| Enjoy your food. Nothing is more satisfying than eating | | | | In western society, we tend to swing between |
| tasty food that you know is doing you good. But why | | | | continual attempts to diet or eat less in everyday life, |
| do we eat the way we do and where do our habits | | | | and going completely overboard on holidays, at |
| come from? | | | | Christmas and at family events. It is interesting to think |
| Your relationship with food | | | | that Christmas was originally a feast at which healthy |
| For many, eating is a negative coping pattern that | | | | foods were eaten to prepare the immune system for |
| suppresses emotions, such as stress, anger, anxiety, | | | | the harshness of the winter ahead. It is certainty not so |
| boredom, sadness and loneliness. This comfort eating | | | | now. |
| can begin as a response to a single stressful event | | | | Big portion sizes, always having dessert, keeping |
| and eventually become a habit that gets you through | | | | fattening snacks in the house, unhealthy diets and |
| day to-day stresses. Unfortunately, it sets up a cycle | | | | insisting on finishing an enormous plate of food we do |
| of eating, not as a response to hunger, but as a | | | | not necessarily want, are all habits learnt as children |
| distraction from unpleasant feelings. | | | | that can follow us into adulthood. These patterns are |
| There is also a physical mechanism at work. When | | | | not set in stone, and establishing a new relationship |
| we eat comfort foods, often refined carbohydrates | | | | with food is the first step to making lasting changes. |
| such as chocolate, crisps and biscuits, we set up a | | | | We must also consider how our eating patterns are |
| pattern of fluctuating blood sugar levels. This can | | | | shaped by our parents attitudes to food. Were certain |
| affect the production of serotonin, the brain chemical | | | | foods withheld, and does this now make you want to |
| that regulates mood. low serotonin levels can lead to | | | | eat what you want when you want? Or was food |
| cravings for carbohydrates, a vicious circle that can | | | | used as a symbol of love and affection that you now |
| lead to weight gain. For many, this is worse in the | | | | associate with comfort and security? If you suspect |
| winter, when less sunlight leads to a decrease in | | | | that your relationship with food is rooted in such |
| natural serotonin. Seasonal Affective Disorder is often | | | | psychological issues, then you should seek professional |
| linked to weight gain. | | | | advice to help you break patterns that may be holding |
| Inherited eating patterns | | | | you back in achieving your preferred weight. |