Do calories make you happy?

If people asked me that question before, my answer would be a direct and heartfelt, “Yes!” I mean, who doesn’t become happy by buying a box of doughnuts, seeing an elegant chocolate tiramisu, or merely thinking of ice cream?

At least, that’s how I used to think. I thought that all of those treats were heavenly and to die for! I was so obsessed with food that if there was a rehab for foodies, just like an alcohol rehab for alcoholics, I certainly would have been admitted there.

In the past, I was someone who didn’t care what she put in her mouth. I was born fat. I grew up fat. I finished college fat. I was so used to being obese that I couldn’t imagine what I was missing in life.

It was only after I was diagnosed with a fatty liver, high cholesterol, and borderline diabetes that I began to reconsider my eating choices.

Eventually, I realized that I was eating to deal with my emotions, not to satisfy my bodily needs. Sometimes eating or feeling famished is not about food. We often eat when we are lonely, frustrated, sad, or angry. We choose foods to deal with our emotions.

Addressing the Emotional Eating Mindset: An Early Step to Weight Control

For many people, food may be more comforting than talking to a friend or another person. I was one of those people. Emotional eating became a large reason for my weight problem. Instead of coping with painful and difficult emotions, I used food as a magic potion to distract and comfort myself. When the going got tough, I stuffed!

Yes, it’s true that food may be very comforting. But for emotional eaters, food is one of their only comforts. Emotional eaters have a universal response to every problem: eat!

To determine if I was indeed an emotional eater, I knew I had to be brutally honest with myself. I asked myself if I agreed with statements that were similar to these statements:

1. When my boyfriend/girlfriend left me for my best friend, chocolates and sweets cheered me up.
2. I like to go on a food binge whenever I feel like nobody cares about me.
3. When I am in the middle of a diet, I cheat because I feel like I deserve a little treat.
4. When my boss corrects me, I usually feel better after eating a giant bowl of ice cream.
5. When my best friend betrayed me, I felt better after eating candy and finishing a bag of potato chips.
6. I crave a particular food whenever I feel stressed out.
7. I always gain weight when I am under pressure.
8. I usually overeat on weekends and days that I don’t work.
9. I feel compelled to go to restaurants and celebrate after every accomplishment.
10. Whenever I feel lonely, I make myself feel good by eating everything I want.

Of these statements, I agreed with nine of them. Such a high score means that I’m a true-blue emotional eater. If you’re like me, then hurray! It’s good to know that our condition is real and that we’re not alone. But don’t eat just yet. This news is not a good reason to go on an eating spree, believe me.

It’s perfectly natural to turn to food for comfort on certain occasions. But eating comfort foods should be occasional, not a habit. You have to believe me when I say that you shouldn’t overdo it.

Here’s the truth: using food as a form of therapy is a scam. It doesn’t actually work. You may feel better for a moment or two, but once the food is gone and the taste leaves your mouth, the problem remains.

By always turning to food for comfort, you are using temporary pleasure to solve your problems. A person who drinks a glass of whiskey and a person who eats an entire cake both believe that they are indulging in pleasure as paybacks for their suffering. But people’s suffering will remain after they drink the whiskey or eat the cake.

Actually, comfort foods and drink may be destructive pleasures. They may eventually cost you far more than the pleasure that they briefly provide.

Wake up. This is the real world. Problems, tensions, and tragedies are part of life. If you tie yourself to one solution – eating – and use it to solve every problem you encounter, you are adding insult to injury.

When you eat because of something or someone, then you’ve already accepted defeat because you’re giving that person or that thing power over you. Stop now. Don’t let that thing or that person win twice — first, by hurting you, and second, by prompting you to eat.

My Pomelo Juicing Habit

To try to change my emotional eating mindset, I looked for alternatives and ways to end my dysfunctional eating habits. I love sweets, so I knew that I would have trouble giving up chocolate, cakes, and ice cream totally. Even if I was on a strict diet, there would be days that I would splurge on these sweet treats. But I knew that I couldn’t do that if I wanted to live longer. It was time to look for healthier alternatives.

I tried mango juice, avocado juice, pineapple juice, and all other fruit juices. They all tasted great, but for me, they were still not healthy enough. I wanted to go all out to find the perfect fruit for my juice. It was as if my life depended on it. That’s when I learned about the many health benefits of pomelo.

The pomelo is also known by other names, including pummelo, shaddock, jabong, or Citrus maxima. It is a sweet citrus fruit that grows naturally throughout Asia, Malaysia, Tahiti, Fiji, and New Guinea.

In the Philippines, the pomelo is known as suha. People in that country eat the fruit by cutting it into wedges and dipping it in salt. In Malaysia and Indonesia, this fruit is known as Bali after the famous island of Bali. In Thailand, this fruit is eaten raw, usually dipped in a mixture of salt, sugar, and chili pepper.

Did you know that pomelo is the largest citrus fruit? I sure didn’t. A pomelo may measure close to a foot across (thirty centimeters) and may weigh up to twenty-two pounds (about ten kilograms). When ripe, the fruit’s core turns a coral pink color and its rind turns from yellow to green.

It grows in many Southeast Asian countries in abundance. People in the countries often use the cores of pomelos to make salads and its peels to make candies. The Chinese use the fruit’s citrus peels to flavor sweet soup desserts.

Interestingly, pomelos may also provide medical benefits:

• The rind contains a high amount of bioflavonoids, which may decrease the body’s estrogen. Researchers found that reduced estrogen levels stopped cancer cells from spreading in people with breast cancer.

• The acidic taste of the fruit’s juice produces reactions that may improve digestion.

• The pectin in the fruit may reduce fats plaguing the arteries.

Over and above the fruit’s medical and health benefits, scientific studies reveal that pomelos may actually aid in weight loss and lower risks for type 2 diabetes.

The fruit is known for its fat-burning enzymes that absorb and reduce starch and sugar in the body. Pomelos contain vitamin C, which facilitates faster metabolic function and prompts the body to produce energy and burn fat. The vitamin C and the fiber found in the fruit may make you feel full faster.

People who have diabetes and other people who are watching their blood sugar levels may enjoy the fruit. That’s because pomelos have a low glycemic index. This means that it takes longer amounts of time for the body to convert the carbohydrates (carbs) of pomelos into glucose. Therefore, pomelos will not have huge effects on a person’s blood sugar levels.

How did I use pomelos to aid in my weight loss? Well, for breakfast, I consumed one cup of milk, some pastries, and 1/3 of a pomelo. I ate 1/3 of pomelo later in the day and another 1/3 with dinner. After consuming it as a fruit, I tried juicing it. I loved its taste – not too sweet, and not too bitter. It was perfect.

I learned that a single pomelo (including the peel) contains about 78 percent of the recommended daily value for vitamin C. If you eat the fruit every day, you will consume a lot of vitamin C. As an added bonus, the fruit’s ability to reduce insulin may prompt the body to store fewer calories after meals.

Furthermore, the fruit introduces pectin and various substances such as flavonoids, terpenes, and limonoids to your daily diet. Ingesting such substances may help you trim down and avoid developing tumors and cancer.

As yet another bonus, one half of a pomelo (with the peel) contains about thirty-seven to forty-four calories. Compared to other snacks, pomelos provide more nutrition and fewer calories, even when combined with meals during the day.

One study illustrates how pomelos may aid in weight loss. In the study, fifty obese men who ate pomelos before meals for fifteen weeks experienced an average weight loss of 3.6 pounds. Some of the participants lost more than ten pounds.

Wanting to achieve similar results, I stuck to my juicing diet for fifteen straight weeks. The results amazed me. My digestion problems went away and I stopped taking various supplements. I lost ten pounds within fifteen weeks! I felt lighter and more energetic for the entire day.

So, why are you waiting? Hurry to your nearest supermarket and start a pomelo juice diet today! I’m proof that it works.

The Best Cardio Workout to Lose Stubborn Fat

Juicing and controlling my eating habits helped me lose weight. These two actions were not the only parts of my journey to end obesity, however. The next major factor in my lifestyle change was exercise. More specifically, I started doing cardio workouts and performed them religiously.

If your main goal is to lose weight and to keep the fat from returning, consider starting a solid and intense cardio workout. Many health professionals recommend engaging in at least fifteen minutes of cardio exercise every day. This activity may help you boost your metabolism, lose fat, and keep your heart and other parts of your body healthy.

For some time, people have claimed that low-intensity cardio workouts were the best way to burn fat. They said that this method is effective because it burns fat calories directly. Other people disagree with this theory.

According to these views, participating in high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts are good ways to burn fat and promote cardiovascular health. This kind of training is actually very simple. All you have to do is to transition from low-intensity intervals to moderate intensity intervals and eventually to high-intensity intervals.

One benefit of this kind of cardio workout is that you may perform the intervals on different machines. First, you perform warm-up exercises for three to five minutes. After warming up, you may start your intervals.

Beginners to such routines are advised to give a 50 percent effort for thirty seconds at a moderate pace. After that first segment, change your pace and go as hard as you can for another thirty seconds. You should repeat this process at least three or four times. If you are using a treadmill, change your pace and intensity level during each interval to challenge yourself.

Ideally, performing these intervals multiple times may provide amazing benefits for your heart and metabolism. This is easier said than done, but once you feel that these exercises are working, consider increasing the intensity even more. After exercising, take some time to cool down. Taking a few minutes to cool down is ideal before you tackle the next session of this intense cardio workout.

Health professionals offer words of caution about this exercise and other workout routines. They suggest that you consult with them before starting exercise routines or making other major health changes. Your doctor and other medical providers may learn about your overall health and body condition before hitting the gym. Though the majority of exercise routines are relatively safe for average people, it is still best to ask for expert opinions before embarking on any health expedition.

While cardio workouts such as high-intensity interval training routines are indeed high intensity, they feature shifts in intensity levels. The routines may get the job done in as little time as possible. In a short amount of time, they may help you reach more than 75 percent of your maximum heart rate.

HIIT routines are thus ideal exercises if you want to shed fat quickly and efficiently. They may keep the metabolism burning at higher rates than other cardio workout routines. For maximum results, repeat your workout at least three to four times a week. And there’s a good chance that you will see results.

Best Cardio Workout to Lose Stubborn Fat

Good luck. Consider using pomelo juice and participating in high-intensity interval training to keep stubborn fat from returning.

My journey to end obesity didn’t end with losing weight. I experienced a difficult and demanding transformational journey to create a healthy mind, healthy disposition, and healthy body.

I hope that my story inspired you to jump-start your own wellness journey today.

Good luck! Happy juicing and happy exercising!

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Article by Adam Durnham