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Our minds, not our stomachs, control our eating habits—but our minds don’t
always do a good job of making food decisions. Most people put on weight
because their minds don’t accurately keep track of how much they have
eaten, not because they lack the willpower to put down their forks.
Surprisingly, when our minds tell us which foods we enjoy, it’s often for
reasons that have little to do with how they taste.
Example: Approximately one-third of World War II veterans who served in the
South Pacific love Chinese food 50 years later. A similar percentage hate it. It
turns out that almost all the veterans who love Chinese food did not
experience frequent heavy combat when in Asia, but those who hate it did.
Brian Wansink, PhD, a noted food psychologist, has done extensive research
on how our minds trick us into unhealthy eating habits. Here are some of the
ways…
If it looks like a small meal, it feels like a small meal.
When you're faced with a plate loaded with too much food, remind yourself
that this isn't the only good food you're ever going to eat, advises Hewitt. It's
just as wasteful to eat something you don't want as it is to throw the food
away, he says. And when you overeat you have to waste time working off the
extra calories.
How Not to Overeat When You're DEPRESSED
Why Depression Makes You Eat Too Much: Depression and food are related
to each other on many levels, says Deborah Kesten, M.P.H., a nutrition
researcher and educator in Sausalito, Calif., and author of The Healing
Secrets of Food (New World Library, 2001). First, eating certain kinds of foods
can make you feel low. Those high in sugar and caffeine deplete your body of
B vitamins, low levels of which are linked to an increased risk of depression.
And when you feel down, you're more likely to binge on high-carbohydrate
foods, like bread or cookies, says Kesten, because they increase production
of serotonin, a mood-regulating brain chemical. Finally, although humans
evolved eating with other people, many Americans eat alone, which may
increase feelings of loneliness or depression and lead to more overeating.
How to Break Blues-Based Eating Habits: It's crucial to learn to stop and ask
yourself why you're reaching for food, most experts say. Realize that although
food will alleviate feelings like depression, says Foreyt, the effect is only
temporary. The most effective way to counter feelings of isolation when
you're feeling down is to reach out to other people. Talk to a friend or family
member, or write your feelings down in a journal.
You can even use your meal itself to connect with life, says Kesten. She
often advises depressed clients to eat their meals with appreciation,
reminding themselves of the nutrients that their food is providing as they
eat. Eating mindfully and truly appreciating the food you're eating will make
you less likely to want another helping.
How to Keep from Returning to Comfort Foods: Because depression is
linked, in part, to a deficiency in B vitamins, it's vital to eat mostly whole
foods (especially fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains like
millet, barley, and oats), rather than processed foods, which have few B
vitamins, says Kesten.
One study found that meditation actually helps prevent a vitamin deficiency,
she says. Researchers at Temple University in Philadelphia found that people
who meditated produced more of an enzyme called alpha-amylase, which
helps your body use B vitamins. Mealtime can be the perfect time to relax.
Kesten recommends the following meditation before each meal:
Sit at the table with your meal in front of you, fold your hands in your lap,
inhale deeply, and exhale slowly. Do this three times with your eyes closed or
focused on your food. Or say a prayer of thanks.
How Not to Overeat When YOU'RE BORED
Why Boredom Makes You Eat Too Much: You overeat when you're bored
because you're looking for stimulation, says Hewitt. In today's fast-paced
society, we're simply not used to downtime. Food--with its color, aroma,
flavor, and ability to raise blood sugar--provides stimulation.
Our eyes, not our stomachs, tell us when we’re full. In a study conducted by
our research team, when we replaced eight-inch dinner plates with 12-inch
plates, diners consumed 20% to 35% more because their portions looked
smaller on the larger plates. After the meal, they were certain that they hadn’t
eaten any more than usual.
What to do: Use smaller plates, bowls and spoons if you want to eat less.
Drink from tall, thin glasses—not short, fat ones—so you will think you are
drinking more. When possible, serve food over a bed of lettuce so that the
plate looks full.
We feel full when there’s visual evidence that we have had a lot to eat. In
one study, we gave chicken wings to graduate students while they watched
the Super Bowl. When we left the bones in front of the students, they ate an
average of four wings apiece. When we cleared the bones away frequently—
removing the visual evidence of earlier consumption—each student ate an
average of six wings.
After the game, students in both groups estimated that they had only four
wings each.
What to do: When you’re eating—particularly when you’re snacking—leave
out candy wrappers, peanut shells and other evidence of snacking so that
your eyes can warn you about how much you have eaten.
When there’s no distance to the food, there’s no thinking before eating.
Office workers consumed an average of nine Hershey’s Kisses per day when
we put bowls of the chocolate candies on their desks. Their consumption
dropped by more than 50% when these bowls were positioned just six feet
away. Six feet is only two steps, but even a short distance forces us to think
twice before we eat.
What to do: At home, fill individual plates at the stove, and leave the
leftovers on the stove or a sideboard. The more hassle it is to eat, the less
we eat. You will have fewer additional helpings if you must stand up to get
them. A bowl of salad or vegetables can be brought to the dinner table
because second helpings of these foods won’t add many calories.
With snack foods, pour a serving into a bowl rather than eating straight from
the bag. Then if you want more, you have to go to the kitchen to get it.
“Comfort foods” cause overconsumption. Comfort foods improve our moods.
These foods pick us up when we’re feeling stressed or unhappy and serve
as rewards when we’re feeling good.
Women’s comfort foods tend to be unhealthy dessert or snack items, while
men’s comfort foods are more likely to be hot meals. Why the difference?
Men tend to associate home-cooked meals with someone taking care of
them, because men’s meals often are prepared by their wives. Women
associate home-cooked meals with the chore of cooking, so they prefer
prepared snack foods and desserts.
What to do: We get nearly as much emotional benefit from a small serving of a
comfort food as from a large one—for example, a single scoop of ice cream
instead of a pint.
Also, we get nearly as much emotional benefit from our second- or third-
favorite comfort food as from our absolute favorite. If your top comfort food
is chocolate ice cream but tomato soup is a close second, keep plenty of
microwavable tomato soup in the house so that low-calorie comfort is just
seconds away.
We underestimate beverage calories. When people are asked to gauge the
calories in a drink, they typically undershoot by 30% or more. Beverages don’t
seem to be filling, so we don’t assume that they have as many calories as
they actually do.
What to do: As a rule of thumb, estimate that you’re consuming 10 calories
per ounce for “thin” beverages, such as juice, soda and milk…and 20
calories per ounce for “thick” beverages, such as smoothies and meal-
replacement shakes. That adds up quickly when you’re drinking a 32-ounce
soda—to an estimated 320 calories.
Interestingly, if you load that drink with ice, you’ll actually burn off a few of
those calories. Since your body has to use energy to heat up an iced
beverage, you actually burn about one calorie for every ice-cold ounce you
drink. If you drink the recommended eight eight-ounce glasses of water a day
and if you fill those 64 ounces with ice, you’ll burn about 70 extra calories a
day, the equivalent of about seven pounds a year.
Exercise might make you fatter. You have forced yourself to jog three miles
every day for months—yet you weigh just as much as when you started. What
are you doing wrong?
Most exercisers overestimate the calories their exercise burns and reward
themselves with high-calorie foods after their workouts because they think
they’ve earned it. They don’t realize that the six Oreo cookies they treat
themselves to as a reward have more calories (around 320) than the number
of calories they burned while running three miles (around 300).
What to do: If you need a reward, opt for nonfood treats, perhaps a half-hour
doing something you enjoy, such as reading a good book or watching a
favorite TV show.
Birth order might affect your eating habits. Oldest children and only children
tend to save their favorite foods for last. Give them a chocolate chip cookie,
and it might become a special treat for after dinner.
Youngest children and middle children of large families are more likely to
polish off favorite foods as soon as they receive them—probably to ensure
that older siblings won’t snatch the food away. These birth-order eating
patterns tend to continue into adulthood.
For adults who are the youngest or middle children, the result can be
unnecessary pounds. Favorite foods tend to be unhealthy foods, and people
who eat unhealthy foods as soon as they get them may be inclined to eat
larger quantities in the long run.
What to do: Don’t bring favorite snacks into the house in large quantities,
especially if you are a youngest or middle child. You might polish off a box in
a single sitting.
Here are the top 12 reasons why we overeat...
1. We are malnourished--we eat nutrient-poor foods and are craving
nutrients. *Tune in to your body’s true needs and consume delicious mineral-
rich, organically-grown fresh fruits and vegetables and, if you like, their
juices.*
2. We harbor the false idea that we will not obtain enough nutrients by having
small meals of raw fruits and/or vegetables. *Understand that raw food
nutrition is infinitely superior to your old diet of cooked foods--there is far
more nutritional, health-promoting value in one apple than in a seven course
meal of cooked food.*
3. We are tired and are trying to stimulate our energy. * Understand that when
we are tired, our primary need is for rest, not food, and food cannot digest
well when we are tired. Eating when we are tired will only lead to enervation,
toxemia and a worsening of fatigue.*
4. We are not mindful or present while we eat. *Eat slowly and practice being
aware/mindful/conscious and present in your body while you eat.*
5. We do not want to feel a particular emotion. *Choose to accept, feel and be
with the emotion. Allow it to dissipate, or expand, to flow through your body
and beyond. Explore the “somatic (or emotional) inquiry.”*
6. We want to feel the nurturing “mother love” that is lacking in our lives. *
Choose to cease covering up your emotions and to release emotional
contractions and you will begin to feel nurtured by the love that is always
present within yourself.*
7. We feel and believe we are hungry when we are not--we are actually eating
to fill up an emptiness. *Choose to explore, accept and be with the
emptiness. Meditation and the “somatic inquiry” can help.*
8. We feel bored and we eat recreationally. * Develop enjoyable, purposeful
and healthful activities away from the food or kitchen.
9. We feel socially obligated. *Choose to act healthfully and be in your power--
choose to take the best possible care of your self at all times.*
10. We feel too thin when we are in the detoxification stage. *Accept and love
yourself as you are, and understand that by living and eating correctly your
detoxification and weightloss period will eventually shift into a rebuilding
phase, in which you will add healthy weight with larger muscles and enjoy
higher vitality.*
11. We are not physically fit and are at the mercy of our sympathetic emotions.
* Keep physically fit--a strong spine and fit body translates into a strong
nervous system, self-esteem, will-power, and keener physical awareness so
that you can discern your true needs for nourishment.
12. We believe we can “get away with it” one more time. *Ask yourself: “How
is this food going to make me feel in a few minutes, and in a few hours, and
tomorrow?” Think about how you want to feel and make the healthful choice,
knowing that as you do, you are raising your level of well-being.*
you can watch this youtube video on why we over eat and digestion.. http:
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ-M26cONVw
You can change these habits.....
How Not to Overeat When You're STRESSED
Why Stress Makes You Eat Too Much: You overeat when you feel stressed to
prevent yourself from feeling bad. Food becomes an easy way to distract
yourself from uncomfortable feelings, at least temporarily, says John Foreyt,
Ph.D., a medicine and psychiatry professor at the Baylor College of Medicine
in Houston. And stress doesn't have to be negative to trigger
overconsumption. Research has shown that positive stress, like anticipating
a wedding, can cause you to overeat in an effort to calm your excitement.
What to Do to Stop Stressed-Out Snacking: One of the best ways to stop
overeating is to take a 10-minute walk outside instead, says Foreyt. Doing so
will help your body produce endorphins, feel-good brain chemicals that can
counter feelings of stress.
During stressful periods, allow yourself to sit quietly and eat your meal
slowly--however long that takes you, advises Geneen Roth, the Santa Cruz,
Calif.-based author of When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair
(Hyperion, 2001). Sitting down and taking extra time is a great way to make
yourself feel calmer so you're less apt to go for seconds.
What to Do to Avoid Future Stress Binges: The key to avoiding stress-based
eating is learning to distinguish stress from hunger, says Foreyt. Next time
you're hungry, notice any sensations in your stomach, throat, or mouth. Then,
whenever you reach for food, pause to check for those sensations.
Once you've mastered distinguishing stress from hunger, focus on ways to
deal with stress more effectively. Think about the cause of your stress, and
take steps to reduce it. For example, if you're missing deadlines at your job,
work on time-management techniques.
Extend your 10-minute walk to an hour-long one, advises Foreyt. Adding
exercise to your daily routine is a surefire way to lower your stress level.
In addition to exercise, practicing regular relaxation techniques can
dramatically reduce your daily stress. Foreyt recommends doing the following
15-minute progressive relaxation technique each day: Lie down on the floor
or sit in a comfortable chair. Tense and then relax each part of your body one
area at a time. Start with your toes and end with your scalp.
How Not to Overeat When You're SOCIALIZING
Why Socializing Makes You Eat TOO Much: Experts say that one of the
biggest reasons you eat more when you're socializing is that restaurants and
parties tend to offer an overabundance of delicious food, making it more
difficult to limit yourself to reasonable portions. You feel obliged to eat
everything on your plate, no matter how much it is, says Michael J. Hewitt, Ph.
D., health and healing director at Canyon Ranch Health Resort in Tucson, Ariz.
And you may not recognize when you're full while you're busy talking with
friends.
Drinking alcohol before a meal compounds the problem. Not only is alcohol
an appetite stimulant, but it also makes you feel less inhibited so you're likely
to order more in restaurants and take excessive helpings at parties, says
Hewitt.
What to Do Before You Go Out: Experts emphasize how important it is to
anticipate the pitfalls of eating out and to take steps to avoid them. Don't
arrive feeling famished. Have a cup of tea or a piece of fruit before you go
out so your stomach feels less empty and you won't be as tempted to snack
on bread or on hors d'oeuvres.
To keep eating in check at a restaurant, call before going and ask the host to
fax you a menu. Peruse the selections and choose a sensible meal. Then
stick to your choice once you get to the restaurant.
How to Curb Your Eating When You're Out: If you're going to drink alcohol,
have it with your meal, not before. Instead, drink club soda or a glass of water
with lemon or lime before eating. You'll think more clearly as you order.
The simplest way to counter the large meal sizes at some restaurants is to
reduce your portions as soon as your plate arrives, recommends Diane S., an
active member of Overeaters Anonymous in Boca Raton, Fla. (it's the policy of
Overeaters Anonymous not to give out the complete names of its members).
When the waiter brings your meal, put a third or half aside before you start
eating and ask the waiter to wrap it to bring home.
How to Stop Eating out of Boredom: To break the pattern of eating when
you're bored, you need to switch gears and think about something other than
food. "I carry around a rubber band and wear it on my wrist," says David G., a
group meeting leader at Overeaters Anonymous in Del Ray Beach, Fla. "When
food calls me I snap the rubber band, and it changes my thoughts."
If you're bingeing out of boredom, consciously decide to stop eating and call
a friend. Talking on the phone can be a great distraction from food, says
Diane S. How to Prevent Eating out of Boredom: Weight-loss experts agree
about the obvious: When you're busy, you're less likely to think about food.
So the trick is to find a hobby or activity that doesn't revolve around eating,
and then schedule that activity during the slow times in your daily schedule.
You may have to go as far as making a list. Roth recommends writing down
non-food-related activities that stimulate your senses, like taking a bath or
reading a magazine. Each day for a week, practice at least one of those
activities for 15 minutes, so that you learn to indulge yourself without food.
Clare Horn is an associate editor at Natural Health. Her overeating foible is
not being able to turn down dessert when eating out. She tries to order a
nonfat, decaffeinated cappuccino instead.
RELATED ARTICLE: Putting it to the test.
How I Learned to Eat Mindfully
I started a food diary, as this article suggests, and I realized that I overeat
when I'm stressed, I have pizza, soda, and chips for lunch when I'm under
deadline pressure. I follow that with a 3 p.m. chocolate break.
So I began following the experts' advice. I learned for the first time in my life
what hunger really feels like, and I found that my pizza lunch and snacking
often left me uncomfortably full. So now I bring a healthier, smaller lunch, and
I try not to snack unless I'm hungry. When I do snack, I choose healthier
foods, like wheat crackers, chai with soymilk, or fresh-cooked carrots. I love
cooking carrots, and peeling them relaxes me.
I also learned to be kinder to myself, which helped me to deal with stress
better, I started listening to an audio tape by Kathy Freston called Meditation
for Perfect Weight (Meta Records, 2000), which helps counter the negative
feelings that come with being overweight. I discovered how much I love a
long bath at the end of the day using stress-relieving aromatherapy bath
salts. And instead of succumbing to the 3 p.m. chocolate, I take a productive
break: I refill my glass of water, organize my desk, or focus on my breathing.
In two weeks I lost 1 1/2 pounds. It doesn't seem like much, but I know from
experience that fast weight loss doesn't last. More importantly, I feel
empowered by the choices I'm making about how much I eat.
always do a good job of making food decisions. Most people put on weight
because their minds don’t accurately keep track of how much they have
eaten, not because they lack the willpower to put down their forks.
Surprisingly, when our minds tell us which foods we enjoy, it’s often for
reasons that have little to do with how they taste.
Example: Approximately one-third of World War II veterans who served in the
South Pacific love Chinese food 50 years later. A similar percentage hate it. It
turns out that almost all the veterans who love Chinese food did not
experience frequent heavy combat when in Asia, but those who hate it did.
Brian Wansink, PhD, a noted food psychologist, has done extensive research
on how our minds trick us into unhealthy eating habits. Here are some of the
ways…
If it looks like a small meal, it feels like a small meal.
When you're faced with a plate loaded with too much food, remind yourself
that this isn't the only good food you're ever going to eat, advises Hewitt. It's
just as wasteful to eat something you don't want as it is to throw the food
away, he says. And when you overeat you have to waste time working off the
extra calories.
How Not to Overeat When You're DEPRESSED
Why Depression Makes You Eat Too Much: Depression and food are related
to each other on many levels, says Deborah Kesten, M.P.H., a nutrition
researcher and educator in Sausalito, Calif., and author of The Healing
Secrets of Food (New World Library, 2001). First, eating certain kinds of foods
can make you feel low. Those high in sugar and caffeine deplete your body of
B vitamins, low levels of which are linked to an increased risk of depression.
And when you feel down, you're more likely to binge on high-carbohydrate
foods, like bread or cookies, says Kesten, because they increase production
of serotonin, a mood-regulating brain chemical. Finally, although humans
evolved eating with other people, many Americans eat alone, which may
increase feelings of loneliness or depression and lead to more overeating.
How to Break Blues-Based Eating Habits: It's crucial to learn to stop and ask
yourself why you're reaching for food, most experts say. Realize that although
food will alleviate feelings like depression, says Foreyt, the effect is only
temporary. The most effective way to counter feelings of isolation when
you're feeling down is to reach out to other people. Talk to a friend or family
member, or write your feelings down in a journal.
You can even use your meal itself to connect with life, says Kesten. She
often advises depressed clients to eat their meals with appreciation,
reminding themselves of the nutrients that their food is providing as they
eat. Eating mindfully and truly appreciating the food you're eating will make
you less likely to want another helping.
How to Keep from Returning to Comfort Foods: Because depression is
linked, in part, to a deficiency in B vitamins, it's vital to eat mostly whole
foods (especially fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains like
millet, barley, and oats), rather than processed foods, which have few B
vitamins, says Kesten.
One study found that meditation actually helps prevent a vitamin deficiency,
she says. Researchers at Temple University in Philadelphia found that people
who meditated produced more of an enzyme called alpha-amylase, which
helps your body use B vitamins. Mealtime can be the perfect time to relax.
Kesten recommends the following meditation before each meal:
Sit at the table with your meal in front of you, fold your hands in your lap,
inhale deeply, and exhale slowly. Do this three times with your eyes closed or
focused on your food. Or say a prayer of thanks.
How Not to Overeat When YOU'RE BORED
Why Boredom Makes You Eat Too Much: You overeat when you're bored
because you're looking for stimulation, says Hewitt. In today's fast-paced
society, we're simply not used to downtime. Food--with its color, aroma,
flavor, and ability to raise blood sugar--provides stimulation.
Our eyes, not our stomachs, tell us when we’re full. In a study conducted by
our research team, when we replaced eight-inch dinner plates with 12-inch
plates, diners consumed 20% to 35% more because their portions looked
smaller on the larger plates. After the meal, they were certain that they hadn’t
eaten any more than usual.
What to do: Use smaller plates, bowls and spoons if you want to eat less.
Drink from tall, thin glasses—not short, fat ones—so you will think you are
drinking more. When possible, serve food over a bed of lettuce so that the
plate looks full.
We feel full when there’s visual evidence that we have had a lot to eat. In
one study, we gave chicken wings to graduate students while they watched
the Super Bowl. When we left the bones in front of the students, they ate an
average of four wings apiece. When we cleared the bones away frequently—
removing the visual evidence of earlier consumption—each student ate an
average of six wings.
After the game, students in both groups estimated that they had only four
wings each.
What to do: When you’re eating—particularly when you’re snacking—leave
out candy wrappers, peanut shells and other evidence of snacking so that
your eyes can warn you about how much you have eaten.
When there’s no distance to the food, there’s no thinking before eating.
Office workers consumed an average of nine Hershey’s Kisses per day when
we put bowls of the chocolate candies on their desks. Their consumption
dropped by more than 50% when these bowls were positioned just six feet
away. Six feet is only two steps, but even a short distance forces us to think
twice before we eat.
What to do: At home, fill individual plates at the stove, and leave the
leftovers on the stove or a sideboard. The more hassle it is to eat, the less
we eat. You will have fewer additional helpings if you must stand up to get
them. A bowl of salad or vegetables can be brought to the dinner table
because second helpings of these foods won’t add many calories.
With snack foods, pour a serving into a bowl rather than eating straight from
the bag. Then if you want more, you have to go to the kitchen to get it.
“Comfort foods” cause overconsumption. Comfort foods improve our moods.
These foods pick us up when we’re feeling stressed or unhappy and serve
as rewards when we’re feeling good.
Women’s comfort foods tend to be unhealthy dessert or snack items, while
men’s comfort foods are more likely to be hot meals. Why the difference?
Men tend to associate home-cooked meals with someone taking care of
them, because men’s meals often are prepared by their wives. Women
associate home-cooked meals with the chore of cooking, so they prefer
prepared snack foods and desserts.
What to do: We get nearly as much emotional benefit from a small serving of a
comfort food as from a large one—for example, a single scoop of ice cream
instead of a pint.
Also, we get nearly as much emotional benefit from our second- or third-
favorite comfort food as from our absolute favorite. If your top comfort food
is chocolate ice cream but tomato soup is a close second, keep plenty of
microwavable tomato soup in the house so that low-calorie comfort is just
seconds away.
We underestimate beverage calories. When people are asked to gauge the
calories in a drink, they typically undershoot by 30% or more. Beverages don’t
seem to be filling, so we don’t assume that they have as many calories as
they actually do.
What to do: As a rule of thumb, estimate that you’re consuming 10 calories
per ounce for “thin” beverages, such as juice, soda and milk…and 20
calories per ounce for “thick” beverages, such as smoothies and meal-
replacement shakes. That adds up quickly when you’re drinking a 32-ounce
soda—to an estimated 320 calories.
Interestingly, if you load that drink with ice, you’ll actually burn off a few of
those calories. Since your body has to use energy to heat up an iced
beverage, you actually burn about one calorie for every ice-cold ounce you
drink. If you drink the recommended eight eight-ounce glasses of water a day
and if you fill those 64 ounces with ice, you’ll burn about 70 extra calories a
day, the equivalent of about seven pounds a year.
Exercise might make you fatter. You have forced yourself to jog three miles
every day for months—yet you weigh just as much as when you started. What
are you doing wrong?
Most exercisers overestimate the calories their exercise burns and reward
themselves with high-calorie foods after their workouts because they think
they’ve earned it. They don’t realize that the six Oreo cookies they treat
themselves to as a reward have more calories (around 320) than the number
of calories they burned while running three miles (around 300).
What to do: If you need a reward, opt for nonfood treats, perhaps a half-hour
doing something you enjoy, such as reading a good book or watching a
favorite TV show.
Birth order might affect your eating habits. Oldest children and only children
tend to save their favorite foods for last. Give them a chocolate chip cookie,
and it might become a special treat for after dinner.
Youngest children and middle children of large families are more likely to
polish off favorite foods as soon as they receive them—probably to ensure
that older siblings won’t snatch the food away. These birth-order eating
patterns tend to continue into adulthood.
For adults who are the youngest or middle children, the result can be
unnecessary pounds. Favorite foods tend to be unhealthy foods, and people
who eat unhealthy foods as soon as they get them may be inclined to eat
larger quantities in the long run.
What to do: Don’t bring favorite snacks into the house in large quantities,
especially if you are a youngest or middle child. You might polish off a box in
a single sitting.
Here are the top 12 reasons why we overeat...
1. We are malnourished--we eat nutrient-poor foods and are craving
nutrients. *Tune in to your body’s true needs and consume delicious mineral-
rich, organically-grown fresh fruits and vegetables and, if you like, their
juices.*
2. We harbor the false idea that we will not obtain enough nutrients by having
small meals of raw fruits and/or vegetables. *Understand that raw food
nutrition is infinitely superior to your old diet of cooked foods--there is far
more nutritional, health-promoting value in one apple than in a seven course
meal of cooked food.*
3. We are tired and are trying to stimulate our energy. * Understand that when
we are tired, our primary need is for rest, not food, and food cannot digest
well when we are tired. Eating when we are tired will only lead to enervation,
toxemia and a worsening of fatigue.*
4. We are not mindful or present while we eat. *Eat slowly and practice being
aware/mindful/conscious and present in your body while you eat.*
5. We do not want to feel a particular emotion. *Choose to accept, feel and be
with the emotion. Allow it to dissipate, or expand, to flow through your body
and beyond. Explore the “somatic (or emotional) inquiry.”*
6. We want to feel the nurturing “mother love” that is lacking in our lives. *
Choose to cease covering up your emotions and to release emotional
contractions and you will begin to feel nurtured by the love that is always
present within yourself.*
7. We feel and believe we are hungry when we are not--we are actually eating
to fill up an emptiness. *Choose to explore, accept and be with the
emptiness. Meditation and the “somatic inquiry” can help.*
8. We feel bored and we eat recreationally. * Develop enjoyable, purposeful
and healthful activities away from the food or kitchen.
9. We feel socially obligated. *Choose to act healthfully and be in your power--
choose to take the best possible care of your self at all times.*
10. We feel too thin when we are in the detoxification stage. *Accept and love
yourself as you are, and understand that by living and eating correctly your
detoxification and weightloss period will eventually shift into a rebuilding
phase, in which you will add healthy weight with larger muscles and enjoy
higher vitality.*
11. We are not physically fit and are at the mercy of our sympathetic emotions.
* Keep physically fit--a strong spine and fit body translates into a strong
nervous system, self-esteem, will-power, and keener physical awareness so
that you can discern your true needs for nourishment.
12. We believe we can “get away with it” one more time. *Ask yourself: “How
is this food going to make me feel in a few minutes, and in a few hours, and
tomorrow?” Think about how you want to feel and make the healthful choice,
knowing that as you do, you are raising your level of well-being.*
you can watch this youtube video on why we over eat and digestion.. http:
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ-M26cONVw
You can change these habits.....
How Not to Overeat When You're STRESSED
Why Stress Makes You Eat Too Much: You overeat when you feel stressed to
prevent yourself from feeling bad. Food becomes an easy way to distract
yourself from uncomfortable feelings, at least temporarily, says John Foreyt,
Ph.D., a medicine and psychiatry professor at the Baylor College of Medicine
in Houston. And stress doesn't have to be negative to trigger
overconsumption. Research has shown that positive stress, like anticipating
a wedding, can cause you to overeat in an effort to calm your excitement.
What to Do to Stop Stressed-Out Snacking: One of the best ways to stop
overeating is to take a 10-minute walk outside instead, says Foreyt. Doing so
will help your body produce endorphins, feel-good brain chemicals that can
counter feelings of stress.
During stressful periods, allow yourself to sit quietly and eat your meal
slowly--however long that takes you, advises Geneen Roth, the Santa Cruz,
Calif.-based author of When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair
(Hyperion, 2001). Sitting down and taking extra time is a great way to make
yourself feel calmer so you're less apt to go for seconds.
What to Do to Avoid Future Stress Binges: The key to avoiding stress-based
eating is learning to distinguish stress from hunger, says Foreyt. Next time
you're hungry, notice any sensations in your stomach, throat, or mouth. Then,
whenever you reach for food, pause to check for those sensations.
Once you've mastered distinguishing stress from hunger, focus on ways to
deal with stress more effectively. Think about the cause of your stress, and
take steps to reduce it. For example, if you're missing deadlines at your job,
work on time-management techniques.
Extend your 10-minute walk to an hour-long one, advises Foreyt. Adding
exercise to your daily routine is a surefire way to lower your stress level.
In addition to exercise, practicing regular relaxation techniques can
dramatically reduce your daily stress. Foreyt recommends doing the following
15-minute progressive relaxation technique each day: Lie down on the floor
or sit in a comfortable chair. Tense and then relax each part of your body one
area at a time. Start with your toes and end with your scalp.
How Not to Overeat When You're SOCIALIZING
Why Socializing Makes You Eat TOO Much: Experts say that one of the
biggest reasons you eat more when you're socializing is that restaurants and
parties tend to offer an overabundance of delicious food, making it more
difficult to limit yourself to reasonable portions. You feel obliged to eat
everything on your plate, no matter how much it is, says Michael J. Hewitt, Ph.
D., health and healing director at Canyon Ranch Health Resort in Tucson, Ariz.
And you may not recognize when you're full while you're busy talking with
friends.
Drinking alcohol before a meal compounds the problem. Not only is alcohol
an appetite stimulant, but it also makes you feel less inhibited so you're likely
to order more in restaurants and take excessive helpings at parties, says
Hewitt.
What to Do Before You Go Out: Experts emphasize how important it is to
anticipate the pitfalls of eating out and to take steps to avoid them. Don't
arrive feeling famished. Have a cup of tea or a piece of fruit before you go
out so your stomach feels less empty and you won't be as tempted to snack
on bread or on hors d'oeuvres.
To keep eating in check at a restaurant, call before going and ask the host to
fax you a menu. Peruse the selections and choose a sensible meal. Then
stick to your choice once you get to the restaurant.
How to Curb Your Eating When You're Out: If you're going to drink alcohol,
have it with your meal, not before. Instead, drink club soda or a glass of water
with lemon or lime before eating. You'll think more clearly as you order.
The simplest way to counter the large meal sizes at some restaurants is to
reduce your portions as soon as your plate arrives, recommends Diane S., an
active member of Overeaters Anonymous in Boca Raton, Fla. (it's the policy of
Overeaters Anonymous not to give out the complete names of its members).
When the waiter brings your meal, put a third or half aside before you start
eating and ask the waiter to wrap it to bring home.
How to Stop Eating out of Boredom: To break the pattern of eating when
you're bored, you need to switch gears and think about something other than
food. "I carry around a rubber band and wear it on my wrist," says David G., a
group meeting leader at Overeaters Anonymous in Del Ray Beach, Fla. "When
food calls me I snap the rubber band, and it changes my thoughts."
If you're bingeing out of boredom, consciously decide to stop eating and call
a friend. Talking on the phone can be a great distraction from food, says
Diane S. How to Prevent Eating out of Boredom: Weight-loss experts agree
about the obvious: When you're busy, you're less likely to think about food.
So the trick is to find a hobby or activity that doesn't revolve around eating,
and then schedule that activity during the slow times in your daily schedule.
You may have to go as far as making a list. Roth recommends writing down
non-food-related activities that stimulate your senses, like taking a bath or
reading a magazine. Each day for a week, practice at least one of those
activities for 15 minutes, so that you learn to indulge yourself without food.
Clare Horn is an associate editor at Natural Health. Her overeating foible is
not being able to turn down dessert when eating out. She tries to order a
nonfat, decaffeinated cappuccino instead.
RELATED ARTICLE: Putting it to the test.
How I Learned to Eat Mindfully
I started a food diary, as this article suggests, and I realized that I overeat
when I'm stressed, I have pizza, soda, and chips for lunch when I'm under
deadline pressure. I follow that with a 3 p.m. chocolate break.
So I began following the experts' advice. I learned for the first time in my life
what hunger really feels like, and I found that my pizza lunch and snacking
often left me uncomfortably full. So now I bring a healthier, smaller lunch, and
I try not to snack unless I'm hungry. When I do snack, I choose healthier
foods, like wheat crackers, chai with soymilk, or fresh-cooked carrots. I love
cooking carrots, and peeling them relaxes me.
I also learned to be kinder to myself, which helped me to deal with stress
better, I started listening to an audio tape by Kathy Freston called Meditation
for Perfect Weight (Meta Records, 2000), which helps counter the negative
feelings that come with being overweight. I discovered how much I love a
long bath at the end of the day using stress-relieving aromatherapy bath
salts. And instead of succumbing to the 3 p.m. chocolate, I take a productive
break: I refill my glass of water, organize my desk, or focus on my breathing.
In two weeks I lost 1 1/2 pounds. It doesn't seem like much, but I know from
experience that fast weight loss doesn't last. More importantly, I feel
empowered by the choices I'm making about how much I eat.