emotional eating

Fitz talks to actress Brooke Shields about diet and exercise.

Fitness Brooke suggests moderation in all things: "You don't have to be crazy and you don't have to be like an athlete... to be more fit". She goes onto talk about how going to extremes, setting unrealistic goals proved to be counterproductive. "Find something you enjoy and stick with it."

Diet Again attempts at extremes (going non-fat or cutting out lots of foods) backfired - resulting in weight gain. Brooke talks about finding a balance, maintaining smaller portions, giving into cravings, and an awareness of when eating is for emotional reasons.

Many thanks to Fitz Koehler of SportsHealthExercise.com for creating this, and to Brooke Shields and Latisse for agreeing to this and letting us embed it here.

Are you an emotional eater? I am, and I know that overeating for me, rarely has anything to do with actual hunger. Those same tips and tricks that help keep non-emotional eaters' hunger cravings at bay, can help people like us.

But, we need to have a few mental tricks in our toolbox as well.

Monica Seles is without a doubt one of the best female tennis players of all time. Known for her relentless power and loud, multi-syllable grunts, Seles vaulted to the top ranked spot in women's tennis at the tender age of 17.

Even the casual sports fan knows how this story unfolds. A bizarre stabbing attack by a deranged fan would indelibly de-rail Seles' playing career and worse still, her emotional stability. The stabbing incident - compounded by the death of her father to cancer would spark an addiction to food.

Here are some quotes from Monica's story in an ESPN interview on how she kicked emotional eating. Seles has written a book on her experiences called "Getting a Grip".

Being hyped as the most important weight loss book of the year isn't an easy accolade to live up to. You never really know how much of the buzz is based on marketing hype or reputation for past works or both. Well, I'm here to tell you with a great deal of confidence - The Body Fat Solution did not disappoint.

Tom Venuto is the author of the new book: The Body Fat Solution. This post is part of an exclusive interview with Venuto.

Emotional eating is eating for the wrong reasons, and the danger is you usually don't even know its happening. It's unconscious behavior.

The right reason to eat most of the time is for physiological needs such as providing nutrients, delivering cellular and muscular building material and for fuel. But most people eat for all kinds of reasons that have nothing to do with physical hunger or physical needs. They eat because they're bored, tired, depressed, lonely, and especially when they're stressed.

The Stress Eater Diet written by Robert Posner, M.D. and Linda Hlivka targets women who tend to eat a lot and unhealthily when stressed.

They believe that 78% of overeating is caused by an emotional response to some type of stressor such as relationship problems or financial difficulties. Along with the help of stress hormones being produced these added calories cause women to gain weight fast.

Tom Venuto is arguably the most popular fat loss guru to be found on-line. His downloadable guide Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (BFFM) has been the biggest selling health eBook for many many years.

For many, BFFM became inspirational rulebook for eating right and getting in shape. Venuto has finally produced a book in print. The Body Fat Solution is not shipping until Jan 8 2009 - but has already shot to around the #100 in Amazon's bestseller list (out of all books).

Why all the buzz?

I'm a little bit out of touch with what's popular on TV - but I do know that crime shows are perennial favorites. We really are fixated with murder and violence.

A curious study has shown that people eat more when they contemplate death.

I'm a sucker for reality shows that focus on weight loss. Typically, these shows feature people who are attempting to lose weight and get fit with the whole world watching.

Last night I watched a show about three women trying to get "thin" for their wedding day. Although the template for this show was typical, the tactics involved seemed pretty darn unkind. I actually cringed at times as the very thin, very strident host taunted these overweight women and ridiculed them for their food and drink choices.

The camera angles seemed purposefully constructed to be as humiliating for these women as possible. And I wondered, are shame and harassment successful strategies for weight loss?

People who struggle with their weight are often prone to "emotional eating", consuming food as a response to mental triggers rather than physical hunger. Often, dieters fail to lose weight not because their diet plan itself is flawed, but because they are knocked off course by feeling stressed, tired, upset or bored.

The last of these is an especially common cue for many people to eat. For some, it's a habit learned in childhood ("I'm bored, mum!" - "Run down to the shop and buy yourself a candy bar, then.") For others, it's a reaction to the dull parts of adult life: munching on biscuits while rocking the baby to sleep, or getting yet another handful of chocolates because the afternoon is really dragging at work.

Among the seemingly endless angles and spins on weight loss, creative writer and teacher Julia Cameron has introduced yet another "key" to shedding pounds... writing.

The Writing Diet: Write Yourself Right-Size focuses on using the creative outlet of writing to help break down the emotional issues of overeating. The book raises and tackles some very valid issues about the causes of overeating.

When we read studies about weight loss approaches and attitudes, we often tend to hear about the American perspective. But what does the rest of the world think? And what are they doing about the growing obesity problem? A recent global survey of over 9,000 people in 13 countries over five continents contained some intriguing contrasts and surprises.

For example, which country would you guess has the most "emotional eaters?"

Holidays are often a time of catching up with extended family. For some families - everything seems great - but underneath there are issues that - believe or not - may be connected to your overeating.

If you eat in response to emotional issues - here are some points to ponder these holidays.

New research shows that those who have the hardest time keeping off the weight are those who eat for internal emotional reasons.

SharpBrains has interviewed Judith Beck, author of The Beck Diet Solution. Beck brings the principles from cognitive behavior therapy into the field of weight loss.

The Beck Diet Solution is designed to be used alongside any healthy and nutritious diet.

What are the cognitive and emotional skills and habits that dieters need to train?

Many nutritional experts agree that keeping a food diary is critical to weight loss success. A food diary creates a conscious awareness of food intake and eating patterns.

After keeping a diary many people are often surprised at how that "occasional" big dessert turns out to be a regular occurrence.

While some factors such as age or genetics are outside of our control - we can make choices about what foods we eat.

Here are some basic guidelines for keeping a food diary.

There are times in all of our lives, when we’ve had enough with our situation, our day, or our life. Our mind seems to fill with negative thoughts.

The same is true about our bodies. There are days when nothing positive comes to mind (Maybe it all starts with tight jeans. I hate it when my jeans feel tight. It makes me want to rip them off and put on a pair of sweat-pants for the day.).

Many people overeat for emotional reasons. Without doing some serious reflection it is difficult to pinpoint whether our food choices come from an emotional need or a physical need.

Here are eight warning signs that your eating may be driven by hidden emotions.

One great tip I learned from reading French Women for All Seasons was the “half-trick.” Famous author, Mireille Guiliano, first became known through her book, French Women Don’t Get Fat. Her latest book provides more insights and numerous recipes for healthy French cuisines.

Being overweight or obese can place a person in many stigmatizing situations. Stigma comes in many forms; criticisms, others making negative assumptions, inappropriate or nasty comments.

Here is a list of the top ten sources of such stigma.