My normally even sensibilities are being restored by a post from a Paleo proponent of all things!
Although I do believe Paleo-type diets may be a positive choice for some -- I do not subscribe to the idea that all of us should eat in this way (my enjoyment of life would be severely limited if I chose to eliminate some of our more modern foods -- like crusty french bread!). I also find that many Paleo proponents make their diet choices sound more like a very cult-y religion and I want nooooo part of that, thank you very much!
But this post got me thinking about how stress (on an psychologicial level) effects our foods choices -- which in turn effects our stress (on a physiologic level) and round and round we go (or in the case of many of us -- round and round we become).
I've edited the post for length -- to read the whole thing, click here.
We all know the daily stressors we encounter like traffic, money problems, and poor sleep. What people may not realize is that a diet that alters proper energy pathways can also cause stress. Improper glucose uptake and poor mitochondria function are two common examples of this. Another major cause of this is any type of anemia.
If a person is anemic it becomes nearly impossible to fix the damage stress has caused to the adrenals due to the lack of oxygen. In the absence of oxygen, glucose becomes our primary fuel through glycolysis. Glycolysis ends up burning through sugar quickly and this can lead to food cravings and hypoglycemia. Any type of inflammation can impact the mitochondria and affect ATP production in the cell.
**ATP is the "energy-carrying molecule found in the cells of all living things. ATP captures chemical energy obtained from the breakdown of food molecules and releases it to fuel other cellular processes."
When we encounter stress, our HPA axis increases its activity. Foods high in sugar, fat, and salt elicit a strong response from our opioids. Opioid release seems to be a strong defense mechanism to an overactive HPA axis (Tanja, 2007). Meal choice can directly affect mood. Certain foods can reduce anxiety and irritability and place us in a more positive place. This is due to the effects food can have on opioids, serotonin, and dopamine. Chronic exposure to foods eliciting these responses will down regulate our sensitivity to these transmitters and force us to eat more to elicit the same mood altering response. This can lead to weight gain (Gibson, 2006).
**HPA axis is shorthand for the workings of the hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal glands -- all involved in our stress response to lions on the savanna and the possibility we may have overdrawn our checking account.
Our reward system is masterfully set up to push us towards things that are beneficial to our survival, such as sex and food. The question I would like to ask is, what if all those times we reached for highly rewarding foods when our HPA axis was firing caused our circuits to be rewired to actually seek out these foods during times of high stress?
By succumbing to the cravings for salt, sugar, and fat during times of stress, are we changing the way our brain chemistry works so it is harder to resist the cravings next time we are under stress? I think many of us (unscientifically, of course) would agree that sure is the way it feels!
So the author continues on with the idea that a solid stress management plan should accompany any weight management plan. In today's day and age, who doesn't have stress that drives them to behave in ways they wish they didn't?
(and let's face it, even if you weren't stressed at all before -- working on mindfulness can be stressful in and of itself!)
If eating has been your go-to stress management plan in the past, what replacement stress management system have you put in place now that you've decided not to use food to do the job?
Until you figure that out, stress will always knock you off the path you are working so hard to be on.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
And the madness continues.....
So! I just read a post reviewing a new study about self-control and how the brains of the study group responded to pictures of food after a 6 hour fast -- and then how that information corresponded to how many chips they ate after the brain imaging was completed. One of the sentences that struck me was this:
"Now the researchers are working on computer programs that will help train our brains to respond to food differently. So, ideally, Snickers bars will look less tempting and it’ll be easier for users to maintain a healthy weight."
You know what kind of training would make a Snickers bar less tempting? The kinds that teaches us to actually TASTE the Snickers bar. I feel fully confident is saying that most of you are eating gas station candy because you THINK you like it but you haven't ACTUALLY TASTED it in years. And you know what? If you did, I bet most of you would think it tasted GROSS most of the time!
Why do I feel confident in saying this? Because I used to LOVE Snickers bars! (and Twix and Peanut M&M's and Butterfingers and....you get the point). And sometimes they are still ok/actually good. For me, the change in tastes started when I started coaching, blogging, and practicing being more mindful so I would have enough to talk about on the subject.
I started to notice that only 1 in 10 (ish -- disclaimer: this was NOT a sound scientific study) Snickers bars was actually fresh enough to taste really good. (Think about this for a minute -- how old does a Snickers bar have to be so it doesn't taste fresh --- yuck! That's a lot of shelf time!!)
The problem was, I "knew" I liked Snickers bars. So all I had to do was tap into autopilot and my brain will fill in the gaps of experience missing from the actual Snickers bar of the day. Once I took that layer of not paying attention away, the eating experience became a lot less pleasurable because I actually noticed the quality of the chocolate (waxy and low-end). I noticed that often the bar tastes more like the wrapper than I would prefer. I noticed that the peanuts tasted stale.
And what I found was that the experience measured so much less pleasurable than I originally assumed, I was able to pass up the bar all together without feeling like I was missing out.
That's not to say I don't ever raid the Halloween stash and grab a Snickers mini. It's just to say that more often that not -- the bar doesn't live up to my expectations and I find I seek them out less and less.
"Now the researchers are working on computer programs that will help train our brains to respond to food differently. So, ideally, Snickers bars will look less tempting and it’ll be easier for users to maintain a healthy weight."
You know what kind of training would make a Snickers bar less tempting? The kinds that teaches us to actually TASTE the Snickers bar. I feel fully confident is saying that most of you are eating gas station candy because you THINK you like it but you haven't ACTUALLY TASTED it in years. And you know what? If you did, I bet most of you would think it tasted GROSS most of the time!
Why do I feel confident in saying this? Because I used to LOVE Snickers bars! (and Twix and Peanut M&M's and Butterfingers and....you get the point). And sometimes they are still ok/actually good. For me, the change in tastes started when I started coaching, blogging, and practicing being more mindful so I would have enough to talk about on the subject.
I started to notice that only 1 in 10 (ish -- disclaimer: this was NOT a sound scientific study) Snickers bars was actually fresh enough to taste really good. (Think about this for a minute -- how old does a Snickers bar have to be so it doesn't taste fresh --- yuck! That's a lot of shelf time!!)
The problem was, I "knew" I liked Snickers bars. So all I had to do was tap into autopilot and my brain will fill in the gaps of experience missing from the actual Snickers bar of the day. Once I took that layer of not paying attention away, the eating experience became a lot less pleasurable because I actually noticed the quality of the chocolate (waxy and low-end). I noticed that often the bar tastes more like the wrapper than I would prefer. I noticed that the peanuts tasted stale.
And what I found was that the experience measured so much less pleasurable than I originally assumed, I was able to pass up the bar all together without feeling like I was missing out.
That's not to say I don't ever raid the Halloween stash and grab a Snickers mini. It's just to say that more often that not -- the bar doesn't live up to my expectations and I find I seek them out less and less.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Now I'm just mad!
I just read the post "Is the 9 to 5 making us gain weight?" and my frustration level is reaching new heights!!
There's nothing wrong with the post -- Obesity Panacea puts out some great information on sedentary behavior and weight gain -- the thing that frustrates me is the title.
Your job is not MAKING you gain weight. Yes, many of us are bless with jobs that don't required a massive amount of physical labor -- I don't know about you but I would far and away prefer to be sitting in an air conditioned office than outside digging a ditch -- on pretty much any given day!
It's the cause and effect notion of the title that gets to me. Your job is not causing your weight gain. Everyone in the world who does a job similar to yours does not automatically gain weight. Sedentary jobs (or, as the study suggests, having a job at all, may be ASSOCIATED with weight gain for any number of reasons -- but it doesn't CAUSE it!
Your choices cause it. (and to a lesser degree you genetics allow for it). That drawer full of candy close at hand for mindless grazing cause it. When you use your job as an excuse (yup -- I used the E word!) to fall onto the couch after you get home, your inactivity causes it. When you stress eat because of the uncertainty you feel at work -- the eating causes it!
Please! Deal with the real issue: your choices! Make any choices you wish but understand that some will help your weight management efforts and some will hinder them. If you chose a hindering one, make sure you feel it's worth the trade off.....but PLEASE! don't blame your job! If you're lucky enough to have one, don't make it the scapegoat for the choices that lead you down a path you don't want to go -- that just gives away your ability to change the situation.
There's nothing wrong with the post -- Obesity Panacea puts out some great information on sedentary behavior and weight gain -- the thing that frustrates me is the title.
Your job is not MAKING you gain weight. Yes, many of us are bless with jobs that don't required a massive amount of physical labor -- I don't know about you but I would far and away prefer to be sitting in an air conditioned office than outside digging a ditch -- on pretty much any given day!
It's the cause and effect notion of the title that gets to me. Your job is not causing your weight gain. Everyone in the world who does a job similar to yours does not automatically gain weight. Sedentary jobs (or, as the study suggests, having a job at all, may be ASSOCIATED with weight gain for any number of reasons -- but it doesn't CAUSE it!
Your choices cause it. (and to a lesser degree you genetics allow for it). That drawer full of candy close at hand for mindless grazing cause it. When you use your job as an excuse (yup -- I used the E word!) to fall onto the couch after you get home, your inactivity causes it. When you stress eat because of the uncertainty you feel at work -- the eating causes it!
Please! Deal with the real issue: your choices! Make any choices you wish but understand that some will help your weight management efforts and some will hinder them. If you chose a hindering one, make sure you feel it's worth the trade off.....but PLEASE! don't blame your job! If you're lucky enough to have one, don't make it the scapegoat for the choices that lead you down a path you don't want to go -- that just gives away your ability to change the situation.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Thought for the Day...
Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might as well put that passing time to the best possible use. ~Earl Nightingale
Friday, August 3, 2012
Do something Friday
Be aware of the words you use....
Maybe you've already heard about the study that was recently published in the Journal of Consumer Research. If not, the gist of it is that the words we use to talk about our decisions effect how we carry out our goals.
This particular study worked to determine whether it would make any difference to those who were trying to make changes to their eating patterns if they used the words, "I can't..." versus the words "I don't..."
I don't know about you but from my perspective -- I would rather NOT do something because I chose not to do it rather than not being allowed to it. "I don't eat cake" is a much more self-empowered statement than "I can't eat cake".
What the researchers found was that those who thought in terms of "I don't eat cake" were 8 times more likely to avoid the cake than those who said "I can't eat cake".
If all it takes to increase the likelihood of your weight management success by 8x is to reframe how you see your decision from one that was imposed on you by external event (like your pants not fitting or your doctor telling you to lose weight) to an internal event (right in this very minute you are not the kind of person to eat that piece of cake -- doesn't mean forever...just for right this minute) -- isn't it worth a try?
I keep encouraging you to listen to your internal dialogue (not just react to it). I hope this study provides you with one more concrete piece of evidence to show you what you think and say plays as much of a role in managing your weight as the healthy foods you stock in your fridge.
Maybe you've already heard about the study that was recently published in the Journal of Consumer Research. If not, the gist of it is that the words we use to talk about our decisions effect how we carry out our goals.
This particular study worked to determine whether it would make any difference to those who were trying to make changes to their eating patterns if they used the words, "I can't..." versus the words "I don't..."
I don't know about you but from my perspective -- I would rather NOT do something because I chose not to do it rather than not being allowed to it. "I don't eat cake" is a much more self-empowered statement than "I can't eat cake".
What the researchers found was that those who thought in terms of "I don't eat cake" were 8 times more likely to avoid the cake than those who said "I can't eat cake".
If all it takes to increase the likelihood of your weight management success by 8x is to reframe how you see your decision from one that was imposed on you by external event (like your pants not fitting or your doctor telling you to lose weight) to an internal event (right in this very minute you are not the kind of person to eat that piece of cake -- doesn't mean forever...just for right this minute) -- isn't it worth a try?
I keep encouraging you to listen to your internal dialogue (not just react to it). I hope this study provides you with one more concrete piece of evidence to show you what you think and say plays as much of a role in managing your weight as the healthy foods you stock in your fridge.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Learning how to identify physical hunger
Yesterday, we talked about understanding the absence of hunger. I forgot to mention that you will not feel the absence of hunger as your eating...
IF YOU'RE NOT PHYSICALLY HUNGRY BEFORE YOU START EATING.
The reason for this is that physical hunger is a biological signal that triggers ones food-seeking behaviors. (and no -- all food seeking behaviors are NOT biologically driven!)
At a very basic level, what happens is this:
Your body senses that the fuels necessary to maintain your current state of activity are getting low. Once that happens the brain signals for neurochemicals to be released causing us to feel hunger. If the situation doesn't change, more of those signals are stimulated and more hunger registers.
Once we start to eat (some science is pointing to the smell of food being the first signal), intake of calories start to register as the food is being chewed which sets off chemical messengers back to the brain. More signals on the progress of the food will be sent from the stomach. More in from the intestines. Once enough calories have been registered by the brain, it shuts off the hunger signal.
If you're not physically hungry -- there is not messenger cascade to turn off. The first physical signal you are going to get is when your stomach registers it is being stretched(from too great a volume of food sitting there!). So, after eating that (second) dessert after dinner at the neighbors, you won't register a cessation of hunger as a potential stopping point because you weren't hungry in the first place!
Just another reason to work on you use and understanding of the Hunger/Fullness scale!
You need to learn the difference between physical hunger and trigger eating. You won't be able to use absense of hunger as a stopping point for eating if you weren't hungry in the first place.
IF YOU'RE NOT PHYSICALLY HUNGRY BEFORE YOU START EATING.
The reason for this is that physical hunger is a biological signal that triggers ones food-seeking behaviors. (and no -- all food seeking behaviors are NOT biologically driven!)
At a very basic level, what happens is this:
Your body senses that the fuels necessary to maintain your current state of activity are getting low. Once that happens the brain signals for neurochemicals to be released causing us to feel hunger. If the situation doesn't change, more of those signals are stimulated and more hunger registers.
Once we start to eat (some science is pointing to the smell of food being the first signal), intake of calories start to register as the food is being chewed which sets off chemical messengers back to the brain. More signals on the progress of the food will be sent from the stomach. More in from the intestines. Once enough calories have been registered by the brain, it shuts off the hunger signal.
If you're not physically hungry -- there is not messenger cascade to turn off. The first physical signal you are going to get is when your stomach registers it is being stretched(from too great a volume of food sitting there!). So, after eating that (second) dessert after dinner at the neighbors, you won't register a cessation of hunger as a potential stopping point because you weren't hungry in the first place!
Just another reason to work on you use and understanding of the Hunger/Fullness scale!
You need to learn the difference between physical hunger and trigger eating. You won't be able to use absense of hunger as a stopping point for eating if you weren't hungry in the first place.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Another example of how recognizing hunger and fullness pay off
So the other day I ran to the grocery store across the street to grab my new favorite lunch -- chicken salad! (I know -- not low fat -- but and soooo delicious!) When I picked up the little container, it felt different. Heavier? Bigger? Did the price increase???
But, having my mind on other things, I shrugged off the odd feel of the container, purchased lunch, and headed back to the office.
Since I've done this for lunch before, I know I usually eat 1/3 to 1/2 of the container -- which leaves me the rest for another lunch on another day.
This time, as I was eating, I noticed when my hunger was gone I had a lot more chicken salad left than normal. Weird.
Fast forward to later that afternoon when I brought the container home and put it into the fridge. Right next that the newly installed chicken salad container was a repurposed chicken salad container from a few weeks ago. And guess what??
The new container WAS bigger than the old one.
What would have happened at lunch had I been unable to recognize when I was no longer hungry? There's a very good chance I would have eaten my usual amount of chicken salad -- 1/3-1/2 of the container....even though this container was bigger than the ones I usually ate out of.
Extra calories I didn't need eaten merely because they were there.
Plates, glassware, silverware, serving sizes have all increased in the last 30 years. If you're running on habits and visual cues, you're going to overeat. Everything in our culture is supporting overeating right now.
But your body won't. No matter what size bowl you put your lunch in -- your stomach won't be fooled. If your eating mindfully, when you've eaten enough calories to let your body move on for another few hours, you'll stop feeling actual hunger (that's different than your mouth still wanting to eat -- but you know that already).
Arranging your environment to create visual cues to help you eat less is a great thing!! But you can't totally control your environment. That's reason enough, in my book, to work on your understanding of the Hunger/Fullness scale.....today!
But, having my mind on other things, I shrugged off the odd feel of the container, purchased lunch, and headed back to the office.
Since I've done this for lunch before, I know I usually eat 1/3 to 1/2 of the container -- which leaves me the rest for another lunch on another day.
This time, as I was eating, I noticed when my hunger was gone I had a lot more chicken salad left than normal. Weird.
Fast forward to later that afternoon when I brought the container home and put it into the fridge. Right next that the newly installed chicken salad container was a repurposed chicken salad container from a few weeks ago. And guess what??
The new container WAS bigger than the old one.
What would have happened at lunch had I been unable to recognize when I was no longer hungry? There's a very good chance I would have eaten my usual amount of chicken salad -- 1/3-1/2 of the container....even though this container was bigger than the ones I usually ate out of.
Extra calories I didn't need eaten merely because they were there.
Plates, glassware, silverware, serving sizes have all increased in the last 30 years. If you're running on habits and visual cues, you're going to overeat. Everything in our culture is supporting overeating right now.
But your body won't. No matter what size bowl you put your lunch in -- your stomach won't be fooled. If your eating mindfully, when you've eaten enough calories to let your body move on for another few hours, you'll stop feeling actual hunger (that's different than your mouth still wanting to eat -- but you know that already).
Arranging your environment to create visual cues to help you eat less is a great thing!! But you can't totally control your environment. That's reason enough, in my book, to work on your understanding of the Hunger/Fullness scale.....today!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)