Facing Emotions While Losing Weight

It’s true that people are overweight because they eat more than their bodies need … not just once but day after day.However, the reason that we do this, is often emotional.

As we have said before, eating has a sedative effect. The blood sugar is raised, serotonin production goes up and we feel happier and more peaceful after a meal or after a carbohydrate snack.

In many cases, we learned to deal with difficult feelings by eating, and we began so long ago that the process has now become unconscious. We are not even aware of the feelings, because we automatically reach for the cookie jar before the feelings have a chance to come to the surface.

This means that when we begin a diet, cutting out all or some of those quick release high carb foods, we are often unprepared for the difficult feelings that may arise.

So next time that you feel an ‘uncontrollable’ urge to grab something sweet or starchy, take a moment to look at what is really going on. Probably something just happened that set up an emotional reaction for you. Did someone say something that might have made you angry (even if you are not aware of feeling angry)? Did something you heard or saw remind you of a sad event in your life?

It may feel very uncomfortable to let your feelings come to the surface in this way. You may have been stuffing them down with food since childhood. Keep trying, and eventually you will be able to handle them.

Working with a therapist or in a group can be a huge help with the emotional issues that often lie under our weight problem. So do ask for help if you need it.

If we learn to live with the natural emotions that arise in our lives, we can stop using food as a sedative and lose our excess weight.

What is the satiety index and does it work?

What is the satiety index? Basically it measures how full certain foods make you. How does it achieve this?

Generally speaking, it looks at the chemicals in a food to determine how much it will fill you up. The size of the food is also a factor. Basically the bigger it is, the more full you will feel because it takes up more room in your stomach.

So how are the most filling foods determined?

In general, they are those that contain the most fiber, protein, carbs and water. In addition, many studies have been done on people to determine how full they felt after certain meals and that is taken into consideration as well.

In most instances fruit is at the top of the list due to its high water content. Of course, different kinds of fruit are more filling than others, but in general this food group is among the best.

In addition, beans, lentils, potatoes and grains are extremely filling because they take a long time to digest. This prevents you from being hungry as quickly.
In fact, the slow carb diet, which is extremely popular today, is based largely on beans and lentils due to how filling they are.

So does this measurement work?

It is a good rule of thumb because consuming filling foods will prevent you from overeating. This stops you from in taking too many calories or carbs. So in that sense this is a very effective measurement. Basically, you won’t eat nearly as often. The higher the foods on the satiety index you consume, the less you eat. And the less calories you eat, the more fat and weight you will lose.

Eliminating calories is usually the hard part because it can make you very hungry. Luckily following the satiety index diet means you won’t suffer from hunger pans while taking in less overall calories.

Also, most “low calorie” diets attempt to solve the problem by either eliminating many food groups or just severely cutting your total intake. It’s easy to see why neither will last long term.

Another reason you should focus on filling foods is that not only do they prevent overeating, but they also effective for eliminating junk food consumption. This is because the fuller you feel, the less you will crave processed food. This is more important than you might think.

In addition to being incredibly bad for your health, processed foods generally rank very low in terms of overall satisfaction. This means – you guessed it — you will eat more of it. The more you eat the more weight you will gain.

To sum up, eating according to the satiety index is a very effective method for reducing caloric consumption. Most agree that fruits make up a large part of your diet. When you combine it with vegetables, lentils and grains you have a well balanced diet with all the nutrients you need.

A Routine For Easy Weight Loss

Setting a routine and sticking to it … that’s about the best way to make your weight loss easy and almost effortless.

This does not mean that we can never be flexible. But the body likes for certain things to happen at certain times, so life is generally simpler that way.

For example, getting up around the same time each day, exercising at certain times, and eating meals of around the same size at set intervals through the day.

Exercise is vital when you are losing weight. It’s not just about helping you lose more: it’s about toning up so that you don’t finish up looking like an empty sack when the fat is gone.

Even if all you do is to take a half hour walk, try to do it at a certain point in your day. Make it every day, or almost (5-6 days per week).

Keeping a record of your exercise will help to keep you on track. If you walk, get a pedometer and write down how far you walk each day. If you work out, write down how many situps, pushups etc.

Don’t forget to include other forms of exercise such as walking upstairs. Stairs are a great piece of fitness equipment that we all have free access to, either in the house, in the apartment block or at work.

Keeping records will also help you to include variety in your exercise program. If you work out, you can rotate the muscle groups that you work on (core, arms, legs). This is more effective than trying to do a little of everything, every day.

Low GI Whole Wheat Apple Pancakes

Ingredients:

2 large cooking apples, such as Jonathan or Granny Smith, peeled, if desired, and finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons raw sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 slightly beaten egg
1 1/2 cups milk
3 tablespoons cooking oil or melted butter
Cooking oil (optional)
Unsweetened applesauce (optional)

Instructions:

Combine apples and lemon juice in one bowl. In another bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinammon and salt. In a third bowl beat egg lightly with milk and oil. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir. You want the batter to be lumpy so be careful not to overmix. Fold in the apples. Heat griddle or skillet. Drop batter by spoonfuls and cook pancakes as you usually would. Watch for edges to be set and start to brown, then flip. Serve topped with apple sauce or more apple slices instead of syrup. Try swapping out the apples and using pears instead for a different flavor!

Benefits Of Aerobic Exercise

We are always reminded that exercise could do wonders for the body. Aerobics, a kind of exercise which helps your body use more oxygen while maintaining your target heart range, can definitely help a person live longer and healthier. There are studies showing that 30 minutes of aerobics every day would benefit the body a lot.

Performing regular aerobic exercises would gradually make the heart larger. A bigger and larger heart would be able to provide more oxygenated blood which can be used by the muscles. This could also mean more energy whether for longer or shorter periods of exercise or physical activities.

Weight loss

Aerobics and any kind of physical activity could surely help control and reduce weight. It is most successful when combined with a healthy diet. Including physical activity and exercise with your daily routine will surely help you achieve better built, healthy lifestyle and increase in energy. Aerobics would help your body burn the calories consumed and prevent them from becoming accumulated fats.

Stronger resistance against sickness

Aerobics can boost the body’s immune system. This would prevent illnesses like colds and flu from happening. It could also help the body manage existing health problems like high blood pressure and blood sugar. Excessive weight and obesity could cause serious health problems like diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Aerobics could help in reducing the risks of these diseases. This kind of exercise could help in clearing the arteries of the heart from bad cholesterol.

Elderly benefits

Aging could have different effects on the body and exercise could help you deal with these changes. It could help your body become stronger and more mobile when you grow old. Common problems of the elderly would be flexibility and mobility.Aerobics and maintaining other forms of exercise even when older would help reduce these problems.

Increase in stamina and energy

Contrary to what some people think, aerobics and exercise wouldn’t leave you breathless and less energetic. It could boost your stamina and energy. Continuous and regular exercise could result to muscle development and increase in body endurance. Aside from that, aerobics could also reduce fatigue and decrease shortness of breath. Aerobics could help the body achieve better sleep at night, making the person more energetic and fresh the next day.