ATTENTION: Do you often use language associated with addiction to describe your relationships with food…

“Why Women Suffering From Emotional Eating and Binge Eating Often Get Addicted To Food…”

Carb craver, chocaholic, how many times have you heard someone describe their relationship with food…

Yes, for many women the food obsession struggle is for real.

So, is it really possible to be addicted to certain types of food?

Did you know food can trigger behaviours.

And brain responses similar to drug addiction.

Imagine you’re a full time professional chef!

And you’re struggling with binge eating or other types of eating disorder.

May be for many it would be bizarre and counter-intuitive…

How could anyone suffering from binge eating spend so much time around food?

Are obsessions with food often linked with eating disorders?

Does it highlight the complexity and effects which go beyond eating itself?

Many of us have used diets at some point in our lives…

Whether the diet is to lose weight.

Maintain weight or be healthier.

What most diets have in common is restriction.

And this type of restriction is not just behavioural.

It is not simply the restriction of not eating a biscuit or forbidden food…

The restriction starts in our brains when we tell ourselves certain foods are off limits.

And where we talk about forbidden foods which keeps popping up in conversations.

In truth, people restricting their food intake can become preoccupied with food.

The restriction and preoccupation can manifest itself in a strong desire to overeat.

Women suffering from binge eating, binging and emotional eating are often obsessed with food.

In fact, I found myself hoarding recipes, reading articles, watching cookery shows…

Always stressed out cooking for others and preparing meals they themselves would not eat.

What drives an obsession with food…

There are two reasons why those with eating disorders might be driven to obsess over food.

The first is the brain’s way of telling a starving person they need to eat.

In context from an evolutionary perspective…

This is for survival and adapting to the environment.

You see, our brain won’t let us forget we are in need of fuel.

A study conducted by American physiologist Ancel Keys after World War II…

Ancel explored effects of starvation and re-feeding.

He wanted to better understand how to help concentration camp victims.

Ancel Keys found those who were starved became obsessed with food…

They dreamed and talked about food constantly.

All other aspects of life became insignificant.

The thoughts only subsided when they regained body fat.

Three of the participants even went on to become chefs.

It illustrates how great the impact is to experience food deprivation.

And ultimately how powerful it is on their decisions and life choices.

The second reason people with eating disorders obsess over food…

Is related to the need for control.

Control is often central to the development of a disorder.

For many sufferers…

Controlling their eating is a way to feel some mastery in an otherwise emotionally chaotic world.

Many studies have shown people with eating disorders suffer from low self esteem…

And often have other mental health problems, such as depression or anxiety.

To prepare food and be strong enough not to eat it.

This reinforces their self-worth and to some extent empowers them.

Pleasure from food is gained in an almost voyeuristic manner watching others eat.

Bear in mind food obsessions is not limited just to people with eating disorders.

Anyone using a restrictive diet is more likely to experience preoccupying thoughts.

And it affects decision making and saps our brain power as well.

A study found successful dieters and those who when given free access to appealing foods…

Surprisingly did not eat much but performed badly on a simple cognitive task.

Unsuccessful dieters and those who ate lots of the food performed very well.

This suggested those who were successful at restricting their intake…

Did so at the expense of their ability to perform another task.

And when others decided to ditch the diet, they freed up their brain capacity and performed well.

So obsessing over food and trying to maintain a diet can have detrimental effects on our performance.

Learned obsessions with food goes hand in hand with our relationships with food.

This can be influenced early in life and might affect our propensity to obsess over it…

A recent long-term study found mothers who use food as a reward…

Were more likely to have children who overeat when distressed.

This is compared with children of mothers who used less controlling feeding practices.

Learning early in life that food provides a source of comfort could play a role in food obsessions later in life.

Traditional ways used for recovery from an eating disorder can be a long process…

It can take many years, be derailed by relapses and it may never completely go away.

Even for those who have recovered, food may always hold a special meaning.

Is food obsession, binge eating, food addiction eating beyond physical comfort…

Feeling out of control trying to satisfy hunger which can’t be satiated with food?

Click here if you relate to these types of behaviours or have any concerns about your eating habits…

Food Obsession

Top Tips to Stop Food Cravings by Mel Thompson

When you are feeling tired or stressed, do you notice that your mind begins conjuring up images of your favorite foods?

Do chocolates, donuts, or a slice of warm bread and butter tempt and taunt you when you are trying to keep your weight down?

If so, then you are one of many millions of people battling cravings on an almost daily basis.

According to Dr. Omar Manejwala, author of fascinating book, Craving: Why We Can’t Seem to Get Enough…

Human beings are hard-wired to crave food; he states there are powerful evolutionary, biological and social factors that create a ‘craving culture’ that overtakes our body and mind.

The good news, it is relatively easy to fight  cravings, if you take a few important steps…

 

Simply follow these tips and you will find that losing and maintaining weight…

Or simply following a healthier, sounder nutritional regime, is far easier than you ever imagined:

• Do something else when you’re feeling tired or stressed: Focus on positive steps you can take to stop your cravings.

Instead of asking yourself, “What do I need to stop doing?”

Ask, “What do I need to start doing?”

Often, stress occurs when we have too much pent-up energy, or when we are not getting enough exercise.

Regular physical activity (and specific exercises and activities like yoga and mindful meditation) significantly lower levels of stress hormone cortisol.

When our stress levels are down, it is much easier to battle the urge to binge or indulge in unhealthy foods.

• Keep a journal: When you see a nutritionist, one of the first things they ask you to do is to keep a journal; jot down absolutely everything you eat, and at what time.

You may be surprised to find that you tend to indulge cravings at specific times of the day.

This makes it much easier to avoid low sugar levels that often make you crave unhealthy foods, by bringing healthier snacks to work, school or college, so you can keep  glucose levels stable throughout the day.

• Take the time to shop: When you have cravings, you tend to desperately reach for the first food available.

It therefore helps to have a kitchen and pantry full of healthy snacks, and devoid of chips, cookies, sweets and other processed, refined foods.

Always prepare a wide range of salad ingredients and keep them in the fridge; chop and wash them beforehand, so whipping up a healthy salad takes just a few seconds.

• Avoid tempting scenarios: If you know you can’t resist buying a cupcake from your favorite pastry shop, don’t walk past it.

Make it easier on yourself so that following a healthy eating plan doesn’t seem like torture.

• Create a sense of belonging: Sometimes, human beings indulge in dangerous habits and addictions (to alcohol, substances and food alike) because we have unmet needs in our lives.

It is important to build a healthy social network, to eliminate the sense of emptiness that often leads us to binge.

Thank you Mel Thompson for sharing your valued tips and insights.

Food Cravings

Have you been struggling with your weight this year?

You’re doing a lot of exercises yet you still haven’t been losing weight?

Maybe you’ve added belly fat, some extra  pounds/kgs!

Well, at least you’ve come to understand its all about consciously making decisions in your life…

Choices that revolve around making healthy decisions.

This week your healthy diet challenge is focused around developing strategies to cope with emotional eating.

Maybe it’s a forbidden topic? Do you feel this problem is an issue that you’ve dealt with at one time or another?

Well, I know I’ve had my fair share of struggling with emotional eating. Why?

Because life is full of surprises mixed in with boredom, stress and anxiety.

Allow me to explain…

I’d like to take this opportunity to share strategies and more importantly to ask you how you’re able to handle these issues or problems?

Are your eating habits holding you back and making you feel angry?

After a while it becomes second nature to sabotage your appetite in an unhealthy fashion.

Let’s talk about how to answer these questions with basic guidelines/rules that have helped in the past:

• Eat when you start to feel a little bit hungry…
• Don’t wait until you are starving because when you’re famished you run the risk of overeating and eating too quickly.
• Take your time eating, eat slow, thoroughly chew and enjoy your food
• Eat small portions…

Your biggest challenge will most likely be about portion size and control…

What if you’re unsure about what “food portion size” means for you?

Don’t worry, we’ll be spending time on this and going over it in more detail.

The strategy is simple…you want to finish eating feeling light and satisfied.

If you feel heavy, too full or tired you have most likely eaten too much.

If you give your body too much food, it will start to store it as extra weight.

First and formeost, learn to listen to your body.

So called diet experts tell you this and that…their diet book has the answer, but what helps you is getting back in tune with what your body is telling you.

Are you listening?

Are you paying attention to the signals?

Are you aware of the little call from your brain every 2-3 hours that you need to eat something because you’re a little bit hungry?

Really, that’s how simple it really is to get back in control…

If you’re not paying attention, you’ll miss it, so it’s important to develop this basic body awareness.

Truly, I believe your body is more than capable of telling you when and how much you want to be eating, the trick is learning to listen.

As you begin to pick-up on your body signals, you get more intune with those distractions…

Yes, in other ways that avoid you feeling like dealing with your feelings by turning to food.

Now, you may have tried all sorts of diets in the past…

Some of the most common distractions include watching t.v, reading your favourite glossy magazine or even going out shopping.

All of these distractions work of course, and I’ve done them a million times to distract myself from emotional eating.

We all go through daily ups and downs, we have our own personal stories full of life’s various hurts and disappointments.

Unfortunately some of which still may continue to haunt you.

Remember those profoundly negative experiences and dramatic changes?

Overall, all these experiences cahnge your attitude and direction in life.

The question is how you deal with or handle it all for positive and enriching life, instead of moving from one empty distraction to another…

What if you focused on building, creating and learning.

The greatest joy of learning is having an open mind to what areas you feel passionate about in your own life.

Once your focus is on developing yourself, you can make much better decisions in every area of your life…including your diet.

This leads to the importance of treating yourself with respect.

What if your best friend was upset that they were having a tough time dealing with emotional eating?

Honestly would you beat them up even more with harsh words and a judgmental attitude?

You’d be caring, supportive and kind, yet how many times have you stood in front of the mirror berating yourself angrily for slipping on your diet?

You want to learn to treat yourself as if you were your own best friends!

That means caring and nurturing your soul with loving kindness.

Nothing is gained when you add your own insults and self criticisms…often playing like a broken record in your head.

This is a difficult habit to break…perhaps the most important lesson of all.

Please will you treat yourself well and affirm the positives? If you slip, then get back on track and resolve to be stronger the next time.

Refocus on your goals and continue to move forward.

You may repeat this process a hundred times and each time you get back up on your feet you’ll be a little bit stronger.

Eventually new healthier habits will form and you’ll reach a breakthrough ready for new diet and exercise challenges 🙂

Talk with you soon…Jody