Health Free Articles

By:Bridget Livingston

Are you fed up with your eating disorder, diet or body image issues? I was too. I know what it is like to be at the end of your rope in an unhealthy cycle and confusion about where to get help.

Have you tried other resources yet? I bet you have. I have a Ph.D. in two things: #1 Dieting and #2 Getting cured from Eating Disorders and Diets for life! I am offering you a few great tips that helped me take the right steps toward healing myself and breaking free for life.

Fed Up Girl’s Top Five List to Ending Your Diet Mentality TODAY:

1. Dress in something you love. I like to say fake it until you make it, or you know dress for success. But this is huge. Put on makeup and a CUTE outfit. No sweats and comfy shoes. Get dolled up as if you are going out on the town.

2. Go through your home and/or office and gather every single diet article, workout article, celeb gossip article and any spread with females bodies highlighted. Put them in a huge pile. THROW them in the recycling bin. Start breaking free from the media influence today. Who cares what Eva Longoria looks like in a bikini and eats for breakfast. Done.

3. Put on your favorite CD, piece of music, mixed CD, iTunes mix, whatever. I recommend turning it up and dancing around your new clean space. Free from media, dressed for success and jamming to your favorite song. Now smile.

4. Do one really great thing for your inner child. Don’t know what your inner child is? Most people don’t and later on you’ll learn why this is the single most powerful element in recovery. Just think back to a time when you were under 10 years old and happy. What were you doing? My memories usually involve coloring, painting, listening to music, playing with friends. Pick one and do it for an hour!

5. Look at yourself in the mirror for a few minutes- look at yourself in the eye and tell yourself you will keep trying to get better and will find the solution. Believe it.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bridget_Livingston

By:Kelly Crawford

Food cravings are one of the subtle, cultured forms of addiction and compulsive behavior that are very difficult to discern. It is pretty much acceptable to have an addiction when it comes to food. We all have them and we all treat people with this particular addiction (addiction to food) entirely different to someone who is addicted to alcohol or other drugs.

Whereas someone who craves alcohol would be encouraged to seek help, those of us who crave sugary snacks are often - if not all the time - encouraged to indulge in our addictions. And if we don’t indulge we will often hear the retort “Why deprive yourself?”

“One isn’t going to hurt your diet”.

Most foods that are craved have no nutritional benefit to you and can cause and contribute to a number of different health conditions like excess weight and diabetes. Why would you want to eat those foods other than for comfort and pleasure?

You wouldn’t! It is your addiction to them that makes you eat them.

Food has the power to control you in this way. Sugar, salt and foods laced with fat are emotionally and physically addictive.

In order to rid yourself of these substances from your life, the first step is to admit there is a problem. This is one of the hardest things to do, especially when you think you are eating that sandwich out of hunger.

Control has been established on the inside of you. Even if there is an intense desire to lose weight or a bad habit, there is often failure and discouragement.

So as stated you must admit the issue. Now, once you have admitted it and reached a decision that these cravings are not good for you and you DEFINITELY want to give them up for good, you need to COMPLETELY REFUSE to consider them for even a second longer from that moment on.

Once you know what you must avoid (sugar, chocolate, coffee whatever it is) and what you must do to improve your health, you should start observing and be attentive to the thoughts that pass through your mind. Just as soon as you become aware that you desire some chocolate or any other food which you have chosen not to eat anymore, as that very moment dismiss it. Completely refuse to give it another second’s thought.

You must be alert here though because quickly the thought can arouse emotion in you and this can result in you becoming weak or inattentive to your decisions. You will find you start trying to rationalize having that desire food and get caught up in your feelings.

Don’t play with this desire! But don’t struggle with it. If you try to use willpower to force it out of the mind it will just accentuate it and make it stronger. You become frustrated and risk caving or you do cave. Just simply drop the thought from your attention - get on with a chore, distract yourself essentially. Give this other subject/activity your FULL attention and stay fully immersed in it until you have calmed down.

Emotions are much stronger than reason - we tend to rationalize the irrational when we are caught up in then and can talk ourselves into anything. This is dangerous, so don’t play with them just divert your attention.

This is one of the first and most crucial steps to being free - Your Fat Freedom is possible but you must have self-awareness if you want to be rid of cravings for good.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kelly_Crawford