Is your scale “creeping” upwards? You’re not alone. Unwanted weight gain is common and can be devastating to health and happiness. 80% of Americans are now overweight, with more people joining the ranks each year. Calories from food end up as fat (what we DON’T want), instead of energy (what we DO want). Calories have become a “bad guy”!
Ever hear two voices battling in your mind, fighting over what you’ll eat? A wise and caring angel in one ear telling you how healthy and fit you’ll be if you eat this or that. And a convincing little deceptive demon in the other ear whispering, “Don’t worry, be happy! Eat that burger and fries, the chocolate cake, AND the ice cream. You can diet tomorrow!”
Ever experience a “consuming desire” or “yearning” for a particular food or snack? Maybe even when you absolutely “know” you are not hungry? But still, you just can’t get the thought of your favorite treat out of your mind until you indulge… If so, you have experienced what researchers call a “food craving”. Cravings for “wrong foods” (chocolate, salty snacks, crunchy treats, sweets, sodas, high fat items, pasta, etc.) are one of the most challenging and disturbing symptoms of my patients seeking weight loss. And until food cravings are controlled, meaningful long-term weight loss remains only an illusion.
by Emily Farris, Kansas City Enhance Health & Wellness Magazine, Jan-Feb 2011
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“If only I wouldn’t have had that first French fry…”If any of those statements sound familiar, you’ve probably blamed your willpower, or lack thereof, for excess weight at some point in your life. But Dr. Rick Tague, M.P.H. and founder of the Center for Nutrition and Preventative Medicine in Leawood and Topeka, Kansas, would tell you to stop being so hard on yourself. In fact, he says willpower has very little, if nothing, to do with weight.