Tag Archive | Stress Levels

Obesity Levels Rising

Dec1

Even though not every food addict or emotional eater is obese, these CDC statistics give an idea of how obesity levels have soared throughout the country in the last 20 years. I can’t help but wonder if stress levels have increased proportionately.

This YouTube video has some startling information about obesity in the United States and some great common sense tips on how to deal with it.

Although calorie counting is not the only consideration for food addicts who want to lose weight and heal their food addiction, simplicity seems to work for everyone.

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.

Food Addict Searches for Candy As The Votes Are Tallied

Nov7

My goodness! That health care vote was intense. I was on the side of the nays and we lost by 5 votes. But only 5 votes.

Since I pay for my own health insurance, under the new health care plan, I would have to pay $5300 a year plus $2000 out-of-pocket expenses for a “qualified plan” the details of which have yet to be determined.

If I declined to pay, I would be fined $5000. That’s not the kind of stress a person with a food addiction needs to be subjected to, so off to the cupboard to search for candy.

Comfort food doesn’t really comfort a food addict when stress grips you at the heart like this issue grips me. If you don’t understand why the bill upsets me, click here.

Where did I hide those candy corns? The sugar temporarily counteracts the insulin war that is going on inside my body until my blood sugar balances out and the addictive urge suddenly disappears.

Some people don’t take governmental issues too seriously. But this issue is near and dear to my heart, so I let people know about it. They can make up their own mind.

Maybe a tootsie roll fell down between the couch cushions on Halloween. I don’t feel like baking anything. There must be a piece of candy somewhere in this house.

Why don’t more Americans know what’s going on in their own country? My European friends ask me that frequently. So I work to gain as much information and insight as I can, and share it when the opportunity presents itself.

My health is the most important asset I have, and I aim to take care of it. That means taking action, learning what I need to know to keep stress levels down and carry on an everyday productive life.

Emotional eating is more common these days perhaps because there are more things to get emotional about. When unexpected outcomes occur–sounds benign, doesn’t it–we become agitated and “emotional”.

Food is convenient, easy, and it works. That is, when you can find the treats your triggers are demanding.

Sometimes, you just have to accept yourself the way you are, make the best of all situations, and hang in there until the food addiction tendency goes away.

Maybe this new health care plan should include weekly massages, forced vacations of 3 weeks a year minimum for all workers except executives who would naturally get more.

Hey, and how about relaxing and fun activities that aren’t labeled “exercise”? And all foods containing more than 5 grams of saturated fats in one serving could be removed from supermarket shelves.

Preventive health care means having a plan. Plan to be healthy. Plan to be relaxed. Plan to heat when you’re hungry and stop eating when you’re no longer hungry.  Plan to enjoy life more.

It was only 5 votes, so there’s more work ahead. So no more stress for tonight. If I have to live with a few extra pounds for a while, I can live with that. Sometimes it just goes down that way.

Thanks for listening to my rant. Now I’m going to take a nice, relaxing bath, forget about those five lousy votes, and have a Ricola cough drop, apparently the only candy I have in the house.