Many people believe that too much of eating is behaviorally habituated, in other words; you don't have the willpower and self-esteem to say no to food. But in many cases food cravings actually have a biological, physiological basis.
Yes, You CAN overcome food cravings! And take back control of your life and health, and lose weight in the process!
DID YOU KNOW? ...
• That food cravings are not usually behaviorally conditioned (that is, you have no willpower to say no to food), but that food cravings have a biological, physiological basis?
• That you can overcome food cravings?
• That having low serotonin levels triggers intense food cravings?
• That increasing your serotonin levels stops food cravings, leaving you
feeling calm, relaxed, happy and motivated to eating a healthy nutritious diet?
• That some low-fat diet food actually causes you to gain weight?
• That stress can trigger food cravings and cause weight gain?
• That eating refined carbohydrate sweets can trigger food cravings and cause weight gain?
• That overcoming food cravings is not about willpower?
• That there are certain vitamins and supplements that can decrease or eliminate food cravings?
Are you sick and tired of continuously dieting and fighting food cravings, and losing the battle?
Let's take a look at one factor that most people know nothing about, yet which has devastating consequences when you have an imbalance ... serotonin.
What is serotonin?
Serotonin is called a neurotransmitter or messenger of the brain. Serotonin is the "feel good" neurotransmitter of the brain. Serotonin is responsible for us feeling happy, relaxed, calm, motivated, and at peace with our lives and our role in the world.
Low serotonin levels cause intense refined carbohydrate cravings that are very difficult to ignore. In particular, these food cravings trigger impulse eating that is difficult to control with willpower alone. Exercising willpower and determination becomes difficult because your emotions make you feel "What’s the use, even if I lose weight I’ll only gain it back anyway. I’ll always be fat." You give up because you feel you are fighting a losing battle. Basically, low serotonin levels attack your ability to "just say no". It is quite common for obesity to trigger low levels of serotonin, which in turn triggers a vicious cycle of food cravings and weight gain.
For a short time after eating high GI refined carbohydrate sweets, you increase serotonin levels, your mood elevates, you feel good and your self-esteem and confidence increases. When your serotonin levels are low and you feel depressed it is very easy to be lured and tempted into chasing this "feel good" mood and your ability to "just say no" gives way to finding excuses to justify giving in to the cravings.
But as time goes on, it takes more and more sugar, or refined carbohydrates to get the same "feel good" result. This is when eating becomes compulsive, always chasing that next high.
That is why eating highly processed, high GI carbohydrates triggers food cravings and food obsessions in the long run. It is much better to eat a constant supply of low GI carbohydrates and protein at each meal and snack in order to keep your serotonin level elevated naturally.
When your serotonin level in the brain is at an ideal level, you feel relaxed and at peace with the world and yourself. When your levels are too low, you are no longer relaxed and have very little willpower to say no to the increased level of high GI refined carbohydrate cravings and impulsive eating patterns.
How Do Lifestyle Choices Affect Serotonin Levels?
There are some factors that affect serotonin levels that we have no control over like hereditary factors and the fact that women have naturally lower levels of serotonin than men (and interestingly, women dieters have problems with lowered serotonin levels, but not men dieters! And of course, more women also have eating disorders than men.)
Low serotonin levels are known to trigger food cravings and obsessive behaviours regarding eating. What a lot of people do not know is that our poor diets and unhealthy eating patterns, especially dieting, plays a critical role in lowering serotonin levels and triggering a vicious cycle of weight gain and yo-yo dieting.
Eating highly processed foods upsets the delicate balance of insulin and glucagon and over time, insulin resistance will develop. When this happens, high levels of insulin and blood glucose will also interfere with the body's ability to produce serotonin. (Another good reason to eliminate high GI carbohydrates from your diet and eat more low GI carbohydrates.)
The list of things that cause a low serotonin level is rather long including (but not limited to)...
• Low blood sugar levels caused by insulin resistance, diabetes and sugar intolerance
• High blood sugar and insulin levels
• Eating too much high GI carbohydrates
• Chronic stress triggering adrenal exhaustion
• Alcoholism and drug addiction
• Hormone imbalances like Estrogen and Progesterone
• Impaired Thyroid Function
• Impaired Liver Function
• Yeast or Candida infections
• Leaky gut syndrome and food intolerances
• Eating refined carbohydrates
• Eating a diet high in trans-fats and junk food causing Essential Fatty Acid Deficiency
• Eating large meals
• Dieting, eating disorders, restricting calories, skipping meals and going too long without eating.
• Inadequate intake of protein and healthy essential fatty acids caused by low fat diets
All these trigger a lowering of our serotonin level, which in turn triggers depression. And of course, the more depressed we feel, the harder it is to stay motivated to eat in a healthy nutritious way. As a matter of fact, more often then not, people will use food as a "comfort" to make them feel better in the hopes of alleviating their depression in some small way. Usually the depression and low serotonin levels will trigger carbohydrate cravings in the hope that eating more carbohydrates will raise the serotonin levels.
Unfortunately, this usually backfires because highly processed carbohydrate junk food will actually depress your serotonin level in the long run.
So, now the good news! Yes, there is an easy way to increase Serotonin Levels and stop food cravings...
There are many different ways to increase Serotonin Levels, but the most effective seem to be with a healthy, nutritious diet, exercise, meditation and supplementation.
So as you can see, losing weight is a lot more difficulty than just controlling calories. And reducing food cravings is a major component of a successful weight loss system. So why don’t you try to learn how to stop food cravings. And bring back your successful and healthier life!