The see-food diet wins a brain reward every time!

                                     

If chocolate's on the menu, unless I have a great deal of restraint, or a strong awareness of being full, there's a likelihood of me having this reaction (Abby Lee Miller of Lifetime TV's Dance Mom's fame). It's a challenge all humans face around the 'not so good for you' food. We've not evolved quickly enough on from our hunter/gatherer years when food was not freely available, so we seek high density foods, like those high in sugar or high in fat.   

We get a 'reward' and particularly with chocolate, the release of 'feel good' hormones. Our brain seems hardwired to go get that fatty, calorie-loaded food.

It's the same with Ice-cream. The high fat addition to many cheaper value ranges, make people respond just like Abby did in the picture above. 

People 'see food' and start to get a reward in their brains before they even get a dollop of it on their tongue. Advertisers know this. Just seeing an image of chocolate I can honestly 'smell it' and salivate, particularly when I'm hungry. Those pesky advertisers.... 

Back to Abby (above pics) who recently lost a lot of weight after nursing her elderly mother in a hospice. I feel for anyone dealing with someone during late stages of life. Abby was quoted as having tried to get her mom to eat by even taking in her favourite restaurant food. Her mom could not eat it and feeling nauseous much of the time. Seeing this may have prompted a reaction from Abby. Stress can lead to not eating or to over-eating.  Normally a positive response to food from others encourages us to 'go ahead'. Seeing her mom refuse food may have also enabled Abby to put her food brakes on too. This and the recent bad news of having 'diabetes' another reason for her weight loss plan. Either way, I hope Abby fits well into her life. She's a force to be reckoned with and I admire her tenacity. It's one quality needed to overcome a food addiction/ emotional response to food. We all have it, some just need to find what makes them really want to stop over-eating.    

Through HypnoShape ®  I've helped others to find their way forward to seeing food as a fuel and not an emotional need and putting their food brakes on.  A recent testimonial: "I would recommend this programme because it will change the way you think and feel about food" & "My thought process (around food) is much more positive and mindful"

Want to know more about HypnoShape - A 6-session weight reduction programme? Please get in touch.  Email: info@angiegiles.co.uk or via telephone number below. 

Thanks for reading.
Angie

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About the Author: Angie works as a hypnotherapist, counsellor and coach at the Norfolk Clinic Complementary Healthcare Clinic, 38-40 Magdalen Road, Norwich, NR3 4AG. 

Call Norfolk Clinic reception on 01603 660792 or call Angie directly on 07773 610816. She loves helping people achieve their potential at work, in life and finding greater happiness using a range of therapeutic techniques. 

stress and eating

I have been aware for a while of a hormone in the human body - and from reading research information also observed in mice - which is triggered and affected by stress. It's not a newly discovered hormone, but one that has increasingly been studied in understanding depression, overeating and obesity. More research is needed, though at least hormones are being taken more seriously and gradually the stigma surrounding people with obesity will begin to fall away. I speak to many who are deeply ashamed (feeling of social stigma) and are personally unhappy with how they feel, their behaviour around food and how they look. More research is underway on the hormonal links, I'm just not sure how quickly that knowledge will filter down. Also whether a pharmaceutical solution comes into play rather than therapies like hypnotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy or counselling which could all address the stress or depression in the first place (save taxpayers money in the long run too!).


If someone 'feels' depressed the depression itself may be organic (back to the old favourite 'mind body connection') so if we work on the depression, the 'mind' - then perhaps the hormonal balance might be tipped. That makes logical sense to me. I have seen some great results with my clients on balancing out their emotions as well as their eating habits. I help clients to tackle losing weight and to manage stress through individual or group sessions.

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