How To Eat Less When You Feel Depressed

People who are struggling with depression can often get into bad eating habits as one of the results of their condition. It’s all too easy when felling this way to eat the wrong kinds of things, and many people will tend to turn to food for comfort, finding they will be snacking in between meals and opting for easy foods that are within reach, rather than go out to get the ingredients for a healthier alternative. They may also find that they will gain weight as they try to use food as a way to feel better during difficult periods in their lives, and this type of behavior can easily become a habit. These kinds of routines can prevent the body from getting all the nutrients needed to be able to properly produce, manufacture and synthesize the massive amount of substances it requires to operate optimally. The brain in particular needs a substantial portion of the inputted food through the diet to run normally, and vitamins such as B – which is used by the brain to synthesize chemicals that affect a person’s mood – and vitamin C as well as things like omega oils all contribute to a person’s overall feeling of well-being.

Finding a Balance

Clearly, eating the correct foods can help to make us feel better, so a balance between the amount, the content and the variety has to be struck. Depression can make you feel lethargic, and the thought of going out around a supermarket is unappealing to many, so it is a good idea to buy a wide variety of ingredients when you do actually have to do your shopping, things like fresh frozen vegetable and fish as well as a stocked cupboard of dried herbs and olive oils can be used to make meals which offer a greater content and variety of nutrients, rather than pre-packaged equivalent. You should also find that eating the former meal should negate the latter meal, that is to say that if you are eating a proper meal, containing the correct balance of foods from different food groups, these should fill you up for longer, and as you begin to eat better, you will feel better. Some behavior to avoid:

• Eating high sugar and high saturated fat snacks may make you feel better in the short term, but long term increases your risk to heart disease and other serious illnesses. Have plenty of either fruit or vegetables in the cupboard to snack on.
• Skipping a meal is easy to do for some people who are struggling with their levels of depression, as food can seem unappealing and many will sleep through their mealtimes, narrowing the range and input of food the body gets. The food we are putting in is one of only a few physical things we can do to try to lift our moods, so a special effort should be made to work from this foundation.
• Don’t sit about all night every night; promise yourself you will do even a little exercise. Take it easy to start with then you can add on a bit more, for example, a twenty minute walk, then a thirty minute walk. You will find that this lifts your mood, and will make you look forward to your meals.

What about Natural Remedies to Suppress Hunger

There are a number of tips and tricks you can do to try to help in this area. Simple and practical things like drinking two glasses of water or having a small bowl of salad about twenty minutes before a meal will help you to eat less when you sit down to the actual main course. Snacking on apples if you are hungry in between meals is a far better choice than a fatty snack, and as apples contain soluble fibre and pectin, they make you feel full up. Some other natural ways to help you control your appetite are:

1. Almonds. Containing antioxidants and magnesium, almonds have been shown to make people with weight management issues feel full more full compared to those who didn’t eat them, in studies conducted.
2. Green Tea has also been shown to slow down the conversion of food into glucose, keeping one’s blood sugar levels more balanced, staving off feelings of hunger.
3. Adding some hot sauce or hot spice to your meals will do two things; help you to eat less due to the spicy taste, and will also help you to stay full longer.
4. Having a glass of whey protein is one of the best ways to suppress hunger. People who take some of this consume significantly less calories at their next meal compared to those who don’t have it.
5. Coffee and its high caffeine content can, when drunk in moderation, help to suppress appetite. Two cups a day is an ideal amount, as any more can leave one felling agitated or jittery.

Overall

The key issue in the fight to alleviate depressive symptoms without exposing your body to additional weight gain seems to lie in the area of committing yourself to a basic way of eating, and adhering to it as well as you can. Using this as a base to address all of your body’s needs through diet can give you the platform to build upon, without constantly reaching into the cupboards for high sugar and fat content fill snacks for short fixes. Try to be patient and work towards a long term and permanent removal of depression, and allow your brain in particular to get all it needs to be able to properly regulate and balance the rest of you, your mental health included. Snacking on the correct foods that will help you to reduce your appetite is also a much better way to deal with hunger rather than reaching for that bag of crisps. Learning to understand behavior patterns will give you the power to modify them, and put you on the correct footing to beat depression without gaining weight.