Diet Scams

Just about every form of illogical or off balanced behavior can be made into a disease to have drugs sold against us to cure us for being human. But it turns out that overweight people tend to “think” that food will be more rewarding than skinny people do. And then when they eat, it turns out to be less fulfilling than expected, which causes them to eat more. This process repeats itself many times with larger food portions needed each time to get the same food “high.” WebMD reports:

“Of course it is a vicious circle,” says Pothos. “A person says, ‘I do not get pleasure from high-energy food, so I am eating even more but getting less pleasure, I don’t know what to do. So obesity and weight gain may result from what we may call addiction to high-energy food.”

The term “addiction” isn’t a metaphor. Stice and Pothos note that the same vicious circle, involving the same brain circuits and the same underlying genetic susceptibility, occurs in people addicted to drugs.

The long-term effect of drug abuse it typically the opposite of the short term influence. If you take a drug that speeds you up then when you are not on it you feel more slowed down, etc. Eventually drug abuse can create a self-fulfilling prophecy which makes the user keep doing more until something happens.*

*That something is usually when the destructive behavior places large social, economic, or legal strains or issues on the individual or people they come in contact with.

Metabolic function also plays a role in obesity, but for some people it is simply harder to stop eating. Weight issues can be driven by either (or both) of them. But if you try improving at both it certainly can’t hurt (has anyone ever went to the hospital for living too healthy?)

What are some potential solutions to offset the over-eating issue?

1. Over time if we eat healthy our reward circuitry goes back to normal. So the key is to start a pattern/trend of healthy eating that you can stick with.
2. There are a variety of ways to curb unhealthy eating in the short term, though many of us need different strategies. Here are some options
• If you feel you overeat to compensate for depression or stress you may want to consider increasing your physical activity level, taking up an art, or taking something that boosts your serotonin levels – like 5-HTP.
• If you feel you make poor eating choices because you have junk food in the house and/or skip meals then ban junk food and stop skipping meals.
• If you feel you need a motivational aid to start eating healthy and losing weight, consider changing how you view sugary and/or fattening foods by equating them with toxic poisons that kill you. Maybe that is too dramatic, but you could always watch Supersize Me (only $6 at Amazon) or put a 5 pound block of fat on your desk.