Emotional Eating & Weight

Is Emotional Eating Ruining Your Dieting Plans?

Losing weight one week, but going ape the next? Or, are you the Top Banana when it comes to dieting this week?

Well, one thing is certain. Going ape with unhealthy food choices can lead to unwanted weight gain and the health issues which often accompany such.

Emotional eating - or spontaneous eating is one of the most common reasons why people gain unwanted pounds.

If your diet is beginning to feel like a monkey on your back, this health article may alter your mind into thinking that your diet is actually more fun than a barrel of monkeys. Well, almost...

Are You Going To Make Healthy Choices This Week With Your Eating Plan?

In the beginning....

It seemed so long ago when you began your new diet. How could three weeks have passed so swiftly? Yes, so very long ago.

You can remember back to the day when you decided that it was definitely time to begin a new diet. It was the day that you felt like the Silver-Backed Ape, the day that you longed to swing more freely in this big bad world that we are all caged inside of.

Yes, you wanted to be a real swinger - to hit the concrete jungle with a lighter step, to be able to climb the corporate ladder to higher salary caps, and to finally lose all that weight that was interfering with your swinging gait.

And you were doing so well, too. Passed right by those chocolate covered candies on Valentine's Day; even turned up your nose at the pastry tray at the in-laws party that you attended last Thursday night.

Then something so wrong happened with your diet.

As the weekend sprung, you felt as if you'd stepped onto a tilt-a-whirl and someone had forgotten to fasten you in.

You felt locked in a state of shock as naughty, unhealthy goodies leaped into your mouth, one after another, and you were powerless to do anything.

How could this be happening?

And the more that you tried to fight against it all, the worse it got!

Fine. Okay. You fouled your diet plan up big time. Let's dig a bit deeper into the pile of banana peels to get in touch with some things that are probably running rampant through your mind right now.

Common Causes for Emotional Eating

1. "I have totally blown my diet!"

Not necessarily. If you give up on your diet, then yes. But if you jump right back on the Diet Trail, then NO WAY! You will be a few days behind 'schedule' in reaching your goal weight, but reach it you will! Just don't step on any more loose banana peels!

2. "I am really angry & disappointed at myself!"

Actually, that's a very good feeling to have right now. Why? Because it means that:

a) you truly care about losing weight;

b) you realize that you need to get right back on track for your diet dream to work.

3. "I bet I gained a gazillion pounds!"

Oh, very good! You are accessing the damage.

You realize how hard that you have worked in getting off the weight, and in staying on track.

By the way, if your eating frenzy was short-lived, the odds are slim that you gained back a big sum of weight. Keep in mind that it takes 3,500 calories to gain a pound. That's a lot of frenzy and about 7 big cheeseburgers.

4. "I am frightened that this diet might fail, just like all the others that I have been on!"

Excellent! Your fears express your intense desire to lose the excess weight. You also feel intimidated by food, unsure if you will be able to resist future temptation. You have met the Ultimate Weight Demon and faced him (or her) straight on. Scary, isn't it?

The key is not only knowing the enemy, but knowing how to defeat the enemy. Victory comes through smart dieting, reasonable activity, and much patience.

5. "Everyone knows that I am on a diet. What are they going to say?"

Friends, family and the people that love you, will offer support and motivation. Others may gloat, especially if they see a weight gain.

It's the Monkey Game - every monkey wants to be the best and they feel comfortable around people that they don't feel threatened by.

6. "What am I going to do now?"

You must immediately get back on track to avoid a total 'Diet Derailment'.

Okay, let's see if we can sum this up and get ourselves out of this zoo we've landed into.

Allow No Room For Weight Loss Failure

It's not much fun when you monkey around with your diet, is it? HOWEVER, it's good to know that you are NOT a failure!

It's good to know that you CAN lose the weight that you want to. And it's really great to know that if you get right back on track, your odds of achieving your weight goals are very high.

Emotions Commonly Experienced While Dieting

The Emotional Table above gives us great insight into our dieting and weight loss fears. Let's take things one bullet at a time and enhance. Let's try to see how we change our current "Bad Self-Shredding Thoughts" into some "I Love Me Thoughts". Don't you just love enhancements?

Negative: "I have totally blown my diet!"

Positive: "I went ape, but thank goodness I recognize what I did in time so that I didn't totally blow my diet!"

Negative: "I am really angry & disappointed at myself!"

Positive: "I don't want to feel disappointed over my diet again. I want to feel like I did when my I first noticed that my clothes fit looser."

Negative: "I bet I gained a gazillion pounds!"

Positive: "I am going to lose 1-2 pounds THIS week."

It is SO IMPORTANT to set TINY goals throughout your diet to help keep you on track. In my experience with the people that I've assisted in losing weight over the years, this was one key to weight loss success. By establishing several SMALL goals, you'll enjoy several accomplishments, several Diet Celebrations!

Take a minute to ponder this.... Most everyone has seen the weight loss commercials on TV. Some trim lady named Judith or Tammy dressed in a pastel-colored lycra body suit will look directly into the camera, smile, and say, "I lost 64 pounds in 32 weeks!"

Notice the word "WEEKS". She didn't say EIGHT MONTHS. Judith and Tammy are using 'mind games'.

And mind games of this nature are actually very good to use! So I want you to use mind games while dieting. Unless you are pregnant, of course. Then you would definitely say, "NINE WHOLE #*#* MONTHS!!!!" See? It works, doesn't it!

And of course, on a more serious note, if you are pregnant or breast feeding, you should NOT be on a diet unless supervised by your physician - but that's another story.

Negative: "I am frightened that this diet might fail, just like all the others that I have been on!"

Positive: "I am NOT going to allow this diet to fail!!! I am going to bite the bullet and get the weight off once and for all. I am totally sick of dieting every few months and never getting anywhere. This time, I AM IN CONTROL AND NOT MY TUMMY."

Remember, it's always MIND OVER TUMMY. Your tummy doesn't know what's best, but your mind certainly does. It's much smarter!

Negative: "Everyone knows that I am on a diet. What are they going to say?"

Positive: "Even though I want a dynamite shape and for people to go "WOW" when they see me trimming up, I know that first and foremost is the state of my health. I want to look good, but I want to feel good, too!

Losing Fat Over Health Concerns

Health concerns should always be THE main focus of losing weight. That is why you want to lose weight in a healthy manner. This is another reason why....

When you gained the weight, you packed it on in a very unhealthy manner. By taking the weight off in a HEALTHY manner, you are establishing several good things - some of which include the following...

1. A healthy eating pattern.

And YES, donuts, chocolate and cheeseburgers CAN be included in a healthy diet.

It's ludicrous and ridiculous to envision living out life without fresh baked bread topped with a smattering of real butter, or a delicious greasy cheeseburger every now and then.

These foods, considered "BIG DIET NO-NO's" by most diet gurus can be incorporated into your diet WITHOUT weight gain, and without negatively impacting your health. No, you can't have a cheeseburger, 3 donuts, and a lollipop every day, but you can certainly enjoy them. The key words are, "Every now and then."

2. When an individual implores a healthy diet, the weight will drop gradually at about 2 pounds per week.

Ladies, sad but so, a guy tends to lose weight at a much faster rate - so if you're a guy, that's good news!

3. By eating healthy, you are creating less stress on your body.

And that is a very good thing in this day and age with all the nonsense going on in the world. And those are things that we cannot control. We CAN control our diet.

4. About the Monkey Game.

I've coached a lot of people who complain that they feel so depressed because people judge them by how they look. Many have felt left out of the loop of life, excluded and unaccepted by others because they are overweight.

That's very sad, and very evil. At times throughout life, I really question the word "MANKIND", as sometimes the word "KIND" is so unrelated to "MAN". Some individuals have even expressed concerns that the people they had considered close friends had used them as a doormat when situations got tight.

Again, I'm disheartened to say that this type of situation happens to most everyone - thin or not thin. So if or when you have these thoughts wrestle with your peace of mind, simply lay them aside.

People tend to focus on their own self, so if they are picking on you - especially because of your weight, please don't glorify their actions by exhibiting your hurt emotions.

That will only give the idiot that is persecuting you, satisfaction and they will feel like they are even 'better than you are'.

In Summary

"What am I going to do now?"

Hum...."What are you going to do now?" No more monkeying around, okay! Look at your diet as a New Beginning. Make healthy choices.

Create a body that will live longer and feel better. Put some swing into your step and get active.

Make your heart the strongest muscle in your body.

These things alone will burn up those calories. Stay focused and keep your diet FUN! It's all about making choices.

You alone have the power to change the course of your life, and know what? YOU CAN DO THIS!

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Example of 1000 Calorie Diet Plan

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