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LoriBecky

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Head hunger... we all deal with it but why.... what is this beast and why is he constantly knocking at my door...errr stomach.... head - whatever - it feels the same! I battle this beast too often. Why is that?

We all know this beast too well... or maybe that's the problem, maybe we don't know him. What is really causing this "hunger"... are we bored? Do we feel we "deserve" to eat more food... are we hiding from something... trying to soothe something... trying to fill a void. Are we food addicts? Give a girl a break!

I have found myself battling this beast daily since Christmas - I know i went off the rails a little over the holidays... allowed this beasts playful relative... sugar... back into my life with a vengeance, and I can't seem to kick him to the curb and I find myself "over-stuffing" myself. why is that... i'm not really hungry, I know that.

I feel like I am sabotaging all the work I've done - it hasn't really shown up on the scales much yet - YET being the key word here... but it has shown up in how I feel, not just physically, but emotionally... how I feel about myself... like i'm devaluing myself... what is up with THAT? Make it STOP!

So... how do I refocus... get back on track, not only with healthier eating, but with treating my body how it should be treated? Feeding my soul instead of stuffing my (albeit small) gut...

I would love to hear from you how you get yourself back on track... get back to the positive self talk instead of this doubtful, limiting, negative self-talk that happens when you let the beast "head hunger" back in the game....

I remember a "Beauty and the Beast" talking mirror my daughter had years ago.... You could push a button and it said "Show me the beast"... i could really use a magic mirror like that right now, to help identify the "beast" - or do we already have one? I could look into a mirror and really ask myself... "Lori, are you hungry, or do you need to fill a void, are you self soothing, are you bored, are you thirsty, are you stressed". I could use my OCC mirrors...YOU... all of you wonderful people, going through these same struggles and get the support I need to pause for a moment... OCC Forum, Facebook support groups, we have so many resources!

OK... who's with me... its time to recognize this beast.... and slay him. (OK... who else is singing the song from Beauty and the Beast "Kill the Beast" in their heads, I know I totally am!!!

Let's do this! Join the Conversation!

as always... if you have questions you can reach me at lori@obesitycontrolcenter.com or 1-866-376-7849 ext. 81

Join the conversation... leave me some feedback... let's fight this beast as a group... give me your pointers!

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So, all my life I have had this beast. Especially, when i was doing hormone stuff. But in the past 7 years I have yo-yo'd. I have signed up for the sleeve and looking forward to the journey and the fact that my health relies on this. I put a picture of my grandmother in my head, a friend, and parent who all suffer from an obese related illness. And then i slowly say, umm do you really need this? Are you hungry? are you thirsty. yes seems like minutes but really seconds to make decision.

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I think that is what we need - that pause button whatever that is, we each need to figure out what that is for us - that mirror - so we look inside ourselves for that few seconds or minutes, take a deep breath, and learn to read our feelings... and decide, are we truly hungry, or is it something else... and instead of feeding our bellies... feed what that need really is.

Thanks emullins!!! great share!

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Response from our OCC Nutritionist, Lucia:


You are absolutely right...there is a beast, it is primal instinct and that is why I call it "our crocodile", 4291_IMAGE_0*480,0,435x244,1;0*480,0,870


it feeds from sugars! see...sugars produce hormones that signal the same centers as cocaine and heroine at the brain and keeps you wanting for more, overtime, you need more sugar (same as with drugs) to have the same reward center stimulus. Most people will think is their lack of will and hurt themselves with negative and guilty thoughts, the truth is that your body is being kidnapped by your hormones. To keep the crocodile at ease (imagine it as laying in the sun, next to a river, un-bothered) , this is what you can do:

- feed your crocodile every so often (you don´t want it to wake up)...that is why we recommend establishing mealtimes and not skipping a meal.

- take your nutritional status to the next level (use your supplements and superfoods). A lot of the times we look for sugars to get some energy...masking and worsening our nutritional status over time.

- be ready to face the withdrawal syndrome, prepare ahead with protein-rich snacks and take them with you. When you eat snacks, eat until fully satisified, otherwise you would be grazing.

- make sure your gut is working, get enough fiber from veggies and fruits and/or supplements and include probiotics. Sugars also feed the "small beasts" which are bacteria and yeasts at the gut increasing the risk of candidiasis. Candida overgrowth will make you hungry (and lead you to infections you may think are unrelated to what you eat, like vaginal or skin infections).

- identify the sugars in you diet and cut them out cold turkey. Flour, "diet" stuff (which leads you to compensate the sugars you savor though not found), anything with a "...ose" in labels (glucose, dextrose...etc), "healthy sugars like molasses or agave honey and of course, sugar concentrates like juices.

- I´ve noticed my crocodile is really bad by 5 pm; so by 4.30 pm I have a protein shake with berries and chia/flax seeds (for additional fiber). I found this very helpful, especially after indulging...hey, I´m human too :-)


I hope this helps.


Lucia

OCC Nutritionist

nutritionist@obesitycontrolcenter.com

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What a great name, Head Hunger, I have since told my girlfriends about this new term and they totally agree with you. I love it as it totally distinguishes between the tummy and the head, my pantry I am sure only feeds my head hunger. Feed the beast is a great way to understand the concept, great post!!!

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