2010 August | Eat Sanely

Archive for August, 2010

MAD ABOUT LUCKY CHARMS & FROOT LOOPS?: How that helps sane eating

Thursday, August 12th, 2010

The following foods carry a “healthy” label from the manufacturers: Lucky Charms, Froot Loops, Cocoa Pebbles, McDonald’s Happy Meals, Burger King Kids Meals, certain frozen corn-dog-and-fries dinners, and…..you get the picture. As people push to get more fruits and vegetables onto their plates, food companies have added just enough of something—maybe increased whole wheat, for example–to justify the “healthy” claim. In part, the claim on the label attracts people to these foods, which aren’t really so healthy. Also, it allows the food companies to keep on advertising the foods to children—otherwise, new laws would try to stop them.

How can knowing this help you eat more sanely? Or lose weight? Several recent books and movies have drawn our attention to alarming food company practices (see below). These practices keep us eating foods that are fattening, possibly harmful to health, and definitely appetite-stimulating. That means they’re hard to not overeat. Once aware of this, we hope to start making better choices. We may consider how to minimize or avoid processed, sugar-added foods. By definition, though, this is easier said than done. If a food is indeed engineered to make you want more, then you’re probably going to have to struggle to eat less of it. (more…)

Posted in Habit Changes, Healthy Foods, Weight Loss | No Comments »

Emotional Overeating: Returning to those questions

Friday, August 6th, 2010

Back in February and March, I blogged on topics related to emotional overeating, including the question of how addiction factors in. I share some further thoughts on this issue at “Thin From Within” this week. Read at http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/thin-within.

Tags: Addictions
Posted in "Thin From Within", Addictions, Emotional Eating, relationships | No Comments »