Eating has become a behavior with a lot of rules and restrictions.

Some of these are medically recommended of course, such as a gluten-free diet for those with celiac disease.

But other restrictive diets, such as paleo and the keto diet, unnecessarily forbid foods for the majority of people.

Unfortunately, our obsessive and often times extreme diet culture appears to fuel food cravings and emotional eating. In fact, binge eating disorder is now the most common eating disorder in adults (1).

This is not my area of expertise, but it is for Kimberley Wilson, a UK-based chartered psychologist who specializes in nutritional psychiatry, particularly eating issues.

I asked Kimberley about the issues with restrictive diets and how to stop food cravings and emotional eating, or at least minimize their power over us.

Here are some of the most important takeaways from our conversation. Her answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

Weight loss can be a real challenge…

Especially if you regularly drink alcoholic beverages.

This is because alcoholic drinks tend to be high in calories, and we tend to drink a lot of them. Many people don’t factor this in when they think about their calorie intake for the week.

Importantly, some alcoholic drinks are significantly higher in calories than others.

This article looks at how many calories are in your favorite alcoholic drinks, as well as the best choices for those watching their waistline.

Has your doctor told you to change your eating habits?

One heart-healthy lifestyle plan that they may recommend is the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes Diet, or TLC diet for short.

It was created by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and endorsed by the American Heart Association.

Health experts ranked it number 5 out of 40 on US News’ Best Diets Overall list, because it’s easy to follow, good for the heart and promotes long-term weight loss.

This article looks at what the TLC diet is, how to do it, and if it’s right for you.

While there are many health benefits to being vegetarian, some of us don’t want to completely cut out meat.

This is the idea behind the flexitarian diet, which reduces meat intake instead of avoiding it altogether.

This article discusses the potential benefits and risks of following a flexitarian diet to help you decide if it’s a good plan for you.

Cutting calories is necessary for weight loss.

There are numerous ways to do this, but some prefer to follow a straight-forward low calorie diet.

One of the more popular choices is called the 1,200 calorie diet… But it’s not something you just simply jump into head first.

This article reviews everything you need to know before getting started, including a sample 1200 calorie meal plan and considerations for those with diabetes.

Remember when the paleo diet smothered your news feed?

Celebrities were raving about the “caveman lifestyle”, while researchers and dietitians were saying it was just a fad…

Well, we were right.

I’m looking at why the paleo diet is all but dead, and why the ketogenic diet will replace it going forward in 2018.

A wide range of diets and eating patterns have gained popularity in recent years.

High-protein diets in particular are popular because of how effective they are.

The Protein-Sparing Modified Fast is no exception.

This article explains what the diet it is and who may be appropriate to give it a go. 

Weight loss is not easy.

That’s obvious.

However, many have successfully lost large amounts of weight and kept it off long term.

These 10 people have shared what weight loss strategies had the biggest impact for them, and how you can use them too.

Their weight loss before and after photos are inspirational, as is their practical advice. Let’s hear from them now…