Hungry or Just Mindlessly Munching? Use the Hunger Meter Test. . .

Before you sit down to eat, try this simple test:

1. Take a minute to assess your hunger level.

2. Rate it on a scale of 1 (ravenous) to 10 (totally stuffed).

3. If your hunger is at a 4 or higher, it's time to eat. Waiting until you're at a 2 or a 3 will put you at risk for overeating.

4. Start to slow down when you get to a 6 or 7 and reassess. Are you still eating to satisfy hunger at this point? Or are you eating for the sake of eating?

Want to get control of your eating? Dust off your intuition.

Remember how you used to eat when you were a little kid? Chances are when your plate was put in front of you, you took time to give your food the once over, inspecting it, smelling it and touching it before you ate.

You didn't just cram it into your mouth without thinking and swallow it with hardly a chew. You pushed your plate away when you were full and no amount of cajoling or threats would make you eat more. And as a rule, you didn't plunge headfirst into a bowl of ice cream when you felt sad or lonely.

That's because as a child you were your own dietary Jedi Master and you didn't even know it. You were a master of intuitive eating. Intuitive eating is the practice of mindfully listening to your body's natural hunger cues instead of dieting or emotionally eating - and it can help you lose weight and get healthy.

New research shows that women who eat intuitively have lower BMI's (body mass index) than non-intuitive eaters. They also report higher levels of appreciation for their own bodies, and were less apt to judge their appearance as critically as those who did not eat intuitively. There are more studies that show that mindful eating can help you get control over binge eating and lower cholesterol levels and risk of cardiovascular disease.

It's easier than you think.

Here are a few thoughts to get you started.

1. Pay attention. Eating can often be automatic behavior, like getting dressed or brushing your teeth. You have to think about what you're doing and focus on your eating. Dinner at my house used to be called the "festival of wolves." Everyone in our family descended on the meal as soon as it hit the table like ravenous beasts and literallay "wolfed" it down - despite my poor mother's entreaties to "take your time - taste it!" Before you pick up your first bite ask yourself:

2. Are you really hungry? Is your craving from the head or from the stomach? Is it emotionally driven or is it real hunger? Rumbling in the stomach, low energy, headache or dizziness indicates you need to eat something. Craving a pint of Ben & Jerry's all afternoon means you probably don't need to eat.

3. Am I aware while eating my food? My grandfather used to admonish us to chew each mouthful of food at least 20 times before swallowing. At the wolf table, that was impossible! My brother and I were astonished this was even possible (outside of taffy or JuJuBees)! Do you use all of your senses when you eat? Mindful eating means awareness of not only food's taste, but it's texture, smell and sound. It helps you slow down and get pleasure from your meal or snack.

4. Am I multitasking while eating? Eating while driving, watching TV, or working at your desk greatly limits your ability to pay attention to what and how you're eating. It doesn't do much for your digestion either.

5. Am I listening to my body's signals to stop eating? The same way you consider when to start eating, be mindful of when you should stop. You should feel satisfied, but not stuffed or full. Stop eating when about half your food is gone and ask yourself whether you're still eating to satisfy hunger or are you just continuing to eat because it's there.

6. Want to cheat? Go for it! Lose the diet mentality and make your peace with your food indulgences - chocolate, potato chips, french fries. It will help lower your intense cravings. But you must set boundaries for yourself. Use individually wrapped servings or measure your portions to stay on track.

Now take the intuitive eating quiz in the right blog column and see how you measure up as a mindful eater.

In Praise of Women Over 40

Smile – In Praise of Women Over 40!
By 60 Minutes Correspondent Andy Rooney (CBS)

As I grow in age, I value women over 40 most of all. Here are just a few reasons why:

A woman over 40 will never wake you in the middle of the night and ask, 'What are you thinking?' She doesn't care what you think.

If a woman over 40 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do, and it's usually more interesting.

Women over 40 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you if they think they can get away with it.

Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it's like to be unappreciated.

Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over 40.

Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 40 is far sexier than her younger counterpart.

Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off if you are a jerk if you are acting like one. You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her.

Yes, we praise women over 40 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed, hot woman over 40, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year old waitress. Ladies, I apologize.

For all those men who say, 'Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?’ - here's an update for you. Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage. Why? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire pig just to get a little sausage!

Your Words Shape Who You Are

o "All that we are is the result of what we have thought." – Buddha
o "Whatever we think about and thank about, we bring about." – John Demartini
o "You create your own universe as you go along" – Winston Churchill 1874-1965
o "Whether you think you can or can't, either way, you are right." – Henry Ford 1863-1947
o "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." – Martin Luther King Jr. 1929-1968
o "You become what you think about." – Earl Nightingale
o "What ever the mind of man can conceive and believe it can achieve" – Napoleon Hill

These are powerful affirmations. Lately we've been bombarded by the notion of how to manifest the life you want through affirmation and intention. But can you create whatever you want just by affirming it?

Manifesting means to create, or make clear, beyond a doubt. An affirmation is a short concise statement said with passion, conviction and belief. An intention is an intended outcome that guides your actions.

But knowing this is only part of the solution. It's implementation of these powerful strategies that opens the door to creating what you want. For your affirmations to be effective you have to relax and allow your mind to really SEE and EXPERIENCE what you want to create.

Try this exercise. Sit comfortably in a chair, with your feet on the floor, eyes closed. Focus only on your breathing. After a few minutes you'll start to notice your awareness of your breath, and you'll relax. Begin to think about what you truly want to create in your life. Don't legislate it or judge it - just experience it. Put that desire into a short, clearly worded thought and repeat it over and over as if it is occurring now. Allow yourself to fully experience that you have already achieved what it is you want. This takes time and may not happen the first time you try this exercise. But it is key to manifesting - you must feel it with every fiber of your being. Don't affirm in the future tense, for example, "I will be debt free" or "I want to be debt free." Say instead, "I am completely debt free" or "I have the resources to pay all my bills in a timely manner". Keep your thoughts positive and in the present moment.

You may have heard this before, but meditation and prayer are powerful ways to train your mind to affirm and manifest what you want to create. Everything in creation starts with a thought. And thoughts become things. Words and thoughts are incredibly powerful.

You become what you believe.

Split Training or Full Body Workout - Which is Better?

A client recently asked whether full body resistance training performed 3 days per week would achieve the same results as split training (training one body part per session, working out several days per week).

Here's advice from Cathy Savage, competitive fitness trainer and former body builder and professional dancer:

Yes! Full body workouts are beneficial to the body in two ways: They allow for greater energy expenditure per workout, and they allow for more adequate recovery from your workout. On the other hand, resistance training six days per week with double hits to each body part is sure to lead to overtraining. This kind of frequency can stunt the gains you’re making in the gym.

The best kind of workout should be a summation of the time spent in the gym and the subsequent recovery time. Poor recovery will produce few results – as though you didn’t go to the gym at all. Continuously pounding your body, trying to will it into submission, does not work. It’s when you rest that you grow muscle (or lose weight, depending on your goal).

Exercising three to four times per week, hitting the whole body every time, allows you to work each individual muscle group with greater frequency while burning a good amount of calories in the process. Whether your aim is to build or lean out, full body training can definitely supply the same amount of punch that your split training workout provided you before. Try mixing up your rep ranges each time you lift to maximize your potential in the gym. And follow up each workout with a healthy, well-balanced meal. You’ll be well on your way to seeing results in no time!

The Weight of Stress

Stress manifests itself in all kinds of ways. It contributes to an increased risk for heart disease as you age and decreases your immune functioning. It can make you forego your otherwise healthy habits in favor of all kinds of bad behavior.

Stress makes you eat poorly, decreases your motivation to exercise and cause you to gain weight. An American Psychological Association study revealed that 43% of the individuals polled succumbed to overeating or eating unhealthy foods in order to manage stress.

But there's hope for the stressed - while roughly 50% of your stress response lies in your DNA (which means how you respond to stress is built into your genes) - the other half is influenced by your environment.

You can't change your genes but you can make choices that have a positive impact on how you respond to stress.

Next time you're feeling crunched by the pressure of stress, get control with one of these stress busters. You'll probably never live stress free, but you can grab hold of the steering wheel and keep yourself from careening off the highway!

1. Take your vitamins. B vitamins and magnesium are two of the most important nutrients for stress relief. Magnesium helps our muscles relax and B vitamins help regulate brain chemistry. Good sources of magnesium are pumpkin seeds and nuts. For B vitamins look to whole grains and vegetables.

2. Breathe. Increase the flow of oxygen through your body and you'll relax more easily. Inhale for 4 counts, hold for 2, and exhale for 8. for maximum benefit, repeat this exercise 3 to 5 times to reduce stress anytime.

3. Accentuate the positive. It sounds trite but it's true - when your schedule is crammed from morning till night it's easy to get spastic about not having enough time to get things done. Instead, focus on creating a small window of time for yourself - to work out, relax and regroup. You'll shift your mood and your responsibilities won't seem as burdensome. Take a 20 minute walk - it will do a lot for your sanity!

4. Write it down. Do a brain dump and get it out of your head. Releasing your stress on paper may help you determine your key life stressors. In one study, when people wrote in a journal about a stressful event 3 days in a row for about 20 minutes per session, their immune systems were functioning better and their stress levels were lower than those who wrote about random thoughts.

5. Stretch yourself. Cardio and strength training workouts definitely reduce stress, but don't underestimate the benefits of simple stretching. Even practicing one yoga pose a day can reduce your stress levels and improve your body's flexibility.