Food Cravings and what to do about them

 

Research studies have shown that almost all women and nearly 70% of men experience food cravings.

Because these cravings are often for foods that are high in fat, sugar, salt and calories, they can seriously jeopardize our weight loss efforts and our long-term health.

In this article, we explain what food cravings are, why many of us have them and what can be done to eliminate them or at least minimize them and their impact on our weight loss efforts.

What are food cravings?

Food cravings are a strong desire for a specific food.

Typically, food cravings are for foods that are very sweet, salty, fatty, crunchy, or high in carbohydrates, but food cravings themselves can differ depending upon age, gender, cultural background and personal tastes.

The most commonly craved foods among women are chocolate, ice cream, potato chips, biscuits and French-fries.

Men also tend to crave chocolate and ice cream, but also crave pizza, pasta and burgers.

While most people experience relatively harmless food cravings from time to time, if our cravings become an addiction, they can lead to obesity, depression and the development of eating disorders.

What causes food cravings?

There is currently a lot of debate about the exact cause of food cravings.

The reality is that there are a number of possible causes, any of which can be responsible for our individual food cravings. In other words, the major cause of your food cravings may be different from mine even though we both crave the same food.

Knowing this, it helps if we can all identify the possible causes so we can test which ones affect us the most and take one step closer to finding the solutions that works best for us.

Broadly speaking, food cravings may be caused by physiological factors (bodily processes), psychological factors (mental processes), emotional factors, lifestyle factors or a combination of all of these.

Let's have a closer look at each in turn.

Physiological Factors:

The Physiological factors believed to be responsible for many food cravings include:

• Our body is lacking certain nutrients which it cries out for in the form of cravings.

• Our blood sugar levels, and therefore our energy levels, are low and our body tells us we need more via cravings.

• We have low levels of serotonin (a hormone responsible for feelings of pleasure and relaxation) in our brain which causes an imbalance that our body tries to rectify via cravings.

• Our glycogen (the main source of energy for our muscles) stores are becoming depleted and our body is trying to fix this by craving carbohydrates.

• Our body simply wants a particular food taste, texture, aroma or temperature.

• Our body is simply responding to sensory triggers, like smells and visual cues, like walking past a pizza shop for example.

One of the main problems with very low calorie diets is that they can cause many of the above factors to be present, such as our body lacking certain nutrients or our blood sugar levels being too low for example.

This is why some diets don't work for many of us and causes us to put on more weight in the long-term that it helps take off in the short-term. It is also the reason why weight loss programs like the Ultra Lite weight loss program, for example, include nutritional supplements designed specifically to reduce the likelihood of participants experiencing cravings.

Psychological Factors:

In addition to physiological factors causing cravings, there are also a number of psychological factors including:

• Constantly thinking about foods that we totally deny ourselves or label "off limits".

• Our mind simply telling us we have cravings, or not having the will power to say no to foods.

• Our mind simply responding to mental triggers such as fast food advertising and the like.

Once again, some diets that severely reduce kilojoules  or calories and totally forbid some types of food can lead to some of these causes to be present, such as constantly thinking about prohibited foods for example.

Emotional Factors:

Emotional issues connected to food cravings may include:

• Stress, tension, anxiety, fear or impatience.

• Depression or feeling down.

• Feeling tired and having low energy levels.

• Boredom or unmet needs for fun, play, excitement, or recreation – in other words,  too much work and not enough play.

• A desire for love, appreciation, romance or sexual satisfaction.

• Anger, resentment, bitterness or frustration.

• Memories of happier times and wanting to return to those times.

• Emptiness, insecurity or a desire for comfort.

If any of these emotional issues remain unaddressed, food cravings for "comfort food" can remain constant.

If our underlying emotional issues change however, so too will our food cravings.

If we do have some underlying emotional issue crying out for attention, it is often a good idea to get some help from a registered psychologists or similar mental health care professional.

Lifestyle Factors:

As well as physical, emotional and mental causes of cravings, there are also many lifestyle factors that can cause them, including:

• Habit – we habitually eat dessert after dinner or eat a large popcorn, ice cream and a soft drink at the movies, etc.

• Dieting – as we have already seen, some very restrictive diets can cause cravings and if our lifestyle is characterized by constant or yo-yo dieting this can lead to constant cravings.

• Cultural aspects – because of their culture, many people have strong expectations to have certain foods at certain times and places.

Dealing with food cravings

Now that we've looked at some of the possible causes of food cravings let's have a look at what can be done to try to eliminate them or at least minimize them and the damage they can do.

Even though they can overlap, for consistency, let's look at the strategies for dealing with food cravings under the same headings that we used to analyse their causes:

Dealing with Physiological causes of food cravings

The ways we can attempt to overcome physiological causes of food cravings include:

• Being aware that the greatest number of cravings occurs late in the day when our energy levels are low and overcoming this energy deficit by making sure that we don't go too long without eating at least a healthy snack.

• Eating a well balance diet including as much variety as possible to ensure that we are more likely to be getting all the nutrients our body needs.

• Exercising moderation in all foods we eat.

• Using vitamin and mineral supplements where necessary.

• Replenishing depleted energy stores after intense exercise.

• Avoiding certain sensory triggers known to cause us to feel cravings (avoiding walking past vending machines or pizza shops for example).

• Never skipping meals.

• Eating complex carbohydrates regularly which release energy slowly.

• Getting sufficient sleep.

• Avoiding refined foods, especially sugar which causes steep rises in blood sugar levels followed shortly afterwards by steep declines.

• Drinking plenty of water  - often hunger is a signal that we're thirsty.

• Trying to reduce food and drinks that are stimulants, like sweets, alcohol, coffee, etc.

• If you don't have highly addictive tendencies and are able to satisfy your cravings by consuming a relatively small portion of the food you crave you should have some, but if by taking just one bite of the food you crave you will not be able to stop eating far too much you should totally avoid it.

Dealing with Psychological causes of food cravings

Some strategies for dealing with mental causes of cravings include:

• Beware of "no-fault psychology", where we use excuses for our lack of will power and self-control to absolve ourselves of personal responsibility for our actions – which can also have serious negative effects on our long-term health and well-being if allowed to continue.

• When about to satisfy a food craving, ask yourself what you want more, the food or the weight loss goal you are trying to achieve.

• If there are two "off limits foods" that you crave, choose the least damaging (in terms of total kilojoules or calories) one of the two.

• If you think you may be serotonin-deficient and want to increase your serotonin levels, identify and eliminate any possible food allergies (paying special attention to gluten and milk products), avoid alcohol, caffeinated drinks, cigarettes, and amphetamines, increase your exposure to bright sunlight, get 60 minutes of moderately intense exercise everyday and make sure you get enough deep, restful sleep every night.

• Simply brushing your teeth or gargling with an antiseptic mouthwash or distracting yourself from thinking about food.

Dealing with Emotional causes of food cravings

Underlying emotional issues can often be very complex and therefore not easy to overcome. Having said that, some strategies for dealing with emotional related food cravings include:

• Being aware of times when you are managing your emotions with food.

• Keeping a food diary that not only tracks what you eat but when and how you are feeling at the time.

• Addressing any emotional issues that cause you to crave comfort foods as soon as possible.

• Remembering that calories cannot make us happy or resolve stressful situations, they will only mask the underlying problem and perhaps cause other problems in the process.

• Not adding to our emotional problems by being too hard on ourselves if you do give in to our cravings.

• Avoiding stress wherever possible or using relaxation techniques like exercise, deep breathing, yoga, Pilates, aromatherapy, massage or meditation to help us cope with stress.

• Making an appointment with a registered psychologists or other suitably qualified mental health care professional or counselor for help dealing with persistent emotional issues.

Dealing with Lifestyle causes of food cravings

In addition to the above, ways to deal with some lifestyle related causes of food cravings include:

• Being aware of any habitual or unconscious eating patterns that you have and try to change any problematic ones, like automatically ordering garlic bread as an entrée when dining at a restaurant or 'cleaning your plate' even though you are full.

• Trying to find new favourite foods.

• Eating small amounts of nutritious food every few hours to help combat food cravings.

• Avoiding becoming famished during shopping trips and while traveling by carrying protein-rich snacks with you at all times.

• Turning off the lights in your kitchen at night and avoid hanging out there.

• Never skipping breakfast.

• Keeping healthy snacks around the house or office.

• Figuring out what works for us and repeating that behaviour.

• Watching less TV.

• Keeping food records in a food diary to track how much you eat and when.

• Avoiding very low calorie diets.

• Practicing portion control  – avoiding up-sizing your meals at fast food restaurants, for example.

• Never giving up on our weight loss goals.

• Being aware that certain medications can stimulate our appetite – if in doubt about any medication that you take regularly, speak to your doctor or health care professional.

Conclusion

Research studies have shown that almost all women and nearly 70% of men experience food cravings.

Because these cravings are often for foods that are high in fat, sugar, salt and calories, they can seriously jeopardize our efforts to lose weight  and our long-term health.

In this article, we explained what food cravings are, why many of us have them and what can be done to eliminate them or at least minimize them and their impact on our weight loss efforts.Good luck controlling or dealing with your food cravings and thanks for visiting kodratarticles.blogspot.com

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Cottage Cheese - A dieter's best friend?

 Grilled chicken breast, egg whites and cottage cheese have been the foods of choice among bodybuilders for decades. Because these foods are all low in fat, low in carbohydrates and high in protein, they should be among the foods of choice for anyone dieting for weight loss as well.

In this article, we'll tell you why cottage cheese should be part of your weight loss diet, shed some light on how versatile cottage cheese can be, offer you some recipe ideas and hopefully get you excited again over this much overlooked superfood.

A Unique Trifecta

Many foods can be categorised as being either low in fat, low in sugar or high in protein, but there aren't too many that can make all three claims. Cottage cheese can.

A 100g serving (of Bulla Plain Cottage Cheese) has approximately 91 calories, 2.3 grams of fat, 6 grams of carbohydrates, and 11.3 grams of protein.

As well as cottage cheese delivering the unique trifecta above, it is also:

• Low in calories versus other dairy products and good protein sources
  
• Is rich in riboflavin (Vitamin B2) that is important for healthy eyes and skin
  
• Contains phosphorous that is essential for the formation of strong bones and teeth.

A wonderful choice for a healthy lunch or snack

Cottage cheese can make the basis of a great high protein, low carbohydrate lunch or snack. Just one half-cup serving of low-fat cottage cheese has 16 grams of protein and cottage cheese has only 5 to 6 grams of carbohydrate per 100 grams.

If you've avoided cottage cheese because you think the only way of serving it is to plop it onto a piece of lettuce, you're in for some good news.

Plain cottage cheese can be used to produce some wonderful meals and now there are flavoured tubs of cottage cheese available, such as our favourites; Bulla Cottage Cheese with Sweet Chilli, Bulla Cottage Cheese with Sundried Tomato and Basil, and Bulla Cottage Cheese with Onion and Chives.

Preparation, uses, and tips

Cottage cheese is an adaptable source of protein for table use, snacks, salads, and in baking. The flavour goes well with fresh vegetables or condiments, such as peppers, olives or with fruits, such as pineapple, peaches, or berries.

Low-fat cottage cheese can be used to replace higher-fat-content cream cheeses in desserts such as cheesecake and Danish pastry, and it's good in savoury baked dishes such as lasagne because it can be used to replace grated cheese or ricotta cheese in most recipes.

To demonstrate just how versatile cottage cheese can be, here are some of the ways people are incorporating it into their favourite recipes:

Common uses of Cottage Cheese

• Cottage Cheese based Dips
  
• Cottage Cheese based Pastas
  
• Cottage Cheese based Salads
  
• Nachos with Cottage Cheese
  
• Cottage Cheese Smoothies
  
• Cottage Cheese Tortillas
  
• Cottage Cheese Enchiladas
  
• Cottage Cheese Waffles
  
• Cottage Cheese and Yogurt
  
• Cottage Cheese and Ice Cream
  
• Cottage Cheese Pizza
  
• Cottage Cheese Omelettes
  
• Cottage Cheese Quiche
  
• Cottage Cheese Muffins
  
• Cottage Cheese Pies

Appetite whet? Here's a Low-Carb Pancake recipe for you to try and below are links to some other healthy cottage cheese recipes:

Low-Carb Pancake Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 serving 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
  
• 2 egg whites
  
• 1 egg yolk
  
• 1 Tablespoon soy flour
  
• 1/2 Tablespoon cream of tartar
  
• 1/2 package artificial sweetener

Method:

1. Beat egg whites until frothy, then add the cream of tartar & continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
   
2. In separate bowl, mix together the egg yolk, cottage cheese, soy flour and sweetener.
   
3. Combine the two mixtures and stir until just combined.
   
4. Drop batter in large spoonfuls on surface of a lightly greased skillet.
   
5. Cook until each side is lightly browned.
   
6. Serve with low-carb store bought syrup. Or for an interesting low-carb topping, mix 1 Tablespoon of sugar-free jam with 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons water and microwave for 45 seconds.

Conclusion

Grilled chicken breast, egg whites and cottage cheese have been the foods of choice among bodybuilders for decades. Because these foods are all low in fat, low in carbohydrates and high in protein, they should be among the foods of choice for anyone dieting for weight loss as well.

In this article, we explained why cottage cheese should be a part of your weight loss diet, shed some light on how versatile cottage cheese can be, offered you some tasty recipe ideas using cottage cheese as a main ingredient and hopefully got you excited again over this much overlooked superfood.

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Diet Tips from Women Who've Lost Weight

Being overweight is so unpleasant that it can become all consuming and have a negative impact on our whole world, especially our health and happiness.

When we get out of bed each morning we are confronted with the fact that we face a day full of food and eating. How we handle this ultimately determines how successful we are at losing unwanted weight.

The twelve diet  tips in this article have been provided by real women who've faced serious food and weight issues and conquered them.

It's All About Changing Our Daily Habits.

The key to losing weight and keeping it off is to change our daily habits, attitudes and feelings toward food and eating.

By consistently applying a few simple tried and true weight loss rules, most people can change their relationship with food and in the process dramatically alter their body weight.

The following suggestions can help you cope with the daily diet dilemma and realize that it doesn't have to be that way. By setting up healthy new habits that you can stick with for life, you too can overcome your negative relationship with food and conquer your weight demons.

1. Set Goals You Can Live Up To.

We've all heard the statistics about dieting failures. One of the biggest reasons most diets fail has to do with setting unrealistic expectations.

Successful weight loss doesn't happen overnight, it takes months and years, not days and weeks.

Concentrate more on changing your habits than you do on what your bathroom scales say and with time what they tell you will start to reflect the changes you've made in your life.

2. Drink At Least Ten To Twelve Glasses Of Water Everyday.

Drinking plenty of water is one of the simplest things you can do to lose weight but very few of us actually do it.
Drinking water releases toxins that are held within our fat cells, keeps us feeling full and contrary to popular belief actually reduces water retention!
 

3. Don't Keep Goodies You Can't Resist In The Cupboard.

Keeping chocolates, lollies, soft drink and other tempting goodies in your cupboards makes eating them inevitable.

Even people with very strong will power have moments of weakness from time to time and if we've got a lot of weight to lose, will power is not likely to be one of our strong points.

Clean your cupboards out (including those nooks and crannies where you've got an emergency stash of chocolate hidden!).

What you'll find if you do is that when you go looking for goodies to satisfy a craving you'll be forced to eat a healthier option which in time will become your new habit.

And remember; there are plenty of shops full of goodies that will still be there when you're ready to eat them in moderation again.

4. Have A Support System In Place To Help You Stay Honest.

Because dieting is a day to day challenge it becomes easy to feel lonely. At the end of the day, dieting is one of those things that no one can do for you but they can help; particularly if they are dieting themselves or have successfully dieted in the past.

Having a support system can take many forms including family and friends you trust, work colleagues or fellow dieters on a weight loss forum like ours.

Sometimes having a solid support system is the only way to make it through a tough day.

If you've been obsessing over a particular food or you're tempted to eat for reasons other than being hungry, a telephone call, an email or writing a post on a forum may be just the way for you to regain control.

5. Eat More Than Just Three A Day.

If you've ever dieted before you'll know that 3 meals a day just doesn't cut it; particularly when the new diet severely restricts calories.

When we restrict calories, our body senses it and slows down our metabolism (the rate at which it burns energy) to compensate. One way of overcoming this is to eat smaller meals more frequently, say every two or three hours or five to six times per day.

6. Pre-Plan All Of Your Meals.

There's an old saying in business "Plan the work - work the plan".

This saying is just as applicable to successful dieting as it is to successful business.

By pre-planning and where possible pre-preparing your meals, you'll find those times when you're in a situation where you're tempted just to grab a quick take away and set your diet back weeks will almost disappear.

7. Keep A Food Or Weight Loss Diary.

Keeping a log of what you eat, when and why you eat it allows you to look at the big picture and learn more about your eating habits.

Be sure to write down as much information as possible and use the knowledge you gain to plan ahead and change your daily eating habits for good.


8. When Eating Out, Don't Be Afraid To Ask For What You Need.

In the future, restaurants are going to be forced to make their mainstream menus much healthier as more and more of us become increasingly conscious and knowledgeable about good nutrition and demand to be offered healthier food choices. Until then it's going to be up to us individually to speak up and ask for what we want.

Luckily, most restaurants are getting used to adapting their food to the dietary needs of their patrons. Most waiters don't even batter an eyelid when someone requests an entr�e sized meal as their main, their salad dressing on the side, or their fish steamed instead of pan-fried.

9. Shop With A List And Shop The Perimeter.

Supermarket layouts don't happen by chance. In fact, they are specifically designed to encourage shoppers to walk down each and every aisle so that they spend the maximum amount of money. And just incase we've managed to resist the urge to put a chocolate bar or two into our trolley; there they are again at the register just to test our resolve one more time.

Have you ever noticed that in every supermarket you've visited, regardless of its banner, that the staple products, like bread, fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and dairy (notice that most of these are unprocessed) are situated around the perimeter while products like chocolate, soft drinks, potato chips, biscuits, lollies and the like are in the aisles near the centre of the supermarket.

This being the case, those of us watching our weight should do most of our shopping around the outside of the supermarket and only venture into the inner sanctum for other essential items. We just need to be aware that some of those essential items will be strategically placed right next to the chocolate bars and this is where our shopping list comes in.

Remember our earlier motto, 'Plan the work - work the plan'? This can also read 'Plan the shop - shop the plan'. Once you have your shopping list, only buy things that are on it and nothing else.

10. Look To The Mirror And How Clothes Fit Instead Of Scales.

Let's face it, how we look and feel is what matters most.

Don't get too caught up on what you weigh. Scales don't differentiate between body fat and muscle (even those fancy ones that purport to do so) and body weight is only one of the measures that can provide us with feedback about our progress.

So what if you've only dropped a kilo or two, or even weigh the same as you did when you started! The important thing is, do you look and feel better?

11. Eat Meals On Smaller Plates.

Getting used to eating smaller portions is often more important that getting used to eating healthier foods when it comes to weight loss.

Two simple ways to reduce our portion sizes are to leave some of the food on our plates uneaten or to eat everything on a smaller plate.

Because some of us can't stand leaving food on our plate the best option is usually the smaller plate.

12. Keep Going... Plateaus Happen!

Our bodies don't like dramatic change.

Thousands of years of evolution have taught our bodies that dramatic weight loss is a bad thing and it has automatic responses designed to minimise the damage.

Most people do notice immediate results when they first start a diet. Inevitably, these results drop off sharply after a few days or weeks.

Weight fluctuation is quite normal and sometimes our body just needs to get used to the idea of being at a new weight, even if it is a healthier one.

Above all else, persistence and consistency are the most important aspects of any weight loss program or diet. If you experience a plateau, don't waste your time worrying about it, just stick with your program and try mixing things up a bit and you'll get there.

Conclusion.

Being overweight is so unpleasant for many of us that it becomes all consuming and has a negative impact on our whole world, especially our health and happiness.

When we get out of bed each morning we are confronted with the fact that we face a day that is going to be full of food and eating. How we learn to handle this ultimately determines how successful we are at losing unwanted weight.

The twelve diet tips in this article have been provided by real women who have faced some serious food and weight issues and have conquered them. We hope they can also help you. 

Good luck with your weight loss and thanks for visiting kodrat articles.blogspot.com

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Emotional Eating

Occasional emotional eating is normal. Everyone has celebrated with food before, that’s what birthday parties, Christmas lunch and BBQ’s on grand final day are all about. But emotional eating can become a serious problem when it leads to negative emotional and physical imbalances in our lives.

Frequent emotional eating can easily become a destructive cycle. Emotional eating becomes entrenched in the lives of its sufferers when they use food to regulate their mood, cope with stress or overcome feelings of anxiety or boredom.

This type of behaviour can easily lead emotional eaters to become overweight or obese because many of them feel hungry most of the time.

"Satisfying" this insatiable hunger with food, many emotional eaters consume far more calories than their body needs and they gain a lot of weight which becomes extremely difficult, if not impossible to lose.

Common signs of Emotional Eating

Here are some common signs of emotional eating:

• Eating when not physically hungry.

• Eating during times of strong emotions, like anger or depression.

• Eating when bored.

• Rapid eating.

• Eating immediately after arriving home from work.

• Eating alone out of embarrassment at the quantity or type of food being eaten.

• Eating until uncomfortably full.

• Feelings of disgust, depression, or guilt after overeating.

Recognizing emotional hunger

Recognizing emotional hunger (as apposed to real physical hunger) is one of the keys to overcoming or staving off frequent emotional eating.

Some of the characteristics of emotional hunger include:

• Emotional hunger comes on suddenly.

• One minute you're not hungry at all and the next minute you're starving.

• Emotional hunger often craves specific food, like pizza, chocolate, or a cheeseburger.

• Emotional hunger begins in the mouth and the mind, not the stomach.

• Emotional hunger often accompanies an unpleasant emotion.

• Emotional hunger involves automatic or absent-minded eating.

• Emotional hunger isn’t satisfied when you’re full.

• Emotional hunger makes you feel guilty.

Are you an emotional eater?

To find out if you might be an emotional eater, rate yourself on the following statements about your current lifestyle (adapted from the book Fattitudes: Beat Self-Defeat and Win Your War with Weight, by Jeffrey R., Ph.D. Wilbert, Norean K. Wilbert, St Martin’s Press, NY, 2000.) using the scale:

0 = Never
1 = Rarely
2 = Sometimes
3 = Often
4 = Almost Always

1.  I’ve try to lose weight, but always fail.
2. I don’t feel in control of my eating.
3. I often eat when I'm not hungry.
4. I eat food when I’m stressed or upset.
5. I eat food for pleasure or as a reward.
6. I think about food a lot.
7. I can't stay on track when dieting.
8. I binge eat.
9. I feel ashamed of myself and my eating habits.
10. Food helps me deal with feelings.

Add up your TOTAL SCORE

Interpretation:

0 – 10.	It is very unlikely that you are an emotional eater.
11 – 20.	You engage in some emotional eating but it’s unlikely that it is harmful.
21 – 30.	You are a moderate emotional eater and should consider professional assistance.
31 - 40.	You are a heavy emotional eater. Professional assistance is highly recommended.

What to do if emotional eating is a problem

Here are some suggestions that may help you overcome problematic emotional eating:

• Become aware of your motivations for wanting to eat.

• When you feel like eating, ask yourself if you could possibly be upset instead of hungry.

• Keep believing in yourself. You are in control and have the power to make changes in your life.

• Develop new mood regulation strategies. For example, share your problems when anxious and exercise  when you’re bored.

• Remember support is available. If you need to, find a weight loss class, hire a lifestyle coach or engage a licensed therapist.

• Focus on the things that matter. Like taking care of yourself, improving your emotional well-being, eating well and exercising.

• Be wary of using diets. Dieting can lead to more emotional eating and won’t help you to address the underlying reasons for being overweight.

• Love yourself for who you are and forget about trying to be perfect.

• Don’t swallow your emotions for the sake of sparing others from getting upset. If they’ve upset you, let them know about it and tell them that you won’t tolerate that kind of behaviour in the future.

• Make yourself - not a diet - responsible for what you eat.

• Focus on the cause and solution rather than the affect. Constantly focusing on the negative symptoms of the problem won’t help you solve them. Focus on what you’re going to do about your current circumstances rather than the circumstances themselves.

• Take responsibility for your life, stop thinking about food and LIVE! 

   

Conclusion

Remember, we're all emotional eaters to some extent. It's nearly impossible not to be in Australia, where eating is an integral part of our celebration rituals and a fundamental aspect of our family and social life. But when emotional eating interferes with your health and happiness you know it’s time to do something about it and the sooner the better.

We hope that the information provided above can help you determine the extent to which you are an emotional eater and assess how much this problem is contributing to your weight gain or inhibiting your attempts at weight loss. In addition, we hope that this article gives you some practical options to help combat destructive emotional eating habits, not least of which is seeking professional from a registered psychologists if necessary to become a happier, healthier you.

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Celebrity Diet Secrets

Are the stars really keeping the best weight loss program a secret from the rest of us?

Last year, one of the most popular search terms on both Google and Yahoo was Paris Hilton. A quick review of the top 500 searches for last year reveals inquiries on other celebrities too, such as Jenny McCarthy, Tara Reid, Shakira and Tyra Banks. Why are we, as a country, so fascinated with celebrities?

One of the reasons we're interested in the stars is because, simply stated, they seem to have some magical ability to lose weight with zero effort.

There are thousands, even millions, of people trying to find out how celebrities achieve fast weight loss when it's so difficult for the rest of us. Celebrities look so good, so often, that many of us are left wondering if the stars are really keeping the best weight loss program a secret from the rest of the world.

We can almost picture celebrities like Hilary Duff, Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez meeting in a clandestine bunker somewhere, ready to share with each other the top-secret diet plan or diet product nobody else knows about. Only top-notch celebrities can apply for membership in this private club, and getting in is harder than finding games cheat codes for the new XBOX 360.

Celebrities Have Some Advantages:

While we doubt that the stars have a secret society where they learn about the best diet program and weight loss plan available, it is true that celebrities do have some advantages that we don't when it comes to diet and weight control. For example, the stars typically have more time than we do. Life & Style Weekly recently reported (January 9, 2006) that Jessica Simpson exercised two hours each day, six days per week to prepare for her Daisy Duke role. Few of us have that kind of time.

Celebrities also have more money than we do, which means they can afford every weight loss product and weight loss program on the market. Carmen Electra, Jenna Jameson, Pamela Anderson and other celebrities have the disposable income to hire personal trainers and personal chefs, giving them a distinct advantage over other weight watchers like us.

Other than the advantages of having more time and money to help them achieve quick weight loss, do celebrities have any classified fat loss tricks? They must! Take a look at Christina Aguilera, Halle Berry, or Madonna for example. If they don't have some secret diet pill or weight loss pill they're using, then how do they achieve those results?

The Secret Celebrities Use To Lose Weight Fast:

The easy weight loss secret that the celebrities are keeping from us is that (drum roll, please) there is no secret! Sure, the stars may have more money and time than we do, but their weight loss information is the exact same stuff we have! With very few exceptions, the celebrities that look the best got that way with a  healthy diet and regular weight loss exercise. It's true that some stars have tried a fat burner, a weight loss drug, a diet patch or even weight loss surgery but for the most part, celebrities work hard at natural weight loss through exercise, diet and nutrition.

Jennifer Aniston is a great example of how celebrities maintain a healthy weight  with exercise. "She shed several pounds and toned up doing Budokon (a combo of martial arts, yoga and meditation) and yoga three times a week" (Source: Life & Style Weekly; January 9, 2006).

Lindsay Lohan "....regained her toned curves by enlisting personal trainer Justin Gelband to lead thrice-weekly workouts involving free weights, cardio, Pilates  and sit-ups" (Source: Life & Style Weekly; January 9, 2006).

Another great example of a celebrity using diet and exercise to achieve her good looks is Jessica Alba, who eats several small, healthy meals a day. She also hits the gym five days each week, doing (among other things) circuit training.

Many other celebrities have passed on the fad diets, the diet drugs, the prescription diet pills, the weight loss patch and all the other gimmicks to achieve rapid weight loss, choosing instead to follow a sensible weight management plan that emphasizes a low calorie diet and regular exercise.

Rebecca Romijn is known to exercise in a health club every single day with her fiance Jerry O'Connell. Ben Affleck completes a workout  at least six times each week. Matthew Perry and George Clooney have also trimmed down recently (15 pounds for Matthew, 30 pounds for George) by focusing on exercise to lose weight.

Another weight loss success story can by found by looking at new celebrity mums and their tactics to lose belly fat. Heidi Klum recently said "I was back to my pre-pregnancy  weight in six weeks" with a combination of two things: 90-minute workouts four days a week and high-protein meal-replacement shakes. (Source: Life & Style Weekly; January 9, 2006).

Denise Richards found the post-natal weight loss help she needed by exercising an hour each day and restricting calories to 1,500 per day. After the birth of her child, Britney Spears followed a healthy weight loss diet by replacing "her usual fried fare with healthier lower-cal leafy greens" (Source: Life & Style Weekly; January 9, 2006).

How Can We Copy The Celebrity Weight Loss System?

The last time we checked, Pam Anderson hadn't yet put her secret weight control plan on ebay for sale to the highest bidder. The nice part is, she doesn't have to! We already know the healthy weight loss celebrity secret: to best way to reach our ideal weight is with regular exercise, diet and nutrition.

We'll probably never have the amount of time and money enjoyed by many of the stars, and because of that our journey towards total health and fitness may take longer. But that's okay. It's okay because now we know that there really is no secret weight loss information that...if only we could get our hands on it...would make us successful. We already know about the best weight loss program for us, and that program is diet and exercise.

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Breakfast and Weight loss

Some people think that skipping breakfast will help them lose weight. It won't.

Studies show a direct link between breakfast and successful weight loss, and that compared to breakfast skippers, breakfast eaters generally:

•  Eat fewer calories throughout the day
•  Eat less saturated fat and cholesterol
•  Have better nutrition habits
•  Weigh less (women 4kgs/men 3kgs less)

The key to successful weight loss.

The key to successful weight loss is burning more calories than we consume each day.

Our body burns calories 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. How quickly we burn those calories is called our metabolic rate.

Our individual metabolic rates change throughout the day and night, depending upon things like when we last ate and whether we are active or at rest.

Even though we burn calories while we are asleep, our metabolic rate slows dramatically during this time and we burn fewer calories per hour as a result.

(Now before you go planning to give up sleep to lose weight, which is definitely not the answer, let us tell you a better way).

The way to maximize the number of calories we burn each day is not to stay awake longer but to maximize our metabolic rate while we are awake.

This is where eating breakfast comes in.

Why breakfast is so important to Weight Loss.

One of the secrets to successful weight loss is to kick-start our metabolism as soon as possible after we wake. The best way to do that is to eat breakfast. In fact, nothing, including exercise, gets our metabolism going as fast again after eight hours of restful sleep as eating a healthy breakfast!

When we skip breakfast, not only does our metabolic rate stay low, so too does our blood sugar levels. Low blood sugar levels resulting from missing breakfast often leads us to feel lethargic.

Low blood sugar levels in the morning eventually make us feel extra hungry later, which sets us up for impulse snacking, or eating overly large portions of food at lunch and dinner.

When we eat breakfast, our body feels nourished and satisfied, making us far less likely to over eat during the rest of the day.

Common reasons for missing Breakfast

The most common reasons that people skip breakfast include:

• No Time
• Preferring to exercise in the morning instead
• Not feeling hungry in the morning
• Unable to stomach food first thing in the morning

Here's what you can do if either one of these causes you to miss breakfast regularly:

"No time" is no excuse

Time is at a premium for most of us. Nevertheless, it pays to make time for what is undoubtedly the most important weight loss meal of the day.

If time is a real issue for you and you only have a few minutes for breakfast in the mornings, try to:

• Eat something that doesn't take any time to prepare, like a glass of pre-squeezed fruit juice, a couple of pieces of fresh fruit or a tub of low-fat yoghurt. Even last night's left-over stir fry is a better option than eating nothing at all.
• Prepare your breakfast the night before. Lay your cereal packet, dish, spoon or toast condiments on the breakfast bar so they are ready to go first thing in the morning.
• Do two things at once. Try doing something within your morning routine, like ironing a blouse or shirt for example, while your toast is browning in the toaster. (Try not to do two things at once while you're eating, you'll eat too quickly and your digestion will be affected. If you have no choice, eat anyway, but try not to do this too often).
• Have at least something to eat no matter how small and take the rest of your breakfast with you. For example, drink a breakfast smoothie and take your favourite breakfast cereal to work with you in a plastic container.
• If you are in a rush to get somewhere, eat something as soon as you get there. If you're meeting someone, meet them in a café or coffee shop. If you are always in a rush to get to work, leave a packet of breakfast cereal in your office kitchen or in a drawer of your desk.

Morning exercise is not as effective without breakfast

Most people like to exercise in the morning for the same reason they should eat breakfast, to raise there metabolism and burn extra calories.

If you exercise in the morning on an empty stomach, your metabolism won't reach the same heights it would if you ate something before-hand.

Don't like to exercise on a full stomach? Ideally we shouldn't really work out until an hour or two after our breakfast (or any other meal), but if you like exercising in the morning or it's the only time you have, a glass of fruit juice or small piece of fruit beforehand will give your metabolism the spark it needs to maximize the calories burnt during your workout.

Remember, you don't need to eat a three course meal to get your metabolism going in the morning, even something small like a banana or fruit smoothie will get it firing.

Eating too much at night

If you're not hungry when you wake up, chances are you are eating too much the night before.

It's OK to eat at night if you eat something light with not too much sugar, which may affect your ability to get to sleep.

Good nighttime snack choices include:

• A bowl of cereal made of whole-grains or bran
• An apple • Reduced fat cheese
• A small turkey and lettuce sandwich
• A small tub of yogurt and berries
• A fruit smoothie or scoop of frozen yogurt
• A warm cup of milk or hot chocolate

Find something you like

If you can't stomach breakfast regularly, find something you can stomach or leave breakfast until after you've showered and are ready for the day ahead.

Eating breakfast is so important (especially when trying to lose weight) that it is well worth the time and effort to experiment with breakfast alternatives until you find something you can eat. Here are some possible choices:

• Milk and whole-grain cereal, or yogurt and cereal
• Instant oats topped with raisins
• Whole-grain bagel topped with fruit and yogurt
• Peanut butter on whole-wheat toast
• Fruit smoothie made with yogurt
• Fruit cocktail, with orange juice, strawberries, pears and pineapple
• Cheese and whole-grain crackers
• Muesli bar or commercially made breakfast drink

Remember, when it comes to eating breakfast and getting your metabolism going, it is more important 'that you eat' than 'what you eat'.

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Avoiding high calorie office food

 

Tired of meetings and office get togethers where the only food on offer is cake, Danish, pizza, biscuits and other high fat snacks?

There's no need to feel unsociable or avoid these gatherings while you are trying to lose weight, if you plan ahead. Keeping nutritious snacks at the office can help you achieve your weight loss goals while everyone around you is letting their guard down.

Here are some ideas about what to keep handy :

Water Bottle :

Most offices these days have water coolers where you can get yourself a glass of cool refreshing water whenever you want. The problem is, that sometimes you get so busy that you can go hours without filling your empty glass.

Drinking water is far too important to your overall health and weight loss aspirations to leave to chance and having a decent sized bottle of water at your desk all the time will help insure you're getting enough.

The other great benefit of using a large bottle instead of glasses or cups of water is that you can easily track how much you've consumed during your day. Having plenty of water within your reach at all times will keep you well hydrated and help you avoid the office munchies by keeping your stomach nice and full.

Fruit :

Each couple of days, bring a bag of fresh fruit to the office and store it at your desk. Try to be adventurous; don't just stick with the common fare of apples and mandarins. Berries, grapes, mangos and kiwi fruit will keep for several days, more if you have access to an office refrigerator, and provide variety to whet your appetite for something other than chocolate biscuits.

If you have a blender, take it to work with you and create a wonderful smoothie or fruit cocktail made with banana, pear, apple, pineapple, strawberries, orange juice and ice. Store it in the office fridge and it will stay good for a whole day or more.

Nutritious Snack or Protein bars :

You can also use these as meal replacements, but be careful to read the labels. Many "nutritional bars" are nothing more than candy bars in deceptive packaging. Stay well away from those with high levels of sugar and fat.

Vegetables :

Bring a couple of small ziplocked bags of sliced carrot, celery sticks or your favorite veggies.

Low-fat cottage cheese / low sugar yogurt :

Small containers of these on hand will provide nutritional meal options.

Ricecakes :

A bag of low-sodium ricecakes tucked away can satisfy a need to eat something crunchy. Just stay away from the ones loaded with flavored sugar coating.

Toothbrush / Mouthwash :

Apparently, this is an age old competitive bodybuilding trick. During pre-contest dieting, some bodybuilders attempt to deflect the temptation to eat blacklisted foods within reach by brushing their teeth. As you can imagine, the last thing they would want to do after brushing with minty toothpaste or gargling with mouthwash would be to eat a piece of chocolate or lollies. Not bad for keeping your breath fresh, too.

Utensils :

Make sure you have a serving or two of utensils at your desk, along with something to cut your food if needed.

Thermal - Lunch - bags :

If you don't have a fridge or cooking facilities at work, take an insulated lunch-bag or thermal to work. The lunch-bag will keep your fruit, sandwiches and other nutritional snacks safe and fresh until your ready to eat and a thermal is perfect for taking healthy vegetable soups to work for that perfect winter snack.

The first step to staying on track with your eating program, particularly at work, is planning ahead. You don't have the power to control what your co-workers bring into the office, but you can help ward off temptation by stocking up on a few items of your own.

Remember, the point is to not make your own desk resemble a supermarket aisle, but to have enough options on hand in order to substitute for the really bad stuff should the need arise.

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