Learning how to balance life is much like learning to eat a balanced meal. It needs variety, healthy choices and lots of color. However, due to a feeling of being out of control, many unhealthy weight loss practices are not only harmful but can lead to actual disorders.
There are a number of very dangerous eating disorders that effect people of all ages, races, sexes, and economic statuses. While you may hear a lot in the news about anorexia and bulimia, one of the lesser-known weight loss disasters sweeping the nation is binge eating. Binge eating is very bad for your body and can cause heart disease, diabetes, and a number of other medical conditions, which actually could result in death. Therefore, it is important to learn about binge eating and to seek help immediately if you think this could be a problem for you.
Binge eating is basically a form of overeating at its worst. There are times when we all overindulge in good foods, such as at a holiday or when eating out at a restaurant. However, a binge eater faces overeating problems more than a few times a week. Binge eaters often find themselves overweight and unhappy, which can make the situation worse.
Binge eaters will overeat to the extent that they feel sick. In many cases, they will eat thousands of calories in one sitting, and many of the foods they are eating are not very nutritional and include comfort foods. Binge eaters may enjoy sweet or savory foods, and may also have a problem with alcohol. In one day, a binge eater may eat more than the normal person will eat in a week. Foods that a person will binge eat vary and can even change for a particular binge eater from day to day.
Unlike people who are suffering from bulimia, binge eaters will not induce vomiting in order to rid themselves of the food they’ve eaten. Therefore, binge eaters tend to be overweight. In some cases, a binge eater may eat non-stop for an entire day, but then spend the next three or four days starving him- or herself and exercising vigorously in order to stay at the same weight if possible.
Binge eating goes hand in hand with a number of other physical diseases, but it can also effect a personal mentally and emotionally. Many binge eaters start because they turn to food for comfort as a way to work out their problems, which is unhealthy. Binge eaters are also usually very emotionally charged about their body weight and may experience depression because of it, regardless of if they are overweight or not. Binge eating is not only dangerous for the binge eater, but can affect everyone in his or her life. If you or someone you know is suffering from this disease, it is important to seek help as soon as possible. This is not a good way to lose weight.
Life must be given variety, mindful attention and as you know from the theme of this blog, balance! Eating should be no different, eat slow and with mindful attention to each bite. Eat a safe and moderate variety. Live life to the fullest, it is too short to be spent in regret.
Showing posts with label addiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label addiction. Show all posts
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Complaining is Not Problem Solving - Part Two
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The reason it is so easy to complain rather then solve problems is that we have become a society of addicts and self-indulgent behaviors. That may sound harsh but look at the list of addictions facing our society today. (these are not in any particularity order)
* Fast and Easy: Most of us have never known true lack in our life. Since our country recovered from the last World War and the Great Depression, here in the USA we have been on the upswing until recently. We have learned to expect everything at our fingertips. Most people in the cities would have no idea how to survive if their electronics ceased to function for them and the grocery store could no longer provide for them. Our news, our money, even our food can be delivered to us with ease and no effort on our parts. This is very evident in many employees under the age of 30. Employers are finding they are quick to jump to the next employer that might offer them more. They quit when they feel they are made to work TOO hard. They quit when "their" needs are not met. It is like the employment is their right and the employer is there to provide them with something rather then the other way around. Much of the complaining in a work place environment is connected to this mentality. "My employer does not give me time to study this material and ACTUALLY expects me to learn what I need for promotion on MY time."
*Internet - This has become an addiction for many. Whether it be online games, just surfing or chat rooms - it has a severe impact. A definition of an addiction is anything done to excess that causes harm in your life. This addiction has destroyed marriages, has led to isolation from face to face relationships and has even been connected to neglect and death of children.
*Food - An addiction that is epidemic in the USA and many other countries. Like a drug addict, food has become a solace to true needs. It is used to nullify emotions, deal with stress and cover other problems. Add to this the combined problem of the changes in our food supply due to the fast and easy addiction and we meet this need with foods that are harmful, add fat and no true nutrition. This only increases the need as sugar and harmful carbs are actually craved.
*Alcohol - I have separated this from other drug addictions but let me make it clear there is no difference between the Heroin Addict under the bridge and the socialite who can not go the evening without her daily cocktails. I separated it because so many in society will say well yes I drink, but at least I am not using drugs. If jobs are lost, relationships damaged, children neglected due to alcohol use, then alcohol IS the problem. Alcohol is legal, this is true. It is still a drug. So is Oxycontin if you have a prescription, but if abused it is still an addiction. Alcohol makes it easy to scream out your woes and totally blocks most people from any true solution. Oh, they may come up with a solution and even act on it; but often it is not well thought out.
*Drugs - Many people in our society have learned to turn to pills for easy solutions. Every pain, sad thought and frantic moment is often medicated these days. Only a physician can say if this is really necessary. Unfortunately, many people have began to self medicate. They take other people's prescriptions. When that fails, they are forced to seek out street dealers. Methamphetamine is becoming a rampant problem. It started on the west coast and is spreading east. Unlike many addictive substances, one use can lead to a full blown addiction. Families destroyed, jobs lost, possessions sold till at last the addict is forced to a life of crime to meet the overpowering need. Unlike many drugs, due to how it is manufactured and what it is made up of, it's effects on the body are horrendous. It eats the teeth from the inside out. So the addict may not see the harm for sometime. It eats away at the body, sucking up the individual to a thin skeleton who ages with each passing week. It leads to often permanent mental health conditions due to damage to the brain from the drug itself and from sleep deprivation and malnutrition.
There are many other addictions out there impacting societies beside the USA, we are not unique in that aspect. The drug of choice may vary. The latest gambling idea may be different as well. But addiction is an epidemic that impacts almost all families in some way. We must as individuals learn to solve our problems without the use of a crutch. When we have done that, we can teach our families to do the same. Then our families can reach out and show our society how to face life on life's terms. Learning to solve our problems despite whether they are emotional, physical, social or spiritual is the first step in true happiness and prosperity in life.
The reason it is so easy to complain rather then solve problems is that we have become a society of addicts and self-indulgent behaviors. That may sound harsh but look at the list of addictions facing our society today. (these are not in any particularity order)
* Fast and Easy: Most of us have never known true lack in our life. Since our country recovered from the last World War and the Great Depression, here in the USA we have been on the upswing until recently. We have learned to expect everything at our fingertips. Most people in the cities would have no idea how to survive if their electronics ceased to function for them and the grocery store could no longer provide for them. Our news, our money, even our food can be delivered to us with ease and no effort on our parts. This is very evident in many employees under the age of 30. Employers are finding they are quick to jump to the next employer that might offer them more. They quit when they feel they are made to work TOO hard. They quit when "their" needs are not met. It is like the employment is their right and the employer is there to provide them with something rather then the other way around. Much of the complaining in a work place environment is connected to this mentality. "My employer does not give me time to study this material and ACTUALLY expects me to learn what I need for promotion on MY time."
*Internet - This has become an addiction for many. Whether it be online games, just surfing or chat rooms - it has a severe impact. A definition of an addiction is anything done to excess that causes harm in your life. This addiction has destroyed marriages, has led to isolation from face to face relationships and has even been connected to neglect and death of children.
*Food - An addiction that is epidemic in the USA and many other countries. Like a drug addict, food has become a solace to true needs. It is used to nullify emotions, deal with stress and cover other problems. Add to this the combined problem of the changes in our food supply due to the fast and easy addiction and we meet this need with foods that are harmful, add fat and no true nutrition. This only increases the need as sugar and harmful carbs are actually craved.
*Alcohol - I have separated this from other drug addictions but let me make it clear there is no difference between the Heroin Addict under the bridge and the socialite who can not go the evening without her daily cocktails. I separated it because so many in society will say well yes I drink, but at least I am not using drugs. If jobs are lost, relationships damaged, children neglected due to alcohol use, then alcohol IS the problem. Alcohol is legal, this is true. It is still a drug. So is Oxycontin if you have a prescription, but if abused it is still an addiction. Alcohol makes it easy to scream out your woes and totally blocks most people from any true solution. Oh, they may come up with a solution and even act on it; but often it is not well thought out.
*Drugs - Many people in our society have learned to turn to pills for easy solutions. Every pain, sad thought and frantic moment is often medicated these days. Only a physician can say if this is really necessary. Unfortunately, many people have began to self medicate. They take other people's prescriptions. When that fails, they are forced to seek out street dealers. Methamphetamine is becoming a rampant problem. It started on the west coast and is spreading east. Unlike many addictive substances, one use can lead to a full blown addiction. Families destroyed, jobs lost, possessions sold till at last the addict is forced to a life of crime to meet the overpowering need. Unlike many drugs, due to how it is manufactured and what it is made up of, it's effects on the body are horrendous. It eats the teeth from the inside out. So the addict may not see the harm for sometime. It eats away at the body, sucking up the individual to a thin skeleton who ages with each passing week. It leads to often permanent mental health conditions due to damage to the brain from the drug itself and from sleep deprivation and malnutrition.
There are many other addictions out there impacting societies beside the USA, we are not unique in that aspect. The drug of choice may vary. The latest gambling idea may be different as well. But addiction is an epidemic that impacts almost all families in some way. We must as individuals learn to solve our problems without the use of a crutch. When we have done that, we can teach our families to do the same. Then our families can reach out and show our society how to face life on life's terms. Learning to solve our problems despite whether they are emotional, physical, social or spiritual is the first step in true happiness and prosperity in life.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Addiction - Don't Let It Steal Your Success!
Addiction is one of the greatest and most costly public health problems in the United States. While all this publicity is going on for the H1N1 Virus, people are dying from a disease far more prevalent in our country. Addiction is the physical or mental dependence on a behavior or a substance. To take that a step further, dependence means that despite the harm it is causing in their lives, they are powerless to stop. It is not limited to drugs and alcohol. There are behaviors that can activate the reward system in the brain. This activation of the Dopaminergic system has the same effect as if someone uses Cocaine or Amphetamines.
Because of the similarities in response from the reward system of the brain, many addicts who are successfully able to quit illegal drug use or stop the use of alcohol will find themselves replacing the drug with behaviors such a sex, gambling, compulsive shopping, excessive exercise video games or even web surfing. Again, the definition of it being an addiction is when it brings harm to themselves or their lives.
Addictions to substances such as alcohol, illegal and prescribed drugs, tobacco and food bring with them other potential areas for harm. Many types of Cancer, Diabetes, liver diseases and life threatening interactions can result from a single use and from prolonged use. The problem becomes perplex due to the system of denial that protects the addict from seeing the harm he/she is causing to others and/or themselves. Add to this that most addictions come on slowly; it is difficult to accept that one needs help.
Help does exist. First and foremost, treatment is available for most any addiction that you might be battling. If you are a friend with an alcoholic or drug addict, most cities have intervention counselors to help you confront the addict and help them to see they are in trouble. You need treatment with the support of people who are struggling with the same addiction and from professionals who understand it. If you don't feel ready for this step, read on.
The next step is to begin Recovery. Once you are an addict, you will always be an addict. But just like a diabetic can control their disease, you can learn to control yours. It is learning about how to tolerate how you feel at any given moment and not have to participate in self destructive or self defeating behaviors and thoughts. It is realizing we didn't get to the place we need recovery overnight so we won't travel to a place of healthy life and wellbeing overnight either. One has to relearn how to have fun without the use of the addictive behavior or substance. It is about learning how to live life... on life's terms.
The next thing is to get involved with support groups. There are tons of support groups out there from spiritually based or church group ones all the way to the original Alcoholics Anonymous. There are groups for sex addicts and food addicts. There is no reason not to have a support group. There are even CODA groups for those that are co-dependent. Which means living with an addict and struggling not to make things easy for them?
Here are some resources for support groups:
http://www.na.org (narcotics anonymous)
http://www.aa.org (alcoholics anonymous)
http://www.codependents.org (codependents anonymous)
http://12step.org (twelve steps to serenity)
Free 24 Hour Addiction Help Line ~ 888-691-3919
You can also check with your church for more spiritual based programs.
If you do not feel like you are ready for this step where others are involved or if you are not sure your loved one needs an intervention, there is an eBook you can get to evaluate and also to get some tools on your own.
Learn about alcoholic tendencies!
Acquire various treatment options!
Learn how to help a friend or family member who is alcoholic!
Learn about drug addiction and methods to deal with it!
Learn alternative methods to the AA approach!
And much, much more!
Remember above all things... seek balance in life. Learn to be happy in your own skin and you will soon find that you do not need to alter your reality!
Have a prosperous day!
Cheryl
http://drinkact.tv/cherylmathynssens
Monday, April 27, 2009
Don't Feed Your Own Demons!
It is the oddest thing about human beings. We will do exactly what we know is bad for us. The addict will stick the needle in his arm one more time as he curses the very drug that he is craving. The overweight dieter will bemoan the box of donuts they just finished eating. How many times do those who know they struggle to tell others no, put themselves into situations to do just that. Those that struggle with constraining their anger will add elements to their day to create the very thing they 'say' they are trying to avoid.
The truth is, if we understood what wonderful beings we really were, we wouldn't do these things to ourselves. Very few of us would buy a sweet fast running vehicle and fill it with cheap gas. Yet we think nothing of destroying the one thing most precious to us, the body and mind that houses us. We fill it with foods created by those seeking profits that add nothing of value to our bodies. We smoke things we know will kill us. We add things to alter the states of our mind through alcohol and drugs.
You know what real happiness is? When you can live in your body without having to alter its state of being and be truly happy within your own skin. That is happiness. We can add so much more well being to our life, just by eating things made by nature.. and not by man. No, I am not saying don't eat meat. That is a natural substance of our world. However, you might want to think twice about all the chemicals in that twinkie or Monster.
So how do we get there? How do you get to a place where you are content with who you are. Well first, if you do not like who you are.. change it. Dont' say some day I will..... do it now. Quit reading books and not applying what you learn. Quit reading others blogs (grin) but apply what you learn and work on you! Quit eating donuts, and other things bad for you. Go to treatment if you have an addiction. People do not fail in this process because they do not have enough information. They fail because they don't apply the information, resources and tools to their own lives that they have gathered.
My grandmother always said. "God does not make junk." I never really understood why she was always telling me this to recently. I looked in the mirror and I saw someone worth looking at. It hit me, she had been trying to tell me all along that I was as good as anyone else. God had not made junk. The more I realize that God dwells in each and every one of us, the more my grandmother's lessons drive home. She was always saying, "your body is the temple of god." I always thought that meant that if I wanted God in me.. I had to have this perfect body. Since I have yet to acquire that, do to personal weakness, there was always a part of me that thought God was not with me. I had no idea he had always been there and she was trying to tell me to get some paint, clean the carpets and I might want to wash those windows.
The truth is, what ever is making you miserable in life, stop doing it! Don't like your job, get a different one. No, don't quit the one you have in this uncertain economic time, look for a job while you have one. They say that is easier anyway. Don't like your body, start going for walks and drinking more water. Those two things alone will change a lot in a very short period of time, move up from there. Don't like how you treat people, start looking first at how you are treating you? Don't like being the victim to others? Stop putting yourself in positions where they can take advantage of you. The truth is, to almost all our problems, the strength to overcome is within us. All that you need, all that you want... is already within you. All you have to do is get moving! Don't feed your own demons. Instead, fuel your desires with your passion, your love and your heart. In this way, life will become all that you dream of...Peace be with you!
Cheryl Matthynssens
www.thebalanceguide.com
The truth is, if we understood what wonderful beings we really were, we wouldn't do these things to ourselves. Very few of us would buy a sweet fast running vehicle and fill it with cheap gas. Yet we think nothing of destroying the one thing most precious to us, the body and mind that houses us. We fill it with foods created by those seeking profits that add nothing of value to our bodies. We smoke things we know will kill us. We add things to alter the states of our mind through alcohol and drugs.
You know what real happiness is? When you can live in your body without having to alter its state of being and be truly happy within your own skin. That is happiness. We can add so much more well being to our life, just by eating things made by nature.. and not by man. No, I am not saying don't eat meat. That is a natural substance of our world. However, you might want to think twice about all the chemicals in that twinkie or Monster.
So how do we get there? How do you get to a place where you are content with who you are. Well first, if you do not like who you are.. change it. Dont' say some day I will..... do it now. Quit reading books and not applying what you learn. Quit reading others blogs (grin) but apply what you learn and work on you! Quit eating donuts, and other things bad for you. Go to treatment if you have an addiction. People do not fail in this process because they do not have enough information. They fail because they don't apply the information, resources and tools to their own lives that they have gathered.
My grandmother always said. "God does not make junk." I never really understood why she was always telling me this to recently. I looked in the mirror and I saw someone worth looking at. It hit me, she had been trying to tell me all along that I was as good as anyone else. God had not made junk. The more I realize that God dwells in each and every one of us, the more my grandmother's lessons drive home. She was always saying, "your body is the temple of god." I always thought that meant that if I wanted God in me.. I had to have this perfect body. Since I have yet to acquire that, do to personal weakness, there was always a part of me that thought God was not with me. I had no idea he had always been there and she was trying to tell me to get some paint, clean the carpets and I might want to wash those windows.
The truth is, what ever is making you miserable in life, stop doing it! Don't like your job, get a different one. No, don't quit the one you have in this uncertain economic time, look for a job while you have one. They say that is easier anyway. Don't like your body, start going for walks and drinking more water. Those two things alone will change a lot in a very short period of time, move up from there. Don't like how you treat people, start looking first at how you are treating you? Don't like being the victim to others? Stop putting yourself in positions where they can take advantage of you. The truth is, to almost all our problems, the strength to overcome is within us. All that you need, all that you want... is already within you. All you have to do is get moving! Don't feed your own demons. Instead, fuel your desires with your passion, your love and your heart. In this way, life will become all that you dream of...Peace be with you!
Cheryl Matthynssens
www.thebalanceguide.com
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