How we eat determines what we eat

Lori Lipinski is a dietician who drew this cartoon. Her concern is that the way we eat has an impact on what we eat. If you are eating on the hoof, you will be eating more foods which are high in fat and sugar.

As I have mentioned before, eating mindfully will help you control your eating and thereby control your weight. Be aware of what you are eating. Notice what you are eating. And enjoy it.

Lori's 7 tips for eating well are here.

http://www.carolinebrowntherapy.com/

The urge to gorge

Here we are in the Christmas season. Even before Christianity came to Europe, there were pagan winter feastings. In those days, food was hard to come by, and winter was a time of hunger, so a special festival like this was a major treat.

Nowadays, food is plentiful, accessible and relatively cheap. For the vast majority of us, food shortage is just not an issue. But getting fat is something that concerns an increasing number of us.

Somehow at Christmas, we permit ourselves to gorge hugely, stuffing ourselves before, during and after a meal, with calorie-stuffed fun food. So what to do?

I was in the supermarket the other day with a friend who has a problem with alcohol. He wanted to buy a bottle of each kind of spirit - vodka, whisky, gin, brandy - for the friends who would be dropping by. He did this last year, and personally consumed all the bottles by New Years Day.

So here is the tip. Don't kid yourself that all these boxes of chocolates, tins of biscuits, sacks of crisps, bags of nuts, cakes etc etc etc are for your friends and visitors. Letting rip like this will only make you feel miserable, after you have eaten the evidence.

Enjoy lots of wonderful meals with your family. Have a happy Christmas. But when you are in the supermarket, make a Christmas wish to avoid all the fun food. It will be no fun at all in the New Year, when you struggle to lose the 3 pounds that you are at risk of putting on, and keeping on.

And when I say you, of course I mean Us!

http://www.carolinebrowntherapy.com/

Do I have to exercise?

Well, to be honest, only reducing your calories will reduce your weight. I was going to say, only reducing the amount you eat - but that is not so. You can eat lots of water-rich food and lose weight. It is the calorie-dense food that we all need to avoid, even though it tastes lovely.

What exercise does is reduce the amount of abdominal fat. This fat is packed into the abdominal cavity and in between the internal organs. It is also called organ fat or visceral fat. This is the fat that you are losing when you find your waist is getting smaller. Abdominal fat is linked to cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. This is the natural place for fat deposits in men, whereas for women it is the buttocks, hips and thighs. However, after the menopause, fat moves to the organs.

So, rather than keep miserably eying the scales, measure your waist. When you reduce your waist measurement, you are losing fat and are back on the healthy slopes. And a hypnotherapist will help you keep to your goals.

www.carolinebrowntherapy.com