Binge triggers

By Gail O'Connor

Most of us have a "holiday" -- any celebration that includes food center stage -- at least twice a month, year-round.

"In the warmer months, you have Mother's Day, Father's Day, the Fourth of July, and perhaps weddings and showers, birthdays and so on," points out personal trainer Susan Cantwell, author of Mind Over Matter: Personal Choices for a Lifetime of Fitness (Stoddart Publishing, 1999). "And with all these comes a 'timeout' mentality that you can take a break from healthy eating." The result: a sabotaged eating plan.

But rather than let food control you, you can turn the tables with a few strategies. Some steps to battling binge triggers year-round:

1. Map out your hidden holidays. Mark your planner -- record all the food-heavy events you expect to encounter in the months ahead, not just the big ones. For example, don't forget the office birthday party, Labor Day barbecue, an upcoming vacation or family reunion. "When I sit down with clients, they're often shocked to find they have as many as four to 10 events a month during which they're cued to overeat," says Cantwell.