How To Lose Weight

How To Understand Your Dieting Habits And Programming

 

In this week’s newsletter I want to help you to understand your internal programming when it comes to dieting and why your habits may be destroying your chances of ever getting to your desired weight. By understanding this you can learn to control your negative habits with eating and replace them with more positive ones

 

Let’s get stuck in…

 

Human beings are creatures of habit. Our daily lives are often complete with rituals and patterns of behaviour. As an example think about the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning - is it to have a shower or clean your teeth first? Do you like to eat at a certain time? We often laugh at our habits and idiosyncrasies without thinking about the higher purpose that they serve.

 

What do I mean by this? Well, first of all our habits govern not just our behaviour but also our thinking. We are defined by what we do. Therefore it stands to reason that our habits are far more important than you might give them credit for. Controlling our habits is the first step to take on the path for greater self discipline and success.

 

If a particular behaviour is repeated often enough it becomes second nature. In reality this means that our behaviours govern the way that we think about the world. We mentioned the nature of habits earlier as being a physical act such as washing or eating at a certain time. There are, however, habits that operate on a far deeper level. Thinking habits are one of the most powerful forces of the human condition. They can either be a force for good or a force for bad.

 

Negative thoughts breed negative behaviours. If you are in the habit of thinking cynically about everything in the world then you will inevitably perform cynical behaviours. The way to work out the type of person you are is to think about what feelings come to mind when you face certain situations. Are you in the habit of looking at impossible challenges rather than seeing opportunities? Do you look at meeting new people with anxiety and trepidation instead of pleasure and confidence? When you answer these types of questions you are peering deep into your very being.

 

So, what forms these habits? There is no clear cut answer to this, but it seems to be a mixture of personal nature and life experience. The good thing though is that regardless of what forms the initial habit self awareness can help you to challenge and overcome negative habits. In order to overcome crippling habits then you must first understand exactly how habits are formed in the first place. The key thing to remember here is the link between habit and emotion.

 

Negative emotions are emotions such as anger, fear, anxiety, jealousy regret, sadness. These emotions are capable of not only having a powerful, unwanted, effect on you physically, but also having a significant impact the way you conduct your life. Negative emotions can engrain habits of limiting decision making such as not sticking to a diet if you don’t see instant results.

 

Limiting decision making is any decision that decides not to proceed with something on the basis of not feeling capable of doing it. Any decision you make that is reached by you thinking that you are too stupid or bad is an example of this. The more limiting decisions you make in your day to day life increase the likelihood of this type of decision making becoming habit.

 

One of the best ways in understanding your negative habits is to clarify the specifics of each emotion. Anxiety, for example, is best understood as a negative emotion based on a future event.

Typically anxiety manifests itself through low self esteem. The less belief we have in our own self will result in a lack of faith in our ability to deal with the unforeseen or unpredictable. Every habitual emption contains an underlying cause. Once you have identified the underlying cause you have taken the first step in eradicating the side effects of negative emotions. This is so important if you want to get yourself back in shape.

 

Remember that emotions are just that - emotions! They are not concrete fact. Too many people let their judgment be dictated by their emotions. What we need to overcome this is what psychologists call emotional reasoning. Faulty emotional reasoning can lead us to some very strange decisions. For example imagine briefly that you feel sad all of a sudden. You decide that there must have been something terrible that happened for you to feel like that. The truth of course is that people experience mood swings all the time, and for a variety of reasons. 

 

Understanding the processes of emotion is key to a better understanding of what forms our daily habits. Take time to think about what you are doing and feeling rather than acting on impulse.

 

Next week I am going to show you a complete blueprint for using your mind to eradicate these negative thought patterns that are affecting your weight goals.

 

Until then

 

Lemuel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 http://www.how-to-lose-weight01.com 

 

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Have you tried a number of diets and failed? Maybe even tried some exercise only to find you lose a little weight but it comes straight back again? Well don’t worry. There’s a reason for that and in this article I’ll explain why it happens, and how to combat it.

 

Stress is not just a mental reaction but a physical condition. When placed under stress your body will produce adrenaline but it also produces a hormone called Cortisol. This hormone is responsible for pumping energy in the form of sugar into the body to fuel the adrenalin rush. Stress is then a natural bodily function designed to help keep us alive and reactive to things going on in the world.

 

Unfortunately there is then a negative by-product if you are not using this energy. Stress in the modern world often takes the form of money worries, issues in the office, family problems and much more. The extra blood sugar that is being released has nowhere to go except settle around your stomach to be used later. As fat.

 

Because of this many people are keeping or gaining weight without even realising it. Of course, there are other factors, but stress is one that very few people talk about. Stress however needs to be controlled and fought against such as an unhealthy diet needs to be. It may be the one thing stopping you from losing the pounds you so desperately want to.

 

Stress and anxiety is in fact a double edged sword. Not only does it produce the excess blood sugars that turn to fat but it also encourages you to use food as a comfort tool. You may tuck into chocolate or fast food for that instant hit that is the culinary equivalent of a warm hug from a loved one.

 

Eating these foods that are bad for you when you are stressed does not mean you are weak minded. You are just following your biological programming. Tests on rats have shown that under stress organisms naturally engage in pleasure seeking behaviour. In particular high calorie food.

 

Other tests have shown that men who only manage to get four hours sleep a night have on average a thirty seven percent higher level of Cortisol (the hormone that is responsible for energy - sugar) than those who get a full eight hours. And what is one of the biggest reasons for lack of sleep? Stress!

 

On top of that it is imperative you get a good night’s sleep when trying to shed the pounds because a deep sleep leads to higher secretions of a natural occurring hormone called Human Growth Hormone. This protects your muscle mass and it is muscle that helps to maintain a steady burning metabolism. We’re not talking bodybuilder type muscle here either. Just the natural kind we all have.

 

Of course if you are already stressed the chances are you are not getting enough sleep already and so are caught in a vicious circle that is affecting your weight loss. Going to your doctors to ask about prescriptive sleeping tablets are one option, but should be used alongside a healthy lifestyle not in place of one. Fortunately, despite stress being the silent diet killer, there are some easy ways to fight it.

 

Firstly with a little bit of exercise you can help yourself get an easier night’s sleep which kills two birds with one stone. Just a brisk walk every day will be enough for your body to fall to sleep naturally at the end of the day.

 

A good breakfast is also associated with reduced stress levels.

Skipping breakfast is just asking for trouble and will actually have a negative effect on your weight loss. You need to eat breakfast to fuel your energy resources. This will also manage your Cortisol levels. Cereal is especially good at this

 

Fish, although not to everyone’s liking, is another food that should be added to your diet to reduce stress and therefore help weight loss. Oily fish particularly are high in Omega 3. A tin of boneless sardines costs little and is delicious on toast. This alone contains a week’s worth of Omega 3 which is great for your diet plan.

 

Finally learn to accept stress and use it. In other words make stress work for you. We all need a little stress to keep us on our toes and in this day and age it is everywhere. The trick is to put things into perspective and ask yourself “Are things really that bad?” There are sick children and sadness across the world and often we let every day things stress us out needlessly. Remember, combating stress with a healthy diet could just be the miracle weight loss plan you’ve been looking for.

 

Authors Bio

 

Lemuel Gengulphus Tolliver has dedicated his life to helping people around the world combat weight loss and fitness problems. His research has led him to finding one proven weight loss program that is being used with great effect across the world. To get a trial of it, and lose weight without any diet or fitness plan visit www.how-to-lose-weight01.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

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