How to get rid of food addiction

Food is our everything. With food, all the holidays, rest, pleasant events, stress and everyday life are connected. Today, food is a POWERFUL industry that affects all areas of a person's life. It is a huge conveyor, based on satisfying growing needs, creating new ones and forming food dependence. By the way, have you ever wondered why you are so drawn to harmful food? Why do coffee and chocolate cause dependence, and the apple and carrot are not? And how to get rid of food addiction ?

What influences food dependence

We have in the brain a pleasure center, necessary for the survival of the species. If we did not enjoy eating and sex, then everything would end in vain. If the level of pleasure is reached the norm, the brain produces a special substance dopamine, which allows you to memorize the sources of pleasure, in our case, a certain food.

Any drugs increase the splash of dopamine. Today, the food has become so processed that we constantly force the body to produce dopamine. In the nature there is no sugar, chocolate bars, sweets, cakes and cakes, such concentrated food causes real addiction, because it has a very strong effect on the pleasure center.

There are people who have a reduced number of dopamine receptors genetically. Such people find it hard to get pleasure from simple things, they need some kind of dope: alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, harmful food, overeating, gambling. By the way, in full people the level of dopamine receptors is underestimated. Fortunately, you can protect yourself from this ailment, then I'll tell you practical ways how to get rid of food addiction.

The favorite dessert of all girls is chocolate - it causes physiological dependence. The fact is that it contains substances (opiates) that stimulate the brain areas of the brain as morphine. The same can be said about meat, sugar and dairy products, especially cheese. The most powerful opiate effect is the combination of sugar and fats, which can be found in all baked goods. In addition to habit, such food causes a significant harm to health and in the future can cause various diseases.

Food can influence the parts of the brain responsible for friendship, love and warmth. Therefore it is not surprising that girls at the time of separation can easily eat a cake or a mountain of sweets. Food literally replaces lost feelings, only to what consequences does it lead? After all, alcohol and drugs can be added here. But if food can replace feelings, then the reverse statement follows. Of course it's easier to eat something tasty, but is it comparable to human relationships?

Let's summarize what can lead to food dependence: a genetic predisposition is a lack of dopamine receptors and the presence of substances - opiates that cause addiction. Now we know the enemy in person, left with him to figure it out.

Get rid of eating habits

1. Go in for sports, use active rest. Any physical activity as well as food stimulates the pleasure center in the brain, due to the release of endorphins. Sign up for yoga, go to the gym, start doing exercises, walk more. For example, running helps in the treatment of depression. You should not have time for gluttony. If you are full, but you are drawn to eat something harmful, do 30 sit-ups and "let you go." If after physical exercises you have a wild appetite, then read the following points.
2. Eat foods with a low glycemic index (GI), low in fat and high in fiber. The higher the GI, the faster the food releases the sugars and the faster the sugar drop in the blood, and the faster you get hungry. Products with low GI will satiate you for a long time, due to the slow release of sugars. Fiber better nourishes, satiates and suppresses appetite. You must have a full breakfast, lunch and dinner. During the meal, you should eat enough. Products with low GI and high fiber content include: whole grains, durum wheat pasta, whole-grain flour or coarse flour, legumes, nuts, seeds, vegetables and unsweetened fruits. For example, for breakfast you can eat oatmeal with raisins and cinnamon (without butter and milk), for lunch red rice with beans, and for dinner vegetable salad with tofu or avocado dressed with unrefined oil. You can have a snack with apples, bananas or nuts.
3. Refuse the sugar in any of its manifestations: soda, breakfast, tea, coffee, packaged juices and all products with sugar. Sugar causes a strong dependence. Instead of sweets eat fruits and dried fruits.
4. Replace meat and dairy products with plant food. I already wrote above that these products contain substances - opiates, which cause physical dependence. In addition, there is a lot of fat in them, and fat in turn increases the effect of opiates.
5. All people have a hormone called leptin, which pacifies appetite and is responsible for the rate of fat burning. You have the ability to influence it. To increase the production of leptin, you must consume enough calories for your weight. You should always be satiated using rule number 2. A decrease in the fat content of the food will also graft to the enhancement of leptin, especially the reduction of animal fats. Also, exercise increases the production of leptin.
6. Break the usual schedule. Many food habits are associated with a recurring day-to-day schedule. You are accustomed to coming to work to drink coffee with sweets or after dinner to eat something harmful. You need to break the habitual regime, replace harmful with useful. For example, instead of coffee you can drink chicory with dried fruits, while having a good breakfast, and before dinner to jog. Do not store harmful products at home, but put fruit, dried fruits and nuts in a prominent place, visit a healthy food cafe, avoid useless gatherings with colleagues, better spend time with family or go to the gym, go to bed earlier. We are all subject to habits, so why not make them useful?
7. Always remind yourself of the goal! Why and for what you do it. Will this action lead to results? If you eat a cake, will it make you stronger, slimmer, more beautiful? Always keep the goal in mind - it will give strength and confidence.

Now you know how to get rid of food addiction. Start with the first paragraph and practice it for 3 weeks, it will be enough to make a habit. Then proceed to the following points. Sharply change the usual way is not worth it, it can result in stress and even more severe gluttony. Gradually change the diet, run first for 5 minutes a day, after a week add 1 minute, then again and again. Try different kinds of sports. Life should bring pleasure. Just replace the bad habits with good ones, and you will not notice how you became another person.