Did you know that your body is a reflection of your mind?
Our emotions steer us considerably because, in a fight VS logical mind, they usually win, resulting in emotional eating.
Being overweight is often a consequence of emotional eating, which implies the author Doreen Virtue (Ph.D. counseling psychology) in its work “ Constant Craving: What Your Food Cravings Mean and How to Overcome Them “
We succumb to emotional eating when we feel negative emotions such as Fear, Anger, Tension, Shame. To feel better, we reach toward food for its happiness effect ( caused by hormone secretion ), burying our negative emotions with a bunch of calories.
It’s the moment when you were sad or self-critical and reached toward ice cream or comfort food like pizza, donuts, and other chewy food. Or in cinema eating popcorn before the movie starts being impatient, looking for relief, which you get by cracking crunchy popcorn.
However, it’s a problem when it becomes a routine.
Recognize the problem by analyzing the food you crave.
Important :
•Emotional ≠Normal :
Normal hunger evolves gradually, the longer you are starving, the hungrier you get.
Emotional hunger appears out of blue, suddenly you crave specific food ( crunchy chocolate for example )
• Each type of negative emotions creates a craving for a certain food texture:
Fear or Shame — creamy, soft food melting in your mouth
Anger or Tension — Hard food cracking under teeth
Combination of two groups ( Fear + Anger or Tension for example) — chewy food neither hard nor soft, donuts for example
When you catch yourself next time having emotional hunger, analyze yourself through the next steps :
1) Which food do I crave? Creamy, hard, or chewy?
2) Based on texture and preceding scenario, determine negative emotions.
3) Question yourself why are you feeling it, make a list of steps to prevent it from happening. Think positive, look for the lesson. Talk to your friend/partner. In our mind there is only space for either positive or negative emotions, replacing each other. Thus, do something that makes you thrilled instead of turning to food for comfort.
How do I stop the magic loop of overeating and finally get the body I want?
Overeating trigger is negative emotions, originating from stressful situations. Banning certain food increases it’s value just because it’s forbidden, leading to greater craving.
1.Analyze situations preceding negative emotions and find a solution to stop them from occurring.
· Are you stressed because of your partner? Talk to them regarding problematic topics looking for a solution.
· Bad grade? Sit down and study harder!
· Unsuccessful diet? You ate something banned, got angry self-criticizing, and then binge ate rationalizing behavior with “ Tomorrow is another day, so I’ll start over, but why don’t I use this day to eat everything I want ( usually food banned by diet ) “
INSTEAD of food restrictions, calculate the amount of it to incorporate into daily needs( Our app will do that for you ?).
2. Be proactive!
Make a list of desired changes, and pick the most important with the greatest impact.
Would you be happier with a workout routine, reduced alcohol intake, an achieved goal, raise, or a passed exam?
The happier you are, the less space for negative emotions and consequential overeating preventing you from being “ FIT”.
Achieve this simply by [ forming a habit! ]
Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.”― Gandhi
We are the result of our habits.
A professional athlete’s habit is training 100m sprint daily, allowing him to be the best in the discipline.
Someone “FIT” regularly works out and eats “nutrient-dense low calorie” food 80% of the time. Unlike that, an overweight person could be drinking too much alcohol and eating fast-food because they don’t cook.
If you plant an orange, don’t expect to harvest watermelon.
3. If you can’t stop at one cookie, but clear the whole box, then buy the small portion to cover kcal needs for a meal.
Don’t bring home food over which you don’t have control. If it isn’t near you, you can’t eat it when a crisis occurs.
We’ll wrap up with ultimate advice on how to be “FIT”:
Do what makes you happy, therefore you will have fewer negative emotions. As a result, you will have fewer food cravings helping you stay fit and consequently increasing your happiness. ?
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