In the past week, I fell on the ice not just once but twice! I now have a lump on the back of my head, a very sore rear end, and a left hand and wrist that has become black and blue. The good news was that I didn’t break any bones. Yeah! The bad news was that I was sidelined from getting much work accomplished because of the pain and the time spent at the doctor’s office.

The day this happened, I allowed myself to have a bowl of ice cream and indulge in some chocolate. Both were definitely over and above my calorie needs! Was that emotional eating? No I don’t think so. Here’s why…

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The way I see it, true emotional eating is a kind of eating disorder that has very little to do with food. Food is simply the indulgence of choice to soothe all manner of other psychological issues. An emotional eater might habitually be unable to recognize feelings of satiety (having eaten enough), feel out of control or unable to stop eating, have obsessive thoughts about food, or regularly turn to food as a means of coping with life’s problems.

If you think emotional eating might be an issue for you, ask yourself how often you turn to food as a way to cheer yourself up. Occasionally indulging in eating treats and more calories than needed is perfectly normal! You just need to keep it in perspective. After all, a treat is no longer a treat or a special food if you indulge yourself on a regular basis.

The best way for you to gain a better understanding of your eating habits is to keep a food diary or journal. By keeping a food diary you can keep track of not only what you eat and how much but also how you were feeling just before eating. (To learn more about food diaries read: Keeping a Food Diary). A journal, on the other hand, would allow you to explore your thoughts and feelings in greater depth. (Journaling and Appetite)

Either way, keeping food diary notes or journal entries will help you better understand what circumstances trigger overeating, how often it happens, and whether or not it might be emotional eating. The added benefit is that dieters who keep food diaries are much more likely to succeed with weight loss (Food Diaries Best for Weight Loss Success).

True emotional eating can be a much bigger problem than you might think. According to a study in the Journal Obesity, emotional eaters not only have a harder time with weight loss than those who are not emotional eaters. In addition, when emotional eaters succeed with weight loss, they are less likely to keep the weight off.

In conclusion today, I have a heartfelt video message to share with you by a young woman who has struggled with weight loss. This woman may or may not be an emotional eater. Either way, she expresses (better than I could begin to describe) the importance of listening to your own inner voice and shutting out the negative or unhelpful comments and advice from others. This inner voice is the positive one that believes in your ability to lose weight and get healthier one small step at a time with healthy eating and living. That’s what this site is all about. I’m here to help!

Remember to watch those calories, and eat healthy food!

Maintenance weight loss weight management

You just can’t beat vegetables for low calorie nourishing food. Veggies are packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. But there’s so much more to these colorful foods that makes them ideal for weight loss.

Vegetables tend to have a high water and fiber content. Both water and fiber increase the bulk or volume of foods. This in turn reduces the energy density or calories. When the ratio of calories to weight is high, a food is considered to be high-energy dense. In other words, a small amount of food can have a high number of calories.

Low energy dense foods such as vegetables have relatively few calories by weight. This means you can eat more food for the same number of calories as an energy dense food such as pecan pie.

Low energy dense foods can fill you up and provide you with a sense of when you’ve had enough BEFORE you overeat. They also help to displace high calorie food you might otherwise consume.

If you are not a veggie fan and can’t imagine ever enjoying vegetables, I hope you will give them another chance. Exploring the wide range of flavors and textures of vegetables can be an adventure. As I continue to learn about the health benefits of vegetables, I am motivated to discover new and delicious flavors in the foods I prepare for meals and snacks. I hope in time you feel the same!

Image by shannonpatrick17 via Flickr

Low Calorie Vegetables: 100 Calories or Less

artichoke, cooked 1 medium 60 calories

asparagus, cooked ½ cup 85 calories

beets, cooked ½ cup 37 calories

bok choy, cooked 1 cup 20 calories

broccoli, raw ½ cup 26 calories

brussel sprouts, cooked ½ cup 28 calories

cabbage, cooked ½ cup 17 calories

carrots, cooked ½ cup 35 calories

carrots, raw ½ cup 27 calories

carrots, raw 1 large 30 calories

cauliflower, cooked ½ cup 15 calories

celery, raw ½ cup sliced 10 calories

celery, raw 1 stalk 5 calories

cucumber, raw ½ medium 20 calories

edible podded peas, cooked ½ cup 22 calories

eggplant, cooked ½ cup 17 calories

fennel, raw ½ cup 15 calories

green peas (English peas), cooked 67 calories

jicama, raw ½ cup 25 calories

kale, cooked 1 cup 36 calories

lettuce, raw 1 cup 5 calories

onions, raw ½ cup sliced 23 calories

radishes, raw ½ cup sliced 9 calories

spinach, cooked ½ cup 20 calories

sweet green peppers, raw ½ cup sliced 9 calories

sweet potato, baked ½ cup 90 calories

sweet red peppers, raw ½ cup sliced 14 calories

sweet yellow corn, cooked 65 calories

swiss chard, cooked 1 cup 35 calories

tomato, raw 1 medium 25 calories

turnips, cooked 1 cup cubed 33 calories

white mushrooms, raw ½ cup sliced 8 calories

winter squash, baked (all varieties) ½ cup 40 calories

zucchini, raw 1/2 cup sliced 9 calories

Certain veggies are good raw or cooked others you will need to cook to enjoy. This doesn’t have to be time consuming or difficult. Most vegetables can be easily prepared and cooked in minutes with a microwave oven.

If you have the time, you just can’t beat the flavor of sliced roasted veggies. Brush veggies with a very light coating of olive oil, add seasoning, and then roast in a 425-degree oven. Watch the time. Some veggies brown up nicely in as little as ten minutes or so (small tomato wedges) whereas others might take as long as 30 to 40 minutes (sweet potato slices).

Here are a few more tips on how to get veggies in your diet more often:

1. Cut up veggies to be eaten raw at the beginning of the week. Keep them in a translucent container in the refrigerator in clear view when you open the fridge door. Having veggies ready to grab and eat makes them more appealing.

2. Get creative with salads! Salads can be so much more than iceberg lettuce and tomatoes. Think spinach or mixed leafy greens. How about beets, broccoli, carrots, jicama, cauliflower, cucumber, peas, onions, celery or fennel in addition to or instead of tomatoes?

3. Toss cherry tomatoes, halved with lightly cooked broccoli florets, a little olive oil, lemon juice, and seasoning.

4. Enjoy cut veggies with a low cal dip. You can make your own healthy dip by blending low fat cottage cheese with nonfat plain yogurt. Add seasoning, mix, and enjoy!

5. Add veggies to soups, salads, stir-fry dishes, casseroles, omelets, sandwiches, and more.

Check out my previous articles for some additional low calorie snack ideas:

1. Low Calorie Dairy Snacks

2. Healthy Low Calorie Fruit

3. Healthy Low Calorie Beverages

4. 28 Healthy Low Calorie Snack Foods to Go

5. Low Calorie Healthy Carbs: 100 Calories or Less

6. Low Calorie Meat, Poultry, Fish, and Seafood: 100 Calories or Less

Till next time, watch those calories and eat healthy foods!

calories Health Maintenance weight loss