Ultimately, we are tempted to stress eat because our hormones react to certain negative lifestyle factors and choices.
Stress is the main culprit of overeating.
It causes our body to release a hormone called adrenaline (epinephrine).
Adrenaline will cause a temporary stall in hunger as it kicks in our fight or flight response to stress.
However, if the stress continues, our bodies release an undesired hormone called cortisol.
Cortisol
Cortisol is the hormone that has been thought to increase appetite, cause belly fat, and many other undesirable issues.
It is thought that stress may increase ghrelin (the hunger hormone). All of these factors together can be a cause of stress-eating.
Based on my extensive google browsing skills 🤣 and life experience, I've found that stress-eating happens in response to the following situations:
Improper or prolonged fasting
Too much sugar or a high-carb diet
Too much bad fat in your diet such as what you get in fast food (causes cravings, not true hunger)
Stress
Lack of vitamins & minerals
Not enough exercise
Boredom
Muscle mass loss (which is a negative effect of dieting incorrectly)
And hormone imbalances (which can be caused by a number of negative lifestyle choices as well as health issues).
Cravings don't just happen
Fasting for too long can cause your body to crave nutrition. Most healthy people shouldn't fast for more than about 16 hours.
Another culprit is fast food.
Fast food has additives that make you crave more. It's a marketing ploy!
The more you eat it, the more you'll want and the more your body will create negative side effects from not getting enough nutrition.
It's a snowball effect.
Cooking at home is better.
This way you know exactly what is in your food.
Lack of nutrition in your food will cause your body to crave vitamins and minerals and you won't actually realize what you're craving.
Sugary drinks such as sodas, diet drinks, and juices can cause dehydration and do not quench thirst as healthily as water can. Extreme thirst may continue as dehydration causes unhealthy side effects.
Another snowball effect.
Sugary Drinks, the Culprit of Nasty Sugar Cravings
Even carrot juice, as good as it is for you (in its natural state), is usually full of sugar.
One of the drinks with the highest sugar content is soda. Most of them have around 10 teaspoons per can!
A taste of your weakness can cause a craving for it again later because the sugar content spikes your insulin.
This signals a reward sensor in your brain which brings a high that stays with you for a while.
There was a time I would've told you Dr. Pepper is the best-tasting drink on the planet, but that would've just been my addiction talking.
Now that I infuse my water with healthy additives like monk fruit and chai tea, I actually prefer water (most of the time haha 🤣). Hey, at least I'm honest! It's a process, folks.
When we have an affinity for unhealthy food or drink it is probably because our bodies are living off of the bad bacteria they provide.
Having an affinity for food or drink is the first sign you have a problem.
Bad bacteria cause cravings for more of what feeds it.
If you have unexplained inflammation or pain in your body, you need to adjust your diet.
If you have an unnatural craving, or, if you just love food, you may be feeding bad gut bacteria what they want. This can cause health issues and/or allergies to the very food you love.
I've cleaned up my gut of all of those nasty little varments that were crawling around in my digestive system and I will never regret doing so.
Back in 2018, I set out on a mission to create a healthy lifestyle. It has taken me almost five years to become so disciplined that I can do it without thinking.
However, I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that I wouldn't want a Dr. Pepper. I like the way it tastes so, of course, I would want one.
But what we want and what we need are usually opposite things.
Focus on your overall picture of health.
Do you have extra body weight? If the answer is yes, you are not completely healthy.
Do you have any kind of sickness or disease that could be cured with diet and exercise? The answer to that might surprise you!
Doctors don't know everything and many of them are just practicing medicine. The best way to know if diet & exercise will cure you is to get at it.
If you have an unhealthy body, and the doctors can't give you a reason as to why I guarantee you something needs to change in your lifestyle.
Instead of thinking of all the things you can't have, rejoice over the things you can have. See the glass half full!
Your body will change when you force it to change by changing your habits, but this is NOT an overnight process.
Dieting Failures
I can tell you what will probably NOT work for you and that is diet food and diet drinks. Some of the heaviest, most unhealthy people I know are on highly-processed diet food, and drinks.
They don't work for anyone for getting healthy. They may help some with weight loss (temporarily), but getting healthy requires discipline, not a shortcut.
Diabetics can use these products to get off the sugary stuff but replacing one bad habit with another chemical-filled bad habit is NOT healthier.
Diet products are also just as addictive as the junky sugary stuff but even grosser because of all the added chemicals they have to put in there to replace the sugar. Yuk! Your body doesn't need that. 🤮
It is better to have self-discipline and clean up your diet completely.
If you want your body to have life in it, eat live food.
Eating live foods without cooking them preserves nutrients.
Vegetables have water running through the veins. It is best to eat veggies fresh so you get all of the water and vitamins in their natural state.
Pick dark leafy greens or snacks that you could pick out of your own garden if you had one.
Look for ways to eat better. As we age, our bodies need more TLC. Don't neglect your health.
Make your snacks organic healthy ones.
Trust me, five years from now you will look back and thank me for the advice and be glad you did what it takes to be healthy.
*Results may vary. Please speak with your doctor before using our products if you are on any type of medication. Minerals & supplements such as essential oils may change the effectiveness of medication. Consult your doctor before starting any kind of diet, exercise program, or skin-care routine.
Comments