2 minute read
Eliminating over-desire for junk food
By Diane Lynn, Weight Loss Coach
There are both physical and mental reasons why we over-desire sugar and flour. Losing weight by diet and exercise alone is only treating the symptoms, we need to retrain our brains to eliminate these causes of over-desire:
Sugar and flour produce a dopamine “feel good chemical” response in the brain, similar to addictive drugs or alcohol.
Sugar, flour and feel-good chemicals in our brain can temporarily numb emotional pain, which encourages us to do it often.
There are also habitual and cultural reasons why we crave sugar and flour; it’s become normal to eat abnormal foods. Why do we think sugared coffee and donuts are a good breakfast?!
These causes produce tricky thoughts that’ll make you over-desire, overeat and then gain weight over and over again. It’s critically important to get your brain chemicals and thoughts under control if you want to lose weight permanently. Question your thoughts and beliefs! If you think dessert has control over you and you can’t resist, that will likely become true for you. But it doesn't have to be. You can train your brain to become aware of dangerous thoughts and create healthier beliefs supporting your weight loss goals.
If you’d like to learn how to rewire your brain to finally be free from the addiction and in control of your weight, sign up for our series of classes called Permanent Weight Loss for Emotional Eaters launching in September. Learn more at www.jewishnaples.org.
Jewish Federation of Greater Naples is cosponsoring these classes and a portion of the tuition will benefit them. Eight consecutive classes meet online via Zoom once a week for an hour. You pick the class series that starts on the day and time that works best for you. Each class builds on the next, so please plan to attend all eight. However, if you need to miss one, arrangements can be made for you to watch a recording to catch up.
