Blog Archives

The Overeating Pain Cycle

7/28/2023

I love this model because it cuts right to the heart of emotional overeating. I'm not saying it's easy to stop, but this strategy makes it easier to manage.

Stage One: Feeling Pain
This is the sucky part. We feel bad in some way, and we just want to stop feeling bad.

Stage Two: Stopping Pain
We eat or drink something that’s not good for us to get some relief from the aforementioned pain.
Maybe we are aware of this, and we know that we are about to devour an entire sheet cake because we're pissed about something, or maybe we just do it subconsciously, and are always eating to avoid feeling uncomfortable.

Stage Three: Feeling Better
Now we're experiencing sweet relief. We’ve used food to give our self a break from the pain.

Stage Four: Regret
Once the sugar high or food coma wears off we are super aware that we've eaten too much or consumed something that doesn't agree with us, making us feel nauseous or bloated.
Maybe we are berating ourselves.

Now We're Back to Stage One: Pain and Discomfort
Food may or may not have an addictive quality for you. Either way, eating to avoid emotional pain will probably be a really hard habit to break.

Similar to associating a particular food with heartburn or bloating or a headache, you can learn - over time and with work - to associate the urge to overeat with temporary relief followed by regret. It's more black and white for someone in recovery who can associate one slip up with the downfall of their whole life. It's harder to work in these grey areas, but here is how to do it:

How to Stop Emotional Eating

Name it: "I ate x because I felt x. I felt x for a while, and now I feel x." "I ate a massive tub of ice cream because I felt lonely. I felt happy and chilled for a while, and now I feel fat and worse than before." If you name this often enough, eventually, you won't want to do it.
Acknowledge that you have feelings that need to be managed. Do you need a better way to deal with work stress? Do you have unresolved feelings that come up from the past? Do you need a new passion so you're not so bored?
Avoid talking to yourself like shit after you eat. Cruel words cause you the same pain that makes you eat, so it's completely pointless. Try to get into problem-solving mode instead: Why did this happen? How can I make it easier not to do it next time?

You've got this!
If you want some support download the Free weight Loss Mindset Reset Audio Program or join me for the Fit & Fabulous Weight Loss Bundle.
Clara xx

Part 3. No Thanks Diabetes. 3 Simple Steps to Prevent & Manage Diabetes.

7/21/2023

This is steps 3 of 3 steps to prevent and manage diabetes.

STEP 1

Step 1 was to get enough sleep.

STEP 2

Step 2 was to get enough protein.

STEP 3

Now, here's the step that involves work – EXERCISE. This is the ultimate way to keep your blood sugar levels in check and help your body use sugar instead of storing it as belly fat, etc.

150 minutes a week (2.5 hours) is a good place to start. That' not 150 minutes of workout time. This is simply the minimum amount an active person might MOVE every week.

We need to be active every day. Walking counts, cardio counts, and activities like weeding or simply walking around a museum or supermarket also count, as long as we are generally on our feet.

For a body with a good defense against diabetes, it needs good muscle mass, which unfortunately starts to deteriorate quickly as we age. That's why we have to do resistance training. Only two workouts a week is needed to maintain muscle.

Outside of our workouts, my clients run, walk the dog and do yoga, and some are just super active, walking up and down the steps in the New York subway. Either way, they are active every day in addition to workouts. The 2 hours of workouts they do with me a week covers resistance training, core and mobility training plus cardio to a lesser or greater extent depending what they are working on.

So, there you have it. There is work involved, but this SIMPLE habit could be started this week if you want to prioritize it

Try:

Make sure you are doing two resistance workouts a week and being active every day.

Remember, this habit will not only help you prevent and manage diabetes but also keep you looking and feeling great!

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Stay fit, stay fabulous, Clara x

Part 2. No Thanks Diabetes. 3 Simple Steps to Prevent & Manage Diabetes.

7/14/2023

Today I'm sharing step 2 of 3 for preventing and managing diabetes.

STEP 1

The first step was to get enough sleep because the lack of good quality sleep messes with our hormones and insulin sensitivity.

STEP 2

Another of the easier changes we can make is eating more protein. Most of us are actually DEFICIENT in protein, meaning we don't even eat enough for our bodies to heal properly from an injury. It's not surprising, really. It's so easy to just eat carbs because that's what we crave.
Protein helps with sugar and carb cravings by giving the body a constant slow-burning form of energy to stabilize blood sugar and keeping us feeling full and not craving carbs and sugar.

🔹The ideal amount of protein is 0.68 times body weight in pounds. So if you weigh 180 lbs, aim for about 122 grams.
🔹The absolute bare MINIMUM of 0.5 times your body weight in pounds per day, and that is for sedentary people. 180 lbs, that is a MINIMUM or 90 grams per day
🔹PREmenopausal women need a bare MINIMUM of 0.36 times their body. At 180 lbs that’s 64.8 grams per day

One simple way to start upping your protein intake is to have two high-protein meals a day, including eggs, a chicken breast or a can of tuna for example. Then add a serving on any day that you workout or have a physically strenuous day. Then build on that.
Honestly, I wouldn't reach my protein goal if I didn't have pea protein (easier on the stomach than whey protein) in my morning chicory coffee. It's okay to supplement, but please remember that protein milkshakes with ingredients you don't recognize are essentially junk food

Try:
🔹Work out your minimum and ideal protein intake and make a plan to increase it if necessary.

Remember, this habit will not only help you manage diabetes but also keep you looking and feeling great!
Find part 3 here next Friday.

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Clara xx

Part 1. No Thanks Diabetes. 3 Simple Steps to Prevent & Manage Diabetes.

7/7/2023

To get straight to the point - diabetes sucks, and it's something we should all keep in mind because it's not just a blood sugar thing– it's a precursor to a whole bunch of other major diseases and problems. I have 3 simple steps for you.

As you know, diabetes makes us unable to use sugar as energy correctly. It also does WEIRD things like make us store fat in dangerous places like the belly and inside our muscles!

The good news is that because it's a precursor to so many other things, if we can avoid diabetes, we're really setting ourselves up to avoid other really shitty things like heart disease, Alzheimer's, and even cancer.

There are three steps we can take that make a major difference, and two of them don't really require any work!They help us to NOT crave sugar so much so we're not constantly in a battle of wills with desert. We'll look at step 1 here and steps 2 and 3 in subsequent emails.

STEP 1
The first step is to get enough sleep because lack of good quality sleep messes with our hormones and insulin sensitivity.

It's always on the ‘list of ways to stay healthy,’ but so few people prioritize it. When you think about it, a body deprived of sleep doesn't function optimally, right? If you're rundown from a lack of sleep, your digestion isn't as good, and your immune system is weakened and so forth for every system in the body. Month after month, year after year, it's going to take a toll.

It's easy to research what could be affecting your sleep and to prioritize making changes for the next 30 days to create a habit.

Try:
Make a note of what is getting in the way of good sleep and make a plan to tackle it.

Remember, this habit will not only help you prevent and manage diabetes but also keep you looking and feeling great!
Find Step 2 here next Friday.
Clara x

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Clara xx

The Overeating Pain Cycle

Part 3. No Thanks Diabetes. 3 Simple Steps to Prevent & Manage Diabetes.

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3

Part 2. No Thanks Diabetes. 3 Simple Steps to Prevent & Manage Diabetes.

STEP 1

STEP 2

Try:
🔹Work out your minimum and ideal protein intake and make a plan to increase it if necessary.

Part 1. No Thanks Diabetes. 3 Simple Steps to Prevent & Manage Diabetes.

Try:
Make a note of what is getting in the way of good sleep and make a plan to tackle it.

Get Back On The (Healthy Food) Wagon By Tonight And Wake Up Tomorrow Feeling Confident And Back In Control 💪 With This Simple 3-Step Checklist.

Get These Posts Straight to Your Inbox in a Weekly Email.

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The Overeating Pain Cycle

Part 3. No Thanks Diabetes. 3 Simple Steps to Prevent & Manage Diabetes.

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3

Part 2. No Thanks Diabetes. 3 Simple Steps to Prevent & Manage Diabetes.

STEP 1

STEP 2

Try:​🔹Work out your minimum and ideal protein intake and make a plan to increase it if necessary.

Part 1. No Thanks Diabetes. 3 Simple Steps to Prevent & Manage Diabetes.

Try:Make a note of what is getting in the way of good sleep and make a plan to tackle it.

Get Back On The (Healthy Food) Wagon By Tonight And Wake Up Tomorrow Feeling Confident And Back In Control 💪 With This Simple 3-Step Checklist.​​

Get These Posts Straight to Your Inbox in a Weekly Email.

Archives

Categories

Try:
🔹Work out your minimum and ideal protein intake and make a plan to increase it if necessary.

Try:
Make a note of what is getting in the way of good sleep and make a plan to tackle it.

Get Back On The (Healthy Food) Wagon By Tonight And Wake Up Tomorrow Feeling Confident And Back In Control 💪 With This Simple 3-Step Checklist.