Ms. Perry's Free Press Page 7 InoU. L3 J Iyuc- fl UI Hundreds of volunteers come forth to help Clara White Mission "Feed the City" i rI ^HI^^R -. ^**WK^^^^ ' Janitorial student Don Juan Crowley, Resident Adviser Erwin Maiten and volunteer Valerie Hammond. Volunteers Shirley Thomas, Cynthia Thomas and June Barnes. N'.61 V1015 volunteers Shaunie and Jo Jo As the holiday season approach- es. we think of celebrations with family and friends, and of food! Whether it is turkey and stuffing, ham, pumpkin pies, potato latkes or Christmas cookies, food is an inte- gral part of the holiday season.Yet for millions of Americans who worry about their weight, anticipat- ing this myriad of delights creates great anxiety. How can I go to all of those parties and not overeat?" or "Why do I get through the whole evening without cheating and then find myself overeating at home?" are two of the common concerns expressed by dieters. While the ability to avoid fattening foods often leads to feel- ings of deprivation, indulging in these forbidden foods usually leads to feelings of guilt and weight gain, which interfere with the joy of the season. Here are five ways to enjoy eating the season without worry: 1. End the deprivation When you tell yourself that you can't have certain foods because they are "too fattening," you set yourself up to overeat those very foods. It is human nature to want what we can't have. Eliminating "forbidden" foods in order to lose weight for the holidays frequently leads to overeating at parties and gatherings. By incorporating all types of foods into your diet throughout the year, you can avoid the overeating and holiday weight gain that results from deprivation. 2. Become an attuned eater Attuned eaters use internal, phys- ical cues to tell them when, what and how much to eat. This way of feeding yourself helps you to tune into hunger and satiation, rather than eating something just because it's there. Becoming an attuned eater allows you to feel in charge of your eating when you are at holiday parties and celebrations. There are three steps to attuned eating. First. learn to recognize when you are physically hungry. This requires tuning into your stomach and noticing how it feels. Next, iden- tify what your body craves in response to your physical hunger. In order to match your hunger with the food that will satisfy you, have a ' variety of foods available and with- hold judgments about what you are supposed to eat. When you are at a party, try to pick the food(s) that comes closest to what your body craves. Finally, pay attention to your fullness in order to know how much to eat. If you begin with a sensation of physical hunger, you will be able to identify a feeling of satisfaction when you have eaten enough. Honoring your hunger will keep you eating the right amount for your body and prevent weight gain due to overeating. 3. Remind yourself that you can have it later Who says you can't make your sweet potato time any time you want? If you believe that you can- not have a special holiday food for another whole year, you are likely to have it whether you are really in the mood for it or not. Instead, promise yourself that you can make turkey and mashed potatoes any time of year, and that special desserts can be baked or bought when you desire. Knowing that these foods can be available to you will reduce the need to eat some- thing at a holiday celebration you don't really want at that moment. 4 . Avoid becoming too hungry It can be tempting to "save up" your hunger for parties and special events. However, when you go without food for a long period of time, you become ravenous. At this stage of physical hunger, you are likely to eat anything and every- thing in sight, leading to that out of control feeling and weight gain. Instead, eat in accordance with your physical hunger throughout the day. If you want to ensure that you have a good appetite when you arrive at an event, try to eat enough to take the edge off before you leave home. 5. Stay compassionate with yourself. Just about everyone overeats sometime, especially during the holiday season. If you yell at your- self for your transgression, you are likely to create anxiety, which fuels overeating and weight gain. You are also likely to fall into the trap of telling yourself that you might as well eat whatever you want right now because as of tomorrow -or next week or January 1 you will have to restrict your eating. This w ude will increase your sense of guilt and feeling out of control, and guar- antees that you will eat more food than your body needs. Instead, remain gentle with your- self. Attuned eaters notice when they feel too full, and then naturally wait for their next sign of physical hunger to eat again. Acknowledge the discomfort you feel from overeating, and promise yourself that you will do your best to wait for the next cue of internal hunger to let you know that it is time. Focus on family and friends, rather than on food.Although food is an integral part of holiday events, the real purpose of getting together is to celebrate with people who are important to you. Eat for satiation and pleasure, and then turn your attention to connecting with others, rather than continuing to eat. By learning to feel in charge of your eating, you can break the diet/binge cycle and prevent weight gain from holiday overeating. Instead, as you greet the New Year, enjoy the sense of calm and hope that comes with this healthy attitude toward eating and weight. Narrowing the achievement gap Continued from front The findings -- which the council calls "jaw-dropping" -- spark debate among academics, social- policy experts and bloggers over what's actually causing the drastic achievement gap, and whether there's a viable solution. While it's treated as a given that the preponderance of black boys being raised by (overwhelmed and underaged) single mothers can neg- atively influence scholastic achievement rates, the NAEP test results from boys in the fourth through eighth grades show that economic status doesn't matter. According to the data, white boys from families receiving public assistance perform just as well as, or better than, black boys from fam- ilies that don't. The data show that while 38 per- cent of white boys in the fourth grade are proficient readers, only 12 percent of black boys are. Forty- four percent of whites are proficient at math, compared with only 14 percent of blacks. Data regarding high school dropout rates and col- lege matriculation contribute fur- ther to a dismal picture. What's going on? Dr. Robin Saunders, president of the Multicultural Education Consultants group, said that the gap won't narrow until teachers are retrained to respond to the racial sensitivities that black boys carry to the classroom. "If they bring a 'white cloud' card home from school because they had a good day, and a 'black cloud' goes home because they had a bad day, what does that say to the child?" Dr. Saunders pondered. Still, it's obvious in classrooms nationwide that too many black boys seem destined to get left behind. Why? Because they lack the kind of nurturing at home that would instill in them the self-discipline, self-esteem and self-assertion it takes to succeed in school. Back in 1984, when I was strug- gling through my first year at Vanderbilt University in Nashville (where minorities made up less than 5 percent of the student body), the Rev. Jesse Jackson stated, "There is no such thing as a parental aide to a teacher. The teacher is an aide to the parents. It's the parents who rear the children." Those words couldn't ring truer today. Unless more of us step up to guide black boys to the chalkboard, the future of a generation risks being erased. Scott Walton, The Root Pr. Ch 5 305 E in P For All Your Dental Needs 358-3827 Monday Friday 8:30 AM 5 PM Saturday Appointments Available iester Aikens -ast Union street )owntown JacksanviLLe :