Our eating habits are strongly influenced by the emotions we feel. Our thoughts and will power play a significant role in deciding the amount we eat as well as the success and failure of our dieting expeditions.

Here’s how emotions affect our hunger pangs –

* Anger, depression, anxiety, boredom, and loneliness are triggers for reaching out to the cookie jar.

* You may wish to dull the pain of a confrontation or wash away the memories of being put down by your boss with a jumbo milk shake.

* Emotional hunger also manifests itself when you take food to overcome the anxieties of a close relationship and to avoid thoughts of rejection.

* If self-doubts plague you and you eat to push them down then you are a victim of your moods that push you to eat in excess.

* You may be using food to fill the gaps caused by the unfulfillment of some basic needs such as trust and a sense of belonging in a relationship.

* Often deprivations and hardships experienced as a child are strong triggers to an uncontrolled eating episode.

* You can also view eating as a means of asserting yourself. Nobody tells YOU what to eat!

* You may also take recourse to eating in order to avoid a challenging situation; either at home or at work.

In order to get the most out of your body from a diet you need to first get the most out of your mind. This is how you do it.

Start with a positive attitude. It has a lot to do with the final outcome, more so than the popularity of the health club, the drive of your trainer, and any miracle foods that you may be banking on. Do not whinge or rationalize lapses in your commitment. It will only distance you from your objective. If you have it in your head to do what it takes to achieve success, you will outdo yourself and achieve superlative results regardless of any shortcomings in genes or resources.

Plan for the long term. Treat getting into shape as an event forever and not just a temporary activity to lose a few inches. Equate wellness with a healthy lifestyle. If it involves making some tough decisions then please take those tough decisions. These will most probably be about your self-control, eating habits, and exercise routines.

Be practical and push yourself to achieve those practical aims. Do not start something that you may not be able to finish. Follow through on your decisions. If you become a member of a health club then do go there every day. Complete the entire course of a diet or an exercise plan; do not give up mid way.

There is never a “best moment” to start exercising. The best time is NOW. Do not procrastinate. You have to will yourself to achieve what you wish. Things “hardly” attained are better retained and you owe this not only to yourself but also to your loved ones. Take control of the situation and do not make excuses or shift blame for never being able to get started. Get mentally prepared for some tiredness and inconvenience. The soreness factor is largely a function of your own perception.

Accentuate the positive and focus on what you are gaining. Giving up those cheese and chocolate cakes is actually adding years to your life.

Remember that a target, any target is achieved by focusing on the final deliverable at all times. It is impossible to stay highly motivated all the times and the process will appear tedious at times but do not yield to the temporary relaxations. You do not have forever to get started. Work on it from now and enjoy the fruits forever.

Emotional eating contributes to many of our weight loss challenges.  Shift the emotions you have with food to relationships, where it belongs. (5:45)

Three Questions You Should Always Ask Yourself Before You Eat

by Michelle May, M.D.

You’ve seen the headlines:

Ten Power Foods You Should Eat to Live Longer and Healthier Low Carb Secrets for Dropping 15 Pounds Before Summer Indulge Yourself with the Most Decadent Chocolate Cake Recipe Ever!

We are bombarded with conflicting messages–often side by side on the same magazine cover.

People often struggle with “being good” when there are so many “bad foods” to choose from. Ironically, we’re supposed to define ourselves by what we put in our mouths despite the fact that the definition of “good” and “bad” foods changes every few years or so. Many people feel confused and overwhelmed by all the conflicting and often arbitrary messages about what they are “supposed” to eat.

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Lose Weight with Focus And Motivation

By: Mike Lath

At first thought, motivation and focus may not seem related to dieting and weight loss, but in fact the two are deeply interconnected.

Many times we will eat in order to deal with problems or stress.

But by starting each day with a plan and focusing, you will do well to guard yourself against this type of destructive eating.

Before you get out of bed in the morning, imagine everything you wish to do during the day.

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Get healthy! Make the weight loss decision!

By: Peter Wolf

Weight loss is on everyone’s mind. Being successful at weight loss is a combination of several things. In fact, it is kind of a gradual process. It’s often treated as a “quick fix” or short-term goal. But it is a simple concept, you need to burn more calories than you consume.

A slow but consistent weight loss method is better than a rapid one. But most health experts agree that a fast result is a bad result. Quick weight loss is absolutely, positively, 100% guaranteed to result in residual weight gain. So, weight loss is not easy and not often successful.

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Painful Truth about Weight Loss

By: Carl Brown

Do you want to know a secret about diets? Here it is. All diets work. And… no diets work over the long term.

If you’ve decided to lose weight, you have decided to make a change in your behavior, either in your diet, or exercise, or both. If you choose a diet, and restrict your caloric intake, and perhaps add a little exercise, you WILL lose weight.

But what happens when you achieve your weight loss goal? Will you let your old dietary habits creep back in? If you do, you will see your weight slowly (or rapidly?) creep back up to your pre-diet weight.

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The Importance of Setting Weight Loss Goals

by Mac C

Having a goal is vital. Without a goal, life is just dull and unmotivated because you don’t have anything that you want to achieve or obtain. So, what is your goal? Are you thinking of weight loss? If yes, you must have a proper goal and fitness plan to obtain your perfect figure.

Set Your Goal 

To set a weight loss goal, always remember the basics ‘what, when, why and how’. First, you must determine the goal that you desire in a specific way. For instance, instead of setting goal like ‘I want to lose weight’, change it to ‘I want to lose 20 pounds’. This will give you a clear picture of what you are going to accomplish. Second, set a deadline for your goal. This is to prevent you from delaying the plans.

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Have You Found Your Weight Loss Teachable Moment?

By: Glenn Freiboth

A teachable moment is when something has happened in your life that alters your thinking about a very important behavior that you need to change.

When we talk about a weight loss teachable moment there are many things which can trigger this need.

For instance, you just found out that a close and dear friend of yours just was diagnosed with Type II diabetes and needs heavy drug treatments.

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Eating Habits and Portion Size and How they Contribute to Obesity

By: Mary Leahy

It is no wonder we are having such an epidemic when poor and bad eating habits are so out of control, and these are leading to a world of obesity.

Not only are people not eating healthy but their conception of portion size has gotten larger and larger over the years. Now when the correct portion size is suggested people are mortified. “That won’t sustain a mouse, let along me” they scream.

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Stress and Weight Loss

By: Alberta McKain

Can Stress cause weight gain?

Stress and weight loss are linked. Emotions influence our hormones which in turn influence our emotions which influence our eating habits.

The hormone adrenaline is released when we are frightened, excited or anxious. Since adrenaline tends to speed up our metabolic rate, the release of this hormone is likely to promote weight loss. Long term stress can have the opposite effect for weight loss. The hormone cortisol, released when we are stressed, can increase fat storage, particularly in the abdominal area.

In other words, short bursts of stress may help us to lose weight, but long term stress can make us overweight.

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