Category: Food & Eating

Food is fuel for the human body, and we eat it to get ourselves through the day. We also gather around the dinner table to celebrate special events and spend time with our loved ones. In times of grief, it’s common to offer food to the bereaved. Is it any wonder that food and emotions are so connected?

Unfortunately, some people feel compelled to eat far past the point of satiety. This is done in an attempt to calm volatile emotions or to fill an emotional void.

The National Institute of Health estimates that 3% of Americans (over 9 million people) suffer from compulsive overeating, also known as Binge Eating Disorder. This disease can lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and feelings of intense guilt and shame.

Emotional eaters tend to be guided by their emotions rather than their hunger. Some eat when they are sad, lonely, or bored. Others eat when they are stressed out.

Most are simply carrying on behaviors learned in childhood, when food was associated with comfort and reward. Emotional eating has little to do with actual hunger, and everything to do with  unfulfilled needs.

If you think you or someone you love might be struggling with compulsive emotional eating, follow these steps to start the recovery process.

Recognize the signs of emotional eating.

Emotional eaters tend to eat until they are uncomfortably full, and they usually eat alone because they are self-conscious about the amount of food they are consuming. After an emotional eating binge, they might feel disgusted, guilty, or depressed about their lack of self-control.

Learn to identify your triggers.

Every emotional eating episode has a trigger.  Think back to a time when you engaged in compulsive eating. Was it a reaction to a particularly stressful day? Were you consoling yourself with food to overcome loneliness or boredom?  Were you relieved that a stressful period in your life had finally come to an end?  All of these situations can lead to an emotional eating binge.

Discover your true needs.

It’s not always an easy process, but if you want to overcome emotional eating, you must learn to recognize and ask for what you truly need. Do you need food, or do you need affection?  Do you need food, or do you need to feel appreciated? When your true needs are fulfilled, the compulsion to eat will go away.

Keep a food journal.

A food journal is an excellent way to keep track of your food intake. You can also use it to track your feelings and emotional eating triggers. This will help you identify the thought processes leading up to a binge. Once you can identify these thoughts, you can take steps to change them and head off the next binge before it occurs.

Replace food with other rewards.

Learn to reward yourself with treats other than food. If you need to feel pampered after meeting a stressful deadline, celebrate with a massage or a luxurious bubble bath. If you want to celebrate after losing ten pounds, buy yourself a new outfit or something related to a favorite hobby.

Too many of us turn automatically to food as a reward, forgetting that there are many healthier ways to splurge!

Talk to someone who understands.

Millions of people struggle with emotional eating, and you do not need to go through recovery alone. Sometimes it helps to hear from others who have beaten the disorder, and others who face the same challenges as you.

 

Are there really fat burning foods that can speed up your metabolism? Yes! By eating the right foods, you can trick your body into burning through its extra fat.

Here are some of the tastiest and most convenient fat burning foods you can find:

Citrus and Ginger

When you were young and you felt a cold coming on, your mother probably told you to take lots of vitamin C. Vitamin C is a popular immunity booster, but it has a secret talent as well: It helps you burn fat faster!

Vitamin C boosts your fat-burning power in two ways. First, it speeds up the process of fat metabolism. It also seems to have an effect on fat storage. The citric acid breaks down fat molecules, making them less likely to accumulate and more likely to be flushed from the body.

Due to their Vitamin C content, citrus fruits rank highly among fat burning foods. Try adding a variety of citrus fruits to your diet, such as oranges, tangerines, lemons and limes. It’s better to eat the whole fruit than to drink the juice, because the fruit contains fiber – another fat-fighter. Don’t fancy fruit? Tomatoes are also fat burning foods. Use fresh tomatoes in your homemade sauces for metabolic boost.

Ginger is another tangy fat-burner. It is also a vasodilator, which means that it opens up the blood vessels and improves blood circulation. This can result in a significant boost to the metabolism. In fact, studies suggest that people who eat ginger may lose as much as 20% more fat than their peers.

Ginger and citrus flavors complement each other well, especially in Asian dishes. Experiment with this exotic blend, and you can lose weight without ever feeling deprived.

Oatmeal and Whole Grains

Nothing starts your day off right like a warm bowl of oatmeal. That’s because oatmeal is high in fiber, which stabilizes blood glucose levels and prevents crashes and fatigue. Oatmeal is thick and satisfying, and you can add non-fat milk for an even bigger fat-burning advantage. (Calcium and fiber are proven fat burning foods.)

The carbs in oatmeal provide a quick rise in energy to help you wake up faster. But the carbs are complex and get digested slowly, which keeps your energy up and your appetite low for hours after breakfast. As an added bonus, oatmeal lowers cholesterol, too!

Nuts and Beans

Nuts and beans are nutritious fat burning foods that also keep your appetite in check for long stretches. Like oatmeal, nuts and beans contain fiber that kick-starts your metabolism. Unlike oatmeal, they also contain a significant amount of protein. Protein is vital for building lean muscle mass, which burns calories faster than fat tissue.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Olive oil has long been recommended by doctors for its heart health benefits. Olive oil contains unsaturated fat that increases the number of high-density lipids in the bloodstream. These lipids, also known as “good cholesterol”, or HDL, sweep bad cholesterol from the arteries. By substituting olive oil for butter and margarine, you can actually lower your bad cholesterol and increase your metabolism.

Fat burnings foods can help you reach your weight loss goal faster. Add some fun cardio exercise and plenty of hydration, and you’ll have a recipe for success!