It’s a pretty common practice: You get some bad news, miss a deadline, or are just having an altogether bad day. You go to the refrigerator, pantry, or drive-thru. You eat your go-to food…

Chances are, after the fact, you’re still stressed out.

This is where physical activity comes in; a natural stress reliever, doing a little physical activity instead of indulging on a trigger food kills two birds with one stone: you allow your body the chance to reduce stress naturally AND you burn calories instead of consuming them. Read more →

Obesity may be viewed, in part, as due to addictive behaviors with regard to food.  Some clinicians treat overweight patients as a substance abuse disorder.  However, in this regard, it appears that all foods are not created equal.  Almost all overweight people report over eating sweets and starches, both of which are carbohydrate rich foods, as their main problem.

The parallels with other substance abuse problems are intriguing:  people who attempt to reduce their carbohydrate intake often report “withdrawal symptoms”, including irritability, anxiety, and depression as well as intense cravings for sugary or starchy foods. Read more →

Everyone seems to be stressed out these days! It seems as if no matter what stage of life we are in (college student, working full-time, newlywed, parent, grandparent) we are in a constant state of stress, guilt, or shame. With demanding work schedules and busy family lives, people feel they can’t get it all done, causing an extreme rise of stress. While most people realize that stress is a constant part of their lives, far fewer actually take time to accept the future consequences. Stress has physical, emotional, and mental consequences over time. Stress also affects our eating habits and our will to exercise. Read more →