Are you wondering why you are having a hard time accomplishing your realistic goals? You might need to take a look at your approach (and sanity). 😉

Are you suffering from goal insanity? I was. Let me explain:

This past week I did a little self-reflecting as I was disappointed in myself for another day going by without exercising. I want to be healthy, and I want to be strong, but as my day gets going things come up, and I keep putting it off and off until finally it’s way past my bedtime, and only the thought of my pillow and closing my eyes occupies my mind. Exercise plan? What exercise plan?

Making exercise a part of my routine is a realistic goal. I have looked at my life, and I know I have enough minutes in my day to let 30 or so be for moving my body.

As I sat feeling a bit discouraged with myself, I ended up mindlessly scrolling through Facebook (since that’s the best way to use my time, obviously), and I came across this quote, supposedly from Albert Einstein:

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

I realized that I was insane. How can I expect to exercise when I’m not making it a priority? How can I expect to be strong and healthy when I’m not putting in the time to get that way? I realized I needed to make time for exercising a priority if I really wanted to improve. I changed clothes and went for a walk with my daughter. It felt good to get some fresh air and some movement into my day! As I walked I made the decision (again) that I was going to start making exercise a regular part of my routine, but this time I went home and made a plan on how that was going to be accomplished. It’s nice to think about your goals, but planning is key.

I had forgotten the basics of goal-setting. Remember way back in January when Rebecca outlined how to make New Year’s Resolutions stick? She said to make SMART goals: Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and with a time-frame. I made a general goal of exercising, but I did not plan out how or when. The way I had made my goal wasn’t smart or SMART.

My goal is still a work in progress. I set my alarm the next day to get up and exercise, but I ended up hitting snooze a few too many times. Repeat this same scenario a couple more times, and I remembered that I’m not a morning person and that I may be on a different level of insanity expecting that I’ll wake up without changing any of my other habits (I’m a night owl through and through). I’m going to keep trying different things until I get the results by finding a way that works for me. Reconfiguring your goals is all a part of the process.

Whether you are trying to incorporate more movement into your day or to eat more vegetables, take a look at your goals and see if you need to make some changes.

What are you doing over and over again but expecting different results each time?

How do you make exercise a part of your routine?

More on Food and Mood

 

Food is essential for the body to keep going, however with the vast array of food in the modern world it does not mean we are always making the best choices when it comes to food.  There is a direct link between the foods we consume and the way we feel, or our mood.  The way food is made up, and the components within each meal we have, can dramatically alter our feelings and mood, and this can be further compounded by when we eat.

 

Stick to the Basics

 

First of all the most important thing is to ensure that you are eating enough food.  Blood sugar is one of the key stabilising factors of a healthy body and something that is often overlooked.  Fad diets popularised by celebrities are often pushing people into unhealthy eating habits.  There is nothing that says you have to eat huge meals three times a day, in fact to the contrary, but eating properly at regular intervals is vital.  If you are hungry, you are not going to be in the best of moods.  If it goes deeper than this and your blood sugar levels are affected, you can also become confused and angry as the body struggles to work.

 

Soporific Sugar

 

One of the biggest culprits that most people can name when it comes to food and mood is sugar.  Fast food, sweets and other ‘junk’ may well be convenient and comfortable, but a high sugar content simply leads to a spike in blood sugar.  This might send you into a hyper happy mood, but it will be short-lived.  Once the sugar is processed further into the body, the ‘crash’ will leave you feeling grumpy and lethargic. Sugar is not healthy for the body anyway and is thought to prevent the natural development of healthy cells, so a good one to avoid where possible.

 

Perfect Protein

 

At the other end of the scale, protein is a great mood booster and can help you stay happy and in balance all day, provided you eat it regularly.  This is because they make the processing of carbs go slower which in turn releases essential chemicals norepinephrine and dopamine (the feel-good factor).  Protein does not have to be all about the meat either, even on a healthy, low-fat, vegan or vegetarian diet, there are plenty of options available: Tofu, eggs, seafood, yogurt, and chicken to name just a few.

 

Vital Vitamins

 

The other thing to guard against if you want your diet to promote a happy mood is missing those essential vitamins.  Sadly the climate has changed in the UK, and we do not get as much access to sunshine, which generates that all-important vitamin D, so we need to look for more of it in food.  Vitamin D candidates are low-fat milk, egg yolks, and soy milk.  B vitamins are also great for mood and energy levels, and B12, in particular, is a real mood lifter.  Try adding more broccoli, leafy greens, oranges, oatmeal, cottage cheese and salmon to your diet to help your body absorb B vitamins from food.

 

Strange as it might sound, healthy eating becoming unhealthy is a growing concern for those who deal with eating disorders.  It might seem unusual that someone who is on a mission to become a healthy eater can spiral into the realms of unhealthy eating, and we are not talking about those who simply fall of the bandwagon and go back to food that they had once binned as being bad for them.  So just how does healthy eating become unhealthy?

 

Not Just a Bad Day

 

We all understand that the perils of commencing a healthy eating plan or diet can lead us to days where we only want to reach for the junk food and gorge on our body weight in food in just a few hours.  That isn’t the problem here though.  This is something that spirals from obsession to an eating disorder that is known in the medical world as orthorexia. Still a relatively new term you will be forgiven for not having heard of it, but rest assured simply reaching for the chocolate or eating a family bag of crisps when you meant to stick to a low-fat diet is far from this eating condition.

 

Obsession Takes Over

 

A person that takes healthy eating into the land of unhealthy eating develops a fixation on what they are putting into their bodies.  It starts with the best intentions and a typical mindset.  For whatever reason, and it is different for all of us, they decide to clean up their eating and head for a new way of consuming their food.  Some people start by going sugar-free, or cutting meat and becoming vegetarian.  Other try not eating wheat or gluten, and some opt for organic everything.  Keith from personal trainers in London Right Path Fitness says all of which can be perfectly healthy and are not wrong ways to eat by any means but orthorexia is different.

 

When a person starts to obsess about every element of the food, they eat issues can arise, and rituals can develop that see them become so totally preoccupied with their diet and body image that things can start to go wrong.  It comes down to a form of control that might offer them something they feel has been missing in their lives.  Habits surrounding food can be made very safe and healthy whereas others can spiral into downright dangerous.  By using food and exercise as a control people who suffer from this eating disorder can be completely unaware that things are not going well.  The focus is the result and the fact that they have only eaten three organic carrots boiled in purified water while having run 10 miles on the treadmill might strike them as a resounding success, but you can see how that would damage the body over a longer period.

 

A healthy diet should always be about balance.  If you go out for a meal and eat something, you wouldn’t normally, a healthy approach is to see that as a one-off.  If you or someone you know is obsessing over every mouthful and often denying themselves as a particular food is not available, it might be time to seek help.

There are millions of people all over the world suffering from eating disorders.  However, it is a term that is still widely misunderstood with many people assuming that it is just a phase or someone who has taken their diet too far.  Eating disorders are much more complicated than people might think, so in this blog, we will break down and look at what they are.

 

It is Not a Choice

 

An eating disorder is a recognised medical condition that comes under the umbrella of mental health or psychiatric illness.  It does not just stem from someone choosing to eat less, or indeed eat more.  Eating disorders tend to fall into the category of chronic (long-term) illness and the person suffering cannot just ‘snap out of it.’  The gender and age of the patient are indiscriminate as all ages and genders can be just as likely to suffer as anyone.  It is something that can develop at any time and is often, but not always, born out of a triggering event.  The cause of the eating order is the key to seeking help and getting better, so patients will be offered talking therapies to help them make sense of what has happened.

 

Four Recognised Disorders

 

If a patient presents to a doctor with issues surrounding eating they are potentially going to be diagnosed with one of the four recognised conditions.  Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating and Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorders (OSFED).

 

Until recently people were most aware of Bulimia or Anorexia and they were considered to be the classic definition of eating disorders in the public mind.  However, recent cases of binge eating have been highlighted in television documentaries, where people are shown eating themselves from obese to the grave.  People are now more open to accepting that there are three conditions,  but few are aware of the last one, which is the catch-all diagnosis for individuals who do not fit the clinical profile of any of the others.  This does not mean in any way that these people are not suffering as much.  All eating disorders are serious, and the medical community places no more importance on one of the diagnosis than the others – they are all considered serious issues that need professional help.

 

Hidden Conditions

 

A classic symptom for all those with eating disorders is the desire to hide their behaviour from the world.  For some, it is considered self-punishment and discipline that they, in their mind, deserve, whereas others just deny or dishes the behaviour as they either do not realise they have an issue or do not want help.  It is important that eating disorders can be identified as the damage to the body is more than mental health care.  Organs and body systems can be permanently damaged by behaviours associated with each condition, and if the patient is unable to access the correct help, can become seriously ill or even die as a result of this damage.

 

The good news is that recovery is entirely possible.  So if you or someone you know seems to be showing some symptoms of issues with food, it is worth trying to advocate that they seek medical advice as soon as possible. Try to get them to understand that there is nothing to be ashamed of; it is a medical condition, not something they have done wrong.

It is proven that the once who have a positive mindset and optimistic view for life are the happiest ones. These are the people who find success in life and are content in whatever they have. However, holding an optimistic view through every situation is a bit difficult for all of us. Normal people often lose their patience and break out for their positive view for life. It is very important that people learn to control their negative thought to become successful in life. A positive attitude can win you over every difficult situation. It prevents people from getting into depression and take unfair steps. Here are few tips for all of the people out there desperately wanting to be happy always.

Tip 1- visualize success

There can be nothing smarter than tricking your brain. Whenever you feel that you are drifting into depression or having a negative thought about life, make sure that you think of all good things. Visualize your success in future and make yourself feel good. This will not only motivate you for doing better in life and working hard but will save you from having negative thoughts and being depressed.

Tip 2- meditate

Meditation is a key to keep your mind balanced and calm. If you are going through a difficult phase in life try to meditate on a daily basis’ so that you can help your mind to keep calm and composed. Find a quiet and comfortable place to carry out your meditation session. Close your eyes and take deep breaths and allow yourself to relax. Feel yourself letting go of all the emotions and relax your mind as much as you can. Repeat the process for best results.

Tip 3- believe in yourself

Self respect and self confidence is the best weapon you can use against all the negative situations. Believe in yourself that you can move out of all the difficult situations and you will do very best for yourself. This will make you confident and give you power to fight. If you have self confidence then you will definitely have a positive look out for life and positive thinking as well.

Tip 4- express gratitude

This is one of the easiest ways to increase your positive thinking. You must express gratitude to everything in your life by being thankful for what you have in your life. Feeling of gratitude instantly makes you in touch with the feeling if love and where there is residence of love, the negative thoughts and fears fly away automatically.

Tip 5- find positive mentors and friends

The people we live with put a great impact on our lives. Therefore always try to surround yourself with people of positive mid set and those who try to take things lightly. They can be a great support in the times of sorrow and difficulty as they can make you laugh and show the brighter side of the life.

By practicing these tips daily it will help with positive change in your thinking for sure.

Eating disorder is a psychological condition which can cause one to have unhealthy eating habits. Eating disorders start with an obsession with food, body weight and other body shapes which can lead to one person having health consequences which can result in death if left untreated. There are a variety of symptoms which includes severe restriction of food, binge eating and purge in behaviours like vomiting and over-eating.

Experts believe that eating disorder can be caused by a variety of factors which also has something to do with genetics. Personality traits like neuroticism, perfectionism, impulsive personality is linked to a higher risk of developing eating disorders. There are potential causes which include pressuring them to be thin, cultural preferences and media exposure can be the reason for such ideals.

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa is most likely to be known as eating disorders. This generally develops during the adolescence in young adulthood which tends to affect more women than men. People with anorexia view themselves to be overweight even if they are dangerously underweight. They tend to constantly monitor their weight and avoid certain foods to help restrict their calories intake. They are constantly underweight when compared to the average weight depending on their height and age, have restrictive eating patterns, have an intense fear of gaining weight and avoids gaining weight even when they are underweight. People with anorexia also tend to have obsessive-compulsive symptoms. They also tend to not eat in public and exhibit a strong desire to help control their environment to help them limit any spontaneous acts.

Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia tends to develop during adolescence which appears to be less common among men than women. People with bulimia eat unusually large amounts of food from a specific period of times. Binge eating episodes can continue until the person is painfully full. The person generally cannot control the intake of their foo. This can occur with any food which can be avoided. There are many attempts to help purge and compensate for the calories which were consumed. They commonly indulge themselves in purging behaviours which includes vomiting, fasting, laxatives, diuretics, enemas and excessive exercise.

Binge eating disorders

Binge eating disorders is believed to be one of the most common eating common disorders, which typically is seen during adolescence and early adulthood. The individual with these disorders has similar symptoms to those of bulimia. They typically have unusually large amounts of food in a relatively short amount of time. People with binge eating disorder cannot restrict themselves to calories and other purging behaviours which includes vomiting and excessive exercise to help compensate for their binges. People with binge eating disorders are overweight, which increase their risk of medical complications linked to excess weight like heart diseases, diabetes, strokes.