As we finish up with the basics of building a diet based on real, whole foods and begin looking at the weeks ahead, a big question that may arise is whether to go all in or to consider what many will implore to you is the healthy and sane option: to do this all in moderation…
… that sugar isn’t that bad if you just have a little bit
… that you deserve to treat yourself with a freshly baked cookie
… that you are being too hard on yourself by depriving yourself of those tacos
Moderation. It’s not that it’s a bad idea. For many, it’s probably even a good idea – a way to choose a healthy diet while still being able to indulge every now and then. Balance – it sounds good, right?
And come on, a bit of sugar or refined grain every once in a while certainly is not going to do any serious harm.
And yet, I am going to urge you to stay away from this mindset, and instead to go all in this month. Moreover, I am going to go one step further and ask you to make no decisions about any form of moderation after this month is up, until, that is, the month is actually over and you are facing that decision at that point in time.
Let me explain:
See, there is this significant problem that many individuals face when trying to eat healthy foods in moderation. The problem?
That the moderation option simply does not exist.
For many individuals, no matter how hard they try to indulge only in moderation, that moderation just becomes a very slippery slope back to the regular consumption of industrial not-so-foods.
I know – if you’re one of those people who can eat one square of chocolate or bake a tray of cookies and eat just one, then you’re probably thinking that I’m dishing out the wrong set of advice here – that all that we need is just a stronger dose of self-control.
So what’s the problem? Why can’t we all just harness the willpower only eat these indulgences every once in a while?
The problem is that you aren’t necessarily the one that is always in control. No matter how much you want something right now (to be healthy and to only eat one bite), the you who is going to carry out the actual decision and only eat one bite – that final action does not always come from the same space.
I know this is starting to sound a little far out there, so forgive me for getting a bit technical with the neuroscience to clear things up:
When you think through ideas and make a decision, the part of your brain that is at work is your pre-frontal cortex. This is the part of your brain that is right up front behind your forehead, and it is a relatively novel addition to the brain as compared to much older, deeper structures that have been present in animals for many more millions of years.
The pre-frontal cortex is that remarkable part of your brain that truly makes you human, allowing us to take action aligned with the delayed reward of an action, and not necessarily the immediate reward of an action.
“I know that if I do not eat these cookies, and that if I repeat this behavior consistently, then I will lose weight and be healthier.”
Those other, deeper parts of the brain are responsible for guiding the vast majority of your actions. They are wired based on your genes and life circumstances to guide you towards that which it has been programmed to connect action with immediate reward.
“This cookie tastes amazing and is packed full of energy. Therefore I should eat it.”
Unfortunately, the modern, industrialized diet (high fat, high sugar, lab-engineered flavor) is primed for hijacking these deeper parts of your brain’s circuitry. Years of eating this type of food means that the individual’s food seeking pathways are aligned with seeking these highly palatable, energy-dense foods.
These deeper parts of our brain are what make it so hard to say no. These neural pathways drive us towards that which we have learned to desire, and the moment your pre-frontal cortex lets up, it is these pathways that will win out.
Now let me be clear on one thing here. None of this is to give you any excuse that you are ever at a point where you have no control – that you are at the mercy of your sugar/taco addicted brain and have no power over it. Rather, the idea is simply this: that as long as we remain in a state where our brains are wired to seek the regular consumption of industrial not-so-foods, our natural tendency is to operate via the pathways that drive us to choose those options.
The easy, automatic option is to choose industrial not-so-foods.
The hard option is the one that is saying no to these, and yes to real, whole foods.
The goal of The Reprogramming Process is to reverse this.
The easy option becomes reaching for the carrot instead of the cookie.
The easy option becomes saying no to nachos.
Sure, you may think – this sounds great! But how do we actually accomplish this? How to we literally change our neural circuitry to seek out healthy options and avoid unhealthy options?
By consistently, over time, making the decision to say yes to the healthy option and no to the unhealthy option.
Consistency. This is what is key.
Sound crazy? Dare to give it a try?
Here’s how:
Dedicate these next three weeks to going all in with your real, whole foods diet.
– cut out the refined grains
– cut out the sugars
– cut out the polyunsaturated vegetable/seed oils
– eat only real, whole foods
Here’s what to expect:
At first:
– A challenging few weeks where you experience desires and cravings for foods that you are used to enjoying.
– Challenges overcoming some aversive tastes of real, whole foods.
Then, over time:
– The lessening of cravings for the things you used to like to eat, and possibly even a feeling of dislike at the thought of indulging in industrially created concoctions that you once called food.
– A growing enjoyment of the flavors provided by real, whole foods as your body adapts.
So, where does this leave us with moderation?
As I stated in the introduction, I do not believe that moderation is a bad idea. I personally enjoy indulging every once in a while when I truly desire something that does not fall under the category of real, whole foods.
But I also understand that for most individuals, moderation is incredibly difficult, if not impossible, and a primary reason is that we have much less control over our actions than we would like to think when our brains are wired to seek out high-fat, high-sugar not-so-foods.
I enjoy indulging when coming from a space where I fully understand the consequences and am able to make an educated decision.
I do not enjoy indulging when I am pulled to eat something by a force that does not feel like my own, conscious desire.
With the following weeks, we are aiming to reach the former and move far away from the latter. To be able to make our own decisions about what we may want to indulge in and when; or, to decide that we never want to indulge because the consequences are not worth it.
This is the goal, and it is accomplished by being all-in now.