Why Emotional Eating Is Okay If You Choose Victory Over Victimhood

Are you an emotional eater? Chances are if you are overweight and actively seeking help for that you are. Emotional eating occurs when individuals turn to food in order to deal with or, more accurately, forget about emotional stress or depression.

Even after losing over 50 per cent of my total body weight, I emotionally eat. It is a natural reaction to stress, which, if properly managed is okay. What is far more important is training your mind to view yourself differently and to use occasional emotional eating for when it is needed, not as merely an excuse to over indulge and stuff your face.
You Cannot Be Victim Anymore
A lot of attention in the weight loss industry surrounds the psychological reasons behind overeating and obesity. As a result, I am constantly asked in interviews and personal meetings how I learned to 'deal' with my emotional baggage in order to shed my weight. The short answer is that I didn't!
That's right, I am still stressed and I still get depressed over my past and my future. However, rather than conceal those problems with food I made the conscious decision to stop being a victim to these thoughts and rather use different ways to manage the inevitable stresses in my life. I have learned to become a mover and a thinker, to use activity to manage these bouts rather than calories.
If you want to 'win' your war against weight you need to become a soldier, a victor, not a victim. You need to be fearless, and put the problems that lead you to food into perspective. Think about it: if you eat every time you think about your failed marriage are you doing anything to pick up the pieces and start again? No! If anything you're preventing it and action is better than inaction. The "if onlys" in our lives hold us back.
The Higher the Hurdle, the Higher the Jump
I am always asked about the biggest 'hurdle' in my weight loss journey all those years ago. And, while I readily admit that walking into the gym for the first time on my own was scary, that is about all I can come up with.
This isn't because the process was easy or natural for me. Quite the contrary! Rather, I chose to view each 'hurdle' not as a barrier, but a reason to learn how to jump. Each craving I fought, each sore muscle I had helped me prepare for that jump. They were simply learning experiences that I needed in order to make it.
One of my signature sayings is, the higher the hurdles you have to jump in life the higher you learn how to jump. Continuing to view yourself as a victim does not make you a winner. Yes, it is harder for others, but just as the barefoot Kenyan works harder to earn an Olympic gold than the private school boy from America, at the end of the day, the winner still needs to be the fastest man on the track, no matter the road it took to get there.
Life is not fair. There is no way to get around it and the sooner you come to that realisation the better. There are many reasons that we emotionally eat and many of them are heartbreaking and valid. However, you cannot allow them to continue to define your life and your journey.
Successful weight loss is similar to taking your life and straining it through a sieve-the more muck at the bottom, the longer the process takes, but, eventually, all the bad bits are separated out. Success relies on your ability to choose to be a victor, not a victim.

If you want to learn how to lose weight and keep it off - just like I did - sign up for my online weight loss program Love Your Weight Loss at https://sallysymonds.com.au/ today. You'll learn that losing weight is a long-term labour of love, not an overnight pill and a punishing physical push! Lose weight online and exercise lasting weight control - if I can do it, you can too.

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The Importance Of A Healthy Diet And Exercise

Just hearing the terms "work out" or "exercise" causes many people to cringe. Yet it is a proven fact that exercise is an important concept for a healthy body and diet routine. Dieting alone will help anyone lose weight, but they must include exercise and working out; as part of the regime to maintain the weight loss and healthy body.

Learning to incorporate an exercise program, as easy as walking daily, will increase your weight loss with a healthy diet. Since many people are stationery for most of their day, adding the exercise to their lives will increase the benefits of the diet. Increasing the amount of activity increases the effects of the healthy eating habits.
Eating a healthy diet with a plan rich in protein, good carbohydrates,
grains, Omega-3, and low fat foods is necessary for a serious dieter.
 Adding fresh vegetables and fruits to the diet provides the essential nutrients to the body.
 Removing the condiments and fried foods from the diet also is a great way to improve the eating habits.
Avoiding sugary and fatty foods in the diet will increase weight loss when including regiments of walking, jogging, swimming, and riding a bicycle. A healthy diet with exercise creates a healthy life style that will provide long-term weight management as well as a healthier body that is resistant to diabetes, heart disease, and other health complications.
Add water to the daily diet. Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water to keep the body hydrated and flush out the toxins and fat from the body. The body needs water to have healthy lungs, kidneys, liver, hair, nails, bones, and teeth. Water in the diet also helps the person feel full (temporarily) and removes the urges to eat to relieve the feelings of hunger.
Avoid caffeine in coffee, tea, and sodas. The caffeine is not a good chemical for the body. Many feel caffeine energizes them but in reality, it actually causes fatigue when the levels drop thus creating weight gain due to the lack of energy to be active.
The more a person is active the more they will lose weight. They will have more energy, from the higher levels of exercise, which will then cause them to burn the stored fat. Losing the stored fat decreases the weight and provides a better looking body for many people.
Using a healthy diet combined with exercise and workouts can become a standard way of life, leading to a longer life span and a healthier body; that can fight off diseases and even the common cold. The well-maintained body is able to fight off heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cancer and other diseases. People have changed their lives with a healthy diet, a good exercise program; consequentily adding more productive years to their life span.

houmani author editor of health care website http://healthcareofbody.com/

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The Muffin Top Mystery - How Do I Get Rid of This Muffin Top?

If you have ever been on a diet you will be able to relate to this. You are too embarrassed to tell anyone because you have been on so many of them before and none of them have worked. You hate just stepping in front of a mirror, never mind getting dressed in front of one. You are always looking for ways to avoid having lunch with friends, having coffee in a bakery or Valentine's Day. Just when you think you have found the right way to get rid of pounds from around your middle, your motivation starts to lag, you start to loosen up the diet and eventually fall off the wagon. The worst part is that not only do you end up gaining back the weight you lost, but most of the time you end up putting on more weight than you did when you started.
If you can relate to this, here's the good news!
It's actually not a lack of willpower-----it's your brain!
Here is why diet plans usually fail. First, know the facts!
- Over 60% of Americans are overweight or obese
- Over 90% of diet attempts fail
- Eating less calories only equates to starvation, not weight loss
- Diet pills are a myth
- Drinking tons of water is great for you but not a good diet choice
- Lifestyle choices are a huge part of weight loss, but not the only part
- Your brain is the biggest factor in losing extra pounds!
If we program our brains to help us with our diet and weight loss goals, our brain will work to create success for us. So we need to know how to make our brain work for us, not against us! It's just as easy as this...
1) Don't put unrealistic expectations on yourself - Forget those diet plans that tell you that you can lose 50 lbs. in 3 weeks. They just don't work and will set you up for disappointment. Put a more realistic goal on your frig. Something that you know you can achieve. Just take baby steps toward losing weight. That makes the job easier.
2) Having rules you can't follow creates barriers in your brain - Being told what you can and can't eat takes you back to when you were a kid. You're an adult now, so you can make your own choices of what to eat and what not to eat. Get rid of the guilt associated with rules. Just give yourself plenty of encouragement daily. Constant positive affirmations in the morning, during the day and before you go to bed at night, work really well to program the brain in a more forward thinking manner. Begin with "I'm beautiful, inside and out" or "I love myself just the way I am". It will seem silly at first, but will become more powerful the more you remind yourself of your positive mantra. After all, we're programming our minds to give us the results we're looking for.
3) Don't eat any of your favorite foods while on your diet - No one lives like that. Life is suppose to be fun. Limit the sugary foods that you like to one "treat day" per week. Feel free to have whatever you want on that day, but remember that every other day you must stick to choices that don't contain high amounts of fat and sugar. This way you won't feel deprived and will feel more in control.
4) Set a time frame for your weight loss program - Your brain works on a schedule. So let's give it what it wants. Have a start date and an end date. Then stick to the time frame and celebrate your successes along the way. When you give yourself positive reinforcement, that army of supporters inside your head will help you move on to the next success. Remember... baby steps and lots of self encouragement is the way to win this battle of the muffin top.
5) Avoid stepping on the scale at all costs! - Don't bother to even think about stepping on a scale. You'll begin to feel the difference as the weight starts to melt away without having to stare at numbers on a small square box. Clothing will start to feel bigger, your pants will start to droop and feel loose around the middle, physical activities won't be as difficult, those stairs that you climb every day will get easier. The signs will be there. So sidestep the scale.
It's already a known fact!
Our brains hate rules
Our brains hate to be deprived
Our brains hate the feeling of overwhelm
What our brains love!
The flexibility to change whenever we want
Praise for things we've done right
Taking small steps to accomplish big goals
OK. So what's the solution?
Let go of those rules. There are enough rules in our daily lives without having to live with them through what we eat. We all know that overeating causes weight gain, so it's only common sense that we need to stop binge eating or comfort eating. Relax when you head to the frig to pick out what you're going to have for dinner. When your brain is in a relaxed state, you make wiser choices. Here's a fact for you - as the amount of food for comfort decreases, weight gain stops and quick weight loss starts!
Exercise is always a great lifestyle choice. You don't have to be a track star or run marathons to keep the pounds off. Just moving your body daily, walking up and down stairs, or moving furniture to dust is great exercise. The key is to keep moving and doing it every single day!
Take note of what fatty foods you're eating and replace them with healthy choices. I didn't say pack your plate with only veggies (even though that's a great way to get healthy). Just make better choices when it comes to what you put on the end of your fork. Try and avoid "brown foods" and go more for color. Have your one day each week for the treats you love, but stick to your healthy choices the other 6 days of the week. Find new recipes that are quick and satisfying so that you have "go to" food when you are in a hurry.
If you are using diet shakes and bars as meal replacements, use them wisely, not as the only source of food that you eat. That's called starvation. These "magic" sources of nutrition are great for break time, snack time or when you find yourself in a rush and don't have time to make a proper meal. Be mindful of ingredients in these types of products though. Read the labels and don't be fooled by words you can't pronounce. Why would you eat something that you can spell!?
Vitamin supplements can help - There's so much information out there on the pros and cons of vitamins. It's all a personal choice, the best choice is to get proper nutrients from what's on your plate. Unfortunately for us, the soils are so depleted in these nutrients, that the vegetables we're getting at the grocery stores aren't what they use to be. Here again, educate yourself and read the labels. Spending a few minutes learning about vitamins and proper nutrients will give you more power over your body and mind.
Losing the muffin top is easier than you think.

For your free copy of The New You and more information on how to get rid of that muffin top once and for all go to http://jimhead.weebly.com

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Why You Can't Lose Weight - How To Break The Habits That Hold You Back

Do you wonder why you can get so enthusiastic about weight loss one day, and then completely abandon your goal the next? Are you painfully aware of what your horrible eating habits are doing to your health, yet find it impossible to go one day without diet sabotage?
There is a very real tug-of-war that goes on within each and every one of us. The war rages between your conscious and subconscious mind. Your conscious mind knows all the reasons you MUST change. Your subconscious mind has gotten used to the way things are and resists change.
You can continue to try forcing change, but don't expect a new outcome. The better way is to create change. Let's take a look at how it is done.
Why habits are hard to change:
Habits are a mechanism your brain has created to save brain power. Habits run on autopilot freeing up your brain to deal with other issues.
Consider learning how to drive.
When you first got behind the wheel of a car at the age of 16, you noticed everything about that car. It took a long time to adjust the seat, adjust the mirror, and figure out where the turn signal was. And, your mind was ever vigilant as your eyes constantly moved from the speedometer to the road.
If you had to keep this level of consciousness every time you got behind the wheel of a car, driving would be a maddening and all-consuming activity.
Instead, your brain started putting driving tasks together, and driving became a subconscious activity. How many times have you driven from "Point A" to "Point B" and remembered little about the drive?
Like driving, your eating has become a subconscious habit. So if you try to force yourself to change by turning your life upside down and going cold turkey on all of your old eating habits, your body and mind will feel very uncomfortable... too uncomfortable and you will quit.
How to break old habits and create new ones:
To break the habits of the old you, you need to create change by working with your body and mind at the same time.
To change your body, you need a strategic approach to changing the foods you are eating. Instead of trying to change everything about your diet overnight, ease into change over a 7 day period by methodically replacing junk foods with healthy foods. By doing this you give your body time to adapt, and you avoid overwhelm.
To change your mind, you need to focus on why life will be better when you are eating a healthy diet. What will it be like walking into your church or social function at a spry 125 pounds? How would it feel to try on new clothes at your ideal weight?
Focusing on what is wrong with the current you will keep you locked in your old destructive habits. Focusing on the new you naturally pulls you to new and healthy habits.

Would you like to know how to strategically change the foods you are eating to avoid overwhelm? You can follow the Free 7 Day Plan on my website. This plan has evolved from my work as a professor of health and wellness courses for two universities. It gives you the exact foods to eat to move from a junk food diet to a super foods diet in one week.
Are you interested in changing your mind so you can stop the internal tug-of-war that keeps you locked in your old habits? Learn how to mentally change habits by clicking this link.

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Why Is CoolSculpting the Cool Kid on the Weight Loss Scene?

The holidays may be long gone, but many folks are still lugging around those extra pounds that are almost impossible to avoid. If you think ab out it, the weight gain train starts in October with the surplus of Halloween candy. You almost always end up with extra, which means a quick extra few pounds packed on to your body.

As soon as the trick-or-treaters subside, then Thanksgiving plans are underway. If you work in an office, good luck avoiding the ever so popular pot luck. On the day of the turkey feast, there's a good chance you consumed more calories in one sitting that you typically eat in a whole day, maybe two! And it's not like you can just let the leftovers go to waste.
When your house has been rid of the last sliver of pumpkin pie, then everyday seems like a battle with holiday sweets and treats. It's okay to indulge, but sometimes we go a little overboard and end up ringing in the new year with tight fitting clothes and a slim-down resolution.
Depending on how overweight you are, there are a number of different weight loss options and diet plans at your disposal. For medically obese people, bariatric surgery is the way to go because not only is it effective, but it also saves lives.
Following a strict meal plan and exercise routine requires a significant amount of dedication and patience, but results are still obtainable. For those that want to adopt a healthier lifestyle through their food and fitness choices but need a little boost first, CoolSculpting is the secret to losing inches.
Get Cool Now, Look Hot Later
CoolSculpting has gained a lot of attention since it landed on the cosmetic surgery scene. It used to be that liposuction and tummy tucks were the only procedures that could offer visual weight loss results, but that is no longer the case. Here's what you should know about CoolSculpting:
• The procedure is non-invasive, which means no needles and no scalpel.
• Fat cells are targeted, frozen, and eliminated.
• Recovery time is minimal and the duration of the out-patient procedure is only about 1-2 hours.
• The health and appearance of your skin is not damaged.
• Results are visibly noticeable and long-lasting, typically after about 6 weeks.
• Multiple treatments are usually required but it varies.
Basically, CoolSculpting is the hot new way to shed pounds quickly and effectively, without having to go "under the knife". CoolSculpting is not a permanent solution to your trim and toned dream body, but it is definitely a helpful tool to take advantage of.

Putting on extra pounds is a heck of a lot easier than dropping them. In the long run, you need to burn more calories and consume less. If you need a boost to get you motivated, or if you've hit a weight loss plateau, then CoolSculpting is your secret weapon to losing inches. This new and trendy non-invasive procedure is quick and convenient, so all you have to do is find a medical or spa facility that offers it.

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That Cream Cake Might Kill You After All

I've spent a lot of time over the years working with smokers and helping them to break their habit. You might expect that fear of lung cancer is what drives smokers to seek help to quit, but that isn't always the case. In fact concerns about ill-health only drive smokers who are already experiencing health problems to quit. The majority don't like the anti-social aspects of being a smoker or the smells.
Part of the problem is that people only seek to take action to maintain good health when their health is already beginning to fail. While individuals have no adverse symptoms there is nothing to drive the motivation for change. This is why the graphic anti-smoking advertising campaigns have little effect on smoking numbers.
Because of this belief in immortality and permanent good health, individuals tend to continue to do what they do. So if you live a healthy lifestyle with lots of nourishing food and exercise then you will continue. But if you live an unhealthy lifestyle with an unhealthy diet then you will also continue. The reason for this is that although, when we worry, we worry about the past and the future. When we eat or exercise we do it now. So unless you have developed the habit of exercise in the same way that smokers develop the habit of smoking, you will choose to eat rather than to walk, run, jog, or cycle.
That is why change is so difficult for most of us. We did what we did yesterday and nothing bad happened so we can probably do it again today and nothing bad will happen - and that's good - right?
When the bad is small, we do not notice it. But when the small bad happens every day, then one morning we wake up and we've got a big bad that seems to have appeared out of nowhere.
I was reading today about how obesity is now being linked to several cancers:
Breast - 33,000 cases a year caused by obesity.
Endometrial - 13,900 cases.
Kidney - 13,900.
Colorectal - 13,200.
Pancreas - 11,900
Oesophagus - 5,800.
Gallbladder - 2,000.
These are US figures for incidence of cancers directly related to obesity.
With breast cancer the problem is increased oestrogen in the bloodstream after the menopause. The oestrogen levels are directly linked to excess fat. The slimmer you are the less oestrogen you produce and the less likely you are to have to suffer the radical treatment offered for breast cancer.
"To lower your risk for cancer: Lose weight, increase physical activity and eat healthier", says Anne McTiernan, director of the Prevention Center at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
The trouble is we worry about things that we think are definitely going to happen, like an interview next week, or a dental appointment next month; and we worry about things that we convince ourselves will happen, even though they don't - like the plane crashing, or that person we like rejecting us. What we don't worry about are the things our body might experience until it is.
The problem is motivation. We do anything - even eating less and exercising more - if we are sufficiently motivated. But when we are physically comfortable in our armchair watching mind-numbing dross on TV and enjoying our snacks the world seems a cosy place where nothing bad will happen if we stay just where we are. It's not true, but we believe the illusion we have created and continue to do nothing to love and cherish our bodies by moving them and using them and caring about what we put inside them.
It's up to you.

Michael Hadfield, author of 'How to Lose Weight Easily', has been helping people to lose weight for around 14 years. If you want to find out more about this approach and how to lose weight easily without having to endure the restrictions of a diet then visit http://www.hypnosisiseasy.com/weightcd.htm

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10 Weight Loss Tips From Experts

Don't worry all the time about the quantity of food in take. If at some meals you eat more carbohydrates cut back on it during the other meals of day. Aim for balance in your diet. If you had pasta for lunch cut back on the bread at dinner.

Have fruits ready to eat in your fridge, on the table and close at hand when working at your computer. When bored or hungry we tend to reach for something to eat. The first thing that you should find is fruit. This will stop your craving for chocolate or cake.
A top celeb says she carries protein powder in a shaker where ever she goes. When she feels really hungry she just adds some water to the shaker and drink the protein drink. This not only helps curb the hunger pangs but also reduces the craving for unhealthy foods.
Carry a smaller sized box (4 inch square) with you when ordering food from the cafeteria. Put in whatever you want in the box and it is impossible to overeat as the box restricts the amount of food you can eat.
Another trick is to brush your teeth after dinner. This prevents you from snacking on any goodies in the fridge after meal is done.
Take before and after pictures of yourself before starting on the weight loss bandwagon. If you tend to lose interest in the weight loss goal a glance at the before pictures will be enough to get you back on track. After all you don't want to look like that again.
Avoid all drinks containing calories. Sodas, juices and alcohols don't do anything to curb your hunger. They in fact make you more hungry because of the sugar in these drinks.
Bring out your tight clothes when you know you have the tendency to eat creamy desserts or fries. The tight jeans will make you think twice before indulging in a sweet treat or fries.
Want a simple treat? Fill a pitcher with cold water and add some pieces of cucumber, mint leaves and spices like cumin seeds to it. Sip the cool treat and it contains zero calories.
Serve yourself the amount that you need to eat. Pack the rest in containers to be heated and eaten later. There is no craving for seconds or the need to reach for food just because it is there.
Instead of reaching for a sandwich when hungry pick up a box of strawberries. They are delicious and filling too.

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