bears and lollipops at home? Start getting yourself on a regular schedule with specific times when you have a meal or a snack. Lunch at 12, an apple and a yogurt at 3:30, for instance.

I’ve had success with substituting beverages for food when I’m just kind of looking for a distraction for my mouth (heh). A diet Coke, no-calorie flavored water, some coffee . . . you get the idea. Also gum, sugarless mints, and the old trick of brushing your teeth after a meal so you’re less likely to keep grazing throughout the afternoon.

One more idea: if it’s feasible, try a brisk short walk when you’re dying to snack on something. And drink a big cold glass of water.

Readers, do you have any tips for avoiding the desk-snacking syndrome?

Shalini writes:

My problem: I am completely and totally addicted to sugar, and I don’t know how to kick the habit. When I get stressed or overwhelmed, I eat some ice cream or cookies. If I can’t find anything else, I eat my kids’ candy–shameful. I know the answer is to not eat any at all, but getting to that spot is so, so hard. I feel so sick afterwards, sometimes I even am sick to my stomach, but I do it because it’s a temporary relief from my nerves. I’ve actually even mentioned it in therapy, but because I’m thin and exercise regularly, no one has ever really considered it a “problem” (don’t get me started on how ridiculous that is). It’s also one of those things not a lot of people understand, especially because I’m thinner. People push the cupcakes and muffins toward me at work, and when I say no, people don’t take me seriously. “You can take it! Pack on a few pounds,” etc etc. I’d really like to find another outlet for my stress (running and biking are great, but not possible all the time, like when I’m home with my 2 year old or when I’m teaching a class), so that when I feel overwhelmed I don’t instantly look for the first sugary substance to stuff in my mouth. And, more importantly: can i get rid of my kids’ candy? would that be depriving them of something other kids have just because their mom can’t handle it? If it’s there, it will always be a temptation, but I feel like a bad mom if I don’t let them have that stuff, especially because we don’t eat meat and I make them eat a lot of fruits and veggies–I feel like it’s their just reward.

I feel like every reader challenge speaks to me personally, but this one? Yeah, this one I really, REALLY get.

After I quit drinking, I traded in a serious problem with booze for an ongoing issue with sugary foods. Good trade overall, don’t get me wrong, but I really have to watch my sugar intake these days. Too many simple carbohydrates wreak all kinds of havoc in my body, and the more I eat the worse my cravings get. I totally understand using sugar as a stress outlet, because I have been there more times than I can count.

It’s a bad cycle, at least for me. I’m sure there are some people who can eat lots of sugary foods and be totally fine, but I get moody, lethargic, depressed, bingey, and generally more and more reliant on the exact food that’s causing me harm.

Here’s what has helped me:

• Exercise. It’s hard to make the time. It’s important to make the time. Exercise will help so, so much with this issue. I promise this.

• Potatoes Not Prozac. I didn’t follow the guidelines in this book, but I found it very helpful to read about a theory as to WHY I’m so sugar sensitive. This book provides a pretty detailed plan for weaning yourself off sugar, and I recommend at least checking it out.

• Get rid of it. On my latest climb back up the healthy-food wagon, I cleaned out all the processed, sugary junk in my kitchen. I’m not a person who can have one cookie, therefore, there are NO cookies in my house. I find that the first couple days are the hardest, and once your system is running on good, healthy foods . . . it’s just a whole new world. A much, much better world.

• No kid stuff I personally crave. To that end, it’s your house and you make the rules. Your kids are not going to be deprived if they don’t get candy every day. You know this, right? Ditch the guilt on that subject altogether. My kids eat a fair amount of kid-crap that the Whole Foods mom crowd would probably sneer at, but when it comes to sweet stuff I mostly pick out things I won’t be tempted to eat. Animal crackers, chocolate Goldfish, kid Clif bars . . . things they like, but won’t be calling me from the cupboard every single hour.

And one more gentle thought on that subject: candy doesn’t have to be a just reward. I love making my kids happy, and they love special treats, so I absolutely know where you’re coming from on this. But we can help our kids learn better eating habits right now, to help them avoid some of the problems with foods we’ve experienced. I’m not saying NO CANDY EVER—this certainly isn’t true in my house—but it doesn’t have to be a reward for eating a healthy dinner, right? If you’re living a life where sweet treats are occasional, rather than continual, this is not “not handling it”. You are living a healthy lifestyle and passing along a great example to your kids.

Readers, have you dealt with a sugar addiction? What sort of advice do you have for Shalini on breaking this habit?