Monday: Are you aware of your emotions when you eat? Some people know they're reaching for food because they are angry or sad, while others only realize why they ate after the fact. If you're unsure, start keeping a food and emotions journal. Write down what, where, and how much you ate, along with how you were feeling before, during and after. You might be surprised what you learn.
Tuesday: Understanding how food and your feelings are connected is an important key to breaking the emotional eating cycle. Try this exercise to learn more about your emotional ties to food. Complete this sentence: when I'm upset, eating makes me feel (list all that comes to mind). This exercise will help you understand what emotional eating gives you. In order to stop using food to feel a certain way, you must find other ways to meet these needs.
Wednesday: How in tune with your body signals are you? Do you know what hunger and fullness feel like? Becoming more aware of these signals can help you distinguish a physical need for food from an emotional eating need. If you find yourself thinking about food, check in with your body. If there are no hunger signals, ask yourself how you're feeling emotionally, and what you can do to feel better that doesn't involve eating.
Thursday: Is stress one of the main reasons you eat? Preventing stress from building up is one strategy for reducing the need to use food to cope. Think of a scale from 1-10, with ten being the highest degree of stress. Check in with your stress level each day. Try not to let it climb above a 5 by using stress management techniques to reduce the build-up: deep breathing, walking, stretching, and reaching out to friends.
Friday: Practice mindful eating. When you're distracted by the television, computer, or newspaper, it's harder to pay attention to how much and how fast you're eating. Try eating one meal a day without any distractions. Focus instead on the pace of your eating, the taste and texture, how full you are, and what you're feeling emotionally. Simply slowing down when you eat can help you be more aware of how your emotions are impacting how much and how fast you eat. Put your fork, spoon or food down between each bite, take a deep breath, and relax while you eat. If you find yourself wanting to eat faster, try to figure out what's bothering you and what you can do about it.
Saturday: How aware are you of your mind/body connection? Emotions create physical symptoms in our bodies such as neck or back pain, headaches, jaw pain, chest tightening, or stomach pain. You may also find yourself biting your nails, tugging on your hair, or biting your lip when your emotions run high. Tuning into these signs can help you identify the need for a healthy outlet. If stress tends to strike you at work, create an "anti-stress kit." It might include an MP3 player loaded with a 5-minute guided mediation or other relaxing music, a pair of walking shoes for walking off tension during your break, or a novel you can read 5-10 pages of at lunch. Simply giving yourself a mini-vacation in the middle of your day can help you avoid turning to food.
Sunday: Do you suffer from the inability to say no? Not being able to set boundaries can make you turn to food as an outlet, or for comfort. Try setting a goal of politely saying "no" the next time you're asked to take on any additional responsibilities. When you find your stress level rising, and your thoughts turning toward food, try a visualization exercise. Close your eyes and take yourself to a relaxing setting; perhaps a past vacation spot. Simply visualizing a calming environment can reduce your tension and help you get through the day without needing to turn to emotional eating.
Once you start to meditate and become more mindful of what you eat, the easier it will become to make good choices. Practice some of these ideas daily and you will be amazed at how it works.
Think of eating to fuel your body, would you put regular gasoline in a Ferrari? So why put garbage in your amazing body?
Stay Healthy & Fit!
How fast to Koi grow? This is a question we hear often. A Koi's grow the rate is dependent on the feeding pattern and several other factors. The key determinates are the water temperature, water quality, number of fish in the pond and the basic genetic background of the fish. Some types just grow faster than others.
For good health and growth Koi need food that has a balanced amount of fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. Sounds just like us. The right diet is key to their good health.
The type of food and the amount to feed them will depend on the size of the Koi. The smaller fish need food in a size they can eat, while the larger fish will do just fine with larger pieces. If you have the usual mix of smaller and larger fish then you will have to make sure there is something for each. Make sure the smaller don't get left out.
To insure proper nutrition I recommend commercial food. This comes in two types. You can choose either a floating food or one that sinks to the bottom. There are advantages and disadvantages to each. The sinking food takes advantage of the Koi's natural bottom feeding characteristic. But with this you'll miss out on watching them eat. This type of food lasts longer because it is formulated to be less effected by cold water.
If you want to watch and enjoy your Koi while they eat, then choose a floating food type. This type of food is steamed cooked to create a shell that dissolves slowing allowing the food to float on the pond's surface for a time before sinking to the bottom. Use this if you want to train your fish to eat from your hand.
The amount of food given at each feeding is important. You don't want to over or under feed your Koi. Remember that the nutritional value of the food is based on the weight of the fish and not the volume of food given. It's recommended that smaller Koi be given about 5% of their body weight, while the larger fish no more than 2% of their weight.
Most Koi will also have live food included in their diet. This should always be considered a supplement and never the main dietary component since they lack the necessary vitamins and amino acids necessary for good health. Koi will eat cockles and worms as well as tadpoles in the spring. The smaller fish will love chironomid and mosquito larva. Daphnia and water fleas are also usually plentiful in a garden pond and good for small Koi fry.
If you want to try bread you can but make sure it is brown bread. White bread contains a mild bleaching agent that is harmful to the fish. Remember never to give Koi fish peas, corn or fish beans since the shells of these can't be digested by the fish. Lettuce leaves, duckweed and other plants found in the pond will be just fine.
Both Lori Jones & John Stoner are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Lori Jones has sinced written about articles on various topics from Dieting, Vitamin and Mineral Supplement and High Cholesterol. Lori Jones Fitness Professional Top destination Spa. Lori Jones's top article generates over 590 views. to your Favourites.
John Stoner has sinced written about articles on various topics from Koi Fish Pond, Family and Home Management. John Stoner is an author and Koi Fish Enthusiast. Learn more about and many other secrets of maintaining a Koi pond by getting a copy of his latest book. John Stoner's top article generates over 4400 views. to your Favourites.