Mind Over Munchies

By Al Sears, MD

Your brain tells you that you want to eat when your body needs nourishment. But it also tells you to eat when you’re feeling stressed, depressed, anxious or lonely.

That’s because hunger doesn’t only originate in your stomach. It’s also triggered by your mind.

But you can overcome temptation and curb emotional eating habits by manipulating the same trigger mechanism that prompts them – your brain. Here’s how:

• Reduce your hunger cravings. You can do this by filling up on protein. High-protein foods give your body what it needs to stay energized throughout the day. If there’s no mid-afternoon “crash,” you’ll be less tempted to eat your trigger food.

You can start with a high-protein breakfast like cage-free eggs and grass-fed steak, or a grass-fed whey protein shake. That will help you feel full throughout the day. And if you combine it with a high-protein lunch like a wild salmon salad, you’ll find it easier to curb your cravings all day long.

• Replace junk-food snacks and beverages with natural alternatives. For example, instead of eating potato chips while watching television, have some walnuts or almonds. Nuts are the perfect snack because they’re natural, they fill you up, and they have good fats that your body needs to function properly.

Another good option is sipping a glass of water instead of drinking soda. Water can help curb your craving by making you feel full.

It’s also a good idea to replace junk food with tasty natural alternatives like locally grown organic fruit and vegetables. That will help you break the cycle of binge eating and drop pounds of fat.

• Overcome emotional eating with “mind therapy.” With a doctor’s help, this medical technique lets you tap into a part of your brain that makes it easier to attain your goals, like weight reduction, in a more effective manner.

A study performed by the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology found that when used with proper eating habits and exercise, “mind therapy” can boost overall weight reduction by 146 percent.1

In another study, people who wanted to drop weight were put into two separate groups. One group used “mind therapy” and the other did not. As a result, the “mind therapy” group dropped an average of 17 pounds while the other group dropped an average of only half a pound.2

1 Cochrane G., Friesen J., “Hypnotherapy in weight reduction treatment,” Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology 1986; 54(4): 489-92.
2 Allison, D.B., and Faith, M.S., “Hypnosis as an adjunct to cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy for obesity: A meta-analytic reappraisal,” Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology 1996; 64:513-516.

http://www.alsearsmd.com/