Lipsticks & Celery Sticks

Question of the week: what drives us to overeat to the point of being predisposed to premature death and disease? Although targeted advertising may play a predominant part in poor food choices, overeating and obesity, there are four internal  influencers that can increase the incidence of ingesting unnecessary nutrition. These include... 1.  Sensory stimulation. Food sources that stimulate the senses are often overeaten irrespective of the presence of physical hunger. For example, the sight, smell, taste, touch and texture of a calorific cake is much more likely to be over consumed in comparison to less 'favourable' food sources such as fruit and vegetables. 2. Inadequate nutrition. Food affects how we feel on a physical, psychological and physiological scale and as a result, can have a positive or negative impact on both the quality, and the quantity of the food sources that we choose to consume. If we fail to feel satiated from a previous snack or meal - be it phys...

Top weight loss tip of the day... What: stop before you satisfy a sweet tooth. As tempting as it may be to tuck into a tasty treat after munching a moreish meal, try to wait 20 minutes (the time that it will take for your brain to register that you're full) before deciding whether or not to demolish dessert. Why: it can work wonders for your waistline. Although putting this top tip into practice may see you struggling to sustain self-control (particularly if you're prone to subconsciously craving something sweet after something savoury), finding the willpower to wait it out will not only allow you to acknowledge your satiety signals - an action that can aid weight loss by reducing the risk of overeating - but it can also cut your consumption of excess energy, salt, sugar and/or saturated fat - four of the core culprits responsible for raising the risk of developing detrimental diseases such as obesity, heart disease and type 2 diabetes - if you decide to ditch dessert. ...

They're renowned for sabotaging the silhouettes of even the most strategic of slimmers, but do cravings really have to hinder our hard work and healthier habits? In order to ensure that the temptation of tasty treats doesn't tighten your trousers, we've created top four tips for how to control cravings... 1. Guzzle a glass of water. Opting to guzzle a glass of water as opposed to gorging on a calorific cake can not only suppress appetite (this flavourless fluid is a natural appetite suppressant), but it can also reduce the risk of reaching for favourable foods for the wrong reasons - an action that's often seen in those who mistake thirst, for hunger. 2. Tuck into a bite sized piece. As difficult as it may be to demolish a dainty dessert, sustaining the self-control to satisfy a sweet tooth with a bite sized piece of palatable food can tame the temptation to tuck into a standard sized treat - this top tip proves to be particularly effective when a craving is f...

Food for thought: no-one 'fails' to fight the flab - diets fail to promote the sustainable lifestyle changes that lead to long-term weight loss. Although dedicating every ounce of energy to the detrimental diets and 'detoxes' that fail to fight the flab may be frustrating, our predisposition to re-piling on the pounds after successfully shaping a slender silhouette rarely stems from a lack of self-control. In order to emphasise how our 'failure' to effectively eliminate excess weight is simply the result of resorting to unrealistic rules and regimes, we're sharing our top three reasons why it's diets that widen our waistlines, not weakened willpower... 1.  Diets demand drastic change. As tempting as it may be to overhaul our unhealthy habits overnight, this avoidable action automatically places unnecessary pressure on us to pursue unsustainable change. Drastic change damages our dress size by: failing to teach us how to form the healthier eat...

Top tip of the day... Always taste food before seasoning with salt, many of us are increasing our intake (and raising our risk of developing health complications such as hypertension - also referred to as high blood pressure), by automatically (and unnecessarily!) adding it out of habit. www.twitter.com/celerylips

Fast food for thought... The human body does not contain an internal clock. Although energy expenditure is likely to decline during the latter part of the day - the average adult will eliminate less energy in the evening as a result of slouching on the sofa and/or remaining in a relatively sedentary state after a stressful day at work - calories can contribute to weight gain regardless of the time that they're consumed. For example, if we're eating more energy - be it from a morning meal and/or a midnight munch - than we're eliminating via exercise, activity and the maintenance of basic bodily functions (the latter, also referred to as our basal metabolic rate, allows us to burn energy even at rest), our overall caloric consumption will be higher than our overall energy expenditure - this creates the common energy imbalance that's responsible for the formation of additional adipose tissue (body fat) in the average overweight or obese individual. Instead of ent...

Food for thought: carbs don't damage our dress size, calories do. Despite being deemed an edible enemy by deluded dieters, carbohydrates will only contribute  to an accumulation of additional adipose tissue (body fat) if they are chronically consumed in any, or all, of the following ways... 1. They're consumed in super sized portions. Although portion control is paramount for reducing our predisposition to piling on the pounds, food sources such as pasta, rice and potatoes (carbohydrates) are still rarely consumed in their recommended serving size - this means that our failure to pin point petite portions (and control our overall caloric intake) is the core culprit responsible for super sizing our silhouettes, not carbohydrates! 2. They're served with unhealthier food sources. Whether it's smothering a plate of whole wheat pasta in a creamy sauce or smearing a slice of wholemeal bread with more than a snippet of sugary spread, what we choose to consume our car...

Although the symptoms of hindered mental health may stem from the mind, the toxic thoughts that they trigger can manipulate more than just our sanity. In order to ensure that your mental health doesn't hinder your physical health, we're sharing our top tips for how to combat three of the most common mental health conditions that are renowned for reinforcing unhealthy eating and exercise habits... 1. Depression. Although the psychological symptoms that stem from clinical depression can suppress appetite, a chronically low mood and lack of motivation can also leave sufferers struggling to sustain healthier eating (and exercise) habits as a result of developing an emotional attachment to energy dense foods during episodes of depression - this is commonly seen in sufferers who use calories as a form of comfort and companionship during times of social isolation and/or emotional insecurity. Create change by: finding a focus. Depression may be a debilitating condition that d...