Sunday, April 6, 2014
10:53 AM
10:44 AM
Summer Hair Care Tips 10
Summer Hair Care Tips 10
Summer brings warm sunshine, beach days, and pool parties, but all the fun in the sun can be damaging to hair. Unlike winter time, our hair is exposed to far more chemicals and harmful UV rays during the summer. All of this plus the extra heat and humidity of summer months can wreak havoc on hair.
The secret to beautiful summer hair is remembering to care for it properly. You may need to adjust your hair care routine to protect hair during the summer. Follow these simple summer hair care tips and you'll have healthy beautiful hair all summer long.
1 . Clean and MoisturizeHot summer months can cause your scalp to produce more oil so you'll probably be washing your hair more often. Be sure to use a moisturizing shampoo and deep conditioner so that your hair stays hydrated.
2 . Protect YourselfYou
know that you need to apply sunscreen to your skin, but did you know
your scalp and hair also need to be protected from the sun? UV rays are dangerous and can burn the scalp and dry out hair. The best way to protect your scalp and hair from sun damage is to wear a hat. For extra protection, you can also use a leave-in conditioner with SPF. Take a small spray bottle with you to the beach and spray down your strands every few hours.
3 . Stay Away From AlcoholSometimes we need a little help getting that wavy beach hairstyle and may need to use some styling products. Try not to use products that have alcohol in them. The alcohol can be very drying to hair and leave it feeling like straw.
4 . Skip The HeatYour hair is already getting exposed to enough heat, so try to limit how often you use a blow dryer or other hot styling tools. Summer is all about being free, so try some low maintenance hair ideas. Let your hair air dry and embrace your natural texture.
5 . Eat HealthyA healthy diet will help keep your hair healthy. Fortunately many fruits and vegetables are in season during the summer
time, so it's easier to give your hair the vitamins and minerals it
needs to grow long and healthy.
6 . Don't Forget To TrimFrizz can be a major problem during the summer, and split ends are usually the cause of this. Keep your ends trimmed every 6-8 weeks and you won't have to worry about the frizzies.
7 . Style SoftlyHair accessories are a great way to create new styles for the summer. Throw out all your hard plastic ties, clips, and other accessories that snap and break your hair. Use only soft accessories like scarves that won't damage your hair.
8 . Get SmoothNatural oils add lightweight moisture that smooth hair and prevent frizz. Instead
of using a silicone-based gel that coats your hair with product, apply
some Moroccan oil or coconut oil to your hair while it's still damp and
let air dry. The natural oils will absorb into your hair instead of just coating it.
9 . HydrateEach strand of hair is made up of 1/4 water so staying hydrated is very important in keeping your hair soft and healthy. Drink plenty of water during the summer, even if you're not outside a lot. Water will not only keep you hydrated, it will also help your scalp retain moisture.
10 . Stay Out Of The PoolBlondes
may show a green tinted hair color more easily, but every hair color
and hairtype is affected by the chemicals in a pool. Chlorine and other algicides can suck the moisture out of hair and even make hair look green or coppery. Tie your hair up before going for a swim. If your hair has to get wet, spray in a leave-in conditioner before swimming and wash your hair immediately after.
Also Read Related Topics......
Hair Care Secrets
8:58 AM
Hair Care Secrets
Hair-Care Secrets That Won't Cost 5 You a Dime
Cara Brook of Maskcara was the winner of the 2013 Allure Beauty
Blogger Awards and is now contributing to the Daily Beauty Reporter.
In this day and age, with all of the balms and serums and masks, hair care can get a little overwhelming. Especially if you're on a budget. The truth is, there's plenty you can do to keep your hair healthy without breaking the bank.
1 . Air-drying is your best friend. I'm aware that every gal has a whole different hair texture to deal with, but hear me out. Regular blow-drying damages your hair a fair amount, which does nothing for improving the texture. You may be surprised at how much you love your natural hair texture if you really give it a chance. Another trick you can try is letting your hair air-dry for as long as you can and then smoothing it out with the blow-dryer.
2 . But shampoo is more like a frenemy. Don't get me wrong, I am firm in my fanhood for good personal hygiene. I like to shower regularly and I do wash my hair at least twice a week. But washing your hair every day can generally be avoided. Shampoo strips your hair of its natural oils and dries it out. It also zaps hair color, which means coloring more often, which means-you guessed it-DAMAGE.
3 . Try a vinegar rinse. I was pretty skeptical about this little gem when it first came across my pinboards. Some of those DIYs are suspect at best. I've
never tested it, but I'm willing to bet that it's not actually a good
idea to remove my blackheads with gasoline and gypsy tears. Nevertheless after receiving a vote of approval from a real person, I decided to give vinegar a go. After shampoo and conditioner, I poured a glass of apple cider vinegar over my hair then rinsed it out. When it dried, not only did it not smell like a salad, but it also had
a shine to it and a softness that pretty much knocked my socks off.
4 . Easy on the hot tools. Think of your flatiron as a little torture chamber for your hair. It's
not that you can't ever use it, but it would probably be kind if you
didn't put your hair through pain like that every day. When you really have to, though, go with the lowest heat setting
possible and don't hold it on the hair or run it through any more than
necessary.
5 . Heavy on the coconut oil ... or olive oil ... or whichever oil you happen to have on hand.Whichever
one you use, they all work wonders as deep, moisturizing conditioners,
and at least one of them can be found in most kitchens. I like to work a few tablespoons into my hair starting at the ends and moving up the shaft. Then I braid it and let it soak in for an hour or more before washing it out. Afterwards my hair feels soft and silky.
Saturday, April 5, 2014
2:51 PM
days of hot sex 30
Taking a nonstop shagathon all in the name of science
Four years ago, US pastor Paul Wirth created a stir when he asked married couples to do the deed - wait for it - 30 days in a row, in a bid to tackle the nation's 50 per cent divorce rate. He reckons a stable relationship needs a spiritual, emotional and sexual connection
This sounded like a great challenge for my partner, M, and me. We've been together for four-and-a-half years. We used to rip each other's clothes off daily (our record is five times in one day), but it had tapered off. For a while I was mildly depressed, we were having issues and our sex life had dived to once a month - maybe.Which, considering the way I was feeling, turns out to be pretty normal. According
to a study in the Journal of Sex Research, partners having relationship
wobbles were also more likely to experience sexual dysfunction. Things finally levelled out at around once a week. And considering that 46 per cent of you told WH in a Women's Health /
Men 's Health sex survey last year that you want sex two or three times a
week (myself included), something needed to change.So would a hot and heavy month make a difference? Sex expert Dr Elna Rudolph says that 30 days of continuous sex would get you addicted to it again."Dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with your brain's reward centre is released when you have sex," she says.So an overdose gets you used to that "Yes, please!" Feeling and you land up craving the hormone, and therefore sex, more often.Michele
Weiner Davis, author of The Sex-Starved Wife, has another theory: the
more you have sex, the more likely you'll be to produce testosterone,
one of the primary hormones responsible for sexual desire. Time to try it out!
Week one: comedy show
My
partner and I had discussed this venture at length - he'd been a bit
dubious at first, but after quite a bit of persuasion, he came around to
the idea. But once we'd set a date to begin our experiment, he got nervous and
tried to back out, resulting in fits of laughter every time we attempted
intercourse.We managed one night before I got sick and couldn't have sex. So sick, in fact, that I had an emergency appendectomy. Clearly, this was not meant to be. I
was put on bed rest for a week, but it was three weeks before the pain
had subsided enough to even consider getting naked again. Of course, three weeks without sex resulted in navy-blue balls and my bloke was champing at the bit. Time to do it again.
Week one: attempt two
Now that I knew what M's reaction would be, I opted not to tell him when we were starting the challenge again. We'd been at it for four days when he suddenly asked, "Hey, this isn't like you - we've started the 30 days again, haven't we?"Considering he hasn't had sex four days in a row since the honeymoon
period wore off, I'm surprised it took him so long to figure it out -
testosterone was likely clouding his thoughts.It was quite difficult for me to concentrate on anything besides the big scar on my stomach; in fact, I kept trying to cover it up with my hand, as it seemed so prominent from my vantage point. Even though M had seen my scar dozens of times, my body image had taken a nosedive. If I wasn't expected to complete the 30 days this is the point at which I would have quit.In
2011, a study in the Journal of Sex and Research found that negative
evaluations of the body and self-consciousness during sex are associated
with a tendency to avoid sex. But by avoiding sex, these negative views are perpetuated. Why? If you aren't having sex, there's no opportunity for these views to be invalidated; for instance, by your bloke telling you how beautiful you look.So it was a good thing I had to keep going, and it helped. By week three, I barely noticed the scar. M said he'd never noticed it anyway - he was too busy focusing on other things.DOWN: My body image prevented total enjoyment.UP: We made it through four days before the threat of "the challenge" got in the way.
Week two: Keeping things interesting
Seven days in, we were in a rut. Dr Rudolph says this is common. "Expect to get bored if you plan 30 rounds in missionary with the lights off, just before you fall asleep," she explains. "You need to do something fun and different every day."So we tried alternative areas of the house, including the floor (make sure you have cushions). And I set the alarm 30 minutes earlier to give M a great wake-up, but pressed the snooze button too many times. Pity
- Dr Debby Herbenick, author of Because It Feels Good, says: "Having
sex in the morning releases the feelgood chemical oxytocin, which makes
couples feel loving and bonded all day. Morning sex can also boost your immune system by enhancing levels of
IgA, an antibody that protects against infection. "Who needs vitamin C?Other health benefits of sex, for you and him, are almost as good as the sex itself. One 30-minute roll in the hay burns about 836kJ (not enough to skip your evening run, but it's a start). Plus, the horizontal hustle can bring about temporary headache relief. And
good news for your bloke: according to the Journal of the American
Medical Association, the more he ejaculates, the less likely he is to
develop prostate cancer. Enough reasons for us!DOWN: We fell into a rut.UP: We moved things out of the bedroom.
Week three: Rediscovering love
By this stage, we'd become lazy. So bad that we actually played Rock-Paper-Scissors, to see who would do the work. I lost. "Couples generally lock into a few things they know work and stop
experimenting," explains Dr Ian Kerner, author of 52 Weeks of Amazing
Sex, a book of weekly sexy scenarios."But the brain is the biggest sex organ and any time you try something
new, you're stimulating the brain's natural desire for novelty."As much as we complained, once we started, we actually enjoyed it. A
study in the Journal of Sex Medicine found that, while 15 per cent of
women only engaged in sexual activity if they felt sexual desire at the
outlet, 31 per cent typically or always accessed desire once they were
aroused. I was definitely part of the latter. I can't say there were fireworks, but rather familiar, intimate lovemaking.At the end of the week we went out for dinner with friends. They were intrigued by our experiment, but couldn't understand why we were so over it. As much as we tried to explain how 30 days of sex can be exhausting (not to mention boring), the men didn't get it. The women, of course, sympathised, rolling their eyes whenever their boyfriends asked if they could try it."On
the bright side, at least you have three men jealous of you tonight," I
said to M as we left the restaurant, to which I received a
heart-warming reply: "I don't care about that. It's not about the sex anymore; it's about being close to you. "Ironically, that turned me on.DOWN: Bored - and tired!UP: We reconnected on an emotional level.
Week four: The final countdown
After the laziness of week three, the realisation that our experiment was coming to an end caused us to shift into high gear. We obviously couldn't carry on with Rock-Paper-Scissors - we needed something fun to get us through the week. So we resolved to try something different every night.Ever heard of Battleship Bodies? It's
like the old board game Battleship, but instead of ships, you draw your
body on a grid and mark off five of your erogenous zones. Your partner then guesses which grids you've chosen and, if he hits the spot, he's allowed to touch that body part. It's hilarious and breaks the ice for things to come.This week also included watching porn, something we had done previously. But
when I tried to twist and flick my nipples like the woman on screen, I
gasped with pain, not pleasure (note to self: you're not a porn star). Sensual massages were on the list too. I'm lucky that M enjoys working the knots out of my back and neck, but as a means to an end, these massages were so much better.And that's not all we did. As
I was climbing into my car to go to a friend's house on the second last
day, we realised we hadn't had sex, so we did it right there, against
the car. Seriously hot - and very unexpected. The
final night, M was so exhausted, he mistook the ties of my hoodie for
my nipples, commenting, "Wow they're so hard tonight." The resulting
laughter meant we could barely function, but at least we ended the
challenge on a happy note.DOWN: We were worried we'd go back to our old ways once the challenge was over.UP: We experimented with games, porn and massage.
The upshot of the sex challenge
So how else can frequent sex benefit your relationship? Research
conducted at the University of Leuven in Belgium indicates that sexual
wellbeing is an integral part of life satisfaction. So, essentially, sex makes you happy. What's more, a study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine found that open
communication led to more fulfilling sexual relationships.Dr Rudolph agrees: "The communication skills a couple acquire in a time like this are priceless," she says.But when you're struggling to share your thoughts with each other, problems can arise. In
fact, the WH / MH sex survey revealed that 28 per cent of you feel the
biggest mistake your partner makes in bed is not communicating enough; for men, this was a whopping 41 per cent! So how do you get around it?For starters, Dr Rudolph advises: "Tell each other what you liked about each session; that way, you can carry the benefits of the 30 days into the years to come. "So we made an effort to communicate. Our previous habit was to arrive home, cook dinner, watch TV, then I'd read in bed and fall asleep, and M would join me later. Being forced to spend time with each other was a relationship changer. We found time to talk - really talk - about work, family, life and, most importantly, us. We both feel like we did a few months into our relationship; perhaps not as carefree, but certainly happy.As the final day drew to a close, we lay cuddling. "I'm
really going to miss this," said M, "but instead, can we skip sex until
we're actually horny?" I agreed, thinking we'd be taking at least a
week off from the bedroom antics. Needless to say, two days later, we were ready to go again. Sometimes, all a relationship needs is a little mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Read Related Topics..........
2:28 PM
Benefits of Outdoor Sex
Get fresh while you're getting fresh air
Get fresh while you're getting fresh air. Sure, getting it on outdoors might look hot in the movies (think True Romance). But in real life, it isn't always like that (think sand, sticks, insects) - plus, it's against the law.
Not that we're advocating doing anything illegal (us? Never) but, if you were to get the urge, there are benefits."Sex can become monotonous, particularly in long-term relationships.
To induce fever into your sex life, get out of the bedroom," says sexual
anthropologist Dr Bella Ellwood-Clayton."Even if you only make it as far as the living room floor, changing the routine makes you more sexually alert." So, if you need to get out more ...Have sex in a parkHow to do it: Head to the park very late in the day and find a picnic table. Tracey Cox, author of Superhotsex, suggests getting your partner to
stand in front, while you lay on the table, wrapping your legs around
his waist.Why it's good "It's ideal because you're facing one way, he's facing
the other way, so you can keep watch in both directions," she says.It's also the perfect position to stimulate the "A spot" (anterior
fornex erogenous), Cox says, which is the smooth, highly sensitive area
halfway between the G-spot and cervix.Sex against a wall or treeHow
to do it Wrap your legs around his hips and wriggle up a large tree
trunk or wall, pushing your back firmly against it for support. Put arms around his neck and one foot on the ground if needed.You'll need to be quick so, to speed up your orgasm, founder of
Pleasure Spot Jo-Anne Baker advises using a strap-on butterfly-shaped
vibrator, easily worn under clothes."Obviously, it takes away from the spontaneity, but it'll rev you up beforehand," she explains.Why it's good If you do the deed on the way home from a night out,
you'll avoid the urge to empty the dishwasher / fall asleep / watch
Letterman instead of having sex.Sex in a pool or spaHow to do it Have your partner sit on the edge of the spa or pool (by
the steps) while you straddle him, bikini bottoms pulled to the side."Penetration should happen above the water, before you both submerge," says Baker. "This should avoid water used by others getting into the vagina, which could cause an infection."If needed, be sure to use a silicone-based lube as it doesn't wash away.Why it's good The weightlessness of water means there's no strain when you have sex vertically, facing each other. If anyone walks by, you can pretend you're cuddling or separate in seconds, swimmers still in place.Have sex in the carHow to do it Don't unleash your sex drive until the car is parked, and it's a good idea to try for a secluded spot.Emily Dubberley, author of Sex for Busy People, suggests that your bloke scrambles first onto the back seat."Facing away from him, sit on his lap with your knees either side of
his thighs and clutch the seats in front of you while you bounce up and
down. This position lets you control the depth and speed of the
thrusts."Why it's good "The back seat is a great option for alfresco novices," says Dr Ellwood-Clayton.Be carefulA word of warning: try not to get caught. Particularly not by cops. "Anyone who's ever had sex outside knows how hot it can be," says Tracey Cox. "Just be sensible and you'll stay out of jail. Assess each situation
carefully, stay fully clothed and use props to hide behind, such as a
beach umbrella, sarong or picnic blanket."If you're on an OS holiday, think twice - some countries have strict laws about "public relations". "If you're not aware of the country's laws and customs, it's dangerous
to engage in behaviour some cultures may consider taboo," cautions Dr
Ellwood-Clayton."My advice? Confine outdoor sex to home soil
2:10 PM
Overeating: Why you can't stop at one Tim Tam
We help you understand what drives you to overeat so you can be the boss of the biscuit tin
The first one was so good, but where the hell did the empty packet come from?
You'll be happy (or dismayed) to learn that your willpower never stood a chance against those crunchy, chocolaty morsels. See,
biscuits - and other fat-laden eats - stimulate your brain's reward
system and set off a neural pattern that makes you want to scoff more,
says former US Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr David
Kessler, in his exposé The End of Overeating. Dr
Kessler reinvented the food label in the US and now he reveals to
Women's Health why all reason flies out of the window when you're
face-to-face with a naughty food. It's all about that reward system.
Here's how it works: the first time you ever ate a Tim Tam your brain registered the enjoyment of the unique taste sensation by flooding you with the pleasure chemicals dopamine and serotonin. That's the reward system and it's essential to human survival.
"It encourages us to keep seeking out enjoyable things like sex and food," says Dr Kessler. "Powerful biological forces make us pursue them and feel momentarily better once we obtain them."
If you're unsure just how powerful the urge is, consider this: when lab rats were given the chance to electrically stimulate the nucleus accumbens, the brain's pleasure centre, they hit the lever thousands of times in an hour, showed no interest in food or mates, and eventually died of exhaustion. It's the anticipation of those feel-good chemicals that prompts you to pick up "just one more" biscuit, even though you're not hungry.
As addiction counsellor Gillian Riley explains in Eating Less, "Our brains get the message that fats and sugars are more rewarding than vegetables - the more we eat them, the more we reinforce our attraction."
Susannah Paterson, a psychotherapist who specialises in treating eating disorders says, "Rewarding foods are reinforcing, which means we grow to expect them, like when we train puppies with treats."
And their reinforcement value increases with associated cues, like wanting a croissant when you walk past the bakery. Your cue triggers your reward system to release dopamine, which you notice as an urge or craving, which you satisfy by buying the treat. "This pattern sets up pathways in your brain, and each time you repeat the cycle, the pathway is reinforced, much like wearing a groove into a footpath," explains Paterson. You eat automatically and don't realise you are firing off a well-worn neural pathway and that your brain chemistry is in control of your eating habits.
And another reason you can't stop at just one: human beings have what food-industry insiders call a "bliss point", a nirvana of the tastebuds triggered by particular amounts of sugar, salt and fat. It's the right combination of these ingredients that makes food palatable and therefore rewarding. Butter on bread. Salt on popcorn.
Trouble is, many highly processed foods are overloaded with sugar, fat and salt, making them "hyperpalatable" - a taste experience so intense that it kicks the brain's pleasure system into overdrive. It's like a drug and leads you to obsess about that moment of pleasure so much that you'll do almost anything to prolong or relive it.
Settling pointThe effects of overeating on our hormones and appetite are something scientists are still trying to understand. In the 1980s they developed the "set-point theory" - the idea that there's a genetically determined ideal weight, which your body naturally controls. The system is not perfect, as dietitian Dr Joanna McMillan Price explains: "There are more hormonal regulators telling the brain that the body is losing weight than the reverse. When you restrict kilojoules, your system protects you from starvation by increasing your appetite. But it doesn't reduce your appetite in the same way when you gain weight to get back to your set point. That's because obesity wasn't a problem for our ancestors, but prolonged scarcity was. "
Dr Kessler thinks it's more useful to think of having a "settling point" instead. He believes that lots of factors determine what you weigh: genetics, bone structure, how often you work out. Overlooked is how much you feel compelled to eat and how much food is available to satisfy your urges. And these days food tends to find us.
Chowing down on junk pushes up your settling point. You can't burn enough energy to keep up with all that reward-driven grazing. But no matter how full you are, you can still squeeze in more, and that's why it's so easy to mindlessly overeat. "Then your internal chemistry adjusts to the extra weight and you're caught in an upward spiral of creeping kilos," says Dr Amanda Sainsbury-Salis, lead weight-loss researcher at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney
Here's how it works: the first time you ever ate a Tim Tam your brain registered the enjoyment of the unique taste sensation by flooding you with the pleasure chemicals dopamine and serotonin. That's the reward system and it's essential to human survival.
"It encourages us to keep seeking out enjoyable things like sex and food," says Dr Kessler. "Powerful biological forces make us pursue them and feel momentarily better once we obtain them."
If you're unsure just how powerful the urge is, consider this: when lab rats were given the chance to electrically stimulate the nucleus accumbens, the brain's pleasure centre, they hit the lever thousands of times in an hour, showed no interest in food or mates, and eventually died of exhaustion. It's the anticipation of those feel-good chemicals that prompts you to pick up "just one more" biscuit, even though you're not hungry.
As addiction counsellor Gillian Riley explains in Eating Less, "Our brains get the message that fats and sugars are more rewarding than vegetables - the more we eat them, the more we reinforce our attraction."
Susannah Paterson, a psychotherapist who specialises in treating eating disorders says, "Rewarding foods are reinforcing, which means we grow to expect them, like when we train puppies with treats."
And their reinforcement value increases with associated cues, like wanting a croissant when you walk past the bakery. Your cue triggers your reward system to release dopamine, which you notice as an urge or craving, which you satisfy by buying the treat. "This pattern sets up pathways in your brain, and each time you repeat the cycle, the pathway is reinforced, much like wearing a groove into a footpath," explains Paterson. You eat automatically and don't realise you are firing off a well-worn neural pathway and that your brain chemistry is in control of your eating habits.
And another reason you can't stop at just one: human beings have what food-industry insiders call a "bliss point", a nirvana of the tastebuds triggered by particular amounts of sugar, salt and fat. It's the right combination of these ingredients that makes food palatable and therefore rewarding. Butter on bread. Salt on popcorn.
Trouble is, many highly processed foods are overloaded with sugar, fat and salt, making them "hyperpalatable" - a taste experience so intense that it kicks the brain's pleasure system into overdrive. It's like a drug and leads you to obsess about that moment of pleasure so much that you'll do almost anything to prolong or relive it.
Settling pointThe effects of overeating on our hormones and appetite are something scientists are still trying to understand. In the 1980s they developed the "set-point theory" - the idea that there's a genetically determined ideal weight, which your body naturally controls. The system is not perfect, as dietitian Dr Joanna McMillan Price explains: "There are more hormonal regulators telling the brain that the body is losing weight than the reverse. When you restrict kilojoules, your system protects you from starvation by increasing your appetite. But it doesn't reduce your appetite in the same way when you gain weight to get back to your set point. That's because obesity wasn't a problem for our ancestors, but prolonged scarcity was. "
Dr Kessler thinks it's more useful to think of having a "settling point" instead. He believes that lots of factors determine what you weigh: genetics, bone structure, how often you work out. Overlooked is how much you feel compelled to eat and how much food is available to satisfy your urges. And these days food tends to find us.
Chowing down on junk pushes up your settling point. You can't burn enough energy to keep up with all that reward-driven grazing. But no matter how full you are, you can still squeeze in more, and that's why it's so easy to mindlessly overeat. "Then your internal chemistry adjusts to the extra weight and you're caught in an upward spiral of creeping kilos," says Dr Amanda Sainsbury-Salis, lead weight-loss researcher at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney
Go on, you deserve itIf you're plagued by cravings for fatty food, you'll know how easy it is to give in. There's so much food everywhere and we're endlessly bombarded by intrusive cues. Bridget Kelly, a dietitian with the NSW Cancer Council who specialises
in food marketing, points out that products geared specifically towards
women are cleverly marketed to appeal to our emotions.
"There's no way to pretend they provide essential nutrition, so the focus is on giving yourself a treat and suggesting you are being deprived if you have to go without," she says. Sweet treats play with the language of seduction and desire, and sensuous words like "decadent", "luxurious", and "heavenly" abound. And when you succumb you'll find those taste sensations have been carefully choreographed to provide maximum impact. You'll quickly reach your bliss point, sending your brain and body back down the well-travelled path.
Please release meSo, if it's your reward system and not your natural appetite that dominates what you chow on, how do you break the cycle? You can't stop receiving cues to eat, but Dr Kessler says you can "Learn to distrust your urges by 'thought stopping'." This is a term coined by Richard Rawson of the University of California, Los Angeles, who works with recovering drug addicts. He explains that you need to make an instant decision to say "no". Once you begin the debate "Should I or shouldn't I?" You've lost the battle. "It's like TV," says Rawson. "Change the channel."
Riley suggests focusing on how you feel when the desire for salty, sugary or fatty food comes on. Are you anxious, upset or bored? This will have an effect on the brain, disrupting the automatic firing of the neural pathway.
Overeating tends to be impulsive - it's unlikely you planned to inhale the packet of Tim Tams. So give yourself some food rules, says Paterson. These provide structure and soothe the inner tension you feel when you want to eat something but you're trying not to.
"Tell yourself 'I don't eat cheesecake'," she says. "Rules set up internal boundaries, and they help build stronger inner resources. Each time you don't follow through with the urge, you are gradually put back in control. "
Change the way you look at foodIt's also vital to change the way you look at all those guilty pleasures. See a box of doughnuts not as your dreams come true but as sugar and fat covered in more sugar and fat. They won't help you feel good in a bikini. By looking at them for what they are, it's possible to deactivate the system that's hardwired into you. Smoking was once glamorous, but now we see it as addictive and dangerous. It's possible to shift your view of rewarding food as well.
"You have to find other sources of emotional reward, particularly when you're stressed," says Paterson. Exercise is the supremo stress-buster (surprise, surprise) and gives you that delicious hit of dopamine and serotonin and the satisfaction of doing something positive for your body.
Many nutrition experts agree that one of the worst things you could do is to radically restrict your eating. "This always backfires," says Professor Stephen Touyz, Professor of Clinical Psychology at The University of Sydney and a leading authority on eating disorders. Instead, he recommends eating a combo of satisfying food plus a bit of the nice stuff. "It's important to appreciate food," he adds. "People almost have no time to eat these days. Enjoy it, like you would a glass of Grange. "
In the end, lasting change rests on viewing hedonistic delights as your enemy, not your best friend. There's a huge discrepancy between the anticipation of and the actual experience of a junk food binge, after which you're never pleased with yourself. Instead of feeling weak, guilty or embarrassed, recognise that you're in a trap. It's liberating to know that you can break the cycle once you recognise it's happening. It's a biological challenge and, with a mindful attitude, you can reduce the lure of scarfing too many Tim Tams for good. Plus you'll have rewired a better, more resilient brain into the bargain
"There's no way to pretend they provide essential nutrition, so the focus is on giving yourself a treat and suggesting you are being deprived if you have to go without," she says. Sweet treats play with the language of seduction and desire, and sensuous words like "decadent", "luxurious", and "heavenly" abound. And when you succumb you'll find those taste sensations have been carefully choreographed to provide maximum impact. You'll quickly reach your bliss point, sending your brain and body back down the well-travelled path.
Please release meSo, if it's your reward system and not your natural appetite that dominates what you chow on, how do you break the cycle? You can't stop receiving cues to eat, but Dr Kessler says you can "Learn to distrust your urges by 'thought stopping'." This is a term coined by Richard Rawson of the University of California, Los Angeles, who works with recovering drug addicts. He explains that you need to make an instant decision to say "no". Once you begin the debate "Should I or shouldn't I?" You've lost the battle. "It's like TV," says Rawson. "Change the channel."
Riley suggests focusing on how you feel when the desire for salty, sugary or fatty food comes on. Are you anxious, upset or bored? This will have an effect on the brain, disrupting the automatic firing of the neural pathway.
Overeating tends to be impulsive - it's unlikely you planned to inhale the packet of Tim Tams. So give yourself some food rules, says Paterson. These provide structure and soothe the inner tension you feel when you want to eat something but you're trying not to.
"Tell yourself 'I don't eat cheesecake'," she says. "Rules set up internal boundaries, and they help build stronger inner resources. Each time you don't follow through with the urge, you are gradually put back in control. "
Change the way you look at foodIt's also vital to change the way you look at all those guilty pleasures. See a box of doughnuts not as your dreams come true but as sugar and fat covered in more sugar and fat. They won't help you feel good in a bikini. By looking at them for what they are, it's possible to deactivate the system that's hardwired into you. Smoking was once glamorous, but now we see it as addictive and dangerous. It's possible to shift your view of rewarding food as well.
"You have to find other sources of emotional reward, particularly when you're stressed," says Paterson. Exercise is the supremo stress-buster (surprise, surprise) and gives you that delicious hit of dopamine and serotonin and the satisfaction of doing something positive for your body.
Many nutrition experts agree that one of the worst things you could do is to radically restrict your eating. "This always backfires," says Professor Stephen Touyz, Professor of Clinical Psychology at The University of Sydney and a leading authority on eating disorders. Instead, he recommends eating a combo of satisfying food plus a bit of the nice stuff. "It's important to appreciate food," he adds. "People almost have no time to eat these days. Enjoy it, like you would a glass of Grange. "
In the end, lasting change rests on viewing hedonistic delights as your enemy, not your best friend. There's a huge discrepancy between the anticipation of and the actual experience of a junk food binge, after which you're never pleased with yourself. Instead of feeling weak, guilty or embarrassed, recognise that you're in a trap. It's liberating to know that you can break the cycle once you recognise it's happening. It's a biological challenge and, with a mindful attitude, you can reduce the lure of scarfing too many Tim Tams for good. Plus you'll have rewired a better, more resilient brain into the bargain
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