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Tue, Dec-27-05, 11:44
Lose Weight Without Dieting
by Selene Yeager, Prevention magazine
Prevention
Many people struggling with their weight are what Stephen P. Gullo, Ph.D., a prominent weight-loss expert in New York City, calls food therapists—people who use food to deal with stress and the problems of life.
"They have developed a one-word response to any and all problems: Eat!" says Dr. Gullo, author of Thin Tastes Better (Carol Southern Books, 1995).
It's not surprising that so many people use food as a tranquilizer, says Dori Winchell, Ph.D., a psychologist in private practice specializing in eating disorders in Encinitas, CA. "From the time you're a baby through childhood, whenever you're unhappy, someone soothes you with a cookie. We've been pairing emotions with eating for so long that it's little wonder we know anything else." What's more, admits Dr. Winchell, food works. "Food can create soothing changes in brain chemistry, and even the simple act of chewing will increase endorphins and ease your pain."
To top it off, the stress you feel when you're upset actually makes you feel hungry and creates body fat. Chronic stress from deadline pressures at work to painful baggage from your past triggers your body to increase the production of cortisol, the hormone that encourages fat storage, particularly around the belly. Your body also pumps increased adrenaline into your bloodstream, which makes your pancreas churn out insulin. That leads to incessant hunger, explains Pamela M. Peeke, M.D., M.PH., assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and author of the best-selling book Fight Fat After Forty (Viking Press, 2000).
You eat for relief, which, unfortunately, lasts only as long as the last bite. Then the problems you were trying to solve with food suddenly reappear. (Surprise: They never went away.) And you feel like a failure: Not only didn't you solve your problems, you created a new one, right there around your waist!
The solution? Find tools besides a fork to attack emotional angst. In the time it takes to forage for your favorite quick-fix food, you can take steps to break the cycle, beat stress, eliminate emotional eating and yes, finally drop that excess weight for good without even trying.
Feed your real hunger
Sometimes food cravings mean you want food, but often, especially for emotional eaters, they're saying you want something else: It could be creative stimulation, companionship, or more satisfaction in life. That was true for Karen Jones (not her real name) of Rockville, MD, who shed 70 lb from her 210-lb frame when she identified her eating triggers as boredom, frustration, and loneliness. "I'd tried, and ultimately failed, countless diets," says Jones. "But once I understood why I was eating and started confronting those issues head-on, the weight came off without any diet at all." Not sure what you're actually "hungry" for? Here's how to figure it out and "feed" it.
Play detective. Keep a food journal, suggests eating expert Joan Chrisler, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Connecticut College in New London. "Every time you reach for food, write down what you eat and how you were feeling. Bored? Frustrated? Happy? Before long, you'll see a pattern. Then you can start to break it."
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Try Weight Watchers® TurnAround™!
· Start losing weight now
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· 25 tips for big weight loss
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· Which plan is for you?
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· Free Personal Assessment
Shop for some stimulants. Do you eat when you're bored? Time to make a new "grocery" list, says Dr. Chrisler. Buy inexpensive, accessible things such as books, CDs, and tapes or DVDs of favorite films that provide the emotional lift you're seeking from food. Keep them handy, and turn to them when you're down.
Make a human connection. "For some people, food is love," says Prevention columnist Edward M. Hallowell, M.D., psychiatry instructor at Harvard Medical School. "You may be hungry for feeling, closeness and companionship." Or, like Karen, you eat to escape painful feelings. "Make a human connection instead," suggests Dr. Hallowell. "Call your best friend." Make sure you pick someone who makes you feel good. If you have issues with a parent or friend, calling them could lead you to finish off an entire row of cookies.
Create new habits. Many people eat every time there's a lull, such as during TV commercials, says eating disorders expert Sandra Haber, Ph.D., adjunct associate clinical professor at Adelphi University's Derner Institute in New York City. Be prepared for those lulls. "Keep manicure supplies, stacks of empty photo albums, or a cross-stitch project by the TV for something to do," she suggests. Even better, find a hobby. When you're engrossed in something you love, you forget all about eating, especially if you're active. Falling in love with bicycling, for instance, has helped Karen Jones maintain her new 140-lb figure.
Head toward your dreams. Maybe you're hungering for a big change, such as a more satisfying career. Go for it, one little step at a time. "Take a class at a community college, or just start talking to people in that field. Moving toward goals is exhilarating," says Dr. Peeke, who saw one client drop 60 lb once she left a safe but unfulfilling job and pursued her dreams to be a caterer.
Rethink your rewards. Like most people, you probably eat to celebrate happiness too. (Don't most happy occasions involve eating?) Find new, affordable rewards such as earrings or tickets to a play or movie.
Learn more about how to lose weight without dieting:
Put Down Your Pain
Learn to Relax
Selene Yeager is a contributing editor to Prevention magazine. She is also the author of Selene Yeager's Perfectly Fit and other health titles.
Provided by Prevention
by Selene Yeager, Prevention magazine
Prevention
Many people struggling with their weight are what Stephen P. Gullo, Ph.D., a prominent weight-loss expert in New York City, calls food therapists—people who use food to deal with stress and the problems of life.
"They have developed a one-word response to any and all problems: Eat!" says Dr. Gullo, author of Thin Tastes Better (Carol Southern Books, 1995).
It's not surprising that so many people use food as a tranquilizer, says Dori Winchell, Ph.D., a psychologist in private practice specializing in eating disorders in Encinitas, CA. "From the time you're a baby through childhood, whenever you're unhappy, someone soothes you with a cookie. We've been pairing emotions with eating for so long that it's little wonder we know anything else." What's more, admits Dr. Winchell, food works. "Food can create soothing changes in brain chemistry, and even the simple act of chewing will increase endorphins and ease your pain."
To top it off, the stress you feel when you're upset actually makes you feel hungry and creates body fat. Chronic stress from deadline pressures at work to painful baggage from your past triggers your body to increase the production of cortisol, the hormone that encourages fat storage, particularly around the belly. Your body also pumps increased adrenaline into your bloodstream, which makes your pancreas churn out insulin. That leads to incessant hunger, explains Pamela M. Peeke, M.D., M.PH., assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and author of the best-selling book Fight Fat After Forty (Viking Press, 2000).
You eat for relief, which, unfortunately, lasts only as long as the last bite. Then the problems you were trying to solve with food suddenly reappear. (Surprise: They never went away.) And you feel like a failure: Not only didn't you solve your problems, you created a new one, right there around your waist!
The solution? Find tools besides a fork to attack emotional angst. In the time it takes to forage for your favorite quick-fix food, you can take steps to break the cycle, beat stress, eliminate emotional eating and yes, finally drop that excess weight for good without even trying.
Feed your real hunger
Sometimes food cravings mean you want food, but often, especially for emotional eaters, they're saying you want something else: It could be creative stimulation, companionship, or more satisfaction in life. That was true for Karen Jones (not her real name) of Rockville, MD, who shed 70 lb from her 210-lb frame when she identified her eating triggers as boredom, frustration, and loneliness. "I'd tried, and ultimately failed, countless diets," says Jones. "But once I understood why I was eating and started confronting those issues head-on, the weight came off without any diet at all." Not sure what you're actually "hungry" for? Here's how to figure it out and "feed" it.
Play detective. Keep a food journal, suggests eating expert Joan Chrisler, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Connecticut College in New London. "Every time you reach for food, write down what you eat and how you were feeling. Bored? Frustrated? Happy? Before long, you'll see a pattern. Then you can start to break it."
advertisement
Try Weight Watchers® TurnAround™!
· Start losing weight now
· Read how Kim lost 206lbs!
· 25 tips for big weight loss
· Get FREE recipes!
· Read about TurnAround
· Which plan is for you?
· Get 28 weight-loss tips!
· Free Personal Assessment
Shop for some stimulants. Do you eat when you're bored? Time to make a new "grocery" list, says Dr. Chrisler. Buy inexpensive, accessible things such as books, CDs, and tapes or DVDs of favorite films that provide the emotional lift you're seeking from food. Keep them handy, and turn to them when you're down.
Make a human connection. "For some people, food is love," says Prevention columnist Edward M. Hallowell, M.D., psychiatry instructor at Harvard Medical School. "You may be hungry for feeling, closeness and companionship." Or, like Karen, you eat to escape painful feelings. "Make a human connection instead," suggests Dr. Hallowell. "Call your best friend." Make sure you pick someone who makes you feel good. If you have issues with a parent or friend, calling them could lead you to finish off an entire row of cookies.
Create new habits. Many people eat every time there's a lull, such as during TV commercials, says eating disorders expert Sandra Haber, Ph.D., adjunct associate clinical professor at Adelphi University's Derner Institute in New York City. Be prepared for those lulls. "Keep manicure supplies, stacks of empty photo albums, or a cross-stitch project by the TV for something to do," she suggests. Even better, find a hobby. When you're engrossed in something you love, you forget all about eating, especially if you're active. Falling in love with bicycling, for instance, has helped Karen Jones maintain her new 140-lb figure.
Head toward your dreams. Maybe you're hungering for a big change, such as a more satisfying career. Go for it, one little step at a time. "Take a class at a community college, or just start talking to people in that field. Moving toward goals is exhilarating," says Dr. Peeke, who saw one client drop 60 lb once she left a safe but unfulfilling job and pursued her dreams to be a caterer.
Rethink your rewards. Like most people, you probably eat to celebrate happiness too. (Don't most happy occasions involve eating?) Find new, affordable rewards such as earrings or tickets to a play or movie.
Learn more about how to lose weight without dieting:
Put Down Your Pain
Learn to Relax
Selene Yeager is a contributing editor to Prevention magazine. She is also the author of Selene Yeager's Perfectly Fit and other health titles.
Provided by Prevention