Diet another day

‘Tis the season of extra calories: cocktails and cookies aside, your workout routine often gets lost in the holiday shuffle, so you’re not only eating more, you’re burning less.

Not to mention the usual stress, which can trigger the body to release excessive amounts of cortisol, the “cravings” hormone that makes you reach for comfort foods high in fat and sugar. “Stress can affect how you sleep and eat, and binge eating may be a result of your body’s natural rhythms being disrupted,” explains Cynthia Bulik, PhD, author of Crave: Why You Binge Eat and How to Stop. These three strategies will keep your body in sync:

Visualise your last meal

A recent British study found that women who were asked to write a detailed description of what they’d eaten for lunch that day snacked significantly less in the afternoon than those who didn’t focus on their last meal.

Recalling a specific, vivid memory activates the hippocampus, an area of the brain believed to be responsible for both decision-making and memory recall, giving would-be snackers better appetite control.

Meditate

It not only increases activity in parts of the brain associated with positive emotions, but it may also boost production of the crave-controlling neurotransmitter serotonin.

Sit in a quiet place with legs crossed, palms on knees, chest lifted, shoulders back and down. Close your eyes. Inhale and exhale five to 10 times, focusing on your breath. Shift your attention to your back. Inhale, visualising your breath rising up your spine to the crown of your head. Exhale, watching it fall back down. Repeat for five to 30 minutes.

Get enough shut-eye

Researchers at the University of Chicago found that just two sleepless nights (4 hours or less) dropped the satiety-signalling hormone leptin and boosted levels of gherlin, an appetite trigger. Those two shifts caused participants’ cravings for starchy foods such as cookies and potato chips to jump. Aim for at least 6 (ideally hours of sleep regularly.

source: hindu.com