If you look around you, you will see that the world we live in different from the one that existed 30 or 40 years ago. Today people are living more time-pressured lives, with greater numbers of single parent families and with family members living further apart than ever. The result is a much more stressful world with less family support and more overweight people than every before. Whilst I haven't done a scientific study, in simply looking at the people in life around me, I am sure that the cause of weight gain and obesity is often caused by emotional eating. Different people have different levels of sensitivity, meaning that people feel emotions to different degrees. If we don't learn how to manage these emotions, then what can happen is that we end up succumbing to emotional eating or comfort eating. In this article, I'd like to offer 3 essential tips on ways to stop overeating.
As someone who has struggled with her weight all through her adult life, I can tell you that I have enough experience of the pain of gaining and losing weight to share with all of you! The million diet variations that are out there offer promises of voluptuous bodies if only you stick to eating 400 calories, or no carbs, or only cabbage soup, or whatever other magical solution is out there. People who struggle with their weight are often viewed as lacking willpower by those who don't gain weight easily, yet it just isn't that straight forward. Emotions play a much bigger part in our health and well-being than most people are aware of, and so it is that they also have their own role in emotional eating.
Having thin people tell you what you should and should not be eating is difficult when they haven't ever been overweight by more than a few pounds. They simply don't understand what a difficult journey this is. So be assured that I am not someone who has had an easy journey in this regard! I also haven't mastered this aspect of myself either, so the tips on ways to stop overeating I am offering are those I have learned and am implementing, but really the journey to long-term takes time and cannot be rushed. There is no 'fast weight loss' promise here.
3 Essential tips for you on ways to stop overeating
What I do know is that you are likely to be someone who is sensitive to what goes on within and around you. You may not be aware of this because we often aren't taught to listen to our own bodies, which is where the emotions become feelings. And you also have within you everything that you need to succeed in losing your excess weight. So here are my 3 essential tips for you on ways to stop overeating:
See a counsellor. Often the emotional problems that we are holding on to stem from past experience such as unresolved grief. A professional counsellor will help you to get to the underlying cause of your pain, distress, unhappiness, loneliness - or whatever it is that troubles you. They will also be there for you week in and week out supporting you on your journey to emotional freedom and ultimately to weight loss. This is where you will need to invest some time and money - and before you say, 'Oh but I can't afford a counsellor', how much have you spent so far on diets that didn't work?
Listen to your body. Diets don't work. One of the reasons for this is that someone is imposing rules around your eating on you. You get to choose your own rules by tuning in to your body and only eating what your body chooses. Be wary if you find your body telling you to eat cake or chocolate or crisps all the time - that's not your body!!! Your body will choose what it needs to be healthy and only enough to sustain itself. If you realise you've made the wrong choice, then stop eating that food - don't take another bite!
Every morning write down what you will eat that day. This is a tip I got from Angela Stokes-Monarch who is a wonderful raw food educator. The first thing to do, every day before breakfast, is to write down everything that you will eat during that day. This way you can consciously plan to eat healthy food and then when you are drawn to eating something that isn't on your list, you will know that you are being pulled by your emotions and not by your physical need for food.
These three tips on ways to stop overeating will make quite an impact on your whole life. They put you in control of your eating and they help you heal the root cause of your unresolved emotions. This is your life and no one can make any choices for you - that is your responsibility.
Through Loving Transformation, Ruby Starheart provides a unique service to parents and siblings grieving the loss of a child in their family. She supports you through grief and grieving, into healing and then on to find or rediscover your passion in life and then helps you to achieve it. For more information visit: http://www.loving-transformation.com
You can start today by signing up for the FREE 5 Step Mini Email Course and Discover the 5 BEST Steps to Overcoming the Loss of a Child: http://www.loving-transformation.com/what-next/mini-ecourse-sign-up-overcoming-the-loss-of-a-child/
Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert
