What’s behind the weight rollercoaster ride? An untrained brain! The brain decides what we crave to eat, how often and how much. The problem is that once the brain decides that it desires a brownie, or a cheeseburger and fries, it calls out the order and will not let up until it gets what it wants. Good intentions and willpower is no match for an intense craving because we are all wired to heed our head. The secret to healthy eating in the long term is to take actions that coax the brain to back away from its constant demand for eating pleasure. The truth is that a well-regulated brain should not be “ordering”
RETRAIN YOUR BRAIN, RESHAPE YOUR BODY: The Breakthrough Brain-Changing Weight-Loss Plan (McGraw-Hill;
Uncontrollable eating surges eventually topple even the best dieting efforts. Long lasting weight loss is possible only if the brain the brain lessens its dependence on eating.
The good news is that it’s easy to retrain your brain for weight loss. All you need are the right tools to help it regain its balance so it doesn’t default to eating pleasure as its favorite pastime.
RETRAIN YOUR BRAIN, RESHAPE YOUR BODY offers science-based steps and simple-to-use exercises that target the specific areas of the brain responsible for different patterns of overeating -- overeating when tense (Basal Ganglia), when saying “no” is just not enough and the brain brake fails (Prefrontal Cortex), when we are conditioned to eat on schedule as opposed to when we are hungry (Cingulated Gyrus) and when we are overwhelmed by the cookie monster brain, “me want more cookies now” (limbic system or emotional brain).. These exercises coax the brain away from unhealthy cravings, limiting the tug of war between the desire to eat and the desire to be healthy.
Here are a couple of tips: to get your brain to shift away from the cupcake or bag of chips, walk as far as possible from the food. Seated or standing, close your eyes and breathe deeply. By closing your eyes, your brain stops receiving visual input, which the brain interprets as time to idle or rest. This results in an automatic shift in the brains electrical activity from the “I must have the cupcake now!” brain pattern to a, “I-can-wait-
But you don’t have to wait until you are a step away from the cupcake: to break old habits and help your brain shift to healthier eating, simply make it a point to use your non-dominant hand more often: to brush your teeth, reach into a cabinet or comb your hair. These actions will automatically coax your brain to use areas (and patterns) that are not developed and will involuntarily cause the brain to get used to and more amendable to new routines like healthier eating.
Retraining the brain is a three step process:
1. First, Discover. Readers will discover the connection between the brain and stomach and take a quiz to determine their own brain’s overall wellness.
2. Second, Reframe. Having discovered their own brain’s performance, the readers will next be able to reframe their own ideas of why they are overweight by zeroing in on the specific areas of the brain that may be fueling their overeating.
3. Third, Retrain. People will perform two types of pleasant and user friendly brain “workouts”:
The book also includes The BrainMed® diet: a Mediterranean-
