Why You Got Fat

Inspiration

Cravings

Why do you crave chocolate in the middle of the afternoon while your husband craves steak at the end of the day? Why do pregnant women have peculiar cravings and why do women crave more carbs in the days prior to their period? These and other questions plague people who want to maintain a healthy diet, yet feel undermined by their own body’s insistent demands for off-limits foods.

Cravings: The Driving Forces

Cravings — defined as “an intense desire to eat a certain food” — are both psychological and biological. "It's definitely a mixture,” says nutrition researcher Susan B. Roberts, PhD, a senior scientist at Tufts University in Medford, Mass.

Researchers have proposed various theories to explain why just about everyone struggles with cravings:

• Your body learns, over time and exposure, that certain foods trigger a positive response. That’s why you continue to crave the “comfort foods" you grew up with.
• Some foods may trigger a neuro-chemical response that releases pleasure hormones, such as dopamine, after eating them.
• The sight or thought of certain foods causes another chemical cascade that compels you to believe the food in question will be very tasty (which is a good argument for keeping the foods you crave out of sight!)
• Your diet may lack variety, which causes you to want a change.
• You may need some nutrient or component of the food that your diet is lacking.
• Your diet lacks your favorite foods, and you miss them.
• You’re hungry.

Cravings: The Diet Impact

The impact of cravings on a set diet has been widely researched. Roberts and colleagues studied food cravings and behavior reported by 32 adult women participating in a six-month low-calorie diet. They learned that:

• A person’s highest weight over her lifetime was related to the amount she ate when she gave in to cravings: the greater her weight had ever been, the more she ate.
• People who were less active tended to crave fattier foods.
• The most commonly craved foods were about twice as calorie-dense as the person’s prescribed diet foods and 30 percent higher in fat, while being 50 percent lower in protein and 30 percent lower in fiber.
• Craved foods tended to be a mix of carbohydrates and fats, which Roberts argues may double the pleasure in terms of the body’s reward system.
• Chocolate was the most commonly craved food, followed by salty snacks.
• People who successfully lost weight on the diet had just as many cravings for high-calorie foods as their peers, but they gave in to them a lot less often.

The take-home message: People who want to lose weight should accept the fact that cravings will happen while they are dieting. Once they have reached their weight-loss goals, they need to develop a strategy to give in to cravings on a limited basis and in a portion-controlled manner.

Cravings: Women vs. Men

Everyone has his or her own special weakness, but cravings do tend to break down along gender lines and seasons of life.

“Women tend to crave sweet stuff — chocolate, candy, cookies. Men tend to crave steak, chips, salty stuff,” says Roberts, who has authored a diet book based on managing cravings, The Instinct Diet: Use Your Five Food Instincts to Lose Weight and Keep it Off. “Pregnant women have cravings that are all over the map, up to and including pica — eating things like clay — occasionally. We don't know why there is a difference between men and women; research hasn't gotten that far yet.”

Scientists continue to examine the relationship between cravings and weight loss (or gain), but in the meantime, experts like Roberts recommend accepting the universal nature of cravings. Work with them instead of trying to suppress them.

Mock Garlic Mashed Potatoes {Phase1-4}

Ingredients description

1 Head of Cauliflower - steamed until tender

1 Clove of Garlic - Minced

1/2 Cup Fat-Free Chicken Broth

1 Tbsp Olive or Grapeseed Oil

Sea Salt & Pepper to taste

Preparation

Using blender or bullet, whip cauliflower then add in remaining ingredients.  Enjoy!

Getting Ready

Being ready to lose weight involves many things. There is definite preparation to be done, and without the right kind of preparation, it is unlikely that you will be able to maintain your weight-loss effort.

If weight control is a serious issue in your life, you need new awareness and insight into your problem before you can solve it. A one-sided food solution superimposed on a multifaceted problem is doomed to fail. Even the best techniques won't be effective if you are not prepared to change.

Don't equate action with change. Taking action may be the most visible, obvious step to you and to those around you. But there are things that need to happen before you take an action like starting a diet. Here are some things that will help you get ready.

Try to make your goal crystal clear. One way to do this is to imagine a time in the future, maybe the moment when you step on the scale and the number reads the way you want it to read. Then, in your mind's eye, conjure an image of yourself at this weight. Try as much as possible to keep this image in your mind's eye. This will help you keep your goal in front of you.

Use this visualization technique often. Now that you can see your goal clearly, begin to think about your feelings, your self-image, your attitudes, the pressures in your life. Consider whether any of these things have been getting in the way, keeping you from achieving your goal. Make a list of those things that you think may be undermining your desire to lose weight.

Consider what your real needs are. Are you meeting your needs in other areas of your life? Write down ways in which overeating may be an attempt at meeting these needs. Then you can think of ways to answer your needs that would be much more effective in your life than overeating.

Think about three times in your life when you had the most trouble controlling your weight. Try to remember if there was anything stressful going on at those times. If there was, see if there is a connection between those stresses and your eating. This will give you greater understanding of your eating patterns.

See if you can team up with a friend who is also interested in losing weight. You can decide to lean on each other, take courage from each other, listen to each other, help each other over the rough spots. This kind of helping, supportive relationship will strengthen your commitment, give you courage, and make the process more enjoyable.

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Miracle Noodles

Miracle noodles are allowed on the Ideal Protein Protocol

The Miracle Noodles

by Dr. Kyle Remmel on July 19th, 2011

Imagine a World Where the Noodles are Calorie Free.

The Calorie Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free noodles Japanese Women Eat to Stay Thin

Why Is The Miracle Noodle So Healthy?

The answer to this questions lies in understanding the role of fiber in our diets. Our noodle is made mainly of soluble fiber. Soluble fiber acts to slow digestion. By doing this, it allows for the slower absorption of glucose and is the reason behind its beneficial effects in diabetes.

The soluble fiber found in the Miracle Noodle slows digestion and prolongs the sensation of fullness and is an essential part of any weight loss program. You also absorb more nutrients in the foods you eat with The Miracle Noodle due to the slowing of digestion.

How Can The Miracle Noodle Help Me In My Weight Loss Goal?

Just by replacing one meal per day with our noodles will significantly raise your needed fiber intake and dramatically lower your total calorie intake. In combination with raising your metabolic rate with moderate exercise, you have just found the tasty weight loss plan you have been looking for.

Can the soluble fiber in The Miracle Noodle help my cholesterol?

Yes! Soluble fiber binds bile acids that are secreted from the gall bladder. These bile acids have cholesterol in them and are bound up by the soluble fiber in the Miracle Noodle and then excreted. See the 3rd study on the left for specific documentation.

How does The Miracle Noodle help Type II Diabetes?

By slowing the digestive process, there is a slower absorption of glucose which then requires a slower release of insulin from the pancreas which aids in the normalization of blood glucose after eating a meal.

MIRACLE NOODLES ARE INSTANTLY READY!

1. Just drain the pack and rinse in a strainer or collander for a couple of minutes.
2. Lightly boil for 1 min.
3. It can be added to cooking dishes to absorb the flavor all the while retaining its consistency.
4. Slurp loudly and enjoy with family and friends!