Looking beyond personal choice for dietary choices

I read a really interesting article in last month's issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. It talked about things beyond our personal choice, rooted in our brain circuits, that drives us towards an unhealthy diet. They called this the "Neurobehavioral Model." I'll discuss the model and ways to overcome your inner nature driving you towards unhealthy behaviors. 

The Neurobehavioral Model 


1. Food Reward - This refers to the pleasure we get from eating. This pleasure motivates us to eat palatable food. By palatable food I mean food that gives us high pleasure, and in our society usually refers to high fat, high salt, and high sugar foods (Bad, bad, and ahem, bad.) 


SOLUTIONS: 

• Remove palatable foods from your personal environment - this will reduce over eating or eating these foods by preventing the activation in the brain of the reward circuitry.  
• Shop with a grocery list - Make a grocery list at home, when you are not hungry. Go over the list again to remove any additional unnecessary items. Also, never go food shopping when hungry, it will cause you to seek out these unhealthy foods. Remember stick to your grocery list! You will save money, and your waist line will thank you. 
• Plan restaurant menu selections in advance - most restaurants now have menus available on the restaurant website. Seek out healthy options in advance and order it at the restaurant without looking at the menu again. Also, ask for the bread to not be brought out to the table, or if you must have one piece of bread and have them take the rest away.

2. Inhibitory Control - This is the part of your brain that ignores and suppresses urges, such as eating a piece of cake - it deals with self regulation. This ability to suppress your urges is disrupted by stress and demanding mental tasks. We knew stress was bad, so here is another reason to manage your stress in a positive way and avoid eating during demanding tasks such as while working, budgeting, and other mental tasks. 

SOLUTIONS: 

• Avoid circumstances that will challenge your inhibitory control such as buffets, fast-food restaurants, and eating out in general. 
• Make stress management a priority, and make a plan to control your stress 
• Exercise - double goodie, it has been shown to reduce stress and burns calories! 
• Yoga
• Meditation 
• Listen to relaxing music 
• Take 5 minutes to sit in a quite place, awake, focused on your breathing
• Chew gum - chewing gum can cause stress levels to drop by 16%, a study showed. 
• Watch a funny show or movie, which will raise your mood 
• Keep high calorie, low nutrition food away during stressful situation and when stress is anticipated (work, when paying bills, and what ever stresses you.) Instead have healthy foods and snacks readily in sight. 

3. Time Discounting - This talks about delaying gratification. The immediate pleasure we get from eating something such as a piece of cake right now has a higher effect on our decision making than the later benefit of losing weight. 

SOLUTIONS:

• Focus on short-term goals instead of a long-term goal such as "lose weight." An example of a short term goal is "Meet my daily calorie goal of 1700 calories" or "Eat an apple as a snack today instead of a muffin." Make your short term goals realistic yet challenging. Set your self up for success and you will succeed! 
• Make healthy foods in advance so you have them easily accessible. For example, have salads without dressing (so vegetable stay crisp) ready in your fridge, or make enough brown rice and vegetables for a few days so you just have to heat it up. 
• Have healthy foods such as a bowl of washed fruit on the counter, so you see it often instead of having potato chips on the counter. 

Here is a summary version for you:

I offered a few solutions, now come up with a few more solutions that are personalized to you!