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Emotional Overeating

Anytime you put food into your mouth when you are not hungry is called emotional eating. Rather than hunger fueling your desire to eat something, an emotion is driving you to binge on something you do not really want. Emotional eating is not something people only do when they are feeling down (think the newly single girl on television who indulges in a gallon of her favorite ice cream to feel better about her break up). It is something you do when an emotion drives you. That emotion could be sadness, such as when you are hurt by a loved one or lose your job. That emotion could also be simple boredom; the house is clean, the kids are in bed and you are wandering around trying to find something to do when you decide that eating cookies is the right choice. Emotional eating can lead to weight gain, depression and feelings of guilt, which is why you need to know the difference between being hungry and being emotional in the kitchen.

 

 Knowing the Difference

 

There are a number of ways to differentiate between emotional eating and actual hunger. By being in tune with your body, you will easily be able to tell the difference. The first difference between emotional eating and hunger is that hunger occurs gradually. You typically begin to feel hungry over time, becoming hungrier as time passes, whereas emotional eating is something that happens suddenly. Additionally, when you are truly hungry you are open to eating anything. When you are eating emotionally you crave something specific, because it is the only food that will satisfy that craving.

 

When you are hungry you don’t feel as if though you have to eat immediately. When you are eating because of an emotion you want to eat immediately. Finally, when you eat for emotional reasons instead of hunger, you often feel guilty afterward.

 

 Stop Emotional Eating

 

By recognizing when you are making a food decision based off of an emotion rather than hunger, you can avoid emotional eating and the subsequent feelings of guilt that come with it. The first thing you need to do when an emotional eating feeling strikes is to distract yourself. When you are craving a food because of an emotion, you are attempting to either remove or create a feeling in yourself that you are currently missing. Instead of feeding your emotions, find a healthier alternative. The next time you feel the need to eat emotionally, take a walk. Exercise helps to increase your mood and boost your level of happiness. By replacing emotional eating with exercise, you are making yourself healthier and happier.

 

You can also try making a list of things that always make you feel good. The next time you feel the need to eat something because of your emotions, refer to this list and try something on it instead. Keeping a food journal is another way to help you stop overeating due to emotional eating. This allows you to keep a tangible record of when you tend to feel the most emotional and are most likely going to overeat for the wrong reasons. By establishing this pattern, you will be able to help yourself to avoid emotional eating and maybe even figure out what the cause of your emotional eating is.

 

There is nothing wrong with indulging in something sweet from time to time. The key is not to go overboard and spend your time eating for emotions rather than hunger. Feeding your emotions has a very negative effect on your overall health, which is far more difficult to improve than your mood.

 

Richard Hasson. Finished psychology at Washington university, currently working for Long Island divorce attorneys as an consultant for people who are going through tough divorce. He also likes to write about self-help for depression and life in general.

 

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Hypnosis for weight loss and mind visualization are two effective strategies that can help you lose weight

You may not realize the exact reason why and how they work, but self-hypnosis and visualization can really help you realize your weight loss goals and objectives. By visualizing in your thoughts how you would want to look like after losing weight, you’re building up the confidence needed in order to become successful in weight loss.

In the previous years, the use of hypnosis and mind visualization to assist in weight loss has been popular to many individuals. It might appear cliche for some, but in reality the body tends to operate a lot better when the subconscious mind is encouraged and filled with motivation. When a person sees himself achieving the goals he has set up for himself through mind visualization and hypnosis, the effect tends to be that the goals he has set for himself suddenly becomes easier to reach. By creating an idea that both the subconscious mind and body can work out to achieve, visualization and weight loss hypnosis makes it easier for people to lose unwanted weight.

Most times, individuals who are suffering from being overweight make it hard for themselves to lose weight because they believe that losing weight is an impossible task. Although most people won’t admit it, this negativity that they are placing inside their heads is the reason why they are losing the heart to reach their weight loss goals. If you do not trust yourself that you can achieve your weight loss goals, you are only making it harder for you to accomplish anything. But if you start to believe that anything is possible, losing weight is a task that can easily be achieved.

Today, the internet is full of places where you can find free self-hypnosis downloads, products and services. Online hypnosis websites such as Hyptalk are even offering self-hypnosis cd, hypnosis audios and self-hypnosis mp3 that can help jumpstart your plans for reducing your weight. Hypnosis for weight loss, when combined with mind visualization, are two of the most potent strategies that you can use in order to lose unwanted weight. If you seek to change your body and your life for the better, try to implement weight loss hypnosis and visualization along with your fitness goals and see how effective this strategy is.

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Foods That Can Help Women Lose Weight

Most women around the world are becoming more and more conscious about their weight, since it is often associated with beauty. Because of that, lots of women are trying to find out different ways of losing weight. One popular program for women is the Visual Impact For Women weight loss program. There are many other weight loss programs out there, but regardless of which one you do, you have to exercise and eat a healthy diet.

One of the best ways for a woman to lose weight is to make some modifications in her diet. When it comes to that, one needs to take note of a number of weight loss foods for women.

There are lots of foods that you can include in your diet, which can help you lose weight. Of course, in addition to eating the right foods you should also exercise properly – this Turbulence Training review highlights some quick exercises you can perform to speed up your fat loss.

Including more citrus fruits in your diet is actually one of the best things that you can do, in order to see a fitter you in the mirror. This is because such types of foods contain lots of soluble fiber, which is known to help in stabilizing a person’s blood sugar levels. When this happens, you will actually have lesser cravings for food; and, with lesser food intake, you can expect to lose weight very soon. Aside from stabilizing your blood sugar levels, citrus fruits also contain lots of vitamin C, which is good for your health. It will help in flushing out toxins from your body, aside from making sure that you are always full of energy.

Including fish into your diet would also help in losing weight, especially salmon. Salmon is actually good for you, since it is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. These fatty acids actually play an important role in lowering the risk of a person of having a heart disease. Aside from that, it is also known to reduce inflammations. On top of that, such fatty acids can also help your body in getting rid of belly fat, aside from improving its insulin sensitivity.

Another group of foods that you want to include into your diet are berries, which are not just nutritious, but are also some of the most delicious foods that you can find in the market these days. Aside from the fact that they contain lower amounts of sugar, fats, and calories, they actually have lots of antioxidants and fiber. Each and every day of your life, you can actually accumulate free radicals into your body, which can cause certain types of diseases. By taking more antioxidants, you can help your body in flushing out these toxins, which can also help you in losing weight; and, since berries contain lots of fiber, it can also help you by suppressing your appetite the natural way.

These are some of the weight loss foods for women that you should include in your diet soon. Keep in mind that in purchasing berries and citrus fruits, it is always best to buy from those that grow them organically. In addition, don’t forget that getting enough exercise should also help you in achieving your weight loss goals soon.

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How To Lose Weight Fast Without Trying

For most of the people that are trying to lose weight, is to find an accurate information. Wherever you look on the internet, you are going to find conflicting information. One person says that you can not eat any carbohydrates. The other that you should eat lots of carbohydrates. This makes it very difficult to find out what is the truth and what is not. The purpose of this article is to give non biased tips that will help you lose weight. Period. No nonsense. Just proven strategies to shred some pounds. Lets get down to the business:

1. Eliminate Drinking Calories

The most common habit among people that can’t lose weight is drinking too much calories. If you are guilty of that, I recommend that you stop drinking anything that has sugar. This includes any soft drinks or sugar free drinks. All you really need is plain water. Not many people realize how important it is to drink lots of water during any weight loss program. Here are just a few benefits of drinking lots of water:

  • Water cleans away all of the toxins that are stored in your body helping your organs to function better. This allows liver for example to process the food and not store them as fat.
  • Water make you feel full so that you don’t over eat. It is recommended to drink a glass of water before eating and after eating. This way you will not eat more than you need to feel energized.

Things to do: Drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water per day. Cup of coffee and glass of non sweetened tea is also allowed, but only with moderating.

2. Consume Lots of Protein

When you compare protein to carbohydrates and fat, you will notice a few things. Based on the research, consumption of fat help you lose weight, while consumption of carbohydrates makes you gain weight. Protein on the other hand, have the biggest impact in terms of weight and fat loss. The reason for it is that the more protein you eat the higher the level of glucagon (a hormone found in your body responsible for turning fat stored in your body to energy), which means that you are going to be burning fat and losing weight.

This goes to prove another thing that protein rich diet is very effective. Many people believe that protein diet or slow carbohydrate diet originated back in Poland and was called dieta białkowa. Today, a diet based on it designed by Dr. Dunkan dominates whole weight loss industry.

Research shows that when you eat protein rich breakfast, you will lose weight because high protein intake will burn fat and you will feel full for the rest of the day. This will stop you from over eating.

Things to do: Try to consume at least 20 grams of protein per each meal.

3. Avoid White Carbohydrates

This is by far the most important thing for the overall health and weight loss. If you are consuming any type of white carbohydrates such as rice, bread, crackers, chips, you are going to have a very hard time losing weight. In addition to it, those processed carbohydrates are very bad for your health. Many experts believe that ingredients used in white carbohydrates are also used in rat poison!

Things to do: Don’ t eat any white carbohydrates.

4. Eliminate Sugar

Sugar is one of the most toxic substances for your health. In my opinion, it is number one enemy of weight loss. The way that sugar works is that in excess it turns into body fat. The more sugar you eat, the fatter you are going to get because it messes up liver function. When live can’t work properly, it can not absorb nutrients from food and in turn stores fat in your body.

Things to do: Avoid all processed food high in sugar. Eliminate all sweets besides all natural honey and 90% dark chocolate from your diet. If you have a sweet craving use cinnamon that has many weight loss properties. Also, you can use stewia. Do not use any artificial sweeteners as they are very bad for you.

About the Author: Author of this article is a nutrition expert that shares his knowledge to people interested in optimal health and weight loss. On his blog called Jak Szybko Schudnąć you can find lots of valuable information that will help you achieve your weight loss goal.

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dieting exercise weight loss

3 New Year Resolutions For Your Digestive System

Christmas has come and gone – just like a flash. We have eaten too much, had too much to drink and now wish we could be better people. Is this the reason New Year resolutions were invented?

The rich food on Christmas Day, the repeated helpings of left-over turkey and the celebratory drinks for the New Year have given us indigestion – good for sales of heartburn remedies, but not for our digestive systems.

So what New Year resolutions can you have to improve your digestion?

Resolution No. 1 – Put less on your plate

It is great that we have the health to enjoy our food. All the hours spent watching celebrity chefs on television have made us more discerning about food and, in theory, we know how to prepare a wide range of complex meals.

However, no matter how delicious your meal is, a great start to improving your digestion this year is to put less on your plate. A good way to achieve this is simply to use a smaller plate when you eat!

Isn’t it ridiculous that in the developed world, we waste money buying too much food, eating more than we need, putting on weight, then spend more money in gym memberships trying to get the fat off. People in the poorer parts of Africa should be laughing their heads off.

Resolution No. 2 – Eat Slowly

In a way, this is a variation of the slow food movement. Mealtimes are for conversation, to be social – not rushed with food tucked away in the 90 seconds of advertisements during Coronation Street.

The brain takes a bit of time registering the fact that food has entered the body and is filling the stomach. Take your time eating, and chew each mouthful 20 times or more. This will ensure that the nerve signals telling your brain that the stomach is ‘full up’ comes before the end of the meal, not after you have emptied your plate down your gullet.

Too often, highly processed foods can be stuffed unceremoniously into our mouths and as they do not need to be chewed, we can swallow each mouthful very efficiently. Chewing food carefully also makes sure that the digestive process starts properly in your stomach – reducing the chance for symptoms of indigestion, such as heartburn and bloating, to develop.

Resolution No. 3 – Eat bitter vegetables

Sadly, these are not readily found in our modern supermarket chains. In days gone by, bitter tasting vegetables were commonly found on dinner tables.

In the West, probably the most bitter-tasting food found readily is rocket. Other bitter leaves such as nasturtium flowers, dandelion leaves or artichoke can be used in salads, but are not so easy to procure. You can of course, pick dandelion leaves from your garden during the summer.

Bitter foods are important for the digestive process. Bitter sensations on the tongue trigger a nerve reflex, starting the secretion of gastric juices before food hits the stomach. In some countries, bitter tasting aperitifs are still popular. They contain medicinal herbs, known as ‘stomach bitters’ such as centaurium, which can start off the digestive process in the same way.

These are known, quite distinctly as ‘digestifs’ – sounds like we need more of these bitter herbs in our modern lives.

Alison lectures & trains on health issues, and is often to be found quoted in health magazines.

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Four Healthy Eating Tips from the World’s Best Diets

When you go on holiday to a foreign country, trying out all the local dishes and delights is one of the highlights of your vacation. Indeed holidays are often a time of year when we tend to overindulge ourselves the most, and might well not be a good time to think about healthy eating. However, learning about the healthy diets of other cultures is a valuable exercise and something that can benefit your health for the rest of your life. Here in America we are probably in need of a bit more balance in our eating habits and we could do well to learn from countries like Spain and Japan, France and Greece. In this article we will look at four brief lessons we could all do with adopting when it comes to healthy eating, lessons which the world’s healthiest diets all share:

(1) Make Eating a Thing of Pleasure and Leisure – If you go on holiday to countries like France or Spain, Greece, Italy or Japan you’ll soon notice what a pleasant ritual meals are considered to be. Rather than pit stops for fuel, eating should be a time for family and friends and they should be taken slowly. Not only is this good for helping you to relax and to cement familial and friendship bonds, it is also better for digestion and has the added bonus of preventing you from overeating because you have wolfed food down too quickly.

(2) Buy Smaller Plates – Actually what you should really do is cut down the size of the portions you put on your plate. From Spain to France and from Japan to Greece the healthiest eaters in the world all consume much smaller size dishes than we do here in the US. In Japan, for example, dishes are served in much smaller sizes and food is eaten out of small bowls rather than the mega-plates and platters we have in the west.

(3) Eat as Many Fruit and Vegetables as You Can – This one has been trumpeted by every health practitioner and nutritionist under the sun but we still aren’t eating enough. In many cultures with healthy national diets, meat is seen as nothing more than a side dish or garnish. In Greece vegetables are very much the main part of the dish, rather than an accompaniment, and in China the majority of dishes are made up of grains, vegetables and fruit. More than four portions per day of vegetables or fruit can seriously decrease the chances of you getting cancer, heart disease or suffering a stroke.

(4) Give Your Life a Bit More Spice – Herbs and spices aren’t just good at making food taste better. They also fight disease. Any of the herbs like turmeric, garlic, cinnamon, rosemary or thyme have been found to have genuine health benefits

Alex is a travel writer and blogger. He loves writing about beautiful food and exotic places and currently writes for Coupon Croc .