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Have you ever
felt guilty about eating too much? Labeled yourself a weakling who cannot control himself or
herself? If yes, then you are not alone and it's pity how lack of information can actually make the
situation worse wherein we think we are trying our level best to stop food
cravings.
what we call our eating
disorders while in actual fact we are exacerbating it.
Don't go out
buying any book about how to stop food cravings before you take some time and read the content on
this site. We will first tell you more about the science behind food cravings.No! no! don't stress
it's nothing complicated just what you need to know. We will teach you about your body so that you
would be in a position to use natural ways to control food cravings. Then we will recommend some
foods to eat in order to be on your way to conquiring your cravings.
What causes food
cravings?
It is argued by
some researchers that food cravings are body's way of "demanding" nutrients it lacks. For example,
sugar cravings can be caused by low blood sugar levels. Of course some cravings can be based on
other various physiological needs. Carbohydrate cravings by people who exercise a lot could be
caused by a reduction of glycogen stores, which carbohydrates replenish.
1)
Exhaustion
When we have
exhausted our body, we have low blood sugar and/or low serotonin and the brain will pick up the
signals and you will feel the cravings. This will usually be sugar cravings or
carbohydrates.
Serotonin makes
us feel good. If this hormone is low in our bodies, we feel sad or depressed. A reduction of
serotonin can be caused by a hormonal imbalance or weak digestion. The fact is carbohydrates and
sugars release only a small amount of serotonin: we may feel good for a moment but it takes a short
amount of time to relapse and then we will be unable to stop food cravings or rather we will crave
more sugar and other simple carbohydrates.
If you blame
yourself for the food cravings you only worsen your mood and increase your need for serotonin. This
is when you may start the emotional eating pattern. Keep in mind that there are natural causes of
sugar cravings, and your carbohydrate craving is rarely just a behavioral problem. The source of
the problem is more likely lack of adequate nutrition.
2) Low
fat diets
Most people do
not know that low-fat diet can make the problem worse. If you eat a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet
the odds are good that you will eventually become insulin resistant. By insulin resistant it means
your body stops responding to insulin which is responsible for maintaining stable blood sugar
levels by telling the body's cells when to absorb glucose from the blood stream. So it doesn't
matter how much you eat, if you are insulin resistant you will gain weight eventually. While you
gain weight your cells will not be able to absorb the glucose you need, so they send a message to
your brain that you need more sugar (carbohydrates). You can guess what will happen after that; yes
- exactly, continuous food cravings.
Linda Moran a
diet survivor says,
" After my
fourth baby, I innocently went on a diet, and ended up with an eating disorder for my troubles.
Fortunately, I knew how to use a branch of psychology called cognitive therapy, and my recovery was
fairly quick"
In her highly
accredited book,
How to Survive Your Diet and Conquer Your Food Issues
Forever  she writes about where she went wrong in her own dieting life, and how she
got on the right track permanently."
3)
Adrenal fatigue
If you have
difficulty sleeping or under a lot of stress you probably feel tired most of the time. This will
lead to adrenal exhaustion. Now, again your brain will pick up the signals and you will start to
feel a craving for something to consumer in order to lift your spirit.
You will find yourself eating Carbohydrate snacks or drinking coffee or even alcohol all of
which will add on to your cravings as discussed earlier. This will make it even more diffucult
for you to stop food cravings.
Now take some
time to go through the information contained in this site, which offer some strategies relating to food.You will learn more about the hormones in your body and how to curb food cravings for
good. It is not as hard as many may say. With a litle bit of knowledge and committment you will
conquire food cravings and control your weight and life. We recommend that you start by reading
about Serotonin.
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