Controlling Your Appetite
The every-day food choices made by people of all ages influence their health and well being by supplying energy and specific nutrients for the body’s functions. The concept of optimal nutrition is about eating the right amounts of foods and therefore nutrients, for each individual to live their life fully and in good health. Researches are trying to identify these ‘right amounts’ for people in different population groups and to examine the influence of psychological and cognitive factors on food intake and health outcomes.
We all need a specific amount of calories just to lie in bed and breath. This is referred to as the BMR, or Basic Metabolic Rate.
How many calories do you need?
That’s individual, and it is also connected to your state of health.
The number of daily calories needed tends to run high with some diseases.
There are tricks to help you control your appetite.
The Control Concept
Systems in our brain regulate appetite, eating behaviours, and manage body weight.
The appetite system is based on programs in the old reptilian brain. This system is designed to establish the most efficient path to reliably available food, then to lock in the behaviour and repeat it without further modification. Our appetite system tends to run automatically at this primitive level and defies conscious attempts to alter the program. Any insightful person will be able to track the importance of food searches in their own behaviour. If you watch the people around you, you will readily confirm the primacy of feeding behaviours in human social existence.
It is possible to construct a rather elaborate model of brain function in terms of the brain's attempt to regulate the molecular flow of food materials. Feeding behaviours are highly automated and seem to be designed around recursive loops.
Choose sensibly . . .
- Choose a diet that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol and moderate in total fat
- Choose and prepare foods with less salt.
- If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation.
Build a healthy base . . .
- Chose a variety of fruits and vegetables daily
- Keep food safe to eat
Aim for fitness . . .
- Aim for a healthy weigh
- Be physicaly active each day
Stress and fat
Chronic stress can cause cravings for cookies, candy, chips and other high-fat, high-carbohydrate foods.
Stress is being shown to play a significant role in a wide variety of conditions and disease states. Recent work from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and other major research centers has demonstrated that stress is a significant contributor to immune dysfunction, cardiovascular disease, other age-related disorders, and to excess body fat. Over 20% of adults have an obesity-like condition characterized by an excessive amount of abdominal fat. Until now, the only course of action for loosing this fat has been stress reduction with exercise and diet.
Many people have unsuccessfully tackled fitness programs in the past. These unsuccessful attempts can bring on the fear of failure. However, you may begin to realize that your weight problem goes deeper than that. You may feel uneasy, even scared, when picturing yourself "in-shape," energized, and living life to the fullest.
Could it be that many people fear the very goal that they seek?
Along with success comes the possibility that people will view you differently and treat you differently. Some people feel that getting and staying healthy and fit is "just one more commitment" in an already over-committed life. And there is the worry that as your body changes, you change, too. Once you get a grip on your fitness-related fears, you can gradually overcome them.
There are myths and misinformation put thoughts into people's heads that they have to work out like crazy forever. Movie stars train for hours a day to prepare for a role and to keep their bodies in Hollywood-shape, and professional athletes dedicate 50+ hours a week to their sport.
You could think of exercise as a prescription. When you get your medicine, you don't take the whole bottle at once, do you? Of course not. The medicine wouldn't work, and it would be extremely harmful to your body in large quantities.
"I don't have time" is a common excuse to avoid exercise
The fear that people will treat you differently is not so easily gotten rid of. Even though the desire to look fantastic and feel strong is at or near the top of want lists, many people worry about the reactions to their improved appearance.
Suddenly, you're being flirted with and being showered with compliments. When you're overweight, you have the protection of the extra weight that takes you out of the competition. In other words, excess weight can serve as a barrier of protection against what is desired and, at the same time, feared.
Think positive and your problem is half solved
The power of positive thinking
Positive psychology shifts the focus from what's wrong with us to what's right with us. The latest research in this fledgling field has shown that cultivating emotions such as optimism, joy, contentment, and interest can help prevent and treat problems-such as anxiety, depression, and stress-related health problems-rooted in negative emotions.
- Positive people are stress resilient.
- Positive people are better problem solvers.
- Positive people take better care of their health.
- Positive people are happier
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