Dieting and the Emotional Eater
Emotional eating, I’ve been there. I used to pound chocolate cake like nobody’s business! Not anymore of course. Now, according to Dr. Fuhrman breaking the chains of your emotional attachments to food is a major step towards superior health. He explains:
Most overweight individuals are addicted to food. This means almost all Americans are food addicts. Addicted means that you feel ill or uncomfortable should you not continue your usual habits. Unlike tobacco and drug addiction, however, food addiction is socially acceptable.I got to agree with Dr. Fuhrman on all Americans being foods addicts on some level. Heck, just look at the Atkins crowd, but get a load of this new report. New research has determined that dieting is hardest for emotional eaters. Reuters is on it:
Most people thrust into an environment with an unlimited supply of calorie-rich, nutrient-poor food will become compulsive overeaters. That is, the craving for food and the preoccupation with eating, and the resultant loss of control over food intake, are the natural consequences of nutrient paucity. The resulting stress on our system can be toxic.
Obviously, there are complicated emotional and psychological factors that make it more difficult for some to achieve success at overcoming food addiction. Additionally, some physical changes may initially discourage you. Stopping caffeine, reducing sodium, and dropping saturated fat from your diet while increasing fiber and nutrients may result in increased gas, headaches, fatigue, and other withdrawal symptoms. These withdrawal symptoms are temporary and rarely last longer than one week. Eventually the high volume of food and high nutrient content will help prevent long-term food cravings.
The study included 286 overweight men and women who were participating in a behavioral weight loss program.Lucky for us being addicted to fruits and veggies isn’t a bad thing!
A second group consisted of more than 3,300 adults who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for at least one year.
Niemeier and her team analyzed responses to an eating inventory questionnaire.
They focused on people who ate because of external influences, such as people who eat too much at parties, and people who ate because of internal influences, such as feeling lonely or as a reward.
What they found is that the more a person ate for internal reasons, the less weight they lost over time.
