Hunger, Appetite, and Motivation, Part 4

Your physical jar easily will get full.  It is the emotional jar that tends to go empty, or almost empty.  And we will work very diligently to make sure it gets full before we go to bed.  That's why most people eat all evening.  They are making up for having not attended to their emotional jar.  They were "good" all day, having deprived themselves of the foods that truly satisfy, and are now being "bad" because of having to make up for the lost time and eating experiences.   Most bingeing and overeating are the result of deprivation of one sort or another.  And eating foods that are of no interest to you or just aren't satisfying at the time are a primary source of deprivation.  Over the years, I have found that when the issue of quality of the eating experience has been taken care of, in other words, when you are eating just what you want to be eating, when you want to be eating it, quantity becomes a moot point.  You don't overeat when you are in the habit of getting what you want when you want it.  There is no need, no drive, to over indulge when you can eat that particular food whenever you choose.  This may seem bizarre right now, but it is true.  Overeating a food occurs primarily when you have gone too long without eating it.  When you have deprived yourself of it and then must make up for lost time.  So from now on, always ask yourself, "Am I going to enjoy this?"  If you aren't, pick  another food and ask yourself the same question about it.  Do this until you can answer, "Yes, this is what I want to be eating at this time."  This is the best way to fill the emotional jar - to meet your appetite needs. 
Copyright 2011 Lynn Borenius Brown

OnlineandTelephoneCounseling.com

Hunger, Appetite, and Motivation, Part 3

Unless you, for some reason, have no access to food, there is no problem filling the physical jar.  None of us ever go hungry unelss we so chose.  And it doesn't take alot of food to fill it to the top.  So, there is rarely a problem with the physical side of eating.  The problem almost always lies in the appetite, the emotional, aspect.  You attempt to control eating by looking to external sources for information regarding food intake.  Most everyone knows a lot about nutrition, fat grams, calories, etc.  You look to this knowledge for the answers to consumption.  And while information is inherently useful from a practical standpoint, it has little to do with controlling your weight. 
The ability to lose weight and keep it off is grounded in being able to satisfy your appetite without eating more than your body needs for functioning.  To do this requires an intimate knowledge of what you need to eat at any given time.  This is easier to ascertain than you would at first believe.  What you do is this:  Every time you go to make a choice about what you are going to eat, the first question you ask yourself, the very first one, is "Am I going to enjoy this?"  If you aren't, go to another food choice.  It doesn't matter how healthy the food is, if it isn't going to satisfy you at this time, there is no purpose in eating it.  All you'll be doing is putting food in that small, physical jar without adding to the all important emotional jar.  So, from now on, eat only foods you are going to enjoy.  Don't compromise.

More about this next time.

Copyright 2011  Lynn Borenius Brown

OnlineandTelephoneCounseling.com

Hunger, Appetite, and Motivation, Part 2

What is appetite?  It is the longing or yearning for something especially desirable.  Appetite arises from previous pleasurable experiences.  Because both hunger and appetite entice us to eat, they are frequently confused.  Unfortunately, hunger is not required for eating - appetite alone is enough inducement.  And, it takes only a little food to abolish hunger, but we continue eating because of appetite.  And therein lies our main concern.
A good way to address this issue is to visualize two jars.  The way I see it is that each day you have to fill both jars.  One is the physical jar.  That one represents hunger.  And it is not very large.  The second one is the emotional jar.  It represents appetite.  This one is almost always larger than the physical jar.  What most of us do is overflow the physical jar in order to fill the emotional jar.  And that is why we gain weight.  Next time, we'll discuss this in detail.

Copyright 2011 Lynn Borenius Brown

For more information about video classes and individual sessions, please visit: http://EmpoweredDieter.org

Hunger, Appetite, and Motivation, Part 1

We are now going to start discussing hunger, appetite, and motivation.  This information will become very useful to you as you go through the weight managment process.  Being able to differentiate between hunger and appetite and meet your appetite needs will eliminate overeating as well as bingeing.  Understanding motivation and how you can go about getting and staying motivated will allow you to get to your goal.  So, let's get started.
What is hunger?  It is a primitive, elemental sensation that is felt as a dull ache or gnawing pain in the mid-chest region or somewhat lower.  Cycles of hunger-experience occur.  A cycle iusually begins with weak contractions.  These then become gradually more vigorous and appear at shorter intervals until the height of activity is reached, which may culminate in an actual spasm.  After this, the stomach usually relaxes and remains quiet for a period of time after which it starts again with occasional weak squeezes and the cycle is repeated.

Other than eating, what can stop hunger pangs?  Chewing movements and swallowing stop the sensation of hunger.  Not only chewing or swallowing, but also emotional excitement arrests digestive functions.  It also stops the muscular actions associated with hunger.  Smoking weakens them and may completely stop them, depending upon the strength of the tobacco.  Alcoholic beverages reduce contractions.  And very vigorous exercise inhibits recurrent constrictions but afterwards they are likely to return with greater intensity.  Oddly enough, tightening your belt also stops weak or moderate contractions.  The stoppage is, however, partial and even when complete it lasts only about five - 15 minutes then the contractions reappear despite continued pressure around the waist.

So, hunger is a physical sensation with no emotional component.  If this is so, then were do all our problems with snacking, overeating, and bingeing come from?  This takes us to appetite.

Copyright 2011  Lynn Borenius Brown

For more information about video classes and individual sessions, please visit: http://EmpoweredDieter.org

Water and Your Weight Loss, Part 4

Preferably, water should be cold.  It is absorbed into the system more quickly than warm water and evidence suggests that drinking water can actually help burn calories.
When the body gets the water it needs to function optimally, its fluids are perfectly balanced.  When this happens, the breakthrough point has been reached.  This means that endocrine-gland function improves, fluid retention is alleviated as stored water is lost, more fat is used as fuel because the liver is free to metabolize stored fat, natural thirst returnns, and there is a loss of hunger almost overnight.

If you stop drinking water, your body fluids wll again be thrown out of balance and you may experience fluid retention, unexplained weight gain, and loss of thirst.  To remedy this situation, you will need to resume drinking water.

Copyright 2011  Lynn Borenius Brown

For more information about video classes and individual sessions, please visit: http://EmpoweredDieter.org

Water and Your Weight Loss, Part 3

Water also helps the body to rid itself of waste.  And during weight loss the body has a lot more waste to get rid of.  All of the metabolized fat must be shed.  Again, adequate water helps flush out the waste.
Water helps relieve constipation.  When the body gets too little water, it siphons what it needs from intestinal sources.  Since the colon is one primary source, the result is consitpation.  But, when the body get enough water, normal bowel function returns.

How much water is enough?  On average, a person should drink eight 8-ounce glasses each day.  The overweight person needs one additional glass for every 25 pounds of excess weight.  Incerase the amount you drink if you exercise briskly or it the weather is hot and dry.  Except upon awakening, your unrine should be almost clear.  If it isn't, you aren't drinking enough water.

Copyright 2011  Lynn Borenius Brown

For more information about video classes and individual sessions, please visit: http://EmpoweredDieter.org

Water and Your Weight Loss, Part 2

Diuretics offer a temporary solution.  They force out stored water along with some essential nutrients.  Again, the body perceives a threat and will replace the lost water at the first opportunity.  So, the best way to overcome the problem of water retention is to give your body plenty of water.  By doing this, stored water will be released.
If water retention is a constant problem, excess salt may be the culprit.  The body will toelrate sodium only in a particular concentration.  The more salt you eat, the more water your system retains to dilute it.  But, getting rid of salt is easy.  All you have to do is to drink more water.  It takes away excess sodium, as it is forced through the kidneys.

An overweight person needs more water than a thin one.  Larger people have larger metabolic loads.  Since water is the key to fat metabolism, the overweight person needs more water.

Water helps to maintain proper muscle tone by giving muscles their natural ability to contract and by preventing dehydration.  It also helps to prevent the sagging skin that usually follows weightloss.  Shrinking cells are bouyed by the water, which plumps the skin and leaves it clear, healthy, and resilient.

Copyright 2011  Lynn Borenius Brown

For more information about video classes and individual sessions, please visit: http://EmpoweredDieter.org

Water and Your Weight Loss, Part 1

Water is probably the most important catalyst in losing weight and keeping it off.  Water may be the only magic potion for permanent weight management.

Water is a natural appetite suppressant and it helps the body metabolize stored fat.  Research has shown that a decrease in water intake causes an increase in fat deposits and an increase in water intake reduces fat deposits.  This occurs because the kidneys are unable to function properly without enough water.  When they don't work to capacity, some of their load is dumped unto the liver.  One of the liver's primary functions is to metabolize stored fat into usable energy for the body.  But if the liver has to do some of the kidneys' work, it can't operate at full capacity.  As a result, it metabolizers less fat so more fat remains stored in the body and weight loss stops.

The best treatment for fluid retention is drinking enough water.  When the body gets less water it perceives this as a threat to survival and begins to hold on to every drop.  This water is stored in extracellular spaces, that is, outside the cells.  The result is swoklen feet, legs, and hands.

Copyright 2011  Lynn Borenus Brown

For more information about video classes and individual sessions, please visit: http://EmpoweredDieter.org

The Importance of Regular Eating, Part 4

Every diet trains the body to slow down, losing some lean tissue and not replacing all of it.  This is because as soon as you return to normal eating after dieting, the body's need to regenerate causes cravings and extreme hunger.  Once the glycogen and water have been replaced, the body of a sedentary person, being used to fat, will tend to regain fat.  As a result, the proportion of fatty tissue increases.  Therefore, cumulatively, the composition of the body drastically alters.


Since fat is less dense, therefore lighter, the sedentary person who regains lost weight will be fatter because of replacing heavier muscle with lighter fat.  Fat contains air and muscle contains water.  An easy way to determine whether you are increasing or decreasing your percentage of body fat is to lie on your back in a pool with your arms outstretched.  The more of your body that sinks, the higher your percentage of lean tissue.


So, to effectively lose weight and keep it off you need to follow a personally-appropriate weight management program that provides a well-balanced food intake because your body will continually crave food until it gets what it needs to function effectively.  You need to eat at least three times per day because your body requires fuel every 4 -6  hours while you are awake.  If you eat only one or two meals per day, your body will hoard whatever you give it and not burn it up as fuel for functioning.  The habit needs to be continued after weight is lost if fat is to stay off.  If it isn't, your body will immediately begin to rebuild and most likely it will rebuild fat.


Copyright 2011  Lynn Borenius Brown

For more information about video classes and individual sessions, please visit: http://EmpoweredDieter.org

The Importance of Regular Eating, Part 3

The normal response to restricted food intake is a decrease in resting metabolic rate.  Dieting slows you down because dieting slows down the process of the active vital organs.
Overeating will not make you thin, but it will speed up the rate at which your body uses energy.  After overeating, your metabolic rate when asleep and at rest speeds up and so does the energy used as a direct result of eating.

Because body fat is metabolically less active than fat-free tissue (muscle and vital organs), the greater the proportion of fat-free tissue, the more the energy requirement.  The greater the proportion of fat in the body, the less energy required.  And, from adulthood onward, energy requirements decline about 4% per decade.  The more you weigh and the more lean body tissue you have, the higher your metabolic rate will tend to always be.

Copyright 2011  Lynn Borenius Brown

For more information about video classes and individual sessions, please visit: http://EmpoweredDieter.org

The Importance of Regular Eating, Part 2

Once your body has adapted to the restricted food intake (the diet) by releasing glycogen and shedding water, it then will tend to lose lean tissue.  And, the body of an overweight person will attempt to preserve fat just because that is what it is accustomed to doing.


The less food you eat, the less energy you need to digest it.  A diet that cuts 500 calories per day needs approximately 50 calories per day less for digestion.


The liver and associated areas use 27% of body energy, the brain uses 20%, skeletal muscles use 18%, kidneys 10%, the heart uses 7%, and the remainder of the vital organs use 18% of body energy.  65% of the energy is used by the vital organs whose combined weight totals only about 5% of the body's weight.  Most of the remaining energy is used by the muscles, which are more active than body fat.


 A sedentary person's body uses most of its energy from food for vital function.  An estimate of energy needs of a sedentary person are:  65% for autonomous functions, 10% for digestion, and 25% for all other activities.


Copyright 2011 Lynn Borenius Brown  

For more information about video classes and individual sessions, please visit: http://EmpoweredDieter.org

The Importance of Regular Eating, Part 1

Many overweight people eat only one meal per day thinking that the less they eat, the more weight they will lose.  This is, of course, not true.  Since the beginning of the 20th Century, Americans eat 10% less but have come to weight 14% more.  And generally, overweight people eat less than normal weight people.  That both groups remain at stable weights is a result of metabolism.


Metabolic rate is the speed at which your body uses energy for the process of replacing and renewing cells while asleep, for food digestion, and for activity.  Most people use most of their energy for the function of their vital organs, especially the brain, heart, liver, and kidneys.


When starting a diet or severely restricting food intake for any reason, your body's first reaction is to use the energy that is immediately available for emergencies.  This is not fat.  It is glycogen, a form of glucose (a carbohydrate) stored in solution with water in the body's most metabolically active organ, the liver.  The body contains approximately 7.5 pounds of glycogen in solution.  Glycogen burns faster than fat.  About 400 calories are required to burn one pound of glycogen in solution with water.


Copyright 2011 Lynn Borenius Brown

For more information about video classes and individual sessions, please visit: http://EmpoweredDieter.org

Dieting Can Make You Fat

Dieting can make you fat because diet books and weight loss establishments often assume that the body's metabolic rate is static.  It isn't.  Most of these diets imply that most, if not all, weight lost is fat.  It isn't.  The initial big loss during a diet is of water and glycogen, a form of glucose stored with water in the liver and muscles.  

Metabolic rate slows dramatically during a diet because much of the weight loss is tissue which, unlike fat, is designed to be metabolically active.  Hence the slowing down of weight loss as the diet continues.  The body will shed active tissue that consumes a lot of energy (lean mass) and will protect the relatively inactive tissue (fat) which is vital to store in times of starvation or famine.  The body of an active person will adapt to protect muscle that is constantly used.  The body of a sedentary person will shed muscle because it isn't used very much.  

Constant dieting trains the body to endure diets.  It does this by a process of shedding some lean tissue and replacing it with fat.  Therefore, the metabolic rate of the dieter drops from one diet to the next.  Dieting slows down the body and creates the conditions for gaining fat.  Gradually, dieters get fatter and fatter on less and less food.  Since fat weighs less than lean tissue, you can lose weight by dieting and still gain a greater volume, as well as proportion, of fat to lean tissue.


Copyright 2011  Lynn Borenius Brown

For more information about video classes and individual sessions, please visit: http://EmpoweredDieter.org

Three Truths

There are three fundamental truths about how we should see ourselves in relation to food.  They need to become a part of your new, thinning perspective so you can overcome your resistance to the many changes that are a result of weight management.

The first truth is that the purpose of weight management is to learn how to maintain your goal weight once you have gotten there.  The purpose is not to have you in a state of constant food deprivation or to deny you the sensory pleasure of eating.

Truth number two is that permanent weight management is achieved by learning personally-appropriate habits.  It is the personally-appropriate habits that must become your normal pattern.  Weight loss cannot be sustained if the old habits remain.

The third truth is that weight management is successful only when your attitude changes from that of haste and impatience to taking as much time as necessary for the transformation to be complete.  Weight that is lost slowly and thoughtfully has a much better chance of staying off

Copyright 2011 Lynn Borenius Brown

For more information about video classes and individual sessions, please visit: http://EmpoweredDieter.org

Three Myths

Myth 1:  It is best to lose as much weight as quickly as possible.
The truth is that it is not best to lose weight quickly.  In order to do that you would have to resort to a fad or crash diet.  These types of diets can be hazardous to your health if they do not provide a proper balance of nutrients.  An average weekly weight loss of one pound is recommended.


Myth 2:  You will lose weight every week when following a weight management program.  
No.  The truth is that you probably won't.  Anyone can reach a plateau where there is a temporary halt in weight loss. This is normal. As long as you continue following your program, making sure you don't eat less, thinking this will make you lose more, you will eventually begin losing again.


Myth 3:  Your stomach will shrink after losing weight for a few weeks.
This is not true.  Studies have shown that if a person permanently reduces the quantity of food eaten, not as much food will be required to feel full.  But, the stomach does not shrink.  Research has also shown that if a person stays away from sweets and rich foods, the body becomes accustomed to not having them.  Some people actually report feeling ill when they eat these foods again.


Copyright 2011  Lynn Borenius Brown

For more information about video classes and individual sessions, please visit: http://EmpoweredDieter.org

Apples & Pears

As I have already indicated, heredity seems to influence where fat settles.  And, there are two general body shapes:  apples and pears.  Apples, mostly men, have beer-belly profiles, carrying the extra pounds in the upper torso and around the abdomen.  Pears, usually women, collect excess weight below the waist, in chunky hips, fannies, and thighs.  Fat distribution appears to be related to the balance of female and male hormones in the body.  For example:  apple women, those who put on weight along the male pattern, tend to have higher than normal levels of male hormones.  Medically, it is better to be a pear than an apple since apples carry an unfair share of the health risk.


Also, there are small molecules called alpha and beta receptors on the surface of fat cells.  The alpha receptors stimulate fat accumulation and the beta receptors stimulate fat breakdown.  It has been found that the fat cells on women's hips and thighs tend to have predominantly alpha receptors, which means they tend to hold on to fat.  It appears that your shape will remain fairly constant over time.  But all is not lost.  After getting to your goal, you'll be a beautiful or handsome shape, whatever it may be.


Copyright 2011 Lynn Borenius Brown

For more information about video classes and individual sessions, please visit: http://EmpoweredDieter.org

Fat Cells

Adults have between 30 and 40 billion fat cells.  They swell and shrink like sponges depending upon the amount of fat inside them.  They may become very small, but they never disappear.  Fat cells are as protected as brain cells during starvation.  The explanation has to do with the distant past when famines were frequent.  A ready-to-fill supply of fat cells ensured that energy stores could be replenished as soon as food became available.  Therefore, to an extent, we are all programmed toward being fat.  Storing fat is useful and lifesaving, which is why it is jealously guarded by the body.

Fat cells appear in early childhood but more develop  later, particularly at puberty.  Additional fat cells are found only when a person is at least 60% above ideal weight for his or her height and age.  So, if you are heavy and always have been, you need to shrink the cells you have by weight management.

Copyright 2011  Lynn Borenius Brown

For more information about video classes and individual sessions, please visit: http://EmpoweredDieter.org

Heredity

Welcome to Empowered Dieter - your path to achieving weight management success! 

Overweight parents tend to produce overweight offspring even when their baby is adopted and raised by a thin couple.  And, identical twins remain remarkably close in weight until early puberty, when environmental factors exert a strong pull. 

Heredity seems to be particularly influential in where fat settles.  It also determines the strategy your body uses to get rid of excess calories.  So, heredity does have something to do with being overweight. 

This genetic factor partially explains why some individuals can eat an enormous amount of food and stay thin while others may eat small portions and gain weight.  Hearty eaters who are lean are less efficient at using the calories in food.  If you are overweight, there is a chance that your body is a more efficient food burner.  You have probably inherited the ability to use food efficiently and store the excess, unused calories as fat. 

But all is not lost. If you are knowledgable about your body and your food needs and put the information into practice, you will be fine

Next week, we'll talk about fat cells.




Copyright 2011  Lynn Borenius Brown

For more information about video classes and individual sessions, please visit: http://EmpoweredDieter.org

Welcome!

Welcome to Empowered Dieter - your path to achieving weight management success! 


Each week, I'll be giving you important information regarding how to lose weight and keep it off without any gimmicks.


I'm Dr. Lynn Brown, a counselor and educator.  I'll be your guide on this journey toward being in control of your weight loss.


 This educational approach to weight management uses an holistic approach to weight management, dealing with both attitude and habit changes. Because you are participating in this program, you’ll learn how to take control of your eating and begin listening to how you feel about the choices you are making. You will determine what eating pattern is personally-appropriate, where food belongs in your life, and use your natural desires and abilities to help you get what you want—long-term weight management success.

For more information about video classes and individual sessions, please visit:  http://EmpoweredDieter.org