Have you ever thought to yourself, “ I AM ADDICTED TO SUGAR!!!”
or addicted to any other foodstuffs like coffee or even wine? You’d believe your willpower can’t stand up to one or two days without it AND you’re right. You body is designed to trick and manipulate you into keeping up the craving, not because it hates you, but we’ve essentially programmed our bodies to be this way.
Here’s 2 reasons why your willpower just won’t win the fight against kicking these habits, but..
HERE’S HOW YOU CAN TIP THE SCALES IN YOUR FAVOR!
Reason #1 Food is your only pleasure.
Eating your feelings. not a new concept for many of us, but if you desire to change this up, believe me your will power has got to work in overdrive.
Let me explain...
Changing diet can be difficult, but the habits and memories associated with eating makes it even more of an uphill battle. So this is where we'll grease the wheels.
In order to help your willpower against mindless stress eating, you must establish another activity that will provide stress relief or outlet that will surge similar level of dopamine and endorphins.
It helps if you participate in an activity that has a goal or endpoint. Knowing you are working on a small part of an larger activity gives you something to look forward to and stimulates the dopamine or reward centers of the brain. As you are working on your project or activity, be present to what you are working on and not thinking about the day's stresses. Here are some examples:
running
dancing
athletic yoga
meditative yoga
crafting
socializing without food as a focal point
walking with a view ( of nature, people)
Reason #2 Not supporting your physiology
Hands down, your body's balance of hormones is the underlying reason for your cravings, your hunger and your internal debate over whether you " should or shouldn't eat or drink_______!"
Most often, I'll run a hormone check to examine if hormone levels are in balance or not and rearrange diets and add herbal support so that you're able to regain control. But the key takeaway: Taking back control means you'll have to look closely at your pattern and disrupt it.
Here are classic examples:
My brain is racing at night, and I can't sleep!
More complex but often due to disturbed sleep hormones Cortisol-Melatonin, but let's not forget coffee after 10am can disturb sleep quality (even with 12 hours to metabolize!)
Are you eating junk food after work or drinking more wine than you should?
This is a classic cortisol imbalance. You must work towards the right combination of foods and herbal support to rebalance this.
I can't help it, I'm addicted to sugar!
This is a textbook problem with Ghrelin-Leptin-Insulin balance. Balanced meals prevents intense hunger pangs and helps this hormone complex self-regulate.
Sound familiar?
If you are curious about running hormone tests for a pattern you’ve noticed? Ask me how it can be done!
XO
Dr. Vera