Weight Loss By Recognising The Hunger You Feel

Q. Is the feeling that you want to eat an indication that your body is hungry for energy and nutrients?

A. Not always

In many instances, perceived hunger pangs are a conditioned response to dealing with our feelings. As children, many of us were comforted by being given a sweet or chocolate when we were upset about something. Can you hear it "There, there ... here is a piece of chocolate ...it will make it all better! So, instead of addressing the problem, the problem is submerged by food. This kind of response can set up a pattern of comfort eating which for many results in having a weight problem in adulthood.

Emotions, e.g. anger, frustration, sadness, boredom, loss, disappointment and so forth will never be satisfied through the mouth. Emotions and emotional needs need to be handled directly. The mouth never solves the problems of the mind. We have the capacity of the mind to deal with the problems of the mind. We can learn to deal with our emotional hunger with our mind.

Just by learning to differentiate body hunger from emotional hunger and dealing with each in the appropriate way, we are well on the way to changing our eating patterns to a way that ensures a gradual, healthy and permanent weight loss.

If you are reading this, it is probably because you or someone close to you is overweight. Being overweight can result in a minefield of problems, both physical and emotional:

- Poor health
- Poor self-image
- Low self-esteem
- Lack of motivation
- Lack of confidence
- Avoidance of people
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Snoring
- Guilt
- Cannot enjoy food
- Exercise avoidance
- Sexual dysfunction
- Avoidance of intimate relationships
- Clothes-shopping problems
- Infertility
- Surgery problems

So there are numerous very good reasons to lose weight.

Four steps to healthy permanent weight loss are:

1. Resolve your emotional problems by using the capacity of your mind
2. Eat only when your body really needs energy and nutrients
3. Eat what your body wants when it wants it, i.e. listen to your body's needs
4. Until such that your body has reached its healthy sustainable shape eat just a little less than it needs each day.

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