Being overweight or gaining sudden weight is not always because of eating too much.  While excessive eating can be one cause, eating unhealthy foods can also be another cause, it is important to remember that often there can many psychological reasons that drive people to eat more and thus gain weight.

As human beings we are highly influenced by our emotions and often when experiencing negative emotions such as stress, depression or losses, people turn to food for comfort.  This because there are certain chemicals in the brain that are linked to both mood and hunger. 

Have you noticed how you feel when you eat certain foods?  For example, chocolate is well known for creating a sense of well being and potatoes are recognised for being highly comforting.  Often it is the high calorie foods that are so comforting and make you feel better, happier or more comforted.

Do you notice when you seem to reach for that packet of biscuits?  Or treat yourself to a hugh meal after an argument or row with someone?  These are all emotional triggers that drive people to derive comfort from food as it changes your brain chemistry and creates a feeling of well being.  However, this is only temporary and is a matter of treating the symptom and not the cause of your unhappiness, sadness, stress or depression.

If you recognise these habits in yourself then know that just reducing calories will not give you the weight loss you seek.  A more lasting solution would be to resolve your emotional issues first through some counselling.  Counselling can help identify issues and develop healthier ways of dealing with emotional difficulties.

Sometimes people also overeat during happier times e.g. wedding occassions, dinner parties and generally work and social get togethers.   At such times you can fail to recognise the full signal and continue eating.  Some people may simply be in the habit of overeating having a misguided view about how much they should eat.  Such habits can be overcome through behavioral modification i.e. making lifestyle changes. 

Become aware of healthy foods and unhealthy foods i.e. high calorie, low nutritional value foods and change your food shopping habits.  Only buy foods that are healthy.  By not having the low value foods in the house, at least you will be able to resist temptation easily.  Similarly at work, keep healthy snack foods around like roasted nuts and seeds, fruits etc.

By ensuring you only buy healthy foods you will also be guiding other members of the family to eat healthily.  As you get into the habit of healthy snacks and generally eating smaller and lighter portions, you will find that your taste buds are being retrained and over time you will naturally begin to seek healthier lighter foods that make you feel lighter and refreshed rather than heavy and sluggish.

Wishing you great health always!

Healthyuwiz.com