Eating Your Emotions
Where does all that hunger come from? Those who binge often eat their feelings, using food as medicine for stress and depression. And it may be hard to realize when that person is you.
Why does food “work” as a form of relief? The hypothalamus, the site of the satiety center, is also the part of the brain where the mind and body connect through hormones, which talk to the rest of your body. Various brain chemicals that are responsible for our emotions also provide a foundation for why and what we eat at certain times. These chemicals include serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, GABA, and nitric oxide. Different levels lead to different emotions and also cravings for different types of food:
- Angry? You may crave tough foods, like meat, or hard and crunchy foods, like popcorn or peanut brittle.
- Depressed? You may crave sweet, sugary foods, which includes candy or chocolate to boost energizing serotonin levels.
- Anxious? You may find yourself savoring soft and sweet foods like ice cream.
- Stressed? You may desire that salty bag of chips to get through the day.
- Lonely? Or sexually frustrated? You may find solace in bulky, fill-you-up foods, like crackers and pasta.
- Jealous? This tricky emotion may send you craving anything and everything you can get your hands on.
Conquering Your Emotions and Controlling Your Diet
Trying to find ways to break the emotional cycle? Remember the following tips to become a more mindful eater. If you have trouble stopping and feel distress and anxiety about food, don't hesitate to seek the help of a medical professional.
- De-stress With Endorphins: Endorphins are brain chemicals that elevate mood and provide energy. Your brain releases these happy chemicals during exercise. Endorphins are also elevated when you’re excited, when you consume spicy foods, and when you’re making love. Instead of eating a truckload of carbs when you’re feeling down, why not go for a walk around the block with your dog?
- Make Foods Work in Your Favor: Different foods have different effects on your stomach, your blood, and your brain. For example, turkey contains tryptophan, which increases serotonin levels, which improves your mood, combats depression, and helps you resist cravings for simple carbs. Another example, omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish, have been shown to combat depression and boost mood. Read up on the Worry Cure Diet to learn more about mood-improving diet foods to keep you slim.
- Savor the Flavor: If you’re going to eat something that’s bad for you, don’t just inhale it. Enjoy it. Savor it. Roll it around in your mouth. It’s okay to eat bad foods every once in awhile. However, don’t over do it by eating the whole bag of cookies. Try a piece of dark chocolate, 70% cocoa content or higher, as a way to reward yourself.
- Go to Sleep: Getting enough sleep keeps you thin. When your body doesn’t get the seven to eight hours of sleep it needs every night to get rejuvenated, it finds other ways to compensate for those tired neurons not secreting the normal amounts of serotonin or dopamine. How? Your body may start craving sugary foods that will trigger an immediate release of serotonin and dopamine.
Doing pilates stretches your muscles, improving your posture and can make you appear taller.
Fitness improves health, physical fitness & boost confidence. And if you’re consistent, it will help you get a great body!
Dancing helps protect you against heart disease and also prevents high blood pressure.
A good workout will contain a variety of different types of exercises. It is important to stretch before and after each workout. After you stretch you should get your heart rate up with some cardio. Some folks then move to lift weights, but remember to keep your heart rate up. You can’t rest too long between sets. It is always a good idea to finish off with cardio after lifting weights. This will help blood flow to the muscles you just worked. Just remember whatever workout you do, keep your heart rate up.
Say "I DO" to your fitness and health.....and never cheat on it!