1 – Have a game plan. All successful teams and professionals have a plan. Why should controlling your weight at this time of year be any different? So, as parties and family events are also in planning stage, determine how you are going to approach obstacle course of high fat and high calorie goodies calling out to you? ·Determine how you are going to handle parties and food provided. ·Plan your events ahead of time. Although there will be surprise invitations, most people know what they will be doing over holidays. Avoid excessive parties. ·Make a plan for what you will prepare at home when not entertaining or visiting. Just because it’s holiday season does not mean you have to eat holiday fare all season. ·Determine how you will keep your fitness routine intact.

2 – Prepare for party game. Ok, we’ve all heard these recommendations, but how many of you actually try them? If you use them all, great! Check out to see if there are any new ideas here or use them to remind yourself of some you may have forgotten. ·Eat before event. If you are already full from healthy food, you are less likely to ‘pig out’ on high calorie, empty carbohydrate, high fat snack foods that just add up in our mid-section. ·Wear something tight in midsection. Tight clothes will help you tend to want to eat less, if for no other reason than it’s uncomfortable! ·Bring your own drinks and munchies. The more you are in control of what your choices are, less likely you are to grab foods you really don’t want to eat. ·Avoid alcohol. Many people feel out of place if they don’t have a drink in their hand. Try keeping your glass filled with ice and water! No one will know what you’re drinking unless you tell them or they ask. In meantime, you will be drinking calorie free. ·Concentrate on conversing more than eating. ·Stand clear of food tables. The further you are from food and goodies, less likely you are to pick up and mindlessly eat them. ·Choose smaller portions. Even if a food or snack looks very good, to avoid feeling deprived, just have a smaller serving.

INFERTILITY AND TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE PART II

In Part I, we considered proper treatment methods of Traditional Chinese Medicine and The Four Examinations,which date back over three thousand years.

In this section, we will look at mechanisms of action of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

It was shown in a study done at Harvard that stress reduces hypothalamic-anterior pituitary-ovarian axis function, thus being a factor to be considered in infertility work-up. Acupuncture releases endorphins which mitigate ones response to stressful stimuli thus enhancing possibility for conception.

"Historically, infertility, particularly "functional" infertility, was attributed to abnormal psychological functioning on part of one or both members of couple. Preliminary works in 1940s and 1950s considered "psychogenic infertility" as major cause of failure to conceive in as many as 50% of cases. As recently as late 1960s, it was commonly believed that reproductive failure was result of psychological and emotional factors. Psychogenic infertility was supposed to occur because of unconscious anxiety about sexual feelings, ambivalence toward motherhood, unresolved oedipal conflict, or conflicts of gender identity. Fortunately, advances in reproductive endocrinology and medical technology as well as in psychological research have de-emphasized significance of psychopathology as basis of infertility, and modern research shows that there is little evidence to support a role for personality factors or conflicts as a cause of infertility. This perspective unburdens couple by relieving them of additional guilt of thinking that it is their mental stress that may be responsible for their infertility.

Biologically, since hypothalamus regulates both stress responses as well as sex hormones, it's easy to see how stress could cause infertility in some women. Excessive stress may even lead to complete suppression of menstrual cycle, and this is often seen in female marathon runners, who develop "runner's amenorrhea". In less severe cases, it could cause anovulation or irregular menstrual cycles. When activated by stress, pituitary gland also produces increased amounts of prolactin, and elevated levels of prolactin could cause irregular ovulation. Since female reproductive tract contains catecholamine receptors catecholamines produced in response to stress may potentially affect fertility, for example, by interfering with transport of gametes through Fallopian tube or by altering uterine blood flow. However, more complex mechanisms may be at play, and researchers still don't completely understand how stress interacts with reproductive system. This is a story, which is still unfolding, and during last 20 years, new field of psychoneuroimmunology has emerged, which focuses on how your mind can affect your body.

Research has shown that brain produces special molecules called neuropeptides, in response to emotions, and these peptides can interact with every cell of body, including those of immune system. In this view, mind and body are not only connected, but also inseparable, so that it is hardly surprising that stress can have a negative influence on fertility.