Last year I read “The End of Overeating” by David A. Kessler, MD and found it to be a fascinating account of how our bodies and minds are changed when we eat foods that are high in sugar, salt and fat. In this book Kessler reveals how food manufacturers are creating products by layering these ingredients so they will stimulate our appetite, conditioning us so we will continue to seek out more sugar, salt and fat! Kessler says ” chronic exposure to highly palatable foods changes our brains, conditioning us to seek continued stimulation. Over time, a powerful drive for a combination of sugar, fat and salt competes with our conscious capacity to say no.” It isn’t all about will power people,there is science behind the desire to eat the bad stuff! If the cookies in the pantry have ever called your name, you need to read this book! If you want to stop mindless munching and understand why it happens, you need to read this book.
In chapter 29 Kessler explains this behavior he has coined as ”conditioned hypereating” saying it is “conditioned” because it becomes an automatic response to widely available food and it’s cues, “hyper” because the eating is excessive, driven by motivational forces we find difficult to control. This brings to mind the never ending french fry basket at some restaurants that we can’t stop eating or the several baskets of tortilla chips with salsa that we mindlessly munch on while chatting with our dinner mates. How about the continual munching at a party that goes on for hours! Hey if you don’t have a tendancy to put on weight and you can eat like that more power to you! I don’t happen to fall into that category and I don’t want to treat my body that way.
In chapter 37 Kessler talks about using behavior modification to overcome “conditioned hypereating“. We have to learn new behaviors to replace the old habits regarding certain foods. In the beginning it requires careful control of your actions but eventually it becomes second nature. It takes practice. We all have the ability to change our habits. There are four major components that have proven to be effective in behavioral and cognitive psychology: awareness, competing behavior, competing thoughts and support.
Step One: Awareness
Have a conscious knowledge of the risks of a given situation. Figure out the situations that that lead you to the behaviors of overeating.What are the situations and the cues that send you down the path of over eating? You need to think about this before you find yourself in the situation so that you can have a plan on how to deal with it.When you have the awareness of the urge to over eat, this is the point where you have a moment of control. In this moment you can decide to give in and eat even though you are not hungry or you can choose not to. If you are paying attention you can change your behavior.
Step Two: Competing Behaviors
To resist our old behavior of giving in to an eating situation we have to learn an alternative response that is incompatible with the old behavior. Change your routine, if afternoon snacking is the issue, plan a different activity that is incompatible with snacking at that time, like going for a walk. If you can’t drive past the donut shop with out stopping, change your driving route. You have to override the hardwired circuitry of the brain. Many things that we do are out of habit. We can create new habits with a plan and some practice.
Step Three: Competing Thoughts
Create new thoughts that compete with and override the old thoughts. “I think we take for granted how much of what we do is verbally mediated, governed by talking our way through a problem.” said psychologist Philip David Zelazo. We can have a new script that helps us behave our way to success. Think not only of the pleasure eating a certain food will give you but also the consequences of eating it. You might think, oh that would taste so good and then follow that thought with, but the pleasure of eating it will only last a few moments. If I eat it I won’t feel good about myself, I will be disappointed, it isn’t good for my health and I am trying to improve my body and my health. The competing thought can override the desire you first have. Ask yourself ”Am I going to feel better off after I eat this? Will I be satisfied?”
Step Four: Support
We have to make our own choices but it is much easier if we have family and friends who are supporting our efforts. Make a commitment to eating healthy and tell people so they can applaud your efforts. If you take a stand and tell people about the changes you are making, you are more likely to follow through with your eating plan and your good choices. Your support team are also more likely to stop offering you the unhealthy stuff and maybe even have healthier choices on hand for you.
In chapter 43 Kessler had this to say, “To eat with control, we need to eat in ways that match the realities and preferences of our own lives. The magic comes when we rearrange our actions, alter our environment, and construct the rewarding behavioral repertoires that allow us to do that.”
This is just a small sample of the information contained in this book. At times Kessler gets into a lot of scientific detail seemingly forgetting that we don’t all have medical degrees. That aside I learned a lot about food and the affects it has on the brain, over eating, and changing my behaviors regarding eating.
If you have read this book I would love to hear your thoughts about it. Would you like to see more posts about this book? Leave me a comment and let me know you were here.
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tj says:
March 12, 2010 at 8:13 am (UTC -7)
I’ve never read that book- I wanna see if my library has it! Some good info!
Thanks!
Tami says:
March 14, 2010 at 6:49 am (UTC -7)
Tj it was a best seller so I would think your library would have it. Let me know if you read it and what you think.
Lisa says:
March 12, 2010 at 9:38 am (UTC -7)
I hadn’t seen that book before. Very interesting post. I know for a fact that my biggest challenge with weight loss occurs in my mind.
Thanks for your comment on my blog. Don’t ever worry about it being too long, I appreciate everything you have to say. I have not read Dr. Phil’s book either. I need to go to the library…
Tami says:
March 14, 2010 at 6:50 am (UTC -7)
Lisa thank you for your kind words. Our mind is our most powerful tool against fighting the fight!
Marisa (Loser for Life) says:
March 12, 2010 at 3:56 pm (UTC -7)
I have heard of that book, but haven’t had a chance to read it.
I think those steps are really interesting. I like the one about changing routines. I notice that I am “conditioned” to eat a snack when the kids come home from school. They walk in the door and my brain goes “ding, snack time”. I think I will try to change my routine when they come home to keep me from over-snacking in the afternoon. Thank you for sharing the info!
Tami says:
March 14, 2010 at 6:43 am (UTC -7)
Oh yes, Marisa I remember the days of the kids getting home from school and breaking out the snacks for them and of course I would want to snack right along with them. Hope your new plan works out great for you.
Kat says:
March 13, 2010 at 1:25 am (UTC -7)
t is true that eating more sugar and fats just makes us want more. I read a article in the NY Times where Kessler talked about dumpster diving to find the real ingredients that restaurants use. This has been on my list of books to read- thanks for the review.
Tami says:
March 14, 2010 at 6:45 am (UTC -7)
I would love to know what he found from dumpster diving! Thanks for stopping by and posting.
Kim says:
March 13, 2010 at 8:34 pm (UTC -7)
I would love to hear more about this book in your blog. I’d like to read it too. I’ve been trying to tell people forever that it’s all about science and not necessarily will power when it comes to eating and eating disorders. I truly believe that the foods we eat have severe effects on our body/brain chemistry. Thanks for stopping by my blog and thanks for leaving a comment so I could find your blog. It’s great.
Thanks! Kim
Tami says:
March 14, 2010 at 6:52 am (UTC -7)
Hi Kim thanks for leaving a comment here.You should read this book as it is so informative and gave me a lot of perspective on the weight gain issues I have dealt with.
I will be following your blog as well.