Nancy L. Haydon

Surely not, I hear you say. Cross stitching is a sedentary pastime. Sitting on a sofa and gently moving your arms and fingers will not help you to lose those important inches. Well, no; I'm not going to claim that stitching is some sort of aerobic exercise. How many hours of stitching would it take to burn the calories in a single biscuit? Let's not even contemplate that. Instead, there is more than exercise to consider in the complex world of eating healthily.

Here are some tips that can help you to lose those stubborn pounds -- through cross stitch.

Replace your slimming magazines with cross stitch publications. If slimming magazines actually helped the general population to lose weight, then they would no longer have any readers. In my view, they focus the mind on food, food and more food. I have just counted 114 pictures of food items in one issue of a slimming magazine. No, they were not of carrots and blueberries.

Most pictures were of high-calorie danger-foods, and the occasional low-fat versions that looked like their high-fat counterparts. Who cannot fail to think about food for a long time after putting down such a magazine? We all need to educate ourselves about healthy eating -- but we shall find little down to earth advice about healthy eating in these magazines, month after month.

In contrast, look at a stitching magazine, and one is transported to another world of creativity and achievement. Hints and tips abound. No competition about which magazine to read, is there?

Keep your hands and mind busy. Hands that are stitching are not delving through the contents of a food cupboard or biscuit tin. It is often boredom and frustration that that sends you into the kitchen to refuel. Being absorbed in your work is a great way to take your mind off grazing.

Don't mess up your stitching. Anyone who has attempted to scrape melted chocolate from a cross stitched creation will confirm that stitching and eating should not go together. A nice cool glass of mineral water would not cause disaster if it were accidentally tipped onto your work. Red wine or a chocolate milkshake could do irreparable damage.

Spend your money on cross stitch treats. From childhood onwards, we often associate eating sweets with being rewarded. If you're shopping and want to cheer yourself up with a gift for yourself, why go straight for the ice creams, chocolates or sparkling wine? Instead, try buying yourself that great kit you've seen in the window of your local craft shop. On the same subject, girls' nights in do not have to become eating orgies. Why not each stitch a small cross stitch card? (Yes, you can have some wine afterwards!).

Raise your self esteem. Have you ever experienced that wonderful sense of achievement when you survey your completed cross stitched picture? It's almost indescribable, and it's slightly different for each of us. For me, there's a sense of pride of having finished something very special, in which I've invested a great amount of time, patience and skill.

Just hold on that feeling of achievement, because it's something that can't be taken away from you. You may wonder why this has anything to do with losing excess weight. Well, many psychologists believe that it's often a sense of despair and self-loathing that drives people to comfort-eat. Certainly it is a contributory factor, although it may not be the sole reason for over-eating. Replace that feeling of shame -- that comes from binge-eating a packet of biscuits -- to the sense of satisfaction, and there is a real possibility that one of those forces that drives you to eat will be removed.

Remember that there is more to healthy weight loss than eating wisely. A good exercise regime is important too. This is an individual consideration. As for me, there is nothing nicer than to flop onto the sofa for an evening's stitching after a long walk with my dog. No roaming round the kitchen. Just a pleasant evening of stitching ahead. Good luck!