How to stop being addicted to food. How to beat addiction to food? How is food addiction

Everyone knows that increased appetite is one of the main causes of weight gain. The more a person eats, the fuller it becomes - this is a fact. Everyone knows this, but, nevertheless, many can not overcome the desire to eat something tasty. And not because they are hungry, but because they do not have control over their own appetite.

As a result, a person consumes much more food than the body needs, and excess calories are deposited on the waist and hips. Of course, nobody likes this, but we again “jam” the negative emotions with some delicious food. As a result, we get persistent food dependence, which is not so easy to get rid of.

About why we eat more than necessary and how to overcome our dependence on food on our own and our conversation will go today:

Reasons for food addiction

There are many reasons for this phenomenon, including some diseases and pathological conditions. If we are talking about a physically healthy person, then the main reason for increased appetite is a deep, strong dissatisfaction with ourselves and my whole life. That is, the reason why food addiction arises is usually purely psychological.

Many people who do not have a career, personal life, who are notorious, suffer from dissatisfaction with themselves, or experience stress and strong emotional experiences, often seek solace in food, as they say, “jam” their own problems.

Indeed, your favorite food acts as a highly effective sedative. The blood glucose level rises, which contributes to the production of serotonin, which acts relaxingly, soothes, makes you want to rest, sleep. Thus, food consumption becomes a "tasty cure" for any problems.

But, unfortunately, the problems do not disappear from this, but rather, are aggravated by the appearance of extra pounds due to uncontrolled food consumption.

Particularly difficult to experience weight gain are women who receive additional stress. From this, and so the unstable emotional state is further aggravated. So we get a vicious circle from which, as it seems, there is no way out.

However, this is not so, there is a way out and we will definitely talk about it. But first, let's get acquainted with the main signs of psychological dependence on food.

Signs of addiction

This is a serious problem, which is expressed in the fact that a person cannot overcome the desire to eat something, refuse a snack, even if he does not feel hunger. There are some signs that make it possible to determine the presence of psychological dependence on food.
We list them briefly:

With the help of your favorite products, for example, chocolate, a person tries to get rid of the effects of stress, worries, resentment, sadness, as well as feelings of guilt, loneliness, etc. A dependent person sees the only way out of negative emotions: to eat something.

After eating delicious food, a person feels satisfaction, his mood improves. One does not always want to look for other ways to experience positive emotions. The simplest is this one. Therefore, many people choose a hearty, delicious dinner to enjoy and improve their emotional state.

An addicted person enjoys the process of absorbing their favorite foods. Therefore, if you do not eat because you are hungry, but to get at least such pleasure from life, it is worth considering.

If the above symptoms do occur, you need to get rid of the addiction, since it will not bring anything good, but will only further complicate your life.

How to cope with food addiction on your own?

It is necessary to approach this problem in a comprehensive manner. This means that you should not only establish a diet and strictly adhere to it, but also take measures to solve your psychological problems. Let's talk about everything in more detail:

Set the correct power mode:

Check out the fridge. Replace foods that contribute to weight gain with low-calorie foods: vegetables, fruits, herbs, etc.

Be sure to have a full breakfast. At lunch, reduce the amount of food, and for dinner, leave a serving of salad or a cup of kefir with bread. Stop snacking. If unbearable, eat a fresh fruit or vegetable (without salt).

Before lunch, drink a cup of cool water. It will fill part of the stomach, which will allow you to eat less food.

Remember that large portions of low-calorie vegetable products also increase weight, as well as high-calorie ones. Therefore, adhere to a balanced diet, but reduce portions by half. At first, hunger will prevail, but after a few days you will get used to it and feel that you have eaten a small amount of food.

Give up bread at all. Or eat one bite a day. And, of course, do not eat before bedtime.

It is very important to learn how to relax in a different way than using a refrigerator. In particular, yoga classes, meditation and physical education will help. If you really want to eat, go for a walk. If you really want to eat in the evening, the best way to cope with hunger is to go to bed.

If you habitually solve psychological problems with food and you can’t refuse it, instead of chocolate, gnaw carrots, cucumbers or eat an apple. And remove from sight the little vases with sweets and cookie baskets.

Sleep more. A person who suffers from insomnia or sleeps less than six hours has an increased appetite and is more prone to obesity.

An active lifestyle, the presence of hobbies, and hobbies will help to cope with emotional, psychological problems. With severe stress, dissatisfaction with yourself and your life, which you can not cope on your own, a visit to a psychologist will help. Believe in yourself and everything will turn out!

The sad irony is that, although the topic of nutrition is very popular these days, people continue to eat junk food that makes them have health problems ... and then they think that the solution to their problems is taking medication!

Unfortunately, it’s easier to say that one should refuse to eat harmful food than to really stop eating it, because many products, like many drugs, are addictive.

If you're curious about how to cope with food addiction and regain health, read on!

How to beat addiction to food?

Understand what you want, and then think about why you want change.Use the visualization exercises from the Silva method to create an irresistible mental and emotional image of the desired result. Imagine that you have an attractive body, boundless energy, excellent health, great friends - everything that matters to you and attracts you. Keep this image and the pleasant emotions associated with it in your imagination for as long as possible every day. Do not think about how this will happen. It is important to sow the seed of desire. See what you want to see.
Understand your gastronomic addictions and their causesYour body has developed a chemical dependence on something that causes you problems. Get to the bottom of the reasons why you eat certain foods and develop an unhealthy addiction to them. Does it help you deal with stress? Or with boredom? Do you eat certain foods because it makes you happy? Some part of you knows about the dangers of this product (or products), but your self-esteem is low enough so that you simply do not worry about your health, or you simply do not feel enough strength in yourself to defeat your addictions?
It is very important! If you do not value yourself, you will not take the necessary steps to cure addiction to food (or any other addictions). Gastronomic addictions and other addictions are an adaptation mechanism that is used when the need for love, acceptance or meaning is not satisfied. If you have a high self-esteem, you can cope with these needs (which, in one form or another, each of us has) with healthier alternatives, such as exercise or creativity, such as art or music.

But if you have problems with self-esteem and it seems to you that love and acceptance are something that is accessible only to other people, you have the attitude: “What is the point of caring for what no one needs?” With this attitude it is almost impossible to achieve positive changes.

Recognize that your habit is certain foods that are addictive - a symptom of low self-esteem, and you will embark on the path of getting rid of this habit! If you increase your self-esteem, you will find that it is much easier to get rid of addiction.

Self-love is a weapon against food addiction.

The Silva method is always ready to come to your aid by providing a lot of exercises to increase self-esteem, including self-awareness, self-programming and a new outlook on life. Start with this and stick to the image of the desired result!
Understand which foods are addictive and gradually eliminate them from your diet.Keep a food diary for a week and see which foods you feel a strong craving for, what you feel when you eat them, and what you feel after (both physically and emotionally).
Hint: in most cases, you will be attracted to simple carbohydrates such as bread, pasta and sugar. There are many health problems that arise from these products, so aim to eliminate them first!
Practice deferred remunerationWhen you feel a strong craving for a product, first drink a glass of water and wait 15 minutes. Will you still be attracted to this product? Probably not. Here's why: sometimes thirst is mistaken for hunger. So first of all pay attention to thirst.
Sometimes the body signals to you: “More food, please,” but this signal is mistaken for “More calories, please,” so take care to give the body the necessary nutrients before proceeding with an immediate reward. Choose a healthy snack.
Take a deferred reward for the habit, and when you wait for these 15 minutes, visualize the desired end result. This may be enough to interrupt the usual chain of events ... in this particular case. And this is a great start!
Reward yourself for your wise choices by visualizing your desired end result and remembering these wonderful feelings of success that make you happy!
Do not hurryFind a useful alternative to the product you want to exclude. Just try not to replace it with another food product (food is not the answer to your emotional problems). Choose another form of complacency: exercise, meditation, hobbies, etc. And instead of reaching for the donut, reach for this new “replacement." Connect the imagination. Imagine how you feel satisfied and happy by making the best choice. Fix this feeling with the Three-Finger technique, programming yourself to automatically make the right choice.
Always think about the end result, not what you want to get away from.After all, when you think about what you want to get away from, your consciousness automatically restores the pleasure of eating this product in your memory. What do you think this will lead to? That's right! To the fact that you reach for the next donut, although you know that this is wrong!

You, no doubt, can get rid of any food addiction. The most important thing is to create an internal mental and emotional environment of a positive attitude towards oneself.

To love yourself is the first step towards overcoming addictions! Self-love will give you strength and will for what you need, and a desire to hold on tightly to the image of the desired result. Can you do this!

Your
Irina Khlimonenko
and the Silva method team

P.S. Do you know the problem of lack of self-confidence and self-reliance? And if so, what are you doing to solve it? Share your comments with me. We are very interested!

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In previous articles, we examined in detail the causes of and, as well as by establishing nutrition and creating an interesting, multifaceted life. Today we’ll talk about how to overcome food addiction by working independently with psychological problems.

How to beat food addiction

How to solve psychological problems

Work on proper self-esteem. Stop being unsure of your uniqueness. Take care of what you do best. Improve yourself, develop yourself. For example, create an album in social networks with photos of your achievements - your friends will appreciate them, increasing your self-esteem.

Stop reproaching yourself for weaknesses, give up self-flagellation. Constant digging in yourself brings only negative emotions that you want to quickly eat. The circle closes ...

Do not hold back emotions, let them find a way out. If you're upset about something, let yourself be with it for a while. Cry, grieve, and then smoothly switch to something that requires your attention and direct participation - this is the main part of the secret how to solve a psychological problem yourself.

Take your brain - solve logic puzzles, crosswords, read an interesting book. You will immediately notice how much you feel better, and you will understand that you can cope with negative emotions without overeating. The main thing is to get the first experience. Each time, less and less time will be spent on experiences, and you will learn how to solve your psychological problems without the help of food.

Ways to solve psychological problems

Love yourself. To do this, of course, is not easy ... But know that it is love of self that will help you overcome any difficulties. Loving yourself, it is much easier to deal with food addiction.
Set short-term goals, they are achieved faster and easier.
Start praising yourself. Come up with some kind of encouragement for achieving your goals. Of course, a prize cannot be food. Treat yourself to a trip to the spa or the sauna. Buy a cute trinket that will remind you of your achievements.
Find motivation and. Start, it not only disciplines, but also helps to find errors, and correcting them.

If you feel the urge to eat something faster, drink water first. Then try to entertain yourself with an interesting thing that distracts you from worries and thoughts about food. If this turned out to be a trick, it means that you are on the right track, and it turns out that you defeat food dependence.

But what do we jam?

If there is a urge to quickly take a mouth and hammer in the abdomen, it would be necessary to analyze what specifically caused you such a reaction. This may be some minor problem that does not even require attention, or a real nuisance that requires a systematic approach. One thing is for sure: knowing the enemy by sight, it is easier to fight him. From everyday experiences and chronic stress, sedatives and meditation techniques are great help.

The resolution of major problems should be approached more carefully. First you need to draw up a step-by-step plan of action, seek help and support from loved ones. A clear plan of upcoming events will give you a certain confidence in yourself and relieve unnecessary anxiety and nervousness, thereby relieving your condition. Well, in this case, sedatives will perfectly help you.

Breaking the vicious circle

Remember, it’s best not to bring yourself to the symptoms of an eating disorder. Prevention of food dependence helps a lot in this.

Quite often you can hear that someone is trying to get rid of depression or stress with the help of tasty, but very harmful food. Of course, there is nothing wrong with that person cheers up a delicious dessert or a slice of pizza. The main thing is that this does not turn into a habit and dependence. Today we will talk about the causes of this dependence, which is called a simple word - gluttony. By eliminating these causes, you can get rid of addiction.

Causes of the disease

How to get rid of this addiction? This is the first question that arises for the reader. The answer lies in your subconscious. To answer this question you need to deal with causes of addiction. They can be very diverse. The most popular of them:

Depression.
Constant stress.
Great love for food and watching TV.

Depression

How is depression related to food dependence? Yes, very simple. The bottom line is that when a person is in constant depression, he can practically control nothing in his life. For some this is expressed in the abuse of alcohol, someone smokes too much. Many people are immersed in reading or watching TV shows.

Nutritional dependence is one of the common manifestations of depression. How does this happen? In humans some kind of shock happened, and a bad mood doesn't go anywhere for several days. Everyone knows that a very good way to cheer yourself up is to eat something very tasty.

When a person is depressed, it may seem to him that nothing else pleases him in life. The only joy available is delicious food. And in huge quantities. For several days a person can not resist and eats a lot. He gets used to this mode of life very quickly. After a bad day, he no longer imagines an evening without a double, or even a triple, portion of a dish.

Of course, a person is a conscious creature, so he is looking for ways to solve his problems and get out of depression. Only because of the habit of eating a lot, it seems to him that thinking about solving problems is necessary precisely in the process of eating. This is how a stable dependence on food is formed.

If the serving is smaller than usual, the person may be nervous and irritable. If you recognize yourself in these lines, then you are already very dependent on food. For solutions to this problem You need to take the following actions:

Your task - constantly reduce consumed food, and rid of everything that upsets you. After 2-3 months, you will eat food without frills, and your mood will become normal.

Constant stress

This phenomenon is less painful than depression. However, stress is no less harmful to your body. Stress can occurl for the following reasons:

Problems in personal life.
Long work shifts.
Doing an unloved affair.
Stressful life situations.

The difference from depression is that stressful situations do not happen every day. However, they also contribute to the formation of dependence.

For example, after some quarrel, a person may cease to control himself and eat much more than usual. Of course, this may not happen so often. However, people living in megacities are constantly under stress. Because of this, they poorly monitor their food, and like to eat too much after a hard day.

In this case, the treatment will be much simpler. You will need to understand something. A person can feel hunger both physically and psychologically.

What is psychological hunger? This is a little self-deception. As you know, eating is a process that people associate with a comfortable psychological state and relaxation. That is why a person feels safe while eating.

When a person is stressed, he needs to somehow protect yourself from bad thoughts. Most often, this problem is solved by frequent snacks. Most often during small snacks, a person eats something harmful and high-calorie. Over time, these snacks become a habit, and a person does not even notice that he eats one and a half times more than the daily allowance.

Physical hunger is a natural reaction of the body. Imagine that you did not eat anything in the morning and worked all day in sweat. Toward evening, your stomach begins to gurgle, you imagine that you are eating some kind of dish. You are already ready for a lot, just to eat something. If you are sent to the store in this condition, you will buy a lot of extra products. Because of the feeling of hunger, it seems to you that you cannot do without these products. And having a snack, you are likely to regret the purchase.

What is the fundamental difference between these two types of hunger? The fact is that psychological hunger is far-fetched, but physical - not. Accordingly, the treatment plan is extremely simple. If you feel that you are ready to eat an elephant, you can start eating. And if you caught yourself thinking that you do not have such a strong hunger, and most likely you just want to eat something out of habit, you should not eat.

It is much better to wait an hour or two and whet your appetite. At this time, you can take up some of your hobbies or talk with loved ones to you man. Find what interests you. Believe me, if there is any business that attracts you greatly, you won’t even remember about food until you feel physical hunger.

When you realize that you are not so hungry, but you can’t restrain yourself, you can fool your body. For example, drink a glass of water. It will enter the stomach, and it will seem to you that you are full. An extreme case is to eat a low-calorie fruit or a cup of coffee without sugar.

Food in front of the tv

Very often, psychological hunger develops into physical hunger. That is, when you eat a lot for several months, you get used to it. And within 1-2 hours after the last meal, you become hungry. Fighting such an addiction is quite difficult. To do this, you will have to use the method of willpower, or be distracted from hunger by some interesting activity.

Very often people become addicted to food due to the fact that watching TV while eating. Such a dependence is formed very quickly, and a person does not even realize this. The bottom line is that when watching TV, a person’s attention is not focused on eating food, but on a television program. Because of this, a person eats 20-30% more than he needs.

The stomach begins to gradually stretch, and require much more food than the body needs for normal life. After a few months of eating in this mode, a person can no longer refuse to watch TV while eating. Moreover, when a person sits down at the TV, he is sure to have something. Because of this, the body receives much more calories than necessary.

How to stop depending on food when watching TV? It is necessary to create conditions for yourself in which you cannot watch something while eating. This will help you to feel better and free up a lot of time.

Drive yourself into such a framework so that for each meal you have no more than 15 minutes. This time is enough for you to consume the required number of calories. For example, you can sleep a little longer, and then you have to have breakfast right before going to work. Agree, you will not have time to watch programs. During the lunch break at work, you will not be able to watch something, so leave lunch as is.

The most dangerous time - it's evening. As a rule, people overeat in the evening. Here you will need willpower to eat without a TV. Within 2-3 weeks you have to fight with yourself. After that, you will deal with this addiction. It will be much easier for you to eat without a TV. To make it easier for you, you can agree with your friend together to refrain from eating in front of the TV. You can arrange a dispute or competition, who will give up first. It will motivate you well and help you overcome yourself.

How to restrain yourself in food

The main thing is to escape from hunger. When you learn to do this constantly, you can enjoy it. There are several ways to restrain yourself in food:

Perhaps the key moment in the fight against this addiction is psychology. Remember that any addiction is a mental illness. You need to deal with your problems and create something bright in your life. When you become happy, much less food will be enough for you.

So that the process of getting rid of this addiction is not too painful for you, we will give you some useful tips.

Do you have a hobby? If yes, then fine. And if not, then it's time to find him. When a person is busy with some business that completely absorbs him, he does not notice how time goes on. And, most importantly, they don’t come to him obsessive thoughts about what to eat. Very often people eat a lot due to the fact that they have nothing to do. This grows into a habit, and a person is no longer able to resist any dish, even if he is full.

If you feel that you can’t deal with this addiction on your own, consult a specialist. One consultation with a nutritionist will be enough for you. Of course, it costs money. But believe me, it is better to spend 2 thousand rubles than a huge bunch of nerves.

Overeating is a sign of a psychological disorder. Excess food interferes with the subtleties of the mind. Get rid of your problems, and the problem with food will be solved by itself.

We are not robots, and our nerves are not iron. If you do not hold back and eat something superfluous, you should not reproach yourself for this. This will only aggravate the situation.

Now you know how to overcome food addiction. This addiction is treated quite quickly. In 2-3 months you will return to normal life, and overeating will seem to you something wild. The main thing is to show a little patience, and you will succeed!

Attention, only TODAY!

Psychological dependence on food exists in about half of the world's population. It takes place when the need for food arises not because of an empty stomach, but as the mood worsens, a feeling of boredom, longing, stress appears.

Psychological dependence on food is, in essence, a manifestation of a feeling of dissatisfaction in a particular area of \u200b\u200blife: work, personal relationships, study, etc. At the same time, “jamming” does not solve the problem, but only exacerbates it, causing additional stress.

You can enjoy it in other, safer and even more useful ways, such as sports, walking, swimming, hobbies, massage, chatting with nice people, reading an interesting book, listening to your favorite music, but we choose food - the easiest and fastest way.

The desire to eat something tasty regularly arises between the main meals with a full stomach.
The presence of food addictions - products that are almost impossible to resist: coffee, chocolate, ice cream, smoked fish and anything else.
Feelings of guilt arising after eating “forbidden” foods, which, in turn, causes stressful conditions, offset by a new meal.
Food is perceived as a means of rewarding oneself for something or achieving a sense of security, a kind of psychological comfort (temporary, then developing into discomfort caused by guilt).
Famine causes not only unpleasant physical sensations, but also serious psychological discomfort. And dieting can lead to deep depression.
Inability to really assess the severity of diseases caused or exacerbated by overeating: diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases.
The tendency to absorb food volumes that significantly exceed the threshold necessary for physiological saturation.

Psychological Addiction to Food: How to Get Rid

Losing weight or with food addiction is almost impossible. Therefore, work on the body should begin with the elimination of the psychological root cause, and not with diets, massages, sports, hardware techniques and other secondary techniques. To get rid of the psychological dependence on food, you must first recognize its existence and realize the seriousness of the problem, and then:

, start to respect yourself.
To part with resentment against yourself and others, let go of the past and feel freedom from unimportant moments.
To understand that by seizing a grudge or pain, we do worse not to the offender, but only to ourselves, and do not compensate for the pain, but only worsen our condition.
Realize that in fact only we can help ourselves.
Start a food diary in which to mark breakdowns and their preceding condition (stress, loneliness, longing, resentment, boredom, fear, etc.).
Find other sources of pleasure that are beneficial or at least neutral.
Switch from thinking about delicious food to other pleasant moments that become available as a result of refusal of erratic nutrition: beautiful clothes, a feeling of lightness in the body, better health, a slender body that attracts the attention of the opposite sex, saving money, in the end.
Make a clear meal schedule, adapted to your usual lifestyle. Stick to 2-2.5-hour breaks between meals.
Ensure adequate intake of nutrients and calories during main meals.
Do not buy foods that cause a special craving for uncontrolled eating. First of all, you will have to abandon the sweet and starchy foods that cause surges in glucose in the blood.
Go to the store with a full stomach and a ready list of planned purchases.
Drink large amounts of water to ensure the normal course of metabolic processes in the body and partially satisfy the feeling of hunger.
Fight hunger attacks with warm chamomile, mint or other soothing tea.
Do not consider “breakdowns” as failures, treat them as temporary overcome difficulties. To drive away guilty feelings for them and believe in yourself.
Do not be shy to seek the help of specialists: a psychologist and a nutritionist, who will help you choose the right and rehabilitation course.

At the first stage, food dependence is a way to compensate for stress and other unpleasant emotions. In such a situation, the correction of a psychological problem, as a rule, is easy and successful.

The second stage is the transition of dependence into a pathological state, which is practically impossible to compensate for without the help of appropriate specialists.

To briefly explain the essence of the methodology, we propose to introduce a lemon. If you visualize the lemon in good faith, in all colors, then, most likely, involuntary salivation will begin. By analogy, you can “program” your brain for loss of appetite when mentioning unwanted foods. And any methods are good here: from presenting a vile inscription of product names to fantasies about turning the product itself into some kind of muck, including cellulite deposits.

In the same way, it is necessary to present useful products in the brightest colors and associate the most pleasant associations with them.

Do not persuade the child to “eat at least another spoon”, do not praise for the dinner eaten. Such tactics are able to further form the stereotype of the child’s relationship between food and approval, receiving heat, affection.

Do not give the child candy when it falls or hits. Do not bribe sweets. These adult-friendly ways to control the baby’s emotions can make him unhappy in the future.

When the baby’s diet is drawn up correctly and there are no problems with digestion and metabolism, refusing parental coaxing during meals can not harm him. If you put a taboo on all kinds of crackers, chips, sweets, tasty, but unhealthy products such as sausages, then the child himself will gladly eat his breakfast, lunch and dinner.