Four Secrets to Train Your Brain to Eat Healthier
When you improve the way you eat, you will improve every single health aspect, which is good for your body and mind.
When you feel stressed out, your hunger is suppressed. Your epinephrine hormone that triggers the fight-or-flight mechanism increases your blood pressure, heart rate, blood flow to the muscles, and air to your lungs. Cortisol is also secreted to help release sugar to be used by your brain for energy. These hormones prepare you to run from a dangerous situation. So, your appetite shuts down temporarily.
However, if your stresses persist, cortisol remains high. Cortisol will cause you to feel hungry and crave comfort foods, like sweet, high-fat, and salty foods. Your brain thinks it needs fuel to fight whatever threat is causing the stress.
Cortisol raises blood sugar levels, which can lead to weight gain, mainly around the abdomen and face. Constant high cortisol also suppresses the immune system and negatively impacts your gut, heart, mental health, and fertility.
Usually, after an episode or over-indulging, many people focus on restricting their food for the next meal or day(s). Research shows that restrictive dieting and rapid weight loss can promote slower metabolism, alter hunger and satiety hormones, and impair your success in maintaining weight loss.
Over-restricting what you eat, skipping meals, food addictions, and compulsive eating are not health-promoting behaviors. It’s physically harsh on the body and has been shown to increase total cortisol load and promote weight cycling, eating disorders, and low self-esteem.
Food is a gift to be enjoyed not a tool for punishment or reward. Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart.”
Ecclesiastes 9:7
Let's learn how to implement four areas of techniques to train your brain to choose healthier foods so you can improve your health and consequently lose excess weight
Transform your environment
Sounds:
According to research, people tend to consume 30% more drinks when they are exposed to fast and loud music, while loud noises can trigger unhealthy eating behaviors. It is believed that excessive noise can interfere with the ability to taste food. The type of music genre also plays a role in food preference, with jazz and classical music leading to healthier food choices, while American rock music tends to make people prefer fast food. Therefore, it is important to be mindful of the music you listen to while shopping or eating. In fact, playing sounds related to food, such as the sound of the sea near a fish counter, can lead to an increase in sales of that particular food item.
Studies suggest that when people don't hear the sound of their own chewing, they tend to consume more food than necessary. Therefore, it is advisable to keep the volume low if you decide to watch TV while eating. It may be even better to turn off the TV altogether and concentrate on your meal.
Food Display:
The way you store your food at home or its proximity to your eye level can influence food choice. Your brain is hard-wired to mislead you which can impact your diet. The same strategies that brands use to influence consumers' choices could be used to make you more prone to choose healthier foods. People are more likely to want brands that they can easily see. What and how you see is what you choose, buy, and eat. Place healthy food at eye level on your counter, pantry, and fridge. These eye-level shelves should be loaded with healthy grab-and-go snack options like chopped fruits and vegetables, nuts & seeds, and lean protein sources like boiled eggs, yogurt, and hummus. Pre-portion healthy food in clear containers and less healthy things like leftover pizza in aluminum foil or non-clear Tupperware, because ease of access can easily lead to mindless snacking.
People who use smaller plates overestimate the size of their servings. When people are served food on a larger plate, they will eat more than if served on a smaller plate. People also take more food if it matches the color of their plate. When people drink a beverage out of a taller thinner glass, they perceive that they are getting more than a shorter, wider glass that holds an equal amount. These illusions can be used to trick your brain into thinking you are getting more of a food or beverage than you really are.
If you cut your food into smaller, bite-sized portions before eating, you'll be less likely to feel the need to finish your plate and will feel full for a longer period of time. This is because the brain perceives a portion of food that has been cut into multiple pieces to be larger, which creates the illusion of consuming more food than you actually are while eating
Keep no food out except a fruit bowl. One study found people who kept a fruit bowl out in their kitchens had lower BMIs, on average, compared to those who didn’t. For fruits and vegetables that are better stored in the fridge, keep them in clear containers at eye level, so they’re the first thing you see.
Keep your pantry, fridge, freezer, and counter organized. Keeping things tidy makes the food inside the fridge more appealing. Learn how to do it here and here.
The Delboeuf effect - starts with two dots that are the same size. If you surround one dot with a large circle and the other dot with a small one, suddenly the second dot looks bigger.
2. Practice mindfulness and eat intuitively
Avoid distractions:
Engaging in multiple activities simultaneously, such as eating while watching TV or working, and eating in a distracted or rushed manner, can lead to overeating. To manage your food intake, it is advisable to slow down and enjoy your meal. Slowing down, chewing your food properly, and receiving your brain signals that you are feeling full— promote intuitive eating. Intuitive eating is a type of eating style that is adaptable and emphasizes relying on physical hunger and satiety signals to determine when, what, and how much to eat. It is linked to beneficial physical and psychological results.
This applies to individuals who tend to eat in a disorderly environment due to family-related issues. If the external environment feels too stressful or overwhelming, it can impact the way you make decisions about food. Studies show that food choices are often made at a subconscious level.
Promote a sensorial experience:
The aroma of food is an important factor in taste, and many of our eating behaviors are not optimized to enhance this aspect. For example, drinking coffee from a takeaway cup with a lid can result in missing out on the aroma, which is a key part of the coffee-drinking experience. By using a beautiful mug and holding it in your hands, you can enhance the aroma and enjoy your coffee more, potentially reducing the urge to have a second cup. The role of touch can also play a part in satiety and satisfaction, which may be one of the reasons behind the increasing popularity of bowl food in recent years. Holding the bowl and feeling its weight and warmth, while also breathing in its aroma, can enhance the multisensory experience of eating.
Our visual perception plays a significant role in our eating experience. The appearance of food influences our expectations and even affects our perception of taste. For instance, a vibrant, diverse salad with a variety of textures and colors will not only look better than a plain bowl of spinach but will also taste better.
The initial taste of a chocolate bar is more enjoyable than subsequent bites because it's new and our taste buds get used to it. Our brain assumes that the taste stays the same if the appearance is consistent, even if each bite or sip has a slightly different flavor. However, we can use this to our benefit by minimizing unhealthy food consumption by concentrating as much of it as possible in the first bite.
Emotions while eating:
Do you eat only when you are hungry or when you are feeling tired, sad, stressed, or angry? Try to address your deeper issues. We can't keep covering up our feelings through eating. Research has found that spiritual well-being positively correlates with self-esteem, finding meaning and purpose in life, high assertiveness, physical health, hope, and emotional adjustment. Low levels of spiritual well-being might be related to poor emotional responsiveness—with emotional eating and excessive caloric intake as possible outcomes.
Enjoy your healthy food with family and friends. Sit down to eat your meals at the table with your kids. Food is meant for more than just fuel. We use food to connect, celebrate and mark special occasions, and to teach our family our healthy traditions and ways of cooking and eating.
3. Change the way you think about food and eating
Break habit loops:
For instance, ice cream is commonly consumed during celebrations, and our brains learn to associate it with feeling happy. While this is not problematic in itself, it can become an issue if we start eating ice cream mindlessly when we feel stressed or angry, as this reinforces the habit loop. Over time, we can develop multiple habit loops that trigger us to eat when we are bored, stressed, or tired. These loops become so automatic that we may not even realize we are making these choices. To break the hold of habit loops, we need to understand the triggers behind them and update our brains with new information. Practicing mindfulness exercises that encourage us to slow down and consider why and how we eat can teach our brains that certain foods do not actually make us feel as good as we thought. By practicing mindfulness every time we choose to eat, we can disrupt the habit loop and regain control over our eating habits.
Think of yourself as a healthy eater
James Clear calls this idea identity-based habits. To establish habits that last, it is important to focus on creating a new identity first. Your current behaviors reflect the type of person you believe you are, whether consciously or subconsciously. The process can be broken down into two simple steps. First, you must determine the type of person you wish to become. Then, you can prove to yourself that you can be that person by achieving small victories.
Relearn to taste food
Our tastes are conditioned by habits and wrong ways of thinking about food. The only way to break a habit of eating unhealthy food is to cultivate a taste for fresh, nourishing, well-naturally seasoned wholesome food. It takes eating real food to develop the taste for real food.
Evaluate your food habits
Track your meals and snacks by keeping a food diary. You can take photos of your foods and review them daily to notice what you choose and eat throughout the week. This can help you visualize and analyze your eating habits, and motivate you to make healthy changes.
4. Be proactive with your needs
Balance your blood sugar throughout the day to avoid unhealthy cravings and excessive hunger
It's good for brain health & performance and nutrient delivery for the body to keep you hydrated. Make sure you drink 8-15 cups of water and non-caffeinated unsweetened, additive-free liquids every day, including plain water, coconut water, low-sodium broths, herbal teas, soup, etc.
Eat small meals and snacks throughout the day. Eat a healthy breakfast rich in fiber, protein, and healthy fats -- do not fast if you have persistent stress and experience compulsive eating frequently.
Carbs with a lot of fiber will release sugar for energy slowly for your body to use and help you feel satiated throughout the day. Wholesome foods, whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables are great options. If you choose refined sugars, combine them with protein, fiber from other foods, or healthy fats.
Improve your sleep health
Sleep disruption, which negatively impacts hormonal rhythms and metabolism, is also associated with obesity, insulin resistance, hormonal imbalance, and increased hunger and sugar cravings. Plan to eat your first meal within two hours of waking up and your last meal early in the evening to help your body regulate hormones and metabolism.
Practice sleep hygiene and avoid stimulants in the evening, including caffeine, exercise, refined sugars, alcohol, or screens. Sleep in a completely dark, cool, and quiet environment. Check the quality and comfort of your pillows and mattress. Go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day.
Find comfort in God
Avoid turning to food for comfort, instead cry out to God in moments of pain. Comfort foods are usually the ones considered to be high in refined sugars, salt, and inflammatory fats. Care for your soul in a new, non-food way. Begin to address your spiritual depletion by learning to quiet your noisy mind. Manage your stress with body & mind techniques, including crying out to God, reading the Bible, performing breathing exercises, meditating, self-reflecting while journaling, practicing yoga, going for a run, taking a bath with Epsom salt & lavender, drinking chamomile or valerian teas, or getting a massage.
