When most people try to lose weight, they watch one number: the scale. But not all weight loss is...
Your Diet—With a Side of Happiness
By: Scottsdale Weight Loss Center
Published: August 27, 2012
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You’ve heard the saying “you are what you eat.” Well tell us, are you happy? So many people go about their day to day business—wake up, work, eat, sleep and repeat—without ever noticing how unhappy they are until they take a step back and evaluate. Your program for weight management in Phoenix or Scottsdale is a great opportunity to take a step back and evaluate your emotional health, as well as your exercise and dietary habits.
Happiness is something that affects you emotionally and isn’t necessarily noticeable to the outside world, but a lot of people show the physical signs of unhappiness in everything they do. We aren’t talking about frowns, tears or worry in facial expressions—though those give away emotions as well. How you carry yourself, your energy level and your weight can speak volumes about your emotional health. Many people eat to match how they feel and then end up feeling worse because of how they eat. It is an endless cycle that can lead to health problems like depression and obesity if you aren’t careful.
Emotionally Improving Your Diet
Your weight management program teaches you that healthy eating habits go beyond what is on the plate. You need to learn to eat when you are hungry, stop eating when you are full and not to eat out of stress or despair. Emotional eating is a crutch that a lot of people hold onto, and once you remove that coping mechanism you are going to need to find another, healthier way to cope with those emotions like running, meditating or journaling.
Being more aware of the foods you eat and why you are eating them can help you feel healthier and make more nutritional dietary choices, but there is another way your diet can affect your emotional health. You’ve heard of brain food and heart food—nutritious items that are good for the function of those vital organs. Well, there are other foods that are also good for the brain and heart, but from an emotional perspective.
Certain nutrients are understood to actually give you a mood boost, helping you feel happier. Here are a few of the key nutrients you should add to your weight loss diet to naturally enhance your mood:
- Vitamin D: You don’t need to eat foods to get Vitamin D. This vitamin can be naturally absorbed through the sunlight, but is also found in butter and mushrooms.
- Calcium: Moderating your calcium levels can manage and prevent anxiety, depression and moodiness as well as improve cognitive function and memory. Calcium is present in dairy, spinach, almonds and kale.
- Fiber: Fiber does more than improve your digestive health. Studies show that diets rich in fiber reduce your risk of depression. You can get more fiber by eating more leafy green and cruciferous vegetables as well as fruit and beans.
While you don’t want to add anything to your medical weight loss diet without first talking to your weight loss doctor about how it will affect your customized weight loss plan, the nutrients listed above would be a healthy addition to most diets.
Don’t let your food give you the blues! Improve your mood and feel happier while you enhance your wellbeing and develop a healthier diet with these nutritional happy foods.
Nick
Nick's Story
"I wish I would have come here first. We spend all our time reacting to the next great weight loss tip or program. It might work for a while, but does not last and we end up yo-yoing from one fad to the next – as we gain more weight." Read More
Gina
Lost 44.5 lbs
"I had no trouble adhering to the meals and they really helped catapult my progress! The classes were so beneficial to me because they helped change my thinking about how I viewed health, nutrition, and fitness.
I will always have my relationship with Scottsdale Weight Loss Center. They truly helped me change my life forever." Read More
Lauren
Lost 60 lbs
"Dr. Ziltzer and everyone who I have come in contact with at the Scottsdale Weight Loss office have been so encouraging and I look forward to seeing them each week. It is now a year and 2 months later since I started. I am down 60 lbs., which is the average amount a 9-year-old weighs, it is crazy to think I lost a whole person! I feel amazing, I hit my goal weight in November 2021 just before Thanksgiving. Nothing on my body hurts anymore..." Read More
Chuck
Lost 66 lbs
"The best thing I did was call the Scottsdale Weight Loss Center. I have a lot more energy, I'm not hungry, and it feels great.
You can take it from me that this is a program that produces results. The staff is always positive, supportive, and never judgmental.
Your visits always result in positive reinforcement, no matter if you had a good week or a bad week." Read More
Emily
Lost 101 lbs
"Here I am at the lowest I have been since high school weighing in at 155lbs. I have lost 101 lbs, BMI of 39 when I started, to 21.6, and of course at body fat % of 47.1 to 26.5%. I told myself by my 30th birthday I wanted to be confident in the way I look and I owe it all to SWLC. The entire staff is so welcoming and they are rooting for you just as much as you are rooting for yourself...." Read More
Reviews
Meet Our Team
Robert Ziltzer, MD, FACP, FAAP, FOMA
Obesity Medicine Certified Physician
Diana Bone, FNP-C
Specializing in Obesity Medicine
Craig Primack, MD, FACP, FAAP, MFOMA
Obesity Medicine Certified Physician
Kristen Ash, FNP-C, FNP-BC
Nurse Practitioner
Alicia Earley, FNP-C
Family Nurse Practitioner
