Buy Meal.com - Guide to Good Food

Stress Eating & Unbearable Cravings

Email 50 Million Daily - FREE!

It's common to respond to stress by distracting yourself with your favorite comfort foods. Here are some ideas for healthier ways to cope when you're under pressure:

1. Do a preemptive strike on unhealthy eating. Keep unacceptable foods out of the house. If you know a particular food will be irresistible to you when you're stressed, make sure it is not within your grasp.

2. Keep your hands busy. Find something else to do with your hands besides eat. Keep the daily crossword handy, turn your attention to minor chores, surf the internet, or distract yourself by picking up the phone and calling your friends or family.

3. Reach for healthy snacks. If you have to eat, make sure that any foods you reach for will be healthy ones. Try crunchy vegetables like celery sticks, green-pepper strips, cauliflower buds, and broccoli florets. If you don't want them plain, dip them in hummus or an eggplant dip. Prepare these snacks ahead of time, and keep them in front of your refrigerator.

4. Avoidance! If you find it hard to stop eating something once you've started, your best bet may be to avoid the food completely. Once you give in, it's all too easy to overeat without thinking about it. Take it from me, the ultimate Peanut Butter Abuser!

It is not easy to resist cravings yet also to respond to hunger. Sometimes, it's not always easy to tell which is which.

Here are guidelines for telling the difference:

Hunger is the feeling you get when your blood sugar gradually drops; about four or five hours after a meal. It's your body's way of telling you that you're past due for your next feeding. Cravings, on the other hand, happen within a couple of hours after a meal. They occur as a result of reactive hypoglycemia; when your brain realizes your blood sugar is too-low and your body starts to crave foods that will give it a fast fix—usually a High-Glycemic carbohydrate. See http://www.aim4nutrition.com/glycemicindex.html

Reactive hypoglycemia is a vicious cycle. Once you eat a High-Glycemic carb to cure your cravings, you've set yourself up for another spike and subsequent quick drop in blood sugar—which will, in turn, make you crave more carbs. Because it may not always be possible to determine whether you are experiencing cravings or real hunger, it's best to eat consistent, regular meals and healthy snacks throughout the day. If you don't give your body the chance to be hungry, you won't be at risk of having cravings.

One thing to look out for; sugar, fat and salt can be addictive. The foods we crave usually have plenty of these ingredients. Sweet foods have almost as much salt and fat as potato chips. Salty foods such as crackers and spreads have fat and added sugar. The more you eat sugar, the more your body can tolerate it, so your body starts craving it more often to feel satisfied.

The first step to control cravings is to take unnecessary salt and sugar out of your diet. READ the ingredients list and choose simpler foods with much less salt and sugar.

Satisfy cravings with the most nutritious version of the foods you like. If you crave chocolate, pick dark chocolate. It is rich in magnesium, fiber, antioxidants and, compared to milk chocolate, it is a bit lower in sugar, fat and calories. The fat is dark chocolate does not raise cholesterol or harm blood vessels the way milk chocolate can. Have a small portion of 1.5 ounces.

Hunger is intensified too much by variety. Limit meals & snacks to one kind of food at any given time of day and you'll fill up faster on few calories. Uniform eating will help you be more successful at losing fat and will make it easy for you to food shop.

Don't starve yourself. It will eventually backfire and lead you to binge. If you are hungry, then eat. Just choose healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, lean protein and whole grains

My fat loss and fitness plan "Every Body Loses" will give you the tools you need to begin a healthy fat loss program. The style of eating and exercising outlined in my book is one that you can follow for life without feeling deprived. If you're serious about losing fat and getting fit go to http://www.aim4nutrition.com and get started TODAY!

Aimee Deak
Personal Trainer & Nutrition Analyst
AIM 4 NUTRITION
http://www.aim4nutrition.com

Aimee Deak is a certified personal trainer, nutrition analyst and author of the book, "Every Body Loses", an easy-to follow, step-by-step guide to fat loss.

You can find more information about fat loss and exercise on her website http://www.aim4nutrition.com

Email 50 Million Daily - FREE!

MORE ARTICLES:

New Ice Scoop Ensures Safe Handling, Food Safety at Restaurants and Bars
The new San Jamar Saf-T-Scoop? & Guardian System ensures safe ice handling at restaurants and bars. Food safety in the food service industry is a legitimate concern, as a recent study found more than one out of every five samples of ice contains high levels of bacteria.

From Food Software, To Restaurant Software, To Catering Software
Running a catering business or a restaurant is not a small task. Being in this industry not only includes cooking food but much more than that. A good caterer needs to possess distinguished qualities of an accountant, a manager, a marketer, a sales person, and a bill collector. Being an expert in all these fields is simply impractical for any single person. And this is where catering software tools come in and play multi purpose tasks for a caterer. According to one estimate, catering industry in the US alone is at around a whooping $5 billion per year. As a caterer needs to perform a number of tasks such as cooking, serving and managing, catering software will generally range from all types of food software to restaurant accounting, and ge...

Historical Restaurant Mirrors Change In Los Angeles' Food And Drink Scene
Los Angeles' noted Brown Derby restaurant played host to many stars during Hollywood's 'Golden Age.' The eatery was an example of novelty architecture, as it was built to resemble a brown derby hat. The Brown Derby was the first restaurant to serve chiffon cake, a recipe invented by an insurance salesman and later given wide distribution by Betty Crocker.

Italian Restaurant, Antonino's, Ranked Top In Inland Empire By Major Food Critic
?Antonino's in Rancho Cucamonga is one of those fine dining restaurants that lots of the locals know about but those outside of the area are not familiar with. It is one of the top Italian restaurants in the Inland Empire,? states Allan Borgen,

Best Ingredients for All Natural Dog Foods Using This Simple Homemade Dog Food Recipe
Making your own homemade dog food with this recipe is easy and will give your dog the best all natural dog foods available. Just remember that in the wild your dog would catch small prey and eat the whole thing. This consisted of the meat, bones, organs, even the heart, brain and eyes (which are high in taurine). The vegetables they would get were in the stomach and digestive tract of the animals already partially digested. If you make your all natural dog foods to imitate your dogs prey hey will enjoy optimum health and love you for it.

BigHoller Inaugurates Online Ordering Restaurant Dining Guide - I Must Eat
With a robust directory of over 600,000 restaurant listings and the ability to contour search results by details -- including geographical area, cuisine and whether the restaurant accepts online orders and online reservations -- I Must Eat (www.IMustEat.com) offers something for everyone looking to discover new meal experiences, while simplifying the search and order process.

Authentic Northern Vietnam Cooking Recipes in Hanoi?s High-end Restaurant
With fluorescent lights bleaching the steel surfaces and plumes of scented smoke rising from shing copper pots, this could be anyone of the bustling kitchens in Hanoi?s high-end restaurants But at KOTO (which stands for Know One, Teach One), creating tantalising dishes is only one of the restaurant?s aims

Copycat Restaurant Recipes - Great Recipes At Your Fingertips
When you have had enough of lining your favorite restaurants pockets with your money, you can serve the same food at home using a copycat restaurant recipe. Instead of putting your hard earned cash into their coffers, you can add it to your savings for something special that your whole family can enjoy for longer than a quick meal. You will be amazed at the savings you will accumulate when you use a copycat restaurant recipe instead of dining out.

MyNorth.com Gives Foodies Recipes, Restaurants, Wineries and Food Finds From Northern Michigan
Traverse, Northern Michigan's Magazine today launched its new website, MyNorth.com, giving food and wine lovers access to the magazine's rich, in-depth coverage of Northern Michigan culinary culture and foodie news. MyNorth.com readers can access recipes, restaurant listings and food and wine features from the archives of Traverse plus stories written specifically for MyNorth.com. The site provides access to the popular dining guide with information on restaurants Up North, including Traverse City, Petoskey, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Mackinac, Cadillac, Interlochen, Gaylord, Leland, Suttons Bay, Boyne City, Frankfort, Harbor Springs and more.

Eat Good Immune System Foods To Prevent Sickness
The immune system is probably one of the most important systems of the human body It is what keeps us from getting sick

Ambrosia Restaurant Wins Best Chef/Restaurant in 14th Annual Best of OC Guide
The world-class Ambrosia Restaurant and Executive Chef Michael Rossi have been selected as the Best Chef/Restaurant for Santa Ana in the 14th Annual Best of Orange County guide.

Toronto Restaurants Famed for Best Food Styling
Toronto is a place famous for its unique food styles and eminent eating out places. One can take the utmost delight in trying out its popular cuisines namely Italian, Chinese and Greek cuisines. For one thing you would not have to take any pains or put in extra effort looking out for the food you are interested in. Besides this, here you will not have people telling you the must try delicacies, as one can easily plan out and enjoy ones own little food hunt. While on a trip to Toronto there are certain places you should not miss out on. Toronto restaurants are known for their ambience, tranquility and their own different styling of food. To start with, Pangaea restaurant on the famous Bay Street is a must visit place, beautifully struc...

Sisters Launch Gourmet Food Sister-Stores Focusing on Good Food and Good Health
Two sisters make a mid life career change to be gourmet food retailers. Knowing that Americans today face challenges of weight loss, heart disease and other obstacles affected by diet, they have doubled their endeavors and opened two stores instead of one. I Fancy Food at http://www.ifancyfood.com is their 'anything goes' store, featuring uncommon, artisan and international foods. I Fancy Food is online as well as local, as a newly opened store in Jonesborough, TN. Their lighter side is the online-only 'Fresh Approach Diet Store', at ...

Campfire Cooking Recipes - 4 Great Camping Dishes Using Traditional Campfire Cooking Recipes
There is nothing like the fresh air and exercise that you get on a hiking or camping trip, to work up a really big appetite. But you don?t want to spend ages preparing and cooking complicated meals, which turns it into a chore.