Breaking Bad habits.
I heard a friend's client recently say, it's so hard to eat healthy, and it leads me to question, why? Why do people find it so hard to eat healthy? Well, I have the answer. Stay with me to learn how you can eat healthy and stop those annoying cravings.
Firstly, we need to understand how we respond to various stimuli. If we look at a picture of an amazing ice cream sundae with all the chocolate sauce and fudge pieces, our initial response is, I WANT TO EAT THAT. This is called your dominant response. It's how we deal with this dominant response, which can affect what we consume.
People with low inhibitory control will probably not think twice about the effects of eating the sundae, as they succumb to their cravings and dive right in. Those with high inhibitory control will have the ability to respond objectively to this environmental stimulus, overcome their cravings and decline the sundae offering.
Studies have shown that children age 7, with low inhibitory control, have a higher body mass index and are more susceptible to greater weight gain. We also know from a study in The Journal of Paediatrics that individuals viewing pictures of chocolate induced a higher craving than when shown neutral pictures. The end result is binge-eating, we see, we want, because there is a general lack of control in response to a stimulus. But wait, there is hope, we CAN turn this around and it's never too late or that hard.
A study published in Nature Neuroscience found that when rats were fed only fast food, their brain chemistry changed. They became obese and refused to eat when placed on a healthy diet. The rats had become addicted to fast food. Can this addiction go both ways? Can we become addictive to healthy foods? Susan Roberts PhD and Professor at Tufts University says we can. Creator of 'The Instinct Diet', Professor Roberts says that we can unlearn our instincts. While we are born with certain cravings we can crave whatever we eat in large quantities. Let's give it a go.
How to stop those cravings
What do you crave the most?
Replace that with something healthy
Make sure you have this with you most of the time
After two weeks, eat the thing you crave most, in the middle of your meal. (Eat half your meal, eat chocolate then finish your meal).
Have you ever wondered why you crave sweet food after your meal?
Good luck and let me know your thoughts by commenting below.