Recently, I started ‘treating’ myself to a famous brand low-calorie ice cream bar’ as a reward. But I found myself going back & eating 3 more from the box, one right after the other. In fact, before I’d finished the first bar, I was thinking about the next one!

At first, I thought it was because they were only 140 calories each. You know what I mean: Hey, since they’re only 140 calories, I can have more. But I realized after reading that book that there might be more at work here. I know these bars contain a brand name artificial sweetner that always makes me crave food like crazy!

I will NEVER see food the same away. I truly believe he is right that these chemically manufactured flavors & “non-food” food are rewiring our brains & bodies. What would you say if a doctor handed you a vial of chemicals and said ‘Here’s your dinner!??” I think we’d run like hell, but since it’s all done oh-so-subtley by the food industry, we slurp, scarf & swallow it down without a thought!

From now on, I’m cooking my own real food, making my own desserts & NOT patronizing the restaurants that serve fake food!! I am OVER IT!!!

Awesome blog!

Always enjoy reading your blog posts!

WLP (www.weightlossplans.net)

So easy to say; so hard to do. For me, at least. What I have
found is that a POSITIVE approach works better. Instead of
trying to deny myself the goodies — whatever I’m currently
binging on — I try to INCREASE my intake of good stuff, the
approximate opposite of junk food. That means:
— protein, lots! shoot for 200 grams per day; use supplement
— fiber, lots! shoot for 30-40 grams per day; use supplement
— nutritional yeast; mix with V-8 and gulp down, several
ounces per day
— at least one huge flaxseed smoothie per day (2-3 oz
ground flax, protein powder, some green veggies, one
apple, cinnamon, ginger, sucralose or stevia)
— vinegar: several ounces daily, diluted, and neutralized
with sodium & potassium bicarb (cuts insulin resistance,
reduces glycemic response to food) (if neutralized
right it is nearly tasteless)
— flax and/or cod liver oil, a couple tablespoons per day;
add to smoothie
— creatine: 10-20 grams per day (helps move sugar into
muscle cells; lowers blood glucose)

The net effect of all this is to cut appetite, improve
satiety (get filled up faster), modify glycemic and
insulinemic responses (help normalize this aspect of
addiction biochemistry), modify other hormonal
parameters (insulin:glucagon ratio; possibly also
leptin) and generally get me back into an almost-
normal space in which the compulsivity of junk
food consumption is reduced, and quitting becomes a
do-able option — sometimes even easy. I fall off
the wagon all the time. I LOVE junk food and sweet
booze. But now I know how to get back on.

You can probably get good results with a
simplified version: shoot for 200 grams protein per
day (or: a gram per lb bodyweight) + 30 grams fiber.
You might be surprised at how just those two things
will modify your whole organism in a way that makes
it MUCH easier to cut out the junk.

Yes, it is true: “Just say no”. But it is ever so much
EASIER to say no when you’re in a metabolic and
hormonal state that favors saying no — when you are
in a state that allows the prefrontal cortex to
just say no, against the compulsive urgings of the
limbic system and/or reptilian brain.

Further, there’s a psychological advantage, IMO,
to saying yes before saying no, provided the “yes”
is accompanied by strategic biochemical/neurochemical
alterations as the result of the scheme recommended
above.

Tell yourself: YES, I WILL eat that whole bag of
chocolate chip cookies! The soft, chewy, irresistable
kind! With a quart of whole milk! (Or, simply: as much
as I want. TWO bags, if I want them.) I’m going to live
it up and enjoy every moment! It’ll be better than sex!
Denial be damned! YES YES YES! But first I’m going to
toss-down a neutralized vinegar drink, and put away a
quick 60 grams of protein and 15 grams of fiber. (Like,
a big smoothie.) THEN the junk-feast. No holds barred.

What I’ve found is that within 48-72 hours of this,
the whole bag of cookies goes to 4 cookies, and then
to none, almost without conscious effort. I’m full,
satisfied, and simply DON’T WANT the crap anymore.
At least until the outbreak of the next binge.

Why this happy state does not last forever — why the
binges ever come up at all, assuming I’m eating
right and training — is for me a mystery. Maybe some
deep genetic/neurochemical problem? Deficient reward
system? Maybe something extrinsic, like stress, low
mood, etc.? I don’t know.

Thanks, I’ll have to pick up this book!

“However, i think putting the onus on individual people to make individual choices to change that behavior when all the odds of context and evolution are stacked against them is wrong.” — That’s not really Kessler’s argument per se. The issue is that you could, as a reader, reach the end of this book and feel utterly disempowered. The urge is to throw up your hands and say “Well, fuck it, who cares? I’m screwed!” and then slide on in to chronic disease and morbidity.

His position is that overeating is clearly not beneficial: it’s making us quite miserable despite the transient reward. But more importantly, to shift 100% of the perceived control to corporations is also very disempowering. Change — and enabling people’s agency — requires people developing a sense of self-awareness, self-efficacy and autonomy. He provides strategies for individuals to understand their behaviour, not to punish nor judge (in fact, he counts himself among those who struggle daily) but to add insight that can then be used to improve their lives despite being surrounded by environmental challenges.

From my own experience with overeating I know that feeling out of control is an awful sensation. I welcome strategies that can, even if in small measure, help me to regain some degree of control over my own life. This is a proven approach in dealing with addictions as well. (I recommend the book Motivational Interviewing for a psychological/clinical treatment of this subject.)