The Washington Post recently spoke with Dr. Brewer about his new book, “Hunger Habits: Why We Eat Even When We're Not Hungry and How to Stop It.” We discussed how his plan can help with habits like stress and bulimia, and the role of willpower and curiosity in changing habits. Here's what he had to say:
What role does willpower play in your efforts to improve your eating habits?
“From a neuroscience perspective, willpower is not even part of the equation when it comes to behavioral change,” Brewer says.
“The dominant paradigm is that people feel they need more willpower,” Brewer says. People feel ashamed of themselves because they feel there is something wrong with them. ”
Just knowing what we “should” do is often not enough to change our behavior. Brewer says that even though we're all inundated with messages that fresh, whole, minimally processed foods and regular exercise are the cornerstones of good health, many of us don't. He points out that he is still struggling. “Knowing is not enough, because that's not where behavior change happens,” Brewer says. “Emotions are where behavioral changes occur, and we really have to reacquaint ourselves and reconnect with our bodies. And we have to start listening to their voices.”
How can mindfulness help?
Mindfulness is a term that essentially means bringing awareness to the present moment without judgment.
“I'd like to start with the reason. Why do I reach for food? Am I actually hungry or is there some other reason? And , if you're not hungry, that's indicative of some kind of habit, so you can dig into that,” Brewer said. ”
Early science evaluating this approach is limited.small study 104 overweight or obese adult women found a 40 percent reduction in craving-related eating among overweight or obese women who followed his month-long mindfulness-based program on their smartphones. was shown.
Among those who completed the program in three months, their appetite decreased and they lost weight. The study was small and far from conclusive. (Brewer disclosed that he owns stock in Claritas MindSciences, the company that developed the app used in the study.)
Although there is still no evidence on how effective mindfulness interventions are, Brewer says some people find them very helpful and find them to be a better approach than restrictive diets. points out. While it may not lead to significant weight loss, it can give people the tools they need to manage their appetite and change unhealthy habits.
“I had a patient who was eating a whole bag of potato chips every night. So I got her to pay attention. I said, 'Be careful when you eat, no matter how many chips you eat. Please make sure you have enough.''
How can I change my eating habits?
Brewer calls part of the brain's reward system, specifically an area called the orbitofrontal cortex, the “decision maker.” When we feel unwell, our brain reminds us that eating will make us feel better, allowing us to erase the bad feeling, even if only temporarily. In this system, “Cake beats broccoli. Cake beats broccoli.” Cake overcomes boredom. Cake defeats bad emotions. ”
But Brewer says you can change your habits by changing their place in the reward hierarchy through experience. Basically, his plan involves his three steps.
- Plan your eating patterns and habit loops
- Changing the “reward value” of eating behavior in the brain
- Find more rewarding activities that make your body feel satisfied.
As an example, Mr. Brewer shared his own addiction to gummy worms, which he ate a bag of and gulped down. After many years, he finally started thinking about the feel and taste and realized that they tasted sickly sweet and rubbery. He replaced that long-ingrained habit with blueberries. For others, he suggests, an alternative habit might be to enjoy a few pieces of dark chocolate.
How do I change the reward value of food?
“The brain is a predictive machine,” he said. Our brains reflect on the past and navigate the future. Stop and ask yourself: What happened the last time you ate a pint of ice cream, an entire pizza, or a piece of chocolate cake? Recalling the details of intestinal blockage and visceral discomfort can help foster a sense of disillusionment, and the value of that reward diminishes over time as you catalog the unpleasant physical sensations that accompany overeating.
“No one has ever come back to me and said, 'I didn't know how great it was to overeat,'” Brewer says. “No one ever said that.”
Brewer says this kind of focus is the beginning of breaking patterns. “He just repeats it 10 to 15 times and he builds up enough of a database to remember it for next time,” he said. When you become disillusioned with certain foods or behavioral patterns, your brain is primed for change. ”
How do you deal with appetite?
Over time, as you realize that cravings and urges are just physical sensations, you can learn to work through them, Brewer says. To do this, Brewer developed a technique known by the acronym RAIN.
- recognize Relax into the desire you are feeling
- accept and allow those feelings to be there
- investigate Listen to your body's sensations, emotions, and thoughts with curiosity and kindness.
- Note what is happening at each moment
He says that after years of research, the longest craving ever reported was 12 minutes.
How can harnessing your curiosity help you?
A typical pattern for bulimia or stress eating is to blame yourself after an episode and label it as a failure, Brewer says.
Brewer suggests flipping the paradigm and embracing a “growth mindset.” “Instead of saying, 'Oh, no, I messed up.' I think, 'Oh, that didn't work out.' ”
Doing so, he says, increases curiosity and creates room for learning from the experience. “You often learn more from when things go wrong than when they go right. So really switching to a mindset of 'No matter what happens, I'm going to learn from everything.' I can.”
What role can mindfulness play when using weight loss drugs?
Brewer's book does not mention newer “GLP-1” drugs such as Ozempic, Wigoby, Munjaro, and Zepbound, which significantly suppress appetite and result in dramatic weight loss. But he says his mindfulness-based approach is a readily available tool that can be used in conjunction with medication if needed.
“My point about GLP-1 drugs is that the jury is still out on long-term effects,” he says. “What the jury is not clear on is how our brains learn. So regardless of what happens with GLP-1 or the next generation of drugs, we have no idea how our brains learn You need to know how it works, and you need to learn how to use your brain.”
Have questions about healthy eating? Email [email protected] I may answer your question in a future column.
