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Overcoming Eating Disorders
Stephen Lau
Stephen Lau
Food Addiction
by
Stephen Lau
Addiction to food has long-term effects on your overall health. If you are addicted to unhealthy foods, resulting in unhealthy food cravings, you should do something to conquer this unhealthy addiction.
How to conquer food addiction
Overcoming food addiction, like any other addiction, is never easy.
Determination and will power
The long process of recovery, often punctuated with relapses, from food addiction requires determination to overcome all obstacles.
Lao Tzu said: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.” Take your first step: your determination to recover.
Use daily self-affirmations to reinforce your determination and will power to overcome food addiction.
Keep on believing that you can conquer your food addiction. Keep on keeping on.
Physical strength and bio-chemistry balance
Mental power to overcome obstacles requires ammunitions from the physical body. Rejuvenation is possible only if the body is willing to respond to recovery.
· Regulate your blood sugar level: low blood sugar makes you easily succumb to junk food.
· Enhance your appetite-controlling hormone: leptin controls abnormal eating patterns due to dieting.
· Balance your body's acid and alkalinity: excessive acidity produces toxins, which play havoc with your body's bio-chemistry.
Take an acid-alkaline diet to restore your body's bio-chemistry for rejuvenation.
· Reduce your hormone swings (if you are a woman): fluctuating estrogens account for food cravings.
Eating enough
Eat three regular meals: a breakfast, a lunch, and a dinner. Eat at regular times as much as possible.
Do not skip a breakfast, or any meal for that matter. Skipping a meal leads to a reduction of leptin (appetite-controlling hormone, also known as "thin" hormone) - your appetite may rebound and become out of control.
Consume at least your minimum calories:
Minimum calories = ideal body weight x 10
e.g. 150 pounds x 10 = 1500 calories a day
Eat enough: don't starve yourself, and neither do you stuff yourself.
Any dieting may lead to abnormal or irregular bodily metabolism and derail your leptin production - the culprit in the development of an eating disorder down the road.
A healthy breakfast
To conquer food addiction, begin your day with a healthy breakfast to boost and energize your body for the day.
Never SKIP a breakfast.
A balanced breakfast consists of the following:
· proteins (from beans, not from eggs, bacons, and sausages) to repair your body tissues
· carbohydrates to supply you with energy (not from the caffeine of coffee)
· fats (a small amount) to benefit the biochemistry of your cells
· vitamins and minerals to enhance your body’s metabolism for sharp thinking
Your choice of foods for an ideal breakfast should be based on:
· fiber-rich foods not only making you feel full but also anti-snacking
· blood-sugar-stabilizing foods e.g. oatmeal - curbing your food cravings throughout the morning until your lunch
· plant protein foods (animal protein containing fat with addictive opiates) - brown rice, whole meal bread, and beans
Avoid any type of sugar or unhealthful carbohydrate, such as white bread or bagel, which causes a blood sugar hike, followed by a dramatic drop in your blood sugar level, causing you to feel hungry. The release of sugar to increase serotonin (a neurotransmitter) in your brain to offset depression often causes sugar craving.
Avoid eggs, bacon, ham, and sausages or animal products: they contain no fiber; instead, they are rich in animal fat with opiates to sustain your food addiction. Instead, eat beans, which are high in fiber and rich in protein.
Avoid yogurt, which has no fiber and which is often loaded with fiber.
Oatmeal is an excellent food for stabilizing your blood sugar level to avert any impulse eating during the day.
Eat an apple to give you fiber and vitamins and minerals.
Always choose plant roughage, which is filling but without fattening, such as the covering of grain (brown rice), the chewy part of oats, and the skin of an apple.
Using foods to stabilize blood sugar level
A balanced blood sugar level does two things:
· It prevents impulse eating.
· It keeps hunger at bay for longer time.
Eat fiber-rich foods to break food addiction
Eat foods with low glycemic index (the rate of release of natural sugars into the bloodstream over a long period of time.
Glycemic Index over 90 is considered high; the lower the value, the less tendency to snack.
Using foods to boost leptin production
Leptin is the appetite-controlling hormone, also known as "thin" hormone.
Eat adequate calories to boost leptin production to minimize food addiction.
Eat low-fat foods.
Exercise regularly to enhance your body's responsiveness to leptin.
Break the circular cycle of food-addiction habit
To break the habit of food addiction, do something totally different.
· Eat a healthy breakfast.
· Eat less fat but more fiber.
· Consume adequate calories.
· Exercise to get rid of calories as well as to block your appetite swings.
· Go to bed earlier (fatigue often fuels overeating).
· Change places and people who may be conducive to your overeating.
· Control your stress due to anger, boredom, and loneliness.
· Make healthy food substitutes:
e.g. using brown rice syrup to replace honey in baking
and cooking
e.g. using cocoa powder or carob to replace chocolate
e.g. using avocado, dairy-free soy cheese, or
nutritional yeast to replace cheese
· Motivate yourself not to give in by focusing on the positive health benefits, such as lower blood pressure and cholesterol level, a healthy heart, and weight loss etc.
Once you have conquered food addiction, you are on the way to recovery from eating disorders.
Copyright©2008 by Stephen Lau
Return from Food Addiction to Home Page.
by
Stephen Lau
Addiction to food has long-term effects on your overall health. If you are addicted to unhealthy foods, resulting in unhealthy food cravings, you should do something to conquer this unhealthy addiction.
How to conquer food addiction
Overcoming food addiction, like any other addiction, is never easy.
Determination and will power
The long process of recovery, often punctuated with relapses, from food addiction requires determination to overcome all obstacles.
Lao Tzu said: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.” Take your first step: your determination to recover.
Use daily self-affirmations to reinforce your determination and will power to overcome food addiction.
Keep on believing that you can conquer your food addiction. Keep on keeping on.
Physical strength and bio-chemistry balance
Mental power to overcome obstacles requires ammunitions from the physical body. Rejuvenation is possible only if the body is willing to respond to recovery.
· Regulate your blood sugar level: low blood sugar makes you easily succumb to junk food.
· Enhance your appetite-controlling hormone: leptin controls abnormal eating patterns due to dieting.
· Balance your body's acid and alkalinity: excessive acidity produces toxins, which play havoc with your body's bio-chemistry.
Take an acid-alkaline diet to restore your body's bio-chemistry for rejuvenation.
· Reduce your hormone swings (if you are a woman): fluctuating estrogens account for food cravings.
Eating enough
Eat three regular meals: a breakfast, a lunch, and a dinner. Eat at regular times as much as possible.
Do not skip a breakfast, or any meal for that matter. Skipping a meal leads to a reduction of leptin (appetite-controlling hormone, also known as "thin" hormone) - your appetite may rebound and become out of control.
Consume at least your minimum calories:
Minimum calories = ideal body weight x 10
e.g. 150 pounds x 10 = 1500 calories a day
Eat enough: don't starve yourself, and neither do you stuff yourself.
Any dieting may lead to abnormal or irregular bodily metabolism and derail your leptin production - the culprit in the development of an eating disorder down the road.
A healthy breakfast
To conquer food addiction, begin your day with a healthy breakfast to boost and energize your body for the day.
Never SKIP a breakfast.
A balanced breakfast consists of the following:
· proteins (from beans, not from eggs, bacons, and sausages) to repair your body tissues
· carbohydrates to supply you with energy (not from the caffeine of coffee)
· fats (a small amount) to benefit the biochemistry of your cells
· vitamins and minerals to enhance your body’s metabolism for sharp thinking
Your choice of foods for an ideal breakfast should be based on:
· fiber-rich foods not only making you feel full but also anti-snacking
· blood-sugar-stabilizing foods e.g. oatmeal - curbing your food cravings throughout the morning until your lunch
· plant protein foods (animal protein containing fat with addictive opiates) - brown rice, whole meal bread, and beans
Avoid any type of sugar or unhealthful carbohydrate, such as white bread or bagel, which causes a blood sugar hike, followed by a dramatic drop in your blood sugar level, causing you to feel hungry. The release of sugar to increase serotonin (a neurotransmitter) in your brain to offset depression often causes sugar craving.
Avoid eggs, bacon, ham, and sausages or animal products: they contain no fiber; instead, they are rich in animal fat with opiates to sustain your food addiction. Instead, eat beans, which are high in fiber and rich in protein.
Avoid yogurt, which has no fiber and which is often loaded with fiber.
Oatmeal is an excellent food for stabilizing your blood sugar level to avert any impulse eating during the day.
Eat an apple to give you fiber and vitamins and minerals.
Always choose plant roughage, which is filling but without fattening, such as the covering of grain (brown rice), the chewy part of oats, and the skin of an apple.
Using foods to stabilize blood sugar level
A balanced blood sugar level does two things:
· It prevents impulse eating.
· It keeps hunger at bay for longer time.
Eat fiber-rich foods to break food addiction
Eat foods with low glycemic index (the rate of release of natural sugars into the bloodstream over a long period of time.
Glycemic Index over 90 is considered high; the lower the value, the less tendency to snack.
Using foods to boost leptin production
Leptin is the appetite-controlling hormone, also known as "thin" hormone.
Eat adequate calories to boost leptin production to minimize food addiction.
Eat low-fat foods.
Exercise regularly to enhance your body's responsiveness to leptin.
Break the circular cycle of food-addiction habit
To break the habit of food addiction, do something totally different.
· Eat a healthy breakfast.
· Eat less fat but more fiber.
· Consume adequate calories.
· Exercise to get rid of calories as well as to block your appetite swings.
· Go to bed earlier (fatigue often fuels overeating).
· Change places and people who may be conducive to your overeating.
· Control your stress due to anger, boredom, and loneliness.
· Make healthy food substitutes:
e.g. using brown rice syrup to replace honey in baking
and cooking
e.g. using cocoa powder or carob to replace chocolate
e.g. using avocado, dairy-free soy cheese, or
nutritional yeast to replace cheese
· Motivate yourself not to give in by focusing on the positive health benefits, such as lower blood pressure and cholesterol level, a healthy heart, and weight loss etc.
Once you have conquered food addiction, you are on the way to recovery from eating disorders.
Copyright©2008 by Stephen Lau
Return from Food Addiction to Home Page.
| Fiber | Glycemic Index | |
| Apple | 2.4 g | 57 |
| Banana | 2.7 g | 69 |
| Grapefruit | 1.4 g | 36 |
| Grapes | 0.9 g | 62 |
| Orange | 3.1 g | 69 |
| Peach | 1.7 g | 40 |
| Pear | 4.0 g | 53 |
| Pinapple | 1.9 g | 84 |
| Watermelon | 0.8 g | 103 |
| Fiber | Glycemic Index | |
| Bread, white | 0.6 g | 100 |
| Bread, rye | 1.9 g | 6 |
| Cereal, All-Bran | 20 g | 54 |
| Corn Flaks | 0.0 g | 130 |
| Oatmeal | 4.0 g | 87 |
| Rice, brown | 3.5 g | 72 |
| Spaghetti | 2.4 g | 55 |
| Fiber | Glycemic Indedx | |
| Baked beans | 6.4 g | 69 |
| Black beans | 7.5 g | 43 |
| Chickpeas | 5.3 g | 54 |
| Kidney beans | 6.6 g | 42 |
| Lentils | 7.8 g | 41 |
| Soy beans | 5.2 g | 25 |
| Fiber | Glycemic Index | |
| Asparagus | 2.8 g | |
| Broccoli | 4.6 g | |
| Carrot (raw) | 3.8 g | 23 |
| Potato (baked) | 4.8 g | 121 |
| Spinach | 4.4 g | |
| Sweet potato | 3.4 g | 77 |
| Yam | 2.7 g | 73 |