It’s Not Your Fault

July 30, 2018

Our brains are wired to reward behaviors that are necessary for our survival, like eating and having sex. (1)

Specifically, we are wired to seek out the sweet flavor because, for most of our evolution, it lead us to high-calorie, safe foods. (2) You can bet that if a caveman was lucky enough to stumble across a berry bush, he would eat every last berry on it. But now that we have an unlimited supply of sweet foods surrounding us, the wiring in our genetics that made our ancestors so successful is a recipe for disaster.

Robb Wolf explains in his book Wired to Eat how more willpower and better discipline are not the missing pieces to health and fat loss. Our genetics are working against us and Big Food companies know this. They create hyperpalatable foods that cause us to bypass our built-in “off switches”, making us eat far more than we otherwise would. (3)

I had a new client this week who said her biggest issue was that she is "weak" because she can't resist junk foods. Reassuring her that her inability to resist sweets is not a weakness, but part of her genetic programming, is helping her to get rid of her guilt and self-doubt.

There are ways to readjust the body's desire for sweets but the first step is letting go of guilt (I can help with this, as can any therapist or this hypnotist). Eliminating sugar, even for just a couple of weeks, can reset your body and your brain, so that they no longer rely on sugar for energy. If that's too drastic for you, try just leaving out sugary processed foods like candy and cookies -- a bowl of berries and cream or a piece of dark chocolate, for instance, can often satisfy that sweet tooth. Try adding more healthy fats and veggies to your diet and you'll be fuller overall -- and won't need those sweet things in the first place.

Overall, remember that you are not weak if you can't resist that slice of cake or that bag of M&Ms. It's not your fault.