Friday, February 28, 2014

Why Binge?

Binging is caused by real heartache. We may feel hurt, frustrated, ignored, alone, disappointed or violated. It feels like confusion magnified by self-doubt. We binge because we're searching for a feeling. That feeling is our heart connection, and it's vital  for happiness and healthy eating.
Binging happens when we lose sight of our heart. Maybe we find it in the bottom of the container of ice cream, or licking the spoonful of mayonnaise? Maybe not. It doesn't matter. What matters is being willing to start over.

The person we're trying to get approval and understanding from is ourselves. The answer is: Yes! You are good. You deserve to be respected and loved. The truth is, Life is a constant experience of rising to the occasion. Be honest with yourself.
Mark Twain said, "A man cannot be satisfied without his own approval."  Am I Really Hungry? is a handbook full of easy ways to recognize what you really want and how to achieve this goal.

We all have real needs that can feel like hunger. Hunger can be physical, emotional, social or intuitive. We may eat to release stress or hold on to a memory. When we know what we're hungry for and how to get it, satisfaction feels like self-control.
Why not give yourself a chance? We only fail when we give up.

Losing our heart connection feels like a 'bad mood'. Certain foods may end bad moods.  Next time you notice a disconnect, ask yourself what you really want. Then, find your favorite binging buddy - perhaps ice cream - and enjoy a normal serving because you deserve sweetness and love from yourself. Being good to yourself is the first step towards defeating a habit of binging.


 Def Leopard, Pour Some Sugar On Me

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Is more better?

People ask me if eating 'more', instead of strict dieting, can ultimately be better for keeping a healthy weight? 
Sometimes, the answer is yes, but -
This is tricky because, eating more is not about quantity, it's about quality. 
  • More is good if:
    • Focus is on nutrition, not taste or calories. This way, we feel satisfied longer and burn calories efficiently. This helps our body burn fat and not muscle.
    • We drink more. Often we think we're hungry when we're thirsty. 
      • Try drinks without added salt or sugar. 
      • Drink water. Add a squeeze of lemon or teaspoon of fruit juice or 1/2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar for refreshing flavor!
    •  Be careful: Don't be trapped into retaining fluids.
      • We can find salt in a milkshake! Salt is used in ice cream because of its special property that lowers the freezing temperature of water. 
      • There are 55mg of salt in a can of Coke! It's like drinking a pizza.
      • "Natural" flavored bottled water may contain sugar or salt. Save your money and your body, drink from the spigot. 
  • When eating less calories than our body genuinely needs, our metabolism alters. To cope with the stress, it slows down to stretch the calories further for long-term survival. It's physically instinctive to stabilize our weight for survival. 
  • Additional results of calorie shortage:
    • We feel hungry and unsatisfied by what we're eating.
    • We do not lose weight because our body adjusts to the new regimen.
    • When we resume eating 'normally',we gain weight.
Our bodies are not machines but they are efficient and designed to respond to what we eat and how we treat ourselves. Put the right fuel in to get results you're looking for. Adding foods or regimens that you're not suited to digest, or deal with emotionally, creates problems. 
Here's what everyone needs to have more of at every meal:
  • Love
  • Self-Respect
  • Dignity
  • Laughter
Tune in with your senses to know what feels good to your body and heart. More is better when we focus on quality, nutrition and common sense. Bon Appetite! 

Friday, February 14, 2014

Love Eating

People don't love eating just for the food. For the connoisseur, food alone is love, but for the rest of us, eating is a communal experience. Eating meals together, we drink each other in with our eyes, fuel our hearts with laughter and satisfy curiosity with conversation. We may learn what we need to know by a nod or a grunt. We connect and reconnect, not only with our physical selves, but also with people who share our lives. That connection is part of the delicious puzzle of love

Often, dieters hate eating because it represents restrictions, boring food choices or frustration. That attitude causes weight gain, binging, depression and anger. It's the opposite of love.

Intuitive eating is an attitude of self-respect, tough love and personal transformation. It's a direct connection with liking the way you look and feel. You may discover that you love eating because you like being good to yourself.

It's intuitive to love eating. If you find you've lost the love, now is the perfect time to reclaim it. Let yourself evolve into a more delicious person by giving up soul draining resentment and picking up good vibrations, like courage and dignity, when you're around food. Feed your soul some love. You deserve it. Instead of feeling deprived or hostile around food, try this:
  • Tune in to the excitement of taking control of your choices. Eat less, but talk more.
  • Talk about the taste. Ask other people what they think. If you're a parent, this is especially smart with kids. It slows down eating, creates easy conversation and tunes them in to their bodies.
  • Choose to feel worthy. Honor yourself by not giving in to negative feelings. Turn fear about eating into a focus on sensual enjoyment. Feel the love.
Eating connects us with personal satisfaction, good health and added energy. When you choose to be a sensual eater, you'll discover eating is easy to love.  As you use your senses to really taste, smell and feel how good food is:
  • Your body digests food more efficiently. 
  • You burn more calories. 
  • You eat less.
Eating is the opportunity to tease your senses with pleasure and bring comfort to your body. By sharing the physical pleasures of taste and smell at a good meal with others, we automatically feed emotional hunger. Eating connects us with each other. That's something to love.

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Chocolate, Libido & Binging

Valentine's Day is packed with libido raising chocolates and other waist expanding temptations. How do we enjoy it without being trapped by the sweetness of the treat?  Of course the celebration of love is a good thing. How do we avoid unhealthy temptation and embrace tasty love?

To separate love and libido from unhealthy temptation, take a look at your sweets and your sweetheart, and check-in with the way you feel.

1. Confusing eating with satisfying intimacy causes disappointment that leads to binging. The libido thrives on anticipation, not big meals. Taking it slowly keeps you in control. Plan a light meal like tapas and put on some music. All of our senses connect with libido. Be creative with the way you choose to enjoy your treat and your evening. Rub a piece of chocolate across your lips and try to have your partner lick it off without either of you laughing. Of course, laughter is a libido boost- way more than chocolate. Libido is the drive for physical intimacy a feeling of anticipation, an openness to possibility and romantic potential.  If you feel this:
  • Be true to yourself by taking your time. Patience heightens anticipation which makes your experience more exciting.
  • Take it to a higher level with eye contact while you savor your treat. Also give the verbal pleasure signal of "mmnnn". 
  • Just take a nibble, because you want your body to be relaxed for the next part of the evening. Feeling full signals your body to focus on digesting food. That kills libido.
  •  Say Thank you! and mean it. Let the big picture come into focus naturally. 
2. Love, like eating, is an inner connection.  Food only represents love when we savor it; binging is a kind of disconnect. A great and enduring love affair is founded on open communication and mutual respect. The loving way to eat is to keep open communication with your body by tuning-in with your senses before and while you eat. It's the intuitive way to respect your body and to respect yourself. Love feels like a light in your heart, or it is a peaceful, gently exciting sense of being appreciated that is relaxing and deeply affirming. Real love is a direct connection with dignity and self-respect.
  • When chocolate represents love and you take a nibble, your energy will soar. This is a happy feeling that lasts as long as you stay true to the feelings of dignity and self-respect.
  • Get sensual. Love yourself by eating lightly and let that lightness connect with your heart. Touch your partner's fingers. Smile while giving your partner eye contact. Make love with your eyes - if you dare!
  • Share a taste with your partner and say, Thank you! from the heart. You will feel satisfied, leaving the remaining chocolate as a symbol of love and anticipation for the future.
3. Temptation, created by emotions and stress, causes binging. Taking control of the temptation can be a turn-on for both of you, because it makes priorities clear. Take control by focusing on the big picture. Your priority is to appreciate each other and the meaning of the celebration. What you eat should compliment the evening, not rule it. Temptation is an urge often accompanied by a subtle feeling of frustration, a whiff of self-defeat in the air. If you feel this:
  • Remember to be true to your body and your heart, together. To stay connected with your intuition, use determination to feel good about your experience.
  • Take a taste and savor it with a "mmnnnn". Look your partner right in the eye and feed him/her a taste.
  • Say Thank you! and mean it. 
  • Thank yourself because you are focused on what you want and who you are.  You are honoring yourself. Love will find you through your smile as temptation turns into self-confidence. You will feel it.
Plato said, At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet. I guess, in a perfect world we would all be poets. Enjoy your chocolate, dance with your libido and fall in love all over again this Valentine's Day! Be loving towards yourself. Write a poem about chocolate instead of eating it, or share it with a stranger. Tweet about it. Remember, whether it's a cold winter day or hot in July, Love for you is in the air every day.
For more common sense ways to deal with temptation and frustration around eating and to learn how to tune-in to your body with intuitive sensual thinking download: Am I Really Hungry, 6th Sense Diet:Intuitive Eating