Have you ever started eating potato chips and not been able to stop? How about a craving for a donut or cookie that nothing else would satisfy. Does it sometimes feel like you have no control over what you put in your mouth. There is some growing evidence from government and private research that some people have a physical addiction to carbohydrates. The chemicals in their brains appear to react differently to the compounds derived from digestions of carbohydrate rich foods.
At this time there are no good tests to determine physical addiction to carbohydrates. Many people are having good results trying a low carb diet for a few weeks to see if they feel better. Most of these people report increased levels of energy and feelings of better well-being. It seems that a diet of no carb foods or low carb foods allows the chemistry in the person's body to become more balanced. If you suspect that you may have an unnatural desire for foods high in carbohydrates try a low carb diet for a few weeks and see how you feel. Be sure to let your doctor or other health care provider know about your results.
Some food to stay away from are ones that contain a lot of sugar and foods that are known as startches. Common starchy foods include potatoes, breads, pasta, and corn meal products. The best way to determine if a food is high in carbohydrates is to check the nutritional label on the back of the package. Most low carb diets limit the daily intake to 40 - 80 grams of carbs. A small bowl of 15 potatoe chips will contain about 20 grams of carbohydrates. So you can see that potatoes would be something to stay away from.
Sugary foods are also loaded with carbs. Again, you need to check out the information on the package to find out the number of carbs in a serving. Be careful of serving size. If a portion is 10 grams and there are 5 servings in the package then an entire package will contain 50 grams of carbs. This is all you could eat for the whole day.
Watching the number of carbs vs protein is another example of healthy eating habits. You really need to be aware of what you are putting in your body. No one else can or will determine what you eat, instead you need to be aware and eat only those foods that help your body to function like it was designed.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Why Do I Eat?
I have been thinking a lot lately about my addiction to food and what triggers it. I know that stress is a cause of my eating but another cause is celebration. When something goes well, even something small, I have a strong desire to eat something in order to celebrate.
In my family growing up we always had a very unhealthy view of food. We used it for comfort and we used it as a way to celebrate good things. If it was your birthday you got to go out to dinner. If you received good grades, you could have special ice cream. If there was a get together it was all about what we would have to eat. We never really thought about food as only sustenance. Instead we always thought about it as being tied to some sort of emotion. I am now battling this every day as I try to break my addiction with food and start to get my body in shape for my old age.
The other thing I have been thinking about is that my body image is really skewed. I can look in the mirror, if I choose to look at all, but I don't see reality. I do not tend to think that I am as fat as I am. This came as a sad realization a few weeks ago. I received an electronic picture frame for Christmas. While I was going through pictures for the viewer I came seeing how big my belly really was. Boy was this and eye opener. I am really fat and now that I know that I am changing my behaviors to lose weight.
I dawned on me that overweight food addicts have a lot in common with under weight, even anorexic people. Both realities are a symptom of a skewed body image. I came across a blot the other day that talks about this. How to be anorexic is a blog about anorexia but a lot that is posted can also be applied to heavy weights like me who eats for pleasure and comfort instead of to fuel my body.
I really am working on my body image so I can really "see" exactly how I look. I do not want to be fat like I am. I want to be healthy and trim for the remainder of my life.
In my family growing up we always had a very unhealthy view of food. We used it for comfort and we used it as a way to celebrate good things. If it was your birthday you got to go out to dinner. If you received good grades, you could have special ice cream. If there was a get together it was all about what we would have to eat. We never really thought about food as only sustenance. Instead we always thought about it as being tied to some sort of emotion. I am now battling this every day as I try to break my addiction with food and start to get my body in shape for my old age.
The other thing I have been thinking about is that my body image is really skewed. I can look in the mirror, if I choose to look at all, but I don't see reality. I do not tend to think that I am as fat as I am. This came as a sad realization a few weeks ago. I received an electronic picture frame for Christmas. While I was going through pictures for the viewer I came seeing how big my belly really was. Boy was this and eye opener. I am really fat and now that I know that I am changing my behaviors to lose weight.
I dawned on me that overweight food addicts have a lot in common with under weight, even anorexic people. Both realities are a symptom of a skewed body image. I came across a blot the other day that talks about this. How to be anorexic is a blog about anorexia but a lot that is posted can also be applied to heavy weights like me who eats for pleasure and comfort instead of to fuel my body.
I really am working on my body image so I can really "see" exactly how I look. I do not want to be fat like I am. I want to be healthy and trim for the remainder of my life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)