If you are attempting to lose weight, then it is essential to overcome emotional eating patterns. Emotional eating is a way that many individuals cope with a bad day at work, school, or home. During your childhood, you may have lived in a home where food was used as a reward system for earning good grades or behaving correctly in certain situations. Unfortunately, a consistent pattern of using food for comfort or rewards can lead to weight gain and eating disorders.

Emotional Eating Changes Your Hormones

You may not realize that your weight issues are influenced by emotional eating until visiting a weight loss clinic, where there are experts who analyze your overeating patterns. When you begin to consume food, your hormones change, leading to a feeling of satiation. Some people enjoy this feeling of fullness subconsciously, and in order to cope with negative emotions, they turn to food. Eating a bowl of ice cream or bag of potato chips helps to alleviate feelings of anger or sadness as hormones are released in your body.

Emotional Eaters Often Gain Weight

If you engage in emotional eating frequently, then your weight begins to increase. In addition, the habit of overeating emotionally becomes a form of addiction that is difficult to overcome without recognizing the problem. Recognizing that you are an emotional eater is the first step toward overcoming the condition, but unlike other coping behaviors, you cannot stop eating completely. Research also reveals that almost 3 percent of emotional eaters also develop a binge-eating disorder that has additional health consequences, such as high blood pressure.

You Must Learn New Coping Mechanisms

In order to overcome emotional eating, you need to find new ways to cope with negative feelings that do not involve food. If you are an adult who has spent a lifetime comforting yourself with food, then it is time to learn new coping mechanisms. Rather than escaping into food when a difficult situation occurs at home, you need to learn how to discuss your feelings with other individuals to solve problems. Finding a new way to release negative emotions, including engaging in a favorite hobby or participating in sports, is also an excellent way to overcome this habit.

One of the biggest obstacles to weight loss is learning to recognize an appropriate serving size. Our perception of a serving has become distorted by oversized restaurant portions and snack food packaging that appears to be a single serving but in reality is two to three servings. The following is a guide to proper portion sizes for common foods, as well as tips and tricks you can use to keep serving sizes in check.

Determining Serving Sizes

You don’t have to resort to the hassle of scales and measuring utensils to get a close approximation of a proper portion size. A simple way to determine a single serving is to compare the serving size to everyday objects. For example:

• A serving of pasta is roughly the size of a single scoop of ice cream.
• A single portion of vegetables is approximately the size of your fist.
• A protein serving, such as fish, meat, or poultry, should be about the size of your palm.
• One serving of steamed rice is about the size of a cupcake wrapper.
• Pancakes should be the size of a CD, not a dinner plate.
• Bagels should be roughly the size of a hockey puck.
• A serving of apple is the size of a baseball.
• A potato the size of a computer mouse equals one serving.
• A cupped handful of chips or pretzels is approximately one serving.

Maintaining Portion Sizes at Home

The best way to limit portions is to use a smaller plate. When we use large plates, our brain and eyes naturally want to fill up all of the empty space, which leads to overeating. Store foods in portioned controlled containers, and freeze what you won’t be able to eat immediately. This will prevent you from feeling like you have to eat more to keep from wasting food. You should also never eat from a bag or carton. If you are unable to purchase pre-portioned single servings, immediately portion out appropriate servings into individual baggies.

Controlling Portions at Restaurants

Most restaurant meals contain two to three servings. The best way to ward off temptation is to ask for a smaller or half-sized portion at the outset. If the restaurant cannot accommodate this request, ask your server to bring a to-go box along with your order, and box up half of the food before you start eating. You will be less likely to overeat if the food is out of sight.

Beyond how it makes you look and feel, being obese has serious health complications. Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight can do wonders for your entire body.

1. Hypertension or High Blood Pressure

One of the biggest dangers from obesity is high blood pressure because it causes damage to the body’s arteries. You can have hypertension without knowing it, but it is causing problems that include:

• Kidney disease
• Vision loss
• Peripheral vascular disease
• Heart disease
• Strokes
• Coronary artery disease

Obesity is a primary reason for developing high blood pressure in adults, teenagers and children. Today, more children and teenagers are being diagnosed with hypertension because they consume a poor diet and seldom exercise. Fortunately, losing weight can reduce your blood pressure.

2. Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a condition that causes breathing problems that leads to poor sleep quality and daytime drowsiness. You might have breathing that is too shallow or experience pauses in breathing. In many cases, you may not realize that you have sleep apnea until undergoing diagnostic tests. Excess weight can cause sleep apnea because your throat’s tissue is too lax, making it difficult to breathe while sleeping. Obesity can cause excess fatty tissue to press against your lungs or narrow your sinus passages.

3. Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis causes discomfort in the joints after cartilage and bone begins to degrade. Wear and tear due to excess weight is a major factor that leads to this form of arthritis. When you are diagnosed with secondary osteoarthritis in weight bearing joints such as the hips, knees and ankles, the primary cause is obesity. Extra weight places additional force on the joints while you are standing or walking, and losing excess pounds can reduce the chances of having more damage that is caused by wear and tear.

4. Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is a common disorder that makes it difficult for your body to metabolize blood sugar. The symptoms for this metabolic condition are increased hunger, constant thirst and frequent urination. Type 2 diabetes mellitus is caused by excess weight, leading to insulin resistance. In the past, most individuals diagnosed with this form of diabetes mellitus were adults who were sedentary and obese. However, more teenagers and children are being diagnosed with this type of diabetes mellitus each year.

5. Gallbladder Disease

Gallbladder disease and gallstones are more common when you are overweight, especially if you are an adult female. To avoid developing frequent gallstones or chronic disease, you need to keep you weight appropriate for your height by consuming a nutritious diet and exercising daily.

Road trips can be fun, but when you’re trying to lose weight and eat healthy, they can be fraught with challenges. After all, with no kitchen in sight, you’re limited to eating foods that are portable, quick, make little mess, and require no cooking on your part. For many people, the easiest way to fulfill these requirements is by buying junk food and fast food along the way. However, it is possible to eat healthy on the road with a little careful planning and sound decision-making.

Think Ahead

Your diet might be the last thing on your mind while you’re rushing to get ready, so it should go on your to-do list along with packing and other tasks. Plan to go shopping beforehand for healthy foods that won’t perish quickly and are easy to eat on the go. You can give yourself even more options if you have a small cooler to bring. Foods like low-fat yogurt, nuts, peanut butter, pre-cut fruit and veggies, and healthy sandwiches all provide good nutrition and will keep you satisfied. This can go a long way toward helping you resist temptation.

Make the Healthiest Choices

It’s unrealistic to expect that you won’t eat out at all during your trip, especially if you’re traveling with friends or family. However, you can still enjoy a meal at a restaurant without feeling guilty afterward. Steer clear of items that are fried, breaded, doused in rich sauces, or smeared in butter. Instead, go for those that are baked, boiled, roasted, or grilled. When choosing side dishes, ask for steamed vegetables or a salad with dressing on the side. If you order drinks, opt for unsweetened iced tea, milk, or water instead of soda. Should you decide to have alcohol, wine is considerably lower in calories than beer, hard liquor, or fruity cocktails.

Just Say No

If you find yourself staying in a hotel during your road trip, say no to the mini-bar key if one is offered. By making use of it, all you’ll do is pay a premium for a ton of empty calories. The same goes for the vending machines found in most hotels. While they’re full of tempting things, none of them are good for you. If you think you’ll get hungry, find out if there’s a grocery store nearby. This will offer you a much wider array of healthy options to satisfy your appetite.

Adhering to a healthy diet can be difficult, especially while traveling. However, by considering these simple tips, you’ll make yourself far less likely to choose the wrong things.

If your New Year’s resolutions include losing weight, you probably know from prior experience the challenges you will face. While the goal may seem daunting, you can achieve it and live a healthier life. Whether your goal is to lose ten pounds or one hundred, here are some tips to help you succeed.

1. Put It In Writing – No one quite knows why, but there is something magical about writing out your goals, and your first step to weight loss success is to document your resolution to lose the weight. Be very specific with your goal by detailing exactly the amount of weight you want to lose and the date you want to achieve it by. Specific details define your destination so you know where you are going on your journey.

2. Know Why You Want to Lose Weight – While you are writing out your weight loss goal, make sure to clearly state the reason you are finally ready to succeed. Is your health in danger? Are you tired of watching your kids have fun and not being able to join in? Are you sick of shopping in the plus sizes? Whatever your reason, the more emotional and personal you make it and the stronger your desire will be to succeed.

3. Prepare For Setbacks – While you are defining your resolution and the reasons you are finally ready to conquer your weight, take the time to identify the challenges you will have to overcome to achieve your resolution. Plan in advance to fight the temptations that will come. For example, if you know it will be tough to say no to the large tub of buttered popcorn at the movies, prepare for the test by eating a healthy snack to curb your appetite before you go or bring only enough cash to purchase the small size popcorn. If you prepare for the threats to your success in advance and plan your countermove, you can be more confident that you will be able to meet any challenge that comes your way.

4. Assess Your Success – Record and track your weight loss progress. In addition to pounds lost, make sure to assess your energy level, how you feel, and how your clothing is fitting. Celebrate your achievements and recognize where you can improve. In addition, re-affirm why you wanted to lose weight in the first place. Use the results of your evaluation to adjust your goal if necessary and plan your next day, week, or month.

Finally, be patient with the process. The weight didn’t go on overnight and it will take the time to come off. Be persistent, and you will find that this time next year you will be a slimmer, healthier you.

When you’re trying to lose weight and you’ve dedicated yourself to working out, you want to make sure that you’re getting the best results for your effort. When weight loss is your goal, choose the workouts that will help you drop pounds healthily and as fast as possible.

Cardio Exercise with Intervals

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, you can boost your metabolism for as long as 24 hours post-workout simply by adding cardio intervals to your routine. Add short periods of heavy duty effort into your normal cardio workouts. For example, sprint for 30 seconds during your normal walk or run, or turn up the intensity on the elliptical machine for two minutes during your normal session. Go back to normal for at least twice as long as the interval and then give the intense interval period another shot. Always make sure your recovery time is quite a bit longer than the intense period.

Strength Exercises

Your organs and heart may not have advanced metabolic needs, but your muscles certainly do. The larger your muscles get, the more they’ll need from you. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, you should be targeting all of the body’s major muscle groups. Luckily, you can do this in less than 30 minutes a few times a week. The more you work out your muscles, the better able your body will burn calories before they turn into fat.

When you maximize the number of calories you burn per workout, you get through your exercise regime faster and drop weight quicker. This is especially helpful for people with busy schedules, because you can truly make every minute count and rely on shorter, more intense workouts to get the job done.

Morning Workouts

Whatever your preferred exercise is, you’ll get more out of it if you do it first thing in the morning. You’ll get it over with early on and won’t have the urge to skip it later in the day, which means you’ll probably get in more workouts each week. Also, working out boosts your energy, which will help you continue to burn calories throughout the day. To squeeze in a session before you have to head to work, consider a no-equipment routine that you can easily do in your living room, a barre workout, or even a brisk walk when the weather’s nice.

The Workout You Love

Ultimately, the workout that will help you lose weight is the one you’ll do on a regular basis. While interval training may zap weight quickly, it won’t work if you can’t force yourself to do it! Find an exercise that you look forward to doing, whether it’s dance class, spinning, or hiking.

Weight loss and weight gain are legitimate concerns, and there’s more than just dieting and exercising that goes into successful weight loss. Recognizing the ways that stress affects the body can help to clarify why weight loss can be challenging for many individuals.

Stress = Weight Gain

Weight gain can be one of the body’s most significant and protective reactions to almost any type of stress. Duration of stress levels is also factored into how the body reacts. Once stress is recognized by the body, signals are sent to the brain to respond to stress. That means the sympathetic nervous system and hormones begin to take quick action in order to help the body cope and recover. Stress makes the heart work harder, depletes neurotransmitter supplies in the brain and forces adrenal glands to pump excess hormones to try to keep up with the demand of protective responses required for survival.

These reactions are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the body’s guarding strategies during stress. Overall, stress makes the body work harder, hold on to fat, and can actually encourage fat storage simply for the sake of survival. While this may disrupt our image in the mirror, this design is actually a way to preserve the body’s integrity and well-being. Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight can largely benefit from self-awareness and making better choices that guide away from stress.

Weight Loss Goals

When the body enters “fight or flight” mode, or in a state of anxiety or hypervigilance, emotional changes happen that affect our better judgment and the choices we make. Stress asks the brain to quickly replenish a calmer overall reaction. Sugar and simple carbohydrates, like doughnuts, are great examples of poor fast-fixes that tell the brain to calm itself, thus sabotaging weight loss efforts. We tend to reach for these types of comfort foods and convenience foods when we need to give our brains a break.

General weight loss and better physical and mental health overall are more likely to occur when we pay attention to these factors. Learning your stress triggers and how you can navigate away from stress can give you more energy and help you to lose those unwanted pounds.

Vitamin B-12 has been linked to weight loss and increased energy levels. It’s commonly included as part of medical weight loss plans. But just how is vitamin B-12 linked to weight loss?

Vitamin B-12 is important for many body functions, including mental clarity, healthy nerves, and the formation of red blood cells. Vitamin B-12 helps the body convert proteins and fats into energy. If you are deficient, a low red blood cell count can lead to megaloblastic anemia, which contributes to fatigue. There are many different medications and conditions that can make you at risk for deficiency.

Sources 

The National Institute of Health recommends that anyone 14 years of age and older takes in 2.4 micrograms (mcg) per day.

In addition to injections and vitamin B-12 supplements, the important vitamin is also found naturally in milk and other dairy products, eggs, poultry, meat, and shellfish. It is also commonly added to fortified breads, cereals, and juices.

Weight Loss 

It’s important to note that vitamin B-12 does not directly cause weight loss on its own. Instead, it can be used as a supplemental part of a larger weight loss plan to help you have more energy, especially if you are deficient. Increased energy levels contribute to more activity, and being active is an important aspect of weight loss.

So while there is no magic injection or vitamin that will cause weight to fall off, vitamin B-12 injections are worth considering for many patients who need help losing weight combined with other solutions.

Fortunately, vitamin B-12 is water soluble and there is no upper limit. This means that it is safe to consume in high amounts. However, it is still best to talk with your doctor about your levels and intake of vitamin B-12, and discover whether or not vitamin B-12 injections could help you lose weight when combined with positive lifestyle changes.

If you have ever looked at a healthy and fit person and wondered how you can be like them, you are not alone. Many individuals are jealous of their fit friends and co-workers, and wonder about the secret or quick fix that will help them maintain the same results. Here are seven secrets of fit people:

1. They have consistent habits. Fit people recognize that there is not one single thing that needs to be done to be healthy and at an acceptable weight. Instead, they engage in many healthy habits that contribute to a healthy weight and level of fitness. Anyone can achieve this by starting small—make one thing a habit, and then the rest, until it all falls into place.

2. They eat balanced meals. Eating right isn’t complicated, but it does involve a lot of things. You should start the day with a smart breakfast in order to give you energy and keep you full for longer. You should also avoid skipping meals, which can make you hungry and contribute to the consumption of high calorie foods later in the day when you are starving and can’t concentrate. Eating balanced also involves avoiding restaurant meals when possible, which are consistently high in calories.

3. They keep track of what they eat. This can be done by writing the foods down or using a tracking app on a computer or smartphone. Either way, fit people are aware of what they are putting into their body, but also make sure it is manageable. The best healthy eating plan is one that you can stick to.

4. They don’t drink their calories. Coffee creamers, fruit juices, sodas, and energy drinks all contain a lot of sugar and excess calories. Avoid this pitfall by keeping a water bottle with you at all times. You can add things like lemon, lime, berries, and cucumber to the water to change the flavor without increasing the calorie count.

5. They do exercise that they enjoy. You are less likely to stick to exercise if it is hard for you to do, or if it feels like a chore. Find an exercise or physical activity that you can get excited about, like kayaking or bike riding. Invest in nice shoes or equipment and then create short term goals that motivate you.

6. They surround themselves with fit influences. This can include finding a partner to exercise with or even just following fitness oriented people on social media. Following healthy blogs and subscribing to health oriented magazines can also keep the fit mindset at the forefront.

7. They get a lot of sleep. Your muscles recover when you sleep, so it’s definitely necessary for a fit person. There is also a link between sleep and decreased incidences of obesity. The exact reason for this link is unknown, but you should take advantage of it by aiming for a full night’s sleep (at least seven hours) every night.

Regardless of how much weight you need to lose, there are a few key approaches to weight loss that can benefit anyone. If making all of these changes seems like a lot, it can be helpful to start with one change at a time. Before you know it, you’ll be tackling weight loss in every direction and seeing the results that you have always wanted..

• Exercise regularly: Staying active can help you to keep your mind off of food while also burning calories at the same time. Try to aim for 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity each day. If that seems like a lot, don’t worry–only about 30 minutes of that time needs to be intentional exercise. The rest can be some kind of minor activity, made up of things like choosing to take the stairs or parking further away from the store.

  If you’re starting from no exercise at all, try physical activity two to three days a week until you get used to it. You may even find that you start to crave exercise because of the extra energy it gives you!

• Make better food choices: Unless you are exercising constantly, it will be hard to notice much sustainable weight loss without also making changes to your diet. You can try eating smaller meals every four to five hours to keep your metabolism consistent and to avoid binging on bigger meals when you get too hungry. That means that you shouldn’t skip breakfast!. Adding protein to every meal can also help to make you feel full for longer and even contributes to increased muscle growth, which in turns burns more calories. Most importantly, eat colorful food like fruits and vegetables, and whole grains.
• Write things down: Many people make the mistake of thinking that they are already making good food choices. Try writing down everything that you eat for a week along with serving sizes, times, and your emotional state while eating. Then go back and look at your patterns. You may notice things that you need to change. Try continuing to track your food intake regularly. You might find yourself skipping tempting desserts or snacks if you know that you need to write it down. Many apps on the computer or smartphone are filled with tools for food tracking.
• Find accountability: Many individuals have luck losing weight alongside with a friend or loved one to stay motivated. Even if you don’t have anyone to journey with, make sure you tell those closest to you that you are making a lifestyle change so that they can help keep you accountable and provide you with encouragement along the way.
• Be patient: Losing weight quickly is not sustainable or realistic. Since you didn’t gain all of the weight overnight, you won’t be able to lose it that quickly either. Stay patient and focused on your goals. Remember that is okay to reward yourself sometimes for smaller milestones, like losing 5 pounds. These small rewards can be a new outfit or a movie out with friends.