Abundant life

To break the cycle we need to recognize what emotional eating is. If we are suddenly stricken by hunger or have a craving that can be fulfilled only by a certain food you are thinking about, its likely that your hunger is emotional and not physical. Genuine hunger comes on gradually, not all of a sudden, and if your really hungry you will find many foods to be satisfying, not just what you are craving. Emotional eating also tends become a vicious cycle of self-sabotaged. Once we allow ourselves to eat emotionally, we feel guilty, and that guilt feeds another bout of emotional eating that moves us even further away from our goals.

The most important step in accepting emotional eating and being able to break the cycle is to recognize your triggers. It can be anything from stress to boredom to sadness etc. Find what sets you off, it may help to write in your journal of what you ate that day and how you felt. There may be a trend which will help you to identify.

Now that you have found your triggers. Here are 7 tips to help you beat them.

1. Eat clean. When you eat clean consistently you wont be hungry because you'll be eating the portions of food for you and you'll be getting the right balance of lean protein, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates to properly nourish your body.

2. Wait it out. Once you've recognized that your craving is not genuine hunger, you can acknowledge it and choose not to feed it. Engage in another activity to take your mind off the craving. Give yourself time to let the feeling pass. Even if it does linger, you help beat it by eating your next clean meal.

3. Don't deprive yourself. The next time you are tempted by a craving, stop and reflect on your hunger. If you've determined that you are genuinely hungry, eat a small clean snack made of almonds and a piece of fruit or maybe a few carrots with a bit of hummus. Keeping yourself hungry will only intensify the craving and leave you more prone to giving in.

4. Get support. If the emotions that triggered your craving are negative ones, manage it in a way that isn't eating. If you need to vent give your friends a call and chat regularly with them. Friends are great people to talk to when you are stressed and let things out. Organize to go for a walk etc.

5. Create a new habit. In the end, if you want to stop emotional eating, you have to find ways other than eating to manage stress, alleviate boredom and show love. When I need a mental break down from my chaotic life, I like to take the dogs for a walk, or spend some quality time with family. When I like to spend quality time with my family I like to go for walks and get into the great outdoors and share a laugh.

6. Moderation not elimination. In the beginning, breaking this habit may be tough and you may give into your cravings, more often than you'd like. Try dividing comfort foods into small portions. For example, reach for a snack size chocolate bar rather than a full sized one. Better yet, if you have chocolate craving, reach for a square of dark chocolate. Eat one, and have the strength to walk away.

7. There is no such thing as failure. As I said, there will be times when you give into the craving. Don't think of this as a personal failure but as an opportunity to improve yourself. When you label yourself as a failure, you'll only provide yourself with negative emotions that trigger an episode of emotional eating. Just get keeping going with your next clean meal.

This was tonights dinner. It was so nice I thought you guys should know about it. Thanks to Sarah from http://everydaypaleo.com/

2 Kumera or sweet potato

2 Zucchini

1 Onion

2 eggs

2 pinches

Sea Salt

1 tbsp Curry Powder

1/2 tbsp Cinnamon

3 tbsp

Coconut oil

Peel the kumera's and rinse. Using the grater, s

hred the kumera and the zucchini. Finely chop the onion. In a large mixing bowl combine kumera, zucchini, onion, eggs and spices. In a wok, heat the coconut oil over medium heat, add the hash mixture and cook, stirring frequently until the kumera is soft and start to crisp.

1 bag pre-cooked frozen prawns

1/2 Capsicum (I used a green one)

2 pinches of Sea Salt

A sprinkle of garlic powder

A sprinkle of paprika

Pepper

2 tbsp Butter

Leafy greens

Olive oil

Lemon juice

Avocado

Thaw prawns and towel pat dry. Heat butter and medium heat in a pan, saute capsicums until soft. Add prawns until brown. Add spices. Serve

on a bed of leafy greens garnished with avocado and topped with a drizzle of olive oil.

And for dessert is pan fried banana topped with cinnamon. YUM!

1. Eat whole, natural foods

2. Eat only foods that will spoil, but eat them before they do ;)

3. Eat naturally-raised meat including fish, seafood, poultry, beef, lamb, game, organ-meats and eggs.

4. Eat whole, naturally-produced milk products from pasture-fed cows, preferably raw and/or fermented, such as whole yogurt, cultured butter, whole cheeses and fresh and sour cream

5. Use only traditional fats and oils including butter and other animal fats, extra virgin olive oil, expeller expressed sesame and flax oils and the tropical oils- coconut and palm oil

6. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables, preferably organic, in salads and soups, or lightly steamed

7. Include enzyme-enhanced lacto-fermented vegetables, fruits, beverages, and condiments in your diet on a regular basis

8. Use whole grains and nuts that have been prepared by soaking, sprouting or sour leavening to neutralize phytic acid and other anti-nutrients

9. Prepare homemade meat stocks from the bones of chicken, beef, lamb or fish and use liberally in soups and sauces

10. Use herb teas and coffee substitutes in moderation

11. Use filtered water for cooking and drinking

12. Make your own salad dressing using raw vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and expeller expressed flax oil

13. Use unrefined Celtic Sea salt and a variety or herbs and spices for food interest and appetite stimulation

14. Use natural sweeteners in moderation, such as raw honey, maple syrup, dehydrated cane sugar juice and stevia powder

15. Use only pasteurized wine or beer in strict moderation with meals

16. Cook only in stainless steel, cast iron, glass or good quality enamel

17. Use only natural supplements

18. Get plenty of sleep, exercise and natural light

19. Think positive thoughts and minimize stress

20. Practice forgiveness

This is the video clip from TV on demand. http://ondemand.tv3.co.nz/Randells-Revolution/tabid/59/articleID/599/MCat/22/Default.aspx

It is only available for people in NZ but I'm sure you can find the clip somewhere else if you live else where.

This is very inspirational and shows that high fat diets are the way forwards. As skeptical as you might be, check out the video and do some research on high fat/paleo/primal/traditional diets.

Be prepared to be blown away.. Share this clip with your friends and family. Enjoy :)

After reading the Primal Blueprint book I am convinced paleo/primal is the way to go.. I will be avoiding grains like the plague. I will post more about what exactly primal/paleo eating is over the next few posts. There is a lot of information on the internet so you can also search around as well. It is becoming hugely popular and is showing some significant results.

More to come.

Hope all is well :)

Sorry I haven't posted anything for awhile. I have been busy reading this book, along with enjoying my life :)

So.. I am currently reading this book at the moment.. It has changed my entire perspective of how I eat and exercise. It is the greatest book I have ever read and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in being the healthiest, and energized individual.

It is basically about going back to where we were 10,000 years ago. Fossil records shows us that our genes are similar to our ancestors 10,000-15,000 years ago. There was a time where ancestors could not gather enough meats to survive off so they had to start domesticating. They started cultivating wheat, corn etc. Records shows that by eating wheat and grains, our brain sizes have actually shrunk, our bone density has decreased and we are more prone to getting infections and other illnesses.

With the way people eat and the advice we get from doctors, nutritionists etc, it has made this world a disaster zone, people are bigger than ever and sicker than ever. People go on all sorts of diets trying to lose weight but stop because it is to hard to sustain and are not seeing the results they want, a year later they are still not satisfied with their weight and will try a different diet, they will lose a bit of weight but will stop again because they couldn't resit the cake a friend was offering. People get told by their doctors they need to go on a low fat diet and start taking medications because they have high cholesterol levels and if they don't get it under control they are at a high chance of suffering a heart attack. People live a continuous stressful life, sleep 6 hours a night, have a poor diet and rarely exercise and wonder why they are continuously tried, can't lose weight and have digestive problems.

This book will prove everything that you heard about nutrition wrong, he backs everything up with scientific evidence that will blow your mind. He will show you the correct way of living healthily and will connect you with your ancestors.

The primal blueprint is about eating high fat, moderate amounts of protein and small amounts of carbohydrates. Mark will show you that we do not "need" so much carbohydrates that we get told to eat. Weight loss is all about insulin. If you decide not to read this book, thats fine, but just take away one message; "carbohydrates drives insulin, insulin increases fat". He will show that the preferred source of energy is actually dietary fat. Who knew? This isn't the same as the infamous "Atkin's" diet. You are still getting your carbohydrates from an abundant and limitless supply of fruit and vegetables but it is not creating such an insulin spike that grains do; thats include whole grains, it also has much less calories than grains and other carbohydrates. The fruit and vegetables supply antioxidants, fiber, and they also increase your glycogen stores. If you are eating too much carbohydrates your body will store it as fat, its as simple as that!

Mark will bust all the myths about "saturated fats are bad for you", he will also get you off the treadmill where you spend an hour and a half of your day on. He will show that long duration cardio actually puts too much stress on your body and you will be asking for an injury.

I could honestly rave about this book all day. But you wont know what buzz I am on until you read it. It is a fascinating book and I am also saving up for the cookbook that has just come out.

Let me know if you have read it to and what you thought of it. :) :)

Enjoy. Hope all is well.