How to Eat Chips

Sometimes, you really need junk food. When finals time comes around, I give myself a break and let myself eat crap. I feel like crap, so I need an equal food. So here is how you do it.

1. Buy smallest package of chips that you can find in that will satisfy the craving.

If it is prepackaged in a manageable portion, you CAN'T overeat them. Instead of eating 6 or 8 portions, you will only consume 1 or 2.


2. Pour them into a bowl.

I believe that the packaging hides the quantity from us. If we can see the massive amounts of chips, then we won't want to eat as much.

3. Put a paper towel under the chips in the bowl.

So this isn't actually doing that much, but it is absorbing some oils. The oils in chips are what make them so high in calories. Absorbing any is going to lower the calorie count a little. Its the same idea as patting down a piece of pizza with a napkin.

Tip: Use 2 sheets so that you can cover the chips when you don't want another one. Out of sign out of mind.

4. Don't watch TV with this bowl of tastiness.

If you are studying, or working, or reading, you will at least have to look down to eat. Every time you look down you are a bit more conscious of what you are putting in your mouth and you can enjoy it more. TV zaps your brain, and allows you toeat mindlessly. You can go from bowl to mouth without even thinking.

5. Enjoy them.

The whole point of junk food is to enjoy. Savor the flavor of them. I usually get Jalapeno or Barbecue flavor, and I get Kettle style because I like the crunch. Know what makes you tick. Don't bother if it isn't exactly what is going to make you happy. This is why I don't eat baked chips. This isn't a habit, its a treat. Treat is as such.

Weight-loss to date: down to 151 lbs from 157 lbs
Current BMI: 26.7

The Stress Balance

As you probably know, I am a college student. This last week, ALL of my papers were due, ALL of my art projects were due, and sleep did not factor in. While I generally think that sleep is overrated, going days with minimum levels of sleep is, well, exhausting. My brain was fried, and my body was achy.

Your body basically has three reservoirs of energy: emotional, physical, and mental. When you are perfectly awake and balanced you should theoretically be completely satisfied in all three of these sectors. When you wear yourself out in only one of these areas, your life will start to feel out of sync.

For example, when you go through a breakup, you feel emotionally drained. You probably sit around moping, eating ice cream and watching sappy movies. You exhaust yourself emotionally, but physically and mentally you have too much energy. To balance this out, you should probably go exercise, or take a class. Keeping yourself "busy" is what gets you over the emotional troubles.

The same goes for stress related to school. I mentally wore myself out without physically wearing myself out. Even when I had time to exercise, it would not have been safe since my brain was so out of it. I really needed to catch up on my sleep and then get to the gym.

This upcoming week is finals. To stay mentally alert, I have decided that to stay healthy (since I have a habit of becoming ill just towards the end of finals), I am going to start out my days with the gym and a run. Emotionally, I will be fine since my wonderful boy friend is a constant source of strength for me.

My goals for this upcoming week are to:

• get enough sleep


• exercise daily


• study effectively


• Stay on track with my eating

Good luck to all who are graduating!

Weight-loss to date: down to 152.4lbs from 157lbs (2.5lbs gained from lowest point, but still down 4.5lbs)
Current BMI: 27