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   to weigh 150 pounds and hated to move or exercise I would probably need   
   to eat about 1500 calories a day. I am right in line with this estimate   
   as I exercise quite a bit and eat 1800-1900 per day on average. Some of   
   us are above this estimate and some are below, but it is something to   
   get you started.   
      
   Yes, many overeaters foundational problem with fat stems from this   
   refusal to live within their caloric means. It is no different from the   
   clutterer that refuses to live within their comfortable space means or   
   the debtor that refuses to live within their comfortable income means.   
   We all have limits and a refusal to live within these healthy limits is   
   defiance on are part. Step 2 mentions that "defiance" is an outstanding   
   characteristic of the addict and overeaters do not have a corner on the   
   market when it comes to defiance as it shows up throughout the various   
   addictions. Overeaters can eat all the food they like but they must   
   also pay the price with fat if the food they eat is outside of their   
   caloric budget.   
      
   After all, in life we must all answer to natural law. It is just a   
   trade off, if you get thin you can't eat all the old favorite foods in   
   mass quantity anymore but now you are rewarded with a new thin and   
   healthy body, whereas the ones till fat get to enjoy all the food they   
   want but must carry around the fat and sickness with them as the price   
   they pay. Some of us go to extreme measures with laxatives or vomiting   
   or whatever, but as I said, natures law must be paid eventually and   
   these extreme measure all have prices to pay also. One thing is for   
   sure, those fat ones that complain they are fat from "slow metabolisms"   
   still have a caloric balance point as they cannot get fat from just   
   breathing air and any of us fail toe at will die sooner or later from   
   starvation. Sure they may have slightly slower metabolism, but they   
   still have caloric budget and their fatness is not from the slow   
   metabolism it is from a refusal to know and live within their caloric   
   budget. And this can come from 2 areas - design or desire. Some fat   
   people are fat from ignorance of how and what toe at and live. Others   
   are fat from binge eating and knowing how to eat or what to eat has   
   nothing to do with it. This is why OA has tools for both areas of   
   recovery spiritual as well as mechanical.   
      
   While eating healthy and right is half the battle, exercise is also a   
   must to maintain strong healthy bodies over our lifetime. The nice   
   dividend from exercise is when we pout on a pound of muscle we burn an   
   extra 50 calories of fat each day for free. The sad part about this   
   scheme is muscle is very hard to put on for many people. I have been   
   weight training for many years and only put on a few pounds of muscle   
   if that. but, I digest proteins poorly so cannot eat much meat or other   
   high proteins such as soy or milk products. If you are blessed with   
   adding muscle easily with exercise I encourage you to do so for the   
   muscle will help burn the fat off as long as you do not increase your   
   eating to go beyond your caloric balance point.   
      
   Besides fat, anger and depression can be helped with exercise. Adrenal   
   steroids (cortisol) secreted when a person is under stress reach the   
   brain and over time can affect the structure of the brain. When stress   
   hormones, intended for a life or death fight or flight situation,   
   remain switched for an extended period, they can slow the growth of   
   nerve fibers in the areas of the brain responsible for emotions and   
   other brain functions. We also produce cortisol from any other   
   stressors the body perceives, whether it is physical stress, such as a   
   sickness, injury, surgery, or temperature extremes as well as   
   psychological stress that we and the world put on us.   
      
   Each of us has produces a different amount of these chemicals and has a   
   different sensitivity to them and this might be the missing link as to   
   a part of the question as to why some of us are more addictive than   
   others with how we each produce and react to these stress chemicals   
   differently. Exercise helps remove these stress chemicals from our   
   bodies as well as produce other chemicals that give us a sense of well   
   being - endorphins. Yes, we have our own drug pusher within each of us.   
   You see, 12 steps or not, we all have to answer to natural law. Within   
   the boundaries of natural law is where stress chemicals come from   
   within us and as addicts I believe we are super sensitized to these   
   chemicals and we seek relief though our various addictions. So, as   
   addicts we should be in tune with suing any tools available to us for   
   recovery purposes whether it is the spiritual tools of the 12 steps or   
   the mechanical tools of eating right and exercise.   
      
   Some of eat out of boredom and not having anything else to do.   
   Developing a list of positive time fillers was a big help to my   
   compulsive spending recovery as well as my overeating. As Thoreau wrote   
   in Walden , "The devil finds work for idle hands." Before heading in   
   this new direction, most of my time was occupied by what to   
   compulsively buy next, overeating rich foods and getting fat and when I   
   wanted a break from that I had a picnic basket of other addictive areas   
   to get drugged up with. A lot of my new activities are sport or   
   movement related as they also serve the purposes of helping with my   
   overeating disease and have the added benefit of improved health and   
   don't produce clutter like some hobbies do. In addition they help with   
   depression, balance and brain functioning. Activities to occupy   
   yourself that don't revolve around spending or your other addictive   
   areas only go so far in recovery though. You also have to be careful to   
   take time to relax and not escape life through activity. 12 Step work,   
   reducing stress, repairing the wreckage of the past and living a   
   balanced life all contribute to heading in the right recovery   
   direction.   
      
   Partial List of Positive Time Filling Activities:   
      
   Hiking, Mountain Bike, Climbing Gym, Basketball, Rollerblading, Jet   
   Ski, Racquetball, Swim, Sun Bath, Fishing, Canoeing, Weight Training,   
   Target Shooting, Camping, Jogging, Motorcycle, Snowshoe, Ski, Yoga,   
   Massage, Meditation, Free Lectures and Movies at a Local University,   
   Snow Tubing, Napping or Relaxing in a Hammock, Healthy Picnics,   
   Library, Spiritual studies, Trail Running, Free Musical Events and   
   Concerts, Church Services, Scenic Seasonal Car Trips, etc.   
      
   Many possibilities to do exercise even if you are too busy to live   
   right. What a statement we are too busy to actually live life the right   
   way... I guess we are waiting for the next life to give it a try. If   
   you life to watch TV at night start doing Yoga, weight training or free   
   exercise in front of the TV instead of sitting and eating. You can also   
   sit on the couch and extend you leg and hold it out then alternate and   
   keep alternating. I keep some hand grips near the couch and use them.   
   At church stand on your tip toes and hold it this strengthens the calf   
   muscles or stand on one leg alternately. When drying you hair after   
   shower do some stomach sucks and push your chest up to the ceiling   
   after you blow out the air and suck in the gut and hold it. When   
   waiting in the return line at a store you can balance on one foot it   
   strengthen your legs and improves balance. Take the stairs instead of   
   the elevator. Strap on some ankle weight throughout the day for added   
   resistance. When you walk take some small dumbbells with you, keep then   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)