Mind and body

Obviously I spend everyday trying to find that magic "thing" that can help people lose weight and improve their health.  But for some people the mere thought of having to restrict food intake or just the mention of THAT word, means they give up before they've even started.

And I get it... I really do.

They good news is that there is more and more information arising from more and more studies that gives us an insight into how our bodies work, how food affects our bodies and how we can make changes that benefit us.  Each person is different, each person reacts in different ways to foods.  This is why I find that finding out a person's food intolerances really helps.

But it isn't just what foods you are intolerant to.  It's about making life changes, it's about understanding your body and in the case of overweight people, it's understanding how you got that way in the first place and how differently your MIND works to other leaner people.

You see, when changing your diet for any reason; intolerances, weight loss, allergies, illness, etc., your whole body is involved including your brain.  I quite often tell my patients, yes, I can help you to lose weight, but unless you change your attitude towards food, you'll just put it back on again.  If you don't make the psychological changes and see food for what it is... fuel for your body, then you probably won't get very far.

Quite often patients will complain about how much they miss a certain food that they are intolerant to and therefore not allowed to eat for a certain length of time.  This is normal, the minute you tell someone they can't eat or drink when they didn't even consume it habitually.  This is your brain saying that seeing as you aren't ALLOWED to eat then you WANT it, when you wouldn't usually.

A new study has shown that it seems that people who are overweight react differently to real food and inedible images of foods when shown on a computer screen.  The researchers tested lean people's decisions to food choices in the form of images, and found them to be very similar to those of overweight people.  However, the results changed considerably when instead of being offered limited choices, they were confronted with an all-you-can-eat buffet of REAL FOOD which included both healthy and not so healthy dishes.

While both lean and overweight volunteers were equally attracted to "tasty" foods, the overweight participants were more likely to eat the unhealthy, fattening dishes.

The lead researcher from Cambridge University, Dr Nenad Medic said,

"There's a clear difference between hypothetical food choices that overweight people make and the food they actually eat."

Although overweight people KNOW which foods are less healthy than others and admit that they wouldn't necessarily pick them, when the food is in front of them, they will choose the less healthy option.

"This is an important insight for health campaigners as it suggests that just trying to educate people about the healthiness of food choices is not enough.  The presence of unhealthy food options is likely to override people's decisions.

"In this respect, food choice does not appear to be a rational decision - it can be divorced from what the person knows and values."

This is actually really important information.

I remember back in 2008 when I had my own food intolerances analyzed.  I had just had my son a few months previously and had put on quite a bit of weight after having him.  I followed the diet to the letter and lost all the weight in 2 months.  But, I remember saying to the doctor treating me, "I miss chocolate soooooo much, I wish I didn't crave sweet things.  It would be so much easier!"  He smiled at me and said that those craving would pass - in a year or two!

I remember almost feeling defeated at that moment.  Was there a point to trying for so long?  Isn't life too short?

Well, even though I have reintroduced most of my intolerant foods (except soy), I still, to this day, do not mix my carbs and my proteins.  The weight I lost has stayed off and almost 8 years later I can honestly say... I don't have chocolate cravings.  Yes, I have cravings for other sweet foods, but I don't have chocolate cravings - part of the battle is won.

However, researchers in Denmark have discovered that if you stick to a diet or a new way of eating such as kicking your junk food habit, eating clean, or not mixing carbs and proteins, going vegan... which ever it is that works for you, for at least a year then you can CHANGE your appetite governing chemicals.

Our bodies were developed for famine and in the western world at least, there is food on offer constantly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  When we "diet" or restrict our food intake, then quite often our body's response is to store what little it does get, then when you eat "normally" the body continues to store just in case you decide to restrict it again.  This is the boomerang effect of dieting and then putting the weight back on after and then some.

In the Danish study, obese people who shed an eighth of their weight in an intensive diet, and hold it off for a year saw dramatic changes in the chemicals governing their appetite.  Signe Sorensen Torekov, associate professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Copenhagen where the study was carried out said;

"It is very difficult to fight the hunger, it's like a drug you're fighting against.  This would have been an excellent mechanism 50 years ago, but the problem now is that we have so much food available that we can eat all the time.  We were able to show that you shouldn't give up.  If you're able to keep your weight down for a year, then it shifts and it becomes easier."

I stuck to not mixing carbs and proteins because I found that I felt better for it, even after reaching my goal weight.  I found that digesting large meals isn't a problem and whereas in the past, I would often prefer sweet foods over healthy foods, my relationship to food has changed.  Now I think before eating or preparing food.  I think about how food nourishes the body, helps to heal it and how it gives it energy.  Think about what you have chosen to eat and what it can do for you... a sugar laden piece of cake isn't going to do much for you in the long run.

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com