Soda Challenge | Day 23 | October 16 | Saturday

My steps: 13,942. Flew a red eye from Las Vegas (all I did there was give a talk – honest) to Boston in order to participate in a conference to develop certification for health and wellness coaching.

My steps: 13,942. Flew a red eye from Las Vegas (all I did there was give a talk – honest) to Boston in order to participate in a conference to develop certification for health and wellness coaching.  

Snack on plane: coffee and a banana

Took cab to Babson Campus in Wellseley.  Walked last 0.4 miles with bags as cab driver couldn't figure out how to get into the center.  Still made start at 9 a.m.


Snack: bananas and coffee. Noted diet soft drinks (and sugared ones) everywhere.

Lunch:  salad without dressing or cheese

More sitting at creating coaching certification board – 75 people of varying professions: physical trainers, executive coaches, dieticians, nurses, docs, religious leaders – and more diet soda ... the colas are everywhere.

Snack: coffee and bananas

Conference ended at 5:20 p.m. today. 

Exercise: Cardio on cross trainer for 48 minutes to get steps for the day. The colas are even in the exercise rooms!

Dinner: had some bread and a lot of string beans ... main course: salad with salmon and 2 glasses of great wine. Kitchen closed at 9 p.m. ... read medicine, called wife, wrote a column and a blog. Bed at 11 p.m.

Overeating for Pleasure or Just Can't Get Full? This Hormone Could Be to Blame

Here's how to get things back on track.

Q: I end up overeating because it makes me feel better and I never really get full. I'd like to lose weight but this makes it hard. Any suggestions?

A: Being persistently hungry can cause big trouble. So can overeating for comfort/pleasure. These two behaviors, say researchers from Baylor University's Children's Nutrition Research Center, are controlled deep within your brain by serotonin-producing neurons, but operate separately from each other — one in the hypothalamus, the other in the midbrain. They both can, however, end up fueling poor nutritional choices and obesity.

Eating for Hunger

When hunger is your motive for eating, the question is: "Does your body know when you've had enough?" Well, if you are overweight, obese or have diabetes you may develop leptin resistance and your "I am full" hormone, leptin, can't do its job. The hormone's signal to your hypothalamus is dampened, and you keep eating.

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