Despite the endless diets and weight loss programs Americans try we continue to gain weight and trends suggest further growth. Results from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), show that 67 percent of Americans were overweight or obese and 5.9 percent are extremely obese in 2005-2006. By 2030, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health determined that as many as 86 percent of Americans will be obese or overweight. This leads us to the wonder; will everyone in American be obese or overweight at some point in the future?
Today with our abundant food supply and sedentary ways it is hard to stay slim. Food cues, food choices and endless variety overwhelm us daily. This may be good for the food industry but it is not good for our waistlines. Human beings are triggered to eat by seeing and smelling food. We believe our eyes not our stomachs, so if we see it, we eat it and most of us will “clean the plate.” TV commercials, food ads, fast food restaurants, buffets and super sized portions all encourage an unconscious and unmistakable increase in consumption. Our stomachs can’t count and unless we weigh, measure and record most of us naturally overeat.
But there is hope. Since we all underestimate what we eat maintaining a food record helps us keep track and stay accountable. Research shows when supported in a weight loss effort people lose more weight and keep it off longer.
So clear your kitchen of food cues, turn off the TV, find a group and keep exercising. Let’s reverse this trend.
Showing posts with label diets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diets. Show all posts
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Intuitive Eating
Intuitive eating is the opposite of dieting.
It involves eating in response to your body’s needs, rather than counting calories and following rules. Supporters of intuitive eating suggest that eating in response to internal hunger and fullness cues; allow us to eat all foods. This helps us reach our “natural" weights, the weight range genetically predetermined.
Some research supports the idea that dieting undermines our internal eating cues and natural appetite. When we eat using an all-or-none type system, built around eating rules rather than internal hunger/satiety cues, it is referred to as restraint eating. This type of eating can make some of us more likely to over eat because once we break one rule, we break them all.
When disconnected from our internal satiety cues, we are more susceptible to external eating cues. External cues are triggered by emotions, “time", the sight or smell of food, and personal or cultural rules of eating.
Getting in touch with internal eating cues takes some time and attention. Small groups are an effective way to work on this while learning about the external cues that influence us. In our complicated world of food it helps to have a strong nutrition framework while exploring the forces encouraging us to over eat.
It involves eating in response to your body’s needs, rather than counting calories and following rules. Supporters of intuitive eating suggest that eating in response to internal hunger and fullness cues; allow us to eat all foods. This helps us reach our “natural" weights, the weight range genetically predetermined.
Some research supports the idea that dieting undermines our internal eating cues and natural appetite. When we eat using an all-or-none type system, built around eating rules rather than internal hunger/satiety cues, it is referred to as restraint eating. This type of eating can make some of us more likely to over eat because once we break one rule, we break them all.
When disconnected from our internal satiety cues, we are more susceptible to external eating cues. External cues are triggered by emotions, “time", the sight or smell of food, and personal or cultural rules of eating.
Getting in touch with internal eating cues takes some time and attention. Small groups are an effective way to work on this while learning about the external cues that influence us. In our complicated world of food it helps to have a strong nutrition framework while exploring the forces encouraging us to over eat.
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