Emotions and situations can be strong triggers for us to eat!

One man said, “When I’m happy I eat. When I’m sad I eat. No matter how I feel, I want to eat.” He also went on to confess how he raided the fridge every night during his TV/relaxing time. And every time he passed the candy dish he’d grab a handful.

To control your food intake, you need to become aware of your eating behavior. This includes knowing when you’re most tempted to overeat (or eat poorly), and how you are feeling at that particular time.

For example, maybe you live alone and after you get home from work you graze all evening because you’re lonely. Or maybe it’s at lunch time when you’re feeding your children, they’re fighting, you’re rushed, and you grab whatever you can to stuff in your mouth.

Think about how you respond to food when you feel: stressed, sad, angry, happy, bored, lonely, etc. What emotions trigger you to eat?

Think about how you respond to food in these situations: out to dinner, watching TV, friend’s party, afternoon slump, working at your desk, etc. What situations trigger you to eat?

Take this week to recognize when and why you overeat or make poor food choices. Consider writing your observations in a notebook to see if any patterns emerge.

It could be that a certain time of day or a certain situation always triggers you to eat. Until you see the connection, you cannot take steps to make changes.

Once you find your trigger sources, you can put coping strategies in place. Next week we’ll look at different strategies you can use to overcome your eating triggers.

Have you ever snatched up two cookies in the middle of a stressful afternoon when you’d promised yourself you would eat well all day? Then you kick yourself for your lack of will power. You failed…again. Bring on the guilt!

You might be surprised to know that giving in to temptation can be more than weak will power.

When your body is tired, stressed, or low on nutrients, this can result in powerful cravings. Your body is seeking calories to make more energy and to replenish depleted hormones. (And the foods you’ll crave are typically high in fat, sugar, and calories.)

The first step in reducing your cravings and taking control of your eating is to make sure you’re caring for yourself. If you’re fighting your body’s signals, as well as emotional eating issues, it’s doubly difficult.

Take these steps to balance your body and reduce your food cravings:

Feed Yourself with Good Nutrition:  Eating things like pastries and sweets, salty snacks, and fried foods will only make your cravings worse and lead you to overeat. Feed your body the nutrition it needs for stable blood sugar and hormone production. Avoid sugar, bad fats, and caffeine. Instead fill your diet with fresh fruits and veggies, lean proteins, nonfat dairy items, raw nuts and seeds, and whole grains.

Get Enough Sleep: Adults need 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Without sufficient sleep the body wears down and becomes depleted. Emotions become brittle. Hunger increases and you never feel satisfied because your hormones are out of whack. Turn off the TV an hour earlier and get to bed. Take a cat nap in the afternoon when your cravings are highest and wake up refreshed.

Reduce Stress Levels: Chronic stress depletes the adrenal system and increases cortisol levels. This can result in depression, mood swings, cravings, fatigue, and weight gain. When you’re under this kind of stress it is very hard to override your body’s signals and stay in control of your eating. Reduce your stress through exercise, R&R, and less worrying.

Many people feel they cannot slow their schedules down enough to care for themselves. This out-of-control lifestyle continues until they reach a critical health state. Take care of yourself, not just for weight issues, but for good health.

You don’t have to be overweight to be obsessed with food. You can be thin, medium built, or very heavy. It’s how you think about and respond to food that reveals your connection with food.

If you can say “yes” to any of the questions below, food might have more of a grip on you than you’d like to admit.

• Do you eat for emotional reasons even when you’re not hungry?
• Do you eat differently when alone than when you’re with others?
• Do you eat in secret or binge eat?
• Are there foods you know are harmful to you, but you cannot seem to stop yourself from eating them?
• Do you overeat, then try to purge with exercise, laxatives or vomiting?
• Do you think about food excessively - what you can and can’t eat, and when you’ll eat?
• Do you feel guilty after you eat?

Food obsession resembles some of the same characteristics as substance addiction (such as being addicted to alcohol or cigarettes). As food obsession has become more understood it is more widely accepted that people can actually be addicted to food.

Some studies show that the brain chemistry of drug users and chronic overeaters is quite similar. Research also suggests that overeaters have fewer receptors in their brain for dopamine – the feel good chemical. This could be the cause behind their high consumption of food, not lack of self control.

Whether food is an obsession for you or just a bother, we’ll take a look at how to curb your cravings, how to set up coping strategies that don’t involve eating, and where to get help if you need it.
 

Exercise styles are as unique as individual personalities. Finding the right “fit” for your personality is essential. If you don’t enjoy your exercise, it will be very difficult to stick with.

For example, a risk taker would feel bored riding a recumbent bike, but thrill at the challenge of mountain biking. While a person who prefers predictability would prefer a cardio machine over an outdoor adventure. If either one had to consistently exercise in a way he disliked, he would eventually quit.

The good news is, once you find your exercise niche you will find it enjoyable and rewarding. You will look forward to your workouts and be motivated to stay on course.

See if you can figure out your exercise style:

Solitary or Social
You may like a little distraction when you’re exercising, such as listening to music on your ipod while weight training. You may like the long, solitary road while running or cycling. Or you may hate to exercise alone, instead preferring to join an exercise group, walk with a friend, or meet up with a buddy at the gym.

Focused or Fun
You may enjoy a sport that takes skill, practice, and constant focus on the game. You might prefer heavy weight lifting that takes a lot of mental concentration. Or you may enjoy swimming and splashing in an aqua class. Maybe you like to “just have fun” with exercise and love kickboxing and Latin dance.

Adventurous or Predictable
Do you like to strap on your hiking boots and backpack to explore a mountain trail? Are you always looking for a new class or a more challenging exercise? Maybe you prefer the treadmill and a weight machine circuit, or swimming laps every morning.

Take time to explore different types of exercise. Don’t be afraid to try new things. You may even want to do something very different than what you think you would like. Sometimes exercise can help bring out an underutilized part of your personality, such as yoga if you tend to be high strung or martial arts if you tend to be too easy going.

Find your exercise style and find the enjoyment and motivation you’re looking for.
 

Anytime you eat, your metabolism increases slightly for about an hour because it takes energy to digest food. This is called the thermic effect of food. But do some foods take more energy to digest than others? Are there foods that help you burn fat?

Here are foods that increase your metabolism:

Lean protein: protein takes more energy to digest than other foods. Eat lean protein with each meal, such as skinless chicken and turkey breast, egg whites, salmon and tuna, and extra lean beef.

Low fat dairy: research shows the calcium in dairy products can boost weight loss by increasing fat breakdown in fat cells. Choose low or nonfat dairy products like Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and milk.

Vitamin C fruits: vitamin C helps release fat from the body by diluting it. Citrus fruits are good sources for vitamin C.

Apples: the pectin in apples helps release fat deposits from the body. It also restricts the cells from absorbing fat.

Nuts: nuts increase the body’s ability to burn fat. Choose raw and unsalted almonds, natural peanut butter, and walnuts.

Whole grains: whole grains contain fiber which takes your body time and energy to break down. Choose cooked grains like oatmeal and brown rice, and 100% whole wheat products.

Vegetables: Many vegetables are full of fiber, or roughage, and your body has to work to digest them. They’re also low in calories and chocked full of nutrients.

Spicy foods: hot peppers, red chilies, jalapenos, and other spicy foods can speed up your metabolism after you eat them. Try some spicy salsa on your salad. Get recipe.

Green tea: green tea contains a powerful antioxidant called EGCG that is believed to cause the same kind of calorie burning effect as hot pepper.

As you can see, eating a healthy diet will ensure you’re getting your share of fat burning, metabolism boosting foods.