A huge winter storm hit Vermont this weekend. An estimated 1 million people were without power.  I was one of those people who lost power for over 3 days.  On Thursday, some of my patients were telling me that we were supposed to get 3-4 feet of snow.  All I could think of was: ‘wahoo, the skiing will be awesome this weekend’.  Boy was that a dream. 

I woke up Friday morning to an inch of ice covering my car.  Although I live in Wilmington, I have never missed a day of work due to weather.  I usually drive slowly  and make it to work just fine.  I figured this would be just like any other day.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t just like any other ’snow’ day.  I started to drive out of my driveway and didn’t even reach 1/4 mile from my house when I found trees uprooted and strewn across the street. It was impossible to drive even down the street.  I continued to the center of Wilmington and stopped to call my friend in Bennington.  Her husband answered and said I would be crazy to try to get to work.  So, I turned around and went home. 

We had no power until Sunday night.  Even though we kept our refrigerator and freezer closed, we had to throw out all of the food in our refrigerator and most of the freezer.  Finally the power has come back on, but I’ve heard another ice storm is on the way.

I’m still waiting for that 3-4 foot snow storm!

Well, the news is out, Oprah hit the 200 mark again.  A week doesn’t go by when I don’t hear from a patient that if they "had a personal chef and trainer" they would lose the weight they need to lose and keep it off.  Oprah is a GREAT example that having these luxuries don’t teach you how to eat normally and how to keep weight off after you lose it.

Oprah weight has been a huge attraction in the media.  Most people think that just because she has the trainer and personal chef, that’s what makes her successful.  Of course, these things don’t hurt, but aren’t going to keep her at a normal weight forever. 

I tell all of my weight loss patients that no one can do it for you.  It’s very very difficult to lose weight and in order to keep it off, you need to have a good relationship with food.  It’s not going to happen overnight.  We use food as a stress reliever or to help our emotions.  If you give that up, you need something to take the place. 

Oprah is a great example of what happens when you don’t change your relationship with food.  A short period of time is ok to be able to go without something or eliminate something from one’s diet.  However, when we follow fad diets, or extremely restrictive diets, we miss having a treat now and then.  These extreme (it dosen’t seem extreme to most people) restricitions are what causes overeating in the end. 

So, it just goes to show that Oprah is a human being and still battles the same things that most of the world does.  Having a ton of money doesn’t make us happy, nor will it make us thin.  I will stand by my theory that overly restrictive diets only work for a short period of time and continue to work with my patients to have a normal relationship with food. 

Winter is here.  It’s so difficult for many people to stay active in the winter.  Don’t let the cold stop you from doing the activities that you love.  If you have some summer activities that you like, continue to do them in the winter.  With a little imagination and some energy, you may find that the cold doesn’t stop you.

Just because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the great outdoors.  Try something new that you’ve never tried.  If you enjoy walking in the summer, you may love snowshoeing or cross country skiing in the winter.  If you have never tried snowshoeing, a great place to try it is at the Tubbs Romp to Stomp at Stratton on Jan 31.  Tubbs brings free snowshoes to try and you can donate money to a great cause.  Check out www.tubbsromptostomp.com.

There is already a ton of snow out there.  Woodford mountain has a great base to start snowshoeing or cross country skiing.  I skied at Mount Snow this weekend and it was absolutely fantastic.  Thank goodness for the new snow-making guns.

I can’t believe winter is here already.  For many people this means an end to their summer sports or summer activities.  Don’t let it end, get out there and play!