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Depression and Food Addiction

Nov19

Here we are closing in on the holidays which should be a happy time. Unfortunately, the holiday season can be one of the most depressing times of year, and is for many people.

Why? Loneliness. Isolation. Overindulgence in under-appreciation. Just plain sadness. I know there shouldn’t be periods after these words and phrases. They are not, after all, actual sentences.

And yet they feel like sentences, the kind a judge imposes on you for doing something wrong. Would there be depression without judgment?

For all our technological advances, we are more isolated than ever. And no matter what people say, virtual relationships are virtually impossible. People need to interact, not interface.

No wonder so many people turn to food when they need comforting. Food addicts are born every day out of isolation and neglect. Depression is so common today that many people accept it as a natural part of everyday life.

But depression is the result of long denied feelings, unaddressed emotions, and a chemical imbalance in the body that is often a result of deeply rooted emotional trauma. Once it moves in, depression is hard to evict.

Emotional eating when you are depressed is fuel on the fire. Eating and overeating can become an absent-minded activity. Before you know it, you’re 20, 30, or 40 pounds overweight.

Add panic to emotional eating and you are heading into the food addiction arena. You stuff down the feelings without evening thinking, because depression makes you numb.

What can you do to break the cycle? During the holidays, there are plenty of things to get you out of the house. First, think of someone other than yourself. Doing something for someone else gets your mind off you and your troubles.

As for activities, there’s ice skating, snowboarding, skiing, and football, hiking, visiting friends and family, football, going to Christmas and New Year’s parties, and football.

There are holiday celebrations, church services, Midnight Mass, caroling, winter festivals, and even the beach if you live here in Florida.

Don’t forget all the volunteering positions available, like feeding the homeless, or helping a community service organization deliver meals to people who otherwise would have a Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner.

Don’t be absent from the joyful activities the holidays have to offer. Just worry about which ones you’re going to take advantage of, and make healthy eating part of the holiday.

The Holiday Diet

Nov17

I’m sure there must be a special holiday diet for food addicts and emotional eaters, or maybe for overeaters in general. There’s a diet for just about everything else.

It’s stressful to focus on losing a few pounds just because you know you will probably indulge in at least some overeating during the holidays. And what can stress lead to? Overeating, of course.

There are some simple things you can do to help your body survive the holiday food fare. Since many holiday foods are full of fats and sugar, not to mention all the additives and preservatives, try baking something from scratch.

It’s a daring venture but you’ll know exactly how much fat, sugar and salt are in the recipe. You get to choose the quality of the ingredients. Try raw sugar instead of the refined sugar in store bought cookies, candies, cakes and pastries.

One simple thing you can do that although you may not like to is to drink plenty of water.  Water flushes the fat out of the body and does a great job of it at that.

You can dance and other fun activities that burn sugar. If you can burn it off quickly, maybe it won’t end up as stored fat.

Does that mean you can give in to the whims of your food addiction or set aside the daily exercise regimen that keeps your emotional eating in check?

The obvious answer is no. There will be plenty of distractions as it is without adding some nutty new holiday diet to the list.

So instead of making a list of the things you want to avoid, make a shorter list of the things you can commit to during the holidays. Be sure “Have fun” is on the list somewhere.

By keeping your focus on what you can do rather than what you shouldn’t do, you can keep your stress levels in check and send your food addictions on their own holiday.

Weight Loss Becomes More Challenging With Age

Nov15

It gets harder to lose weight as we age. Habits that were formed in earlier years, even a few years earlier, can be difficult to break.

Food addiction forms habits, like overeating, eating when you’re feeling angry, tired, or depressed, and eating when you’re stressed. Since feelings are linked to compulsive overeating, just changing what you eat isn’t enough.

It starts out simple enough. Go to bed a little later each night. Snack while waiting on hold too long. Trade in your daily walk for hours in front of the TV. Eat when there’s nothing better to do.

Normal aging changes the body. Things slow down. What we used to be able to get away with doesn’t fly any more. We don’t burn fat like we did when we were younger, so those few extra pounds are harder to lose.

It’s hard to get your weight back to normal, whatever that means, until you get yourself back to normal, whatever that means. Normal is up to you.

We all get older. There’s no way to stop that. But you can teach an old dog new tricks. If you want to beat a food addiction, you need to learn a few new tricks.

1. Think of yourself. Make yourself important enough to put first. Pamper yourself with non-food treats as often as you can afford to. It may be a new experience, but it’s a good one.

2. Make eating a one-of-a-kind event. Don’t mix it with something else like talking on the telephone or watching TV, or driving.

3. Get out of the house. Go for a walk, even if it’s at one of those warehouse stores. Swing your arms and stretch out and move your body. Leave your money in your car.

You don’t have to do everything at once. It doesn’t work anyway. Take one new thing at a time, and work on it until it becomes a habit.

There is no reason in the world why someone in their 40’s, 50’s, or older can’t have a body they’re thrilled with, no matter what anyone tells you about getting older.

You just have to be ready to do the work.  When you are ready, you can change your life from one of that is ruled by food to one that is ruled by you.

Are you ready?