Lucia Veracruz

Do you ever overeat at parties? Or are you one of those special “unicorns” who has a few bites of food and then you are happy to get on with the socializing? Our social occasions are dominated and revolve around food. We are people who like to eat and make no apologies for it. Generally, most people’s health consciousness goes out of the window during a party but for some, this is usually followed by guilt and regret the next day. When I used to overeat, I had such a negative mindset that I didn’t think any advice would work for me because I thought I was “different”. However, with the right mindset, anything is possible. A positive mindset will lead to positive actions, which will then lead to positive results.   So, by keeping that in mind here are my tips to keep yourself at bay: Before we dive into what to do or not to do at a party, I would like to talk about what other factors may be contributing to overeating leading up to those bad decisions. It is not about lacking willpower but looking at the big picture and seeing what things might be affecting your inability to control yourself. The moment that you make a decision to binge is a very small part of it. Things you can do to prevent overeating at a party: #1 Stop dieting and focus on eating real whole foods This will help you reset your brain and your appetite. Whatever it is that you are doing, if it is not sustainable long term, you need to change it. Build momentum by making your body feel great and avoid torturing it with starving or binging. #2 Eat all 3 macronutrients in each meal Make sure you include: protein (lean meat, dairy, tofu, beans or quinoa), carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables and wholegrain rice or oats) healthy fats (extra virgin olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds) This will help to keep your appetite under control and moderate your cravings. #3 Eat breakfast A recent study found that almost 3000 people who lost an average of 30 kilos and kept it off for 6 years, ate breakfast every day. To continue reading the full blog, go to https://allformums.com/how-not-to-overeat-at-parties #stopbinging #stopovereating #hownottoovereat #overeating #bingeeating #binging https://www.instagram.com/p/B6QfgbNpXoa/?igshid=1gycojmjqweq2

How Not To Gain Weight On Vacation It took me nearly 20 years to figure out how to achieve this because of my binge eating. And after maintaining my weight for nearly 6 years, finally, I had my first 5-week holiday without gaining any weight at all. Apparently, the average person gains around 0.5-1 kilo of extra weight per day when they are on a vacation. In a week, that could be anywhere around 3-7 kilos! This is equivalent to extra 500-1000 calories per day! I think a little bit of weight gain around 1-2 kilos can be expected and is perfectly natural. Those couple of kilos are also easy to lose as soon as you get back to your usual routine. And this is where I have been lingering in the last few years. However, this year when we went to Spain, I was able to not gain any weight at all. So, I wanted to share with you how I did it to help you achieve the same. Here are my top 10 tips: Tip #1 Don’t give yourself false hope that you will lose weight on your vacation You have worked hard, you deserve to have a rest and have a good time. These are times when you get to be with your family and eat exotic food, that you would normally not eat at home. What is the point of going on a holiday if you are not going to enjoy yourself? So, forget about weight loss and have fun in moderation. Tip #2 Don’t plan to start your diet after the holidays If you are planning to go on a diet after the holidays, this will make you gain more weight over the holidays. You will think that you can “pig out” one last time because you will be missing out after the holidays are over. This “all or nothing” thinking often leads to a cycle of overeating and starving. Create flexible achievable rules for yourself to stay on track. Forget about being perfect or completely out of control. Choose healthy eating every time of the year, over dieting. Tips #3 Just because you are on holidays, it doesn’t mean you have to overindulge Yes, there will be lots of delicious food... To continue reading the full blog go to https://allformums.com/how-not-to-gain-weight-on-vacation/ #allformums #binging #stopbinging #emotionaleating #overeating #hownottogainweight #balance #foodfreedom https://www.instagram.com/p/B57uXBLABeO/?igshid=15yj5iqjewpk1

How To Fight The Urge To Eat Since this is something I struggled with in the past, I wanted to share with you the techniques that have helped me stop the urges to eat when I wasn’t hungry. And this is important so you can interrupt the pattern of eating as a response to your habits and emotions. Step #1 Snap out of autopilot to be present and mindful If you have been overeating for a while, you might have developed a mindless habit of just reaching for food every time the urges to overeat come. The reason you do this is probably because when you tried to resist the urges in the past, you failed, which has then left you feeling anxious and stressed. And the only way you were able to quiet the urges to binge was by eating. That’s why often distracting yourself with other activities may not be effective long term, because at that moment, all you want to do is eat. By bringing more awareness to what it is that you are feeling, you are not trying to stop or fight the urges to eat. All you are trying to do is, get curious about what is going on in your body and mind at that moment. Once you are present, you can ask yourself: Am I really hungry or am I just trying to numb my emotions with food, because that is what I am used to doing? How much food did I eat today? Did I have 3 meals and a couple of snacks? Were my food choices nutritious? Am I dehydrated? Did I drink at least 2 liters of water today? Am I tired? Did my blood sugar drop and that is why I feel like I need a “pick me upper”? What do I need at this moment to help me feel how I really want to feel? Will food satisfy that need? Emotional hunger is very different from physical hunger. Emotional hunger appears suddenly out of nowhere and you’ll feel it above the neck and persists despite fullness after eating. Physical hunger occurs gradually, several hours after eating and starts below the neck and goes away when full. To continue reading the full blog go to https://allformums.com/how-to-fight-the-urge-to-eat/ #allformums #howtofighttheurgetoeat #howtostopurgestoeat #howtostopbinging #emotionaleating #balance #foodfreedom #bingeeating #binging https://www.instagram.com/p/B5px5TVgUmA/?igshid=8mi73snzzmou

What To Do After A Binge To Not Gain Weight In today’s blog, I wanted to talk about what to do after a binge to not grain weight. And this is important, to avoid getting caught up in a binge cycle for years to come just like it happened to me. Typically, after binging, I would go to sleep feeling depressed, guilty, ashamed and broken. And I would punish myself the next day. I would try and work off the food by doing a long workout or several workouts that day. I would vow myself that I would either not eat anything all day or that I would eat super healthy, cutting out sugar, fat and carbs. The biggest problem was though, that often I would wake up hungry craving exactly what I didn’t want to have. I wanted to keep eating despite feeling bloated and sick to my stomach from the previous night. Because of this, my days following a binge would usually be stressful and I would feel extremely anxious. And to make things worse, I jumped on the scales. I weighed myself first thing in the morning and then at the end of the day to see how much weight I was able to lose by not eating and overexercising. However, the scales never made me feel better and this brings me to step #1. Step #1 Don’t weigh yourself Regardless of what you will see on the scales, you will not be happy. If the weight is up, you’ll feel guilty, ashamed and disappointed which may lead to more binging. And if the weight hasn’t changed, you might think you got a “free card” to binge again. While you are obsessing about the number on the scales, the binging cycle will continue. In my case, it lasted nearly 20 years… To continue reading the full blog go https://allformums.com/what-to-do-after-a-binge-to-not-gain-weight/ #allformums #binging #bingeeating #overeating #emotionaleating #endbingeeating #stopbinging #whattodoafterabinge #weightloss https://www.instagram.com/p/B5cKlycg18W/?igshid=6y6k2hm43o2

How To Lose Weight Without Exercise I think most people know that if they want to lose weight, they will need to eat healthily and exercise. Some people may also know that weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise. So technically we should be able to lose weight without exercising. The average person who has a few kilos to lose will usually attempt to get in shape by the following options: 1. Restricting calories 2. Cutting out food groups 3. Exercising 4. Taking supplements Personally, I am not a big fan of using the above strategies for weight loss because they are not sustainable. Most diets fail 95% of the time because they promote a quick fix rather than a lifestyle change. Restricting calories and cutting our food groups, will create more cravings and obsession about food and therefore weight gain. Most people who exercise to lose weight will stop exercising when they achieve their goal, or when they can’t see any results or when they get bored. And then unless they watch what they eat, they end up gaining all the weight back. I think if people don’t want to or can’t exercise there might be 5 reasons: 1. They don’t get the results they want (so they give up because it is just too hard and then what’s the point anyway). 2. They are in bad shape, they are either overweight, unfit or too weak to exercise (so they give up and end up hating exercise because it’s too painful). 3. They don’t know what when and how much to exercise (so they give up before they even start or might end up getting hurt from doing too much too soon). 4. They cannot exercise at all or their options are limited due to their health condition. 5. They get bored without working out with a training buddy. Exercising can only be sustainable long term if we use it to be healthy, strong and fit rather than trying to work off the access weight. To continue reading the full blog go to https://allformums.com/how-to-lose-weight-without-exercise/ #allformums #healthy #stopdieting #emotionaleating #balance #foodfreedom #stopovereating #stopbinging #bingeeating #loseweight https://www.instagram.com/p/B5HpQ-wgt5k/?igshid=1c3sif9rlpi8h

How To Stop Dieting Without Gaining Weight The biggest challenge we face when dealing with emotional and binge eating is to stop trying to control what we eat. Most emotional eaters believe if they put no restrictions on their diet, they would eat themselves silly and gain a whole bunch of weight. Or that this strategy might work for others but not for them. There are books that talk about and explain what restricting food does to our minds. And then there are books which promote establishing some sort of rules when it comes to our diet. The question you have to ask yourself is, what kind of food freedom do you want? Do you want to follow strict rules that you are going to commit to for the rest of your life? Never be able to have a piece of a birthday cake, have any kind of treats in the house or… Never be able to enjoy food with friends and family without having to worry about what’s on the menu? Or do you want to have the freedom to choose the foods that make you feel good and satisfied with the ability to control how much you eat? #allformums #stopovereating #emotionaleating #binging #stopbinging #freedom #balance #healthy #stopdieting #loseweight https://www.instagram.com/p/B41CQ9BAHdj/?igshid=qdhveoeg9xay

How To Make Healthy Eating Easy For Binge Eaters When it comes to binge and overeating there are two types of people: 1. Those who have never had a healthy relationship with food since childhood, 2. Those who have been dieting all their lives. Regardless of which category you fall into, you will have one or more of these common behaviors: - Eating when not hungry, - Having intense urges to eat, - Not feeling satisfied after finishing a meal, - Eating fast, - Feeling emotional relief while eating, - Eating while stressed, - Numbing feelings with food, - Eating alone to avoid others noticing. Whether or not you have been dieting or restricting yourself, you might still experience urges to binge due to your habits. If your binging is really bad, then you might be thinking: - that there is something wrong with you, - that you are addicted to food, - that you have absolutely no willpower. But the fact that you are functioning on autopilot is proof that you have a very healthy brain! See, what happens in our brain, is that with repetition we create neural pathways to help us preserve energy. That way whatever action we take, if we repeat it enough, our brain makes it automated until it becomes effortless. The ability of the brain to change continuously throughout an individual’s life is called neuroplasticity. So, the reason why we are not able to control our bad eating habits is because we got so good at creating them by repetition. In order to get really good at creating good eating habits, all we have to do is repeat the new ones we really want. Once the new neural pathways in our brain are formed, the old ones will disappear... To continue reading the full blog go to https://allformums.com/how-to-make-healthy-eating-easy-for-binge-eaters/ #allformums #healthyeating #healthyfood #stopbinging #bingeeating #overeating #emotionaleating #healthyeatingeasy #binging https://www.instagram.com/p/B4hNtTNgBlY/?igshid=gg3atg9889b2

How To Lose Belly Fat Without Dieting If you have ever struggled with dieting and losing weight, then… You most likely went through a phase where you have restricted food and then a phase where you made up for restriction by overeating. And if you have done this several times just like I did, then… You have slowed down your metabolism, messed up your hormones and increased your cravings for more food. By doing this, you have probably gained weight especially in the abdominal area. And this happens because when we are unhealthy and constantly go back and forward with our failed attempts to lose weight, our belly fat increases. When we are on constants diets, losing weight is like pulling teeth. And every time we lose weight, it is a matter of time, before we gain it all back again because of the way we do it. When we binge or overeat regularly, we create chaos in our body that prevents us from losing weight. In order to lose weight from our mid-section, we need to get healthy first. If our body is not working properly and is under constant stress, losing weight will be a real struggle... To continue reading the full blog go to https://allformums.com/how-to-lose-belly-fat-without-dieting/ #allformums #losebellyfat #strugglingtoloseweight #bingeeating #overeating #emotionaleating #balance #foodfreedom #losefat https://www.instagram.com/p/B4OEJrygQP0/?igshid=4vc5rkuqj4od

How To Stop Binge Eating It all started when I was 16 years old, and I have been laughed at for having a big butt and wide hips. I was a healthy weight for my shape and size but because of nasty comments, judgments, and comparison, I started to believe that I needed to lose weight. Being a teenager, I had no idea that my drastic actions would impact my life for the next 20 years. By strict dieting, I developed anorexia and lost 10 kilos from my healthy weight. And when I couldn’t restrict myself anymore, I started binging and gained 20 kilos back. Step #1 Stop dieting The first step that helped me stop binge eating was when I stopped dieting. Dieting has a 95% failure rate. Most people who diet, will not only gain all the weight back but they will gain even more than they started with. In my case, I went from 63 kilos to 53 kilos. And then to 73 kgs from where I fluctuated 5-7 kilos up and down until I stopped dieting nearly 20 years later and I went back to 65kgs without dieting. If the chances of crashing a car blindfolded were 95%, would we get in a car and drive blindfolded? Most probably not, but we do it with dieting anyway. Unfortunately, all we see on media is that in order to get in shape, we need to go on a diet. That we need to lower the calories, go to the gym, cut out the carbs, fats or meats or take some drops or drink shakes to lose weight. Or the worst-case scenario we need to get surgery because we don’t have any willpower to stop overeating. We don’t see any advertisements that would promote simply going back to basics eating a nutritious balanced diet. Because then the weight loss industry wouldn’t make any money... To continue reading the full blog go https://allformums.com/how-to-stop-binge-eating/ #allformums #healthy #stopbinging #stopovereating #stopdieting #emotionaleating #balance #foodfreedom #bingeeating #binging #overeating https://www.instagram.com/p/B3-29LEA0MN/?igshid=1cnny2v9gknod

How To Have A Healthy Relationship With Food What does it mean to have a healthy relationship with food? I think it means if we are able to make food choices that are in alignment with our values and make us feel good without any restrictions, rules, force, guilt or shame. It’s when we are able to eat whatever we want, whenever we want and as much as we want by respecting and nurturing ourselves and giving our body what it truly needs to thrive. And also by nurturing ourselves and honoring our body’s hunger and fullness cues. We all have a relationship with food because we all need to eat. But some of us have drift away in the wrong direction by creating beliefs and habits that lead to an unhealthy relationship with food. Where eating and thinking about food can cause pain, struggle, suffering, guilt and shame. And where we either don’t eat enough or we eat too much disregarding our body’s needs. One day when our clothes don't fit anymore, we make a decision to change... Thinking if we keep eating whatever we want, we will end up gaining a lot of weight and lose control. Seeing ourselves in bad shape creates so much pain that we start restricting and denying ourselves to get results right now. And to get rid of the pain, we look for the fastest way to get there. To continue reading the full blog go to https://allformums.com/how-to-have-a-healthy-relationship-with-food/ #allformums #health #healthyrelationshipwithfood #foodfreedom #stopovereating #emotionaleating #binging #stopbinging #freedom #balance #healthyfood https://www.instagram.com/p/B3rGnvug1FO/?igshid=15f51f63d09tq

Why You Can't Lose Weight No Matter What You Do... When I couldn’t lose weight and keep it off, I was so frustrated. I thought I tried every diet on earth… I knew exactly what and how much to eat and which exercises to do to burn fat as I was a personal trainer. Yet I still wasn’t able to keep the weight off for long. And it was mainly because when I lost weight with dieting, it was a matter of time before I gained it all back again. Deprivation and no satisfaction The constant rules and restrictions always made me feel like I was depriving myself. I felt constantly unsatisfied because I either didn’t eat enough or I ate too much. Now when I think of it, I probably never ate the right amount of food that my body really needed. I was so disconnected from it that I didn’t even know when I was hungry or full. And the worst thing was that food was on my mind all the time. I knew that it was because of my eating, that I couldn’t shift my weight. And the more I was trying to control my eating in order to get in shape, the worst my eating and shape got. And in today’s training blog I wanted to share with you why can’t you lose weight no matter what you do. To continue reading the full blog go to https://allformums.com/why-cant-you-lose-weight-no-matter-what-you-do/ #allformums #cantloseweight #hardtoloseweight #strugglingtoloseweight #emotionaleating #binging #overeating #stopbinging #stopovereating https://www.instagram.com/p/B3bWr7pJhRg/?igshid=1c0vivgwbvurc

How To Stop Thinking About Food All The Time I remember the days when I used to binge and diet, all I could think about was food. It seemed that it occupied pretty much most of my time. From the moment I opened my eyes until I went to sleep… I was planning, plotting and wondering what, when and how much I am going to eat. This has all started at the time when I went on my first diet. When the food was restricted, I thought about it more, because it was forbidden. Just imagine if someone told you not to think about eating chips, then all you could think about would be eating chips… Whatever we think about whether it is negative or positive, that is what our brain will focus on. And we can shift our focus, by changing our mindset and physiology. That, in turn, can help us overcome challenges with overeating, sugar addiction or resisting cravings without needing any willpower. And here are the steps to take to stop thinking about food all the time... To continue reading the full blog go to https://allformums.com/how-to-stop-thinking-about-food-all-the-time/ #allformums #stopovereating #stopthinkingaboutfood #stopfoodthoughts #stopbinging #emotionaleating #overeating #bingeeating https://www.instagram.com/p/B3KJYXYAPUc/?igshid=kssbo1v654l3

#allformums #breakbadhabits #badhabits #createhealthyhabits #nowillpower #endbingeeating #binging #stopovereating #emotionaleating https://www.instagram.com/p/B21sw1oART_/?igshid=2xolqz5yk44o

How To Love Your Body In our Mindset and body coaching program we talk about the importance of loving and accepting oneself. And during our weekly coaching calls, I have noticed that this is quite a big issue for most of our clients. Loving ourselves can be perceived as vain, arrogant or that we are full of ourselves. But when we don’t take care of ourselves, the media is quick to remind us what we should look like. So, no wonder that this is something a lot of people struggle with. And that is why I decided to do write this blog today and show you 4 simple steps to love your body. When I look back at my relationship with my body whether I was 10 kilos heavier or 10 kilos lighter, I was never happy. When I was anorexic, my hip bones were protruding and all I could think about was wishing I could cut them off so I could have no hips like the other skinny girls. Other than my hips, I also didn’t like my big nose, my teeth and I thought my eyes were too close together. Then when I gained 20 kilos when I had bulimia, I hated myself even more. As I kept losing and gaining a lot of weight, I could never look in the mirror and just accept what I saw. But after implementing these steps I was able to turn this around and develop a healthy relationship with my body once and for all. To continue reading the full blog go to https://allformums.com/how-to-love-your-body/ #allformums #loveyourbody #loveyourself #endbinging #endovereating https://www.instagram.com/p/B2kkzNQAJAL/?igshid=1vemtci7dqrts

What Causes Emotional & Binge Eating If you have ever tried fixing this problem by doing therapy, you may have been told that: - You have an eating disorder - It is not your fault - The root cause may be your emotional state and difficulty to deal with everyday challenges. And apparently, once you are able to cope without having to use food to numb your feelings, you will be healed. Or if you just stay away from the trigger foods like sugar and white flour you are more likely to stop binging. But if that was really the case, the chances of recovering from binge eating would be very slim. Healing emotions doesn’t heal emotional eating directly. Staying away from the trigger foods is almost impossible looking at long term especially with the kids around. And even a person who is really well balanced and emotionally stable may have some bad days on occasions. Would that mean, that they will go and binge on that day? To continue reading the full Blog go https://allformums.com/what-causes-emotional-binge-eating/ #allformums #emotionaleating #bingeeating #overeating #nomoredieting #endbinging #urgestobinge #urgestoeat https://www.instagram.com/p/B2TqN--AmW5/?igshid=11tzzafxz40uo

4 WAYS TO GET BACK ON TRACK AFTER A BINGE In today’s training blog I wanted to talk about some strategies that you can use to help you end overeating once and for all. THE NEVER-ENDING CYCLE OF BINGING AND DIETING I remember when I used to binge, the same cycle would repeat itself over and over. I would eat an insane amount of food in one sitting and then I would lie to myself that this was the last time I ate sweets and unhealthy snacks. That tomorrow I will start fresh sticking to my diet and doing an extra-long workout to make up for all the food I ate. I was thinking: “Let’s just eat all the treats I can find in the house, so they won’t tempt me tomorrow.” Or “Let’s go to the shops and buy all the “forbidden foods” and indulge one last time…” And then I would also try and skip or restrict lunch or dinner, depending on what time I binged. This was often impossible because after my stomach has settled down, I was hungry again and all I could think about was more food. While I was eating, I felt a sense of freedom, freedom from restriction, it was great… I was like a kid in a candy shop… To continue reading the full Blog go to https://allformums.com/what-to-do-after-overeating/ #allformums #bingeeating #overeating #nomoredieting #emotionaleating #getbackontrack #endbinging https://www.instagram.com/p/B1_Ibelguqs/?igshid=lslpamxdlie0

Why restricting carbs will sabotage your weight loss The biggest issue emotional eaters face when trying to lose weight is having urges to overeat. Without these urges, they wouldn’t have the need to keep eating when not hungry. In most cases, these urges to binge start with dieting often by calorie restriction and by cutting out carbs. Not everyone who diets, will develop an unhealthy relationship with food. But most people who have issues with binge eating, emotional eating and overeating, would have started with dieting. Is cutting out carbs healthy? Studies show that emotional eaters have very similar personality traits. The most common traits are being a perfectionist or having an “all or nothing” attitude. Cutting out carbs may work for some people who can easily live without them long term but for most emotional eaters, this is not the case. To continue reading the full Blog go to https://allformums.com/why-restricting-carbs-will-sabotage-your-weight-loss/ #allformums #emotionaleating #bingeeating #overeating #dieting #weightloss #carbs #arecarbsgoodforyou https://www.instagram.com/p/B1v0fCEAyJf/?igshid=184wizeu7vz9j