A recently published study in the journal NeuroImage showed that when study subjects engaged in self-criticism or self-blame, their brain activity changed in the regions strongly correlated with depression, eating disorders, and anxiety. This illustrates how over identifying with one’s faults and mistakes can put a person at risk for emotional over eating and carrying extra weight.

This brain research confirms what I have personally experienced. My own challenges with a negative self-image along with using food to cope with stress and anxiety, took me from being a fit TV soap opera star to being unfit and dramatically obese. However, learning to be compassionate towards myself and finding healthy ways to deal with my anxiety and stress allowed me to stop judging myself so harshly and release more than 70 pounds. Now I show others how they can do it too.

It’s not about losing weight – I don’t want people giving anything up. I don’t support dieting, loss, or deprivation. I help people change the way they think so that they are changing their patterns of behavior based on a clear vision of what they want in their lives.

Here are six patterns of behavior and thinking that make people fat.

Denying emotional needs: Many of us were taught to “suck it up”, stop complaining, be strong, and so on. We learned to condemn ourselves for being “needy”, sensitive or vulnerable. We often used food to try to and comfort ourselves and/or fulfill our needs (e.g., for safety, love, comfort, etc.).

Negative self-perception: Too often, growing up, we learned to focus on our deficiencies – in school, we got a lot of red pen marks on our papers. Coaches, teachers and parents constantly pointed out what we were doing wrong, but very few of them encouraged us or praised us for what we did well. We began to feel like we were not good at anything. The negative perception we have of ourselves can often perpetuate a cycle of failure where we have a hard time making positive choices and sticking with anything.

Seeing oneself as a victim: Finding someone to blame is an American tradition that is going strong in this obese culture. My weight release journey forced me to take a hard look at my life and I found a lot of instances where I personally played the victim. However, I came to understand that taking personal responsibility is actually empowering, while playing the victim and blaming people or circumstances is dis-empowering.

Judgmental thinking: In order to make sense of things that I didn’t understand or couldn’t deal with in my life I took on a judgmental perspective. I got caught in a mentality where someone was always wrong while someone else was right – there were good guys and bad guys – I agreed with one position and disagreed with another. My judgmental, black and white, thinking did not allow me to view my experiences with compassion. I found myself not only judging others but constantly judging myself. In this frame of mind, it is easy to engage in unhealthy habits that perpetuate the self-loathing.

Resisting change: Often, when we are only mildly miserable and our habits are unhealthy but not life threatening, we don’t take the steps to change our lives. Most of us wait until the situation is totally out of control before we are motivated to take action and make the lifestyle changes that are necessary. Change is hard and we have learned to conveniently dismiss our unhealthy patterns as simply being in a “rut” or a just a little off track. Over time we can find ourselves in a pretty deep hole where turning our lives around can be a tremendous challenge.

Playing-out Emotional Scripts: The hurts and misunderstandings that we carry from past experiences often get dragged into our present-day circumstances. It is as if we cast people in roles that we need them to play in order to act out dramas again and again in our lives. It is a little like the movie “Groundhog Day” where we keep saying to ourselves, “Here I am again, getting rejected, screwed over or put down.” The result? We turn to food for comfort, because that seemed to help in the past.

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Freeman Michaels is America’s #1 weight release expert and coach. He is the author of Weight Release: A Liberating Journey. His groundbreaking program uses personal development principles to end the “diet cycle” and help people release weight forever.

Inevitably, as we all get older, we all start to lose our hearing. Whether by choice from listening to loud music and going to concerts, or by necessity at the workplace, many of us are exposed to loud sounds that can cause permanent hearing damage. Unlike other cells in the body, inner ear cells do not regenerate. Once we lose those critical cells, they are gone. There is no way as of yet to improve hearing, but you can eat foods containing certain vitamins and nutrients that might help you prevent hearing loss.

Alpha Lipoic Acid is an antioxidant naturally found in the body that helps remove waste products in our system. ALA is able to move easily throughout the body because it is both fat and water soluble. In particular, the antioxidant can pass easily into the brain and is thought to protect nerve tissue. Alpha Lipoic Acid is produced naturally in the body, but in small doses. Red meats, especially internal organs like liver, are the primary food source for ALA. Yeast, broccoli and spinach also contain small amounts of Alpha Lipoic Acid.

Additionally, according to some new research, a combination of magnesium with vitamins A, C and E, when ingested before exposure to high decibels, may help prevent inner ear damage. Loud sounds can trigger the production of ear cell-damaging molecules in the ear, and the magnesium combination is thought to prevent that. Many different foods have the four nutrients, but one of the easiest ways to get all four is to eat broccoli with spinach. Spinach contains magnesium, vitamin A and vitamin E, and broccoli contains vitamin C and vitamin A.

To help prevent hearing loss, eat broccoli and spinach. That way, you can get all the Alpha Lipoic Acid, magnesium, vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E you need. Make this Vegetable Salad in 24 Hours to get all the nutrients you need for clear hearing into the future.

Vegetable Salad in 24 Hours

Ingredients

4 cup torn iceberg lettuce, romaine, spinach, leaf lettuce, and/or Bibb lettuce
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms, broccoli flowerets, and/or frozen peas
1 cup shredded carrots
2 hard-cooked eggs, sliced
6 slices turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled
3/4 cup shredded low-fat Swiss or low-fat Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
3/4 cup light mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 1/2 lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dried dillweed, optional

Instructions

1. Place lettuce in a 3-quart salad bowl.

2. If desired, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3. Layer atop lettuce in the following order: mushrooms, broccoli, and/or peas, carrots, eggs, bacon, 1/2 cup of the cheese, and green onions.

4. For dressing: In small bowl, combine the mayonnaise or salad dressing, lemon juice, and if desired, dillweed.

5. Spread dressing over top of salad.

6. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese.

7. Cover and chill for 2 to 24 hours.

8. Before serving, toss to coat vegetables.

Last week, a report was released by Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that said obesity rates were up in 23 states. The report, titled “F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America 2009,” says that Mississippi is the fattest state in the country with 32.5% of its adult population weighing in at obese. Childhood and teen obesity is increasing as well, according to the report, with 30% or more 10 to 17 year-olds being overweight or obese in 30 states.

There is no better time to start your diet than today. At FaveDiets we have many great healthy recipes that will help you kickstart your diet. Start with something simple like our healthy breakfast recipes and then browse our diet categories to see if there is a diet that matches your needs. Don’t forget to check out our weight loss tips, which sheds some light on common reasons that it is difficult for people to lose weight.

A new study funded by chewing gum manufacturer Wrigley suggests that its sugar-free gum might reduce calorie intake in some people. The study had 115 men and women participate in two sessions. In each session, they had a sandwich and then stayed for three hours to participate in surveys about hunger and energy levels. Each participant chewed Extra sugar-free gum for 15 minutes every hour for the three hours in one of the two sessions. The results show that those participants who were chewing gum reported decreased hunger and cravings for something sweet. At the end of the three-hour period, participants were offered snacks. The gum chewers consumed fewer calories than those who did not chew any gum.

The study was not large enough to convince experts that chewing gum is a healthy diet strategy. Doctors also warn that chewing too much sugar-free gum, like Extra, can have potential side effects due to the sweetener Sorbitol.

A recent study by McMaster University in Ontario found that a Mediterranean Diet is the best diet for your heart. The 50+ year study was conducted in the U.S., Asia and Europe and looked at the relationship between dietary patterns and heart problems. The Mediterranean Diet is a dietary plan focused on fresh fruits and vegetables and nuts. The diet restricts intake of red meat, dairy and wine. Learn more about the Mediterranean Diet here.