Why You Should Never Give Up Your Favourite Food If You Want To Lose Weight.
Anyone who is on a weight loss journey is familiar with the struggle of dealing with food cravings.
A food craving is an intense desire to eat a particular type of food. Humans typically crave energy-dense foods: chocolate and other chocolate-containing foods are the most frequently craved foods, followed by other high-caloric sweet and savoury foods.
There is a classic study by Herman and Mack, to study the effect of food deprivation on food cravings.
They found that restrained eaters showed an uninhibited eating behaviour (they reported a higher ice cream consumption) after consumption of a preload (milkshake), whereas so-called unrestrained (“normal”) eaters decreased their ice cream consumption after consumption of a milkshake.
This effect was concluded to stem from the fact that restrained eaters felt that they had violated their dietary rules by consumption of the milkshake, which led to a “what-the- hell-effect” and complete loss of inhibition.
This phenomenon is all too common in chronic dieters.
Different experimental studies since then have focussed on the association between food cravings and selective food deprivation. Participants in these studies were instructed to refrain from eating certain foods.
Consumption of all other foods was unrestricted and, thus, total energy consumption was unaffected.
Almost all studies found that deprivation increased the craving for the avoided foods.
As none of these studies imposed a restriction on any foods other than the avoided foods or on the total caloric intake, it seems that perceived deprivation — the feeling of not eating what or as much as one would like, despite being in energy balance — plays a larger part in generating food cravings than actual nutrient deficiencies.
The scientific community also examined another group of individuals in parallel — those who were on different weight-loss interventions.
Some of these interventions include a Low-carbohydrate diet (1500 kcal/day), a Low-calorie diet (750 kcal/day deficit from baseline energy requirements), a Very low-calorie ketogenic diet (600–800 kcal/day during the first 60–90 days), High-protein or high-carbohydrate diet (1500 kcal/day), etc.
The results from all these studies were completely opposite to the findings from selective food deprivation studies.
It was seen that food cravings actually decrease from pre- to post-weight loss intervention or during the apparent caloric restriction period. These decreases seem to occur primarily during the first weeks of caloric restriction and do not seem to rebound at later follow-up measurements.
The reason for this decrease in food cravings during caloric restriction can be attributed to one of the two:
1. Due to extinction of previously acquired conditioned responses.
Food cravings are based on a psychological theory known as : (Pavlovian) conditioning.
According to this theory, a cue or action that has been repeatedly paired with food intake, can , over time, itself elicit a conditioned response (food craving) that will then lead to psychophysiological changes in the body and promote food intake.
For example, if I order take out every time I binge watch a new series on Netflix, the cue ( watching a new series ) becomes associated with ordering take out. Eventually even the sight of a new series on Netflix would lead to a craving to have take out.
Today I decide to stop eating take-out while watching a new web series I have the craving to have Chinese take out.
This time I substitute take out food with a home-cooked bowl of fried rice and chicken.
I achieve two things —
- The initial habit loop ( one of having take-out) starts to be overwritten.
- I increase my overall energy expenditure for the day because I have to move more to cook.
Gradually you can substitute the home cooked meal with other home cooked meals that are easier to make and tasty.
I am sure you get the concept.
This does not mean that you do not consume take out at all. Just have it at any time of the day other than with the cue that specifically leads to the craving.
2. The individuals on weight loss interventions did not have a perceived deprivation.
If you want to really lose weight, it is necessary to never give up on your favourite foods completely. Or even food groups.
Rather, as mentioned above, decouple the food from the cue.
Have pizza with friends in an actual restaurant and not while binge-watching a series. Have tea and a sandwich at the theatre and not popcorn and coke.
Food deprivation heightens cravings and food seeking behaviour. You are plagued with continuous thoughts of your favourite food, salivation, images in the mind , hunger — it is a physiological and emotional response and it is not your fault if you drown when the tsunami hits.
If there is an option to avoid the storm, why do you want to spend energy fighting it?
It is extremely important to have all the foods you love. You just have to be mindful to not fall in the trap of associating that food with specific cues.
Gradually you will realise that the same foods when eaten in a different setting lose their kick.
What you crave is not really the food — it is an experience you have had previously that gave you pleasure.
In real life, relevant cues that you can easily identify that are conditioned stimuli for cravings are :
a) Internal states such as mood, emotions, period hormones, or
b) External states or contexts such as a specific time of the day, a new web series, a movie night, walking to work and stopping to get a doughnut, drive throughs , stress at work or home and so many more.
Change the food you have with the cue and repeat till that cue is no longer associated with that particular food that you have come to crave.
This strategy empowers you with the intrinsic ability to make mindful choices. That is the ultimate freedom guys—
The ability to choose well for your health and enjoy your favourite foods in moderation.
