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?Cravings? refer to intense desires or urges for a particular substance-a drug, alcohol, or a food, even in the absence of hunger. Obese prone individuals have a heightened awareness of food as compared to thin people. Hunger is that growling in the stomach when have gone long periods without eating.
The though, color, shape, and smell of certain foods often bring back stored pleasure experiences and the need for reward. Cravings cannot be avoided since this behavior may have been going on for 20 or 30 years. Control of Cravings is a major issue for many dieters.
Cravings can be very destructive when drugs and alcohol are involved. food cravings can be one of the major contributors to obesity. The causes of craving is as varied as the substance craved: nutritional deficiencies, hormonal changes, metabolic changes, anxiety, and depression are among the causative factors.
Who are The Crave-rs?
28% of women and 13% of men report cravings. Dieters report much higher levels of food cravings than non -dieters
Are Cravings an Addiction?
Are food crave-rs, addicts? Dr. Richard Surwit from Duke University Medical Center says ?People eat sugar because it tastes good. To call them addicts is ridiculous.? Addiction occurs when there are predictable physical symptoms after stopping the substance. This has NOT been report with sugar or any other food.
Cravings vs. Hunger vs. Low Blood Sugar vs. Emotions:
One should not confuse low blood sugar and hunger for cravings. The shaky, moody, and sleeping feelings one gets after going long periods of time without foods which quickly disappear with eating protein or carbs is low blood sugar. They are predictable and not influenced by any outside factor. The growling in our stomach is hunger. Most cravings occur when we are not hungry and are fueled by what we see, smell and even think.
Cravings and Chemistry in the Brain:
In a study published in The Lancet in February 2001, Dr. Gene-Jack Wang found that obese people had less dopamine receptors in their brains than normal weight people Wang found that the heavier the subject, the lower the number of dopamine receptors.
The Look- A- Like?s:
Low calorie -100 calorie bags of snacks and other portion controlled, foods and drinks that fool the brain into thinking it is eating the original. I call these low calorie, low carb or low fat snacks that look like the real high calorie originals the ? ?Look-a-Likes. They may be either low carb, low fat, and/or low calories, it?s the packaging that?s the key. They are made using fibers that are not absorbed and sweetened with Splenda or aspartame. They include numerous new soft drinks, some fruit juices, low carb, low calorie candy, crackers, ice cream, bread, muffins and even bagels and pizza. Fooling Our Brain:
Our brains are not very smart and can be easily ?fooled? into thinking many low calorie-low carb, portion controlled products are ?almost as good ?as the real thing. These foods can fool our brain because they have similar packaging, physical appearances, smells, oral sensations, textures, and tastes as their higher calorie originals. When eaten they go quickly into the brain and attach to the same receptors as the originals and release the same pleasure producing chemicals.
Since they have minimal effect on blood sugar, and fewer calories there are less metabolic consequences to eating them. The portion controlled bags make portion control easier.
Eating these They Do Not Increase Cravings or Hunger:
Some diet plan authors suggest that they only give the dieter license to eat more bags or they really increase cravings. Anyone who has fought with cravings knows that a portion controlled 100 calorie pack of chip or cookies does not increase anything- they provide the person trying to Lose weight at least some degree of control, imperfect as it may be.
Look-A-Likes in Drinks:
Diet sodas are the best example of using look-a-likes. Diet coke is a good substitute for
regular coke, but for some people that taste is not like regular soda. Coke Zero is even
closer to regular coke and for many people who do not like diet sodas a good choice.
The Smart Dieter:
For those overweight or obesity prone individuals who are struggling to lose weight the answer to cravings is simple: Give up trying to fight them, a bunch of carrot sticks will never satisfy someone who desires chocolate or salty chips. Let?s think about it, no one in the world cares if you have that chocolate bar or 1/2 pint of Rocky Road
at 10 PM while you are on your computer or watching TV other than you. There is not social stigmata to eating
these. Compare that with trying to smoke a cigarette even in an outdoor restaurant or drinking to much alcohol.
A lot of social pressure helps us control these urges.
What to do about cravings without driving yourself crazy:
Clean up office, house and even the car: seeing it or smelling it sets off the signal
Make sure the urge is not thirst, hunger or low blood sugar
Have some 100 calorie snack packs or other portion controlled low calorie foods around, and let them fool your brain. They really are ?almost? as good as the originals.
eat regular meals to prevent your sugar from
Give Up trying to fight cravings, in the end you will lose every time.
Richard Lipman M.D, a board certified internist and endocrinologist has been treating weight and metabolic problems for 25 years in his Miami office. His specialty is getting the whole family involved in a healthy weight loss plan. Having an overweight child or teen trying to eat different food from the rest of the family never works. His motto is, ?everyone can eat healthier, normal or overweight.?
His recent book, The 100 Calorie Secret, describes how thousands of his patients lost weight and kept it off. Whether you read his website, buy his book, or download your free copy of Dr Lipman?s Quick weight loss Guide for the Family, don?t let yourself, child or teen continue to gain weight.
Learn more weight loss and tips from a Doctor who actually takes care of metabolic problems and obesity problems. Download Your Free Guide to Quick Weight Loss for the Whole Family at Quick Weight Loss Guide,
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