Week 4 – Making Wiser and Healthier Decisions

The goal of The Reprogrammed Systems Approach is two-fold:

1. Understanding what the healthy decision is
2. Getting ourselves to actually make the healthy decision

Unfortunately, in practice, this is no simple, two-step process. The process for becoming a healthy individual is an iterative, lifelong challenge as we continually adjust to a changing world and the many barriers to good health contained within.

The challenges of the modern world are plentiful, as we find ourselves amidst a heavily industrialized world in which the focus tends to be less on the well-being of the individual and more on efficiency and profit. This industrialized world provides the population with foods that are cheap to create and easy to ship and store. These foods have been designed and engineered to be hyper-palable, making sure that our attention is grasped, senses are overwhelmed, and our minds are programmed to come back for more.

And yet, it also just so happens that the world we live in comes with more opportunity than ever before. Although we may be surrounded with easy options that tend to destroy – not build – the health of the human body, we also find ourselves in a world where most of us have access to any sort of food item we could imagine. Yes, it may be too easy to make unhealthy decisions, but yes, we always have the option to make a different, healthier, decision.

The options that are readily available to us (i.e. the easy options) are not necessarily going to be in our best interest, but are items that are going to speak to our lesser selves (i.e. the selves that act automatically, arising from programmed (unconscious) decisions). This means that we must put forth an extra effort to create our own health if that is what we desire.

If you are here, I can assume that you share this desire for better health. I can assume that you want to live this one life to the fullest with the most able body possible. Given this assumption, along with the knowledge that we must put forth an effort to achieve good health, I will dedicate this post to helping us all understand how we can make wiser decisions that lead to better health outcomes over our lifetimes.

Keep in mind as we move forward, I am not speaking of any quick fix or short cut to good health. Those are the sort of items that may serve us for a short period of time, only to leave us empty-handed when the next challenge presents itself.

I don’t want to leave you empty-handed once any short term goal is achieved. I want you to understand what it really means to make healthy decisions. I want you to be capable of thinking for yourself, so that you are equipped to handle any and every situation that life presents to you – well, at least in regards to how that decision will likely impact your health.

To do this, it is not enough simply to understand what the healthy decision is – we must also be able to take the action aligned with this knowledge so that we actually live the healthy lives we desire. This presents a second challenge, because to our detriment, the human body was not designed such that knowledge leads directly to knowledgeable action.

Understanding what really drives our actions is, therefore, an important part of our journey to better health.

With the rest of this article, we will dive into this topic with the hope that it will improve your ability to make healthy decisions. However, I must be clear on one point: the actions that you take in your life will, ultimately, be up to you. I can’t give you any answers that will guarantee your action, but I can provide you with knowledge and tools that may help you make decisions that will lead to healthier actions over your entire life.

With this article, I aim to provide you with:

1. An understanding of the pathways of information processing and decision-making
2. Understand where decisions arise from, including where we have the ability to change the course of action
3. Understand what may be a better approach to making healthier decisions

If you’re on board, let’s get started.

The Reprogramming Process – A Process for Your Unique Path to Good Health

Addressing the needs of a wide audience is a difficult challenge because each one of us has our own unique path to good health. Some of us may find ourselves at the beginning, taking the first steps towards better health. Others may have been at it a while, with a mountain of experience behind them.

Fortunately for us though, the key principles for achieving better health are the same for each of us. The key to each of our own Reprogramming Processes is to focus in on one item: what is the healthy decision?

If we can make the healthiest choice at any given moment, then we are all moving forward towards better health. If we can master this skill, then we can create healthier lives over our lifetimes, continually moving forward.

Regardless of where you are on your own path, one factor remains constant for all of us: it is the decisions we make that will move us forward on the path of our choosing, towards better health, or along the common path to poor health and modern disease.

Your health is a product of the decisions you make in every moment. Therefore, we must ensure that we are clear on how we, as human beings, make decisions. To understand this, we will take a short walk through how the human brain processes information and makes decisions, followed by my thoughts on how we can use this information to make the wisest, healthiest decisions.

Pathways of Information Transfer through the Body and Brain

To get started, I want you to think about where your automatic, programmed behavior arises from.

Why is it that you find yourself reaching for unhealthy foods even though you truly desire not to? Where does our automatic, programmed behavior arise from?

As nothing in this world appears out of thin air, there must be some form of driver that initiates a pathway that leads, ultimately, to the decision to consume unhealthy foods.

What is it that is the initiator of this action?
What were some of the steps that occurred in-between the initiator and the final outcome?
What was the final outcome?

Have your answers? Let’s walk through mine using The Reprogrammed Mind Models.

There are two categories of initiators (what I will call inputs) into the pathways that end in the decision to consume what we know to be unhealthy foods:

1. Internal: physiological changes that are communicated to the brain (e.g. low blood sugar)
2. External: information that the body receives through its senses (e.g. vision, hearing, smell)

For example, it may be that you suddenly have an urge to walk to the kitchen and eat a cookie because:

1. Your blood sugar dropped, sending a signal to your brain to seek out sugar (internal)
2. You smelled cookies baking in the kitchen, which was received as a signal by the brain that this highly palatable food is available (external)

What do you ultimately do with the scenario? Do you continue to move towards the kitchen and, ultimately, eat the cookies (even though you had promised you wouldn’t), or do you notice this action, stop, turn around, and avoid eating the cookies?

In the following images, I will walk through this pathways of information processing and decision-making. Note, I will focus on just the external (sensory) inputs, but keep in mind that internal inputs could lead down similar pathways.

Image 1 shows how the body receives sensory information, sends it to the brain where the information is processed, and several possible outputs are produced.

 

These outputs may arise as automatic action, as feelings or desires, or as thought. At the time that this occurs, we can finally pick up on this information, which enables us to then process the information consciously. Note that outputs may also take the form of signals sent back to the back (e.g. the release of hormones), but because you will not be aware of these, we will skip over them.

The best way to walk through this pathway from sensory input to output in the form of thought, feeling, or action, is to walk through an example. We’ll stick with the cookie theme, as I think it’s something we can all understan. Imagine that you are walking down the street when you see or smell freshly baked cookies. What gives you the idea that there are, indeed, cookies is the vicinity? Is it a specific thought? A sensation? A feeling?

As you are walking down the street, a sensation may arise accompanied by a thought: “Ooh! Cookies!”

But before that happens, your body has already done work taking in the sensory input and processing it. What happens inside your body before you become aware?

First, your nose / eyes receive the information that there are cookies available. Then, this information is sent to the brain, which processes this information subconsciously. Finally, this information is brought into your awareness in the form of thought (oh! cookies!), feelings & desires (I want a cookie!), or the noticing of automatic action (become aware that head has turned towards cookies).

Note that most of this process is completed before your conscious awareness comes into play. Your body has already sensed the cookie and made computations as to what you will do about it – all without your control or awareness.

It is only once the brain has made its decision and spit out the decision in the form of thought, feeling, or desire, that you have any ability to do something about it.

At this point, now that this information is in your awareness, you have the ability to intervene. Now that you are aware that you may be heading to eat the cookies, you can stop yourself. You may choose to overpower your automatic, programmed desire to eat the cookies.

 

 

As shown in Image 2, this is willpower – it is using your conscious mind to understand that your bordy’s automatic desire to perform an action is not in alignment with your goals. It is noticing that you are thinking about cookies and/or heading towards cookies that then allows you to make a decision to change course.

Willpower is a truly remarkable human trait. It makes it so that we are not complete slaves to the programmed responses of our bodies. It is something to be deeply appreciated and used resourcefully.

It is also something to be cautious with, as it is often incredibly unreliable and, quite honestly, an unpleasant source to draw upon to sustain success.

Willpower can be useful, but it also tends to fail us when relied upon too often. Because of its limitations, combined with my strong dislike of having to spend my days battling against myself to perform the actions that I truly desire – I think it is best that we find a different approach.

This new approach would allow us to navigate the modern world making healthy decisions, but to do so more consistently, and more enjoyably.

But, before we get there, we need to clarify some of this knowledge on decision-producing pathways. The perspective gained from these diagrams of how we can use our minds to overpower our actions is useful because it helps us understand how the decision-making process actually includes multiple steps:

• First, when the body receives sensory input, the brain makes its own decisions as to what to do with this information.
• This decision is completely out of our control, and we only become aware of it once it pops into our mind as thought or feeling.

However, this model of the pathway of information processing and decision-making has some gaps, leading to a lack in its accuracy. To get closer to an accurate representation of the human body, brain, and mind, allow me to clarify two concepts:

First, the human brain can be broken up into two categories: that which is under our conscious awareness, and that which is not. Understandning what (little) we have conscious control over will be important moving forward, and furthermore, understanding that most of the brain is really subconscious – out of touch of our conscious awareness – will be important as we learn to make healthy decisions.

Second, while we, as humans, live up in our minds amidst our thoughts, the reality is that it isn’t really our thoughts that are doing the conscious decision-making. It is something entirely different that is at work actually making these conscious decisions – a conscious will that is separate from our thoughts, feelings, and emotions – and it is important that we understand this difference as we go about making the decisions that will allow us to become our healthiest selves.

To capture this, I am going to change up the model and clarify some terms. I know this may seem a bit excessive, but I can assure you that it is useful information for our ability to make healthy decisions. It is important to get more accurate with our understanding of our decisions, including the part that “we” play as conscious beings, along with the many parts that we do not have any control of, nor awareness of.

Building the Reprogrammed Mind Models

At any moment, your body is receiving innumerable bits of information about your immediate environment:
– tactile information about your feet on the floor
– auditory information about numerous sounds in your environment
– visual information spanning your entire visual field

And yet, you only become aware of a tiny percentage of this information. The question for us is, what happens to make our conscious selves aware of this information?

To understand this answer, we need to expand the idea of the body and brain into more accurate groups.

When your body receives sensory information from your five senses, you only become aware of any of this sensory information once your subconscious mind decides that the piece of information is important enough to require conscious attention:
– when someone speaks your name, now that background voice becomes relevant and enters awareness
– when you see the person next to you pull out your favorite snack, now that unnoticed person becomes relevant and enters awareness

The point is, as we make our way through the day, the body receives a continuous stream of information from its five senses. And yet, we only become aware of a tiny percentage of this information.

The rest of this information is processed and filtered out by the subconscious brain, which encompasses an incredible amount of processing power (enough to manage the load of sensory information, integrate it with previous knowledge and experiences and physiologic demands, all the while maintaining homeostasis within the body so that we continue to function).

Whether or not that sensory input reaches your conscious awareness is dependent on the processing performed by the subconscious.

 

If the subconsious decides that this information is important enough, it may take action with various forms of output. One output may be a change in internal state, and another automatic output may be an automatic movement.

But there is another automatic output of the subconscious processing to what I will call our “human mind” – which is any form of information that is sent directly into our conscious awareness (e.g. thoughts, feelings, or emotions).

 

As I mentioned above, it is important to understand these pathways if we are going to make the best decisions possible.

• First, we must understand that this “human mind” is separate from the subconscious processing that goes on before we become aware of any of it.
• Second, we must understand that whether or not we ever become aware of this information is up to the decisions made by subconscious processing.
• Finally, we must understand that once we receive this information, we are capable of intervening, although it takes a strong effort to do so.

This intervention is what we tend to call “willpower,” which we rely on when we make a conscious decision to overpower the decision made by subconscious processing. When we tap into our willpower, we can change the course of action that our subconscious minds decided was the best course of action, based on the internal state of the body and the knowledge and experience stored within the brain.

Again, note that this power is something to be cherished and used as frequently as need be. As long as our subconscious minds continue to make unhealthy decisions, there is a need to tap into willpower to steer our bodies in a direction of healthy action.

However, this power is also something to be understood as an insufficient method to meet our needs. Let me explain.

While the common advice surrounds this idea of “willpower” and “self-control” to guide us through life avoiding all the temptations of the modern world – well, the reality is that this method doesn’t work so well. Instead of diving into the many reasons it fails us (I know, this post has already gone on too long), I will pose some questions to you:

How has the use of “willpower” kept you aligned with your conscious desire?

While I’m sure it has helped you in some cases, I want you to reflect on how it has failed you. Does it fail often? Are there certain parts of the day in which it reliably fails you? Are there certain circumstances during which it is particularly difficult to succeed in making healthy decisions when relying on willpower?

Moreover, even when you have been able to use its powers successfully, how does it feel to constantly tap into this source? Do you enjoy battling yourself as you move through your day?

Or would you rather spend that energy and attention elsewhere?

The Reprogramming Process: Long Term Decision Making

Individuals living in the modern world regularly face a problem with an abundance of sensory information surrounding the ever-presence of industrial not-so-foods. This information is sent to the brain for processing, and the case for most individuals is that this information appears in conscious awareness as a strong desire to consume these unhealthy foods.

This leads to the need for a conscious decision: will I do what my body wants to do and eat that food, or do I overpower this programmed response and instead choose a different action?

This use of willpower is a great gift, as it allows us to have self-control and make our own decisions. However, we are all aware of the deficiencies with this method of making healthy choices, which include:
– the inevitable failure to consistently make the healthy decision
– the unpleasantness that goes along with constantly battling against the self.

If we want to make it though life making the healthiest decisions possible, while also enjoying the process, we need a different approach.

Which is where The Reprogramming Process comes back into play.

I began this article by bringing your attention to the fact that it is really difficult to navigate this world making healthy decisions. Let’s expand on this idea – not to feel sorry for ourselves or let ourselves off the hook – but rather, so that we have clarity on what we are up against.

Look, I know, making your way through each and every day is tough when the grocery stores are lined with industrial not-so-foods with packaging that speaks to your very core and leaves you reaching in. I know, all you may want to do is go shopping for some clothes, but they wafte thos aromas through the air and it is so easy to find yourself with deep-fried goo that is perceived by you as a gift from the gods.

I get it – I live in this world too, and I too sometimes hate that I have to turn down sweet-smelling goodies that make my mouth water. I hate it that it is so hard to get groceries without battling past the bakery.

And I hate this so much that I decided to spend this time to help us all figure out how we can make decisions that lead us down a path where we no longer have to fight against ourselves to make healthy decisions.

Here’s the idea:

If, instead of focusing our attention on simply battling with ourself over the years, we instead focused our attention on Reprogramming the underlying circuitry that drives these subconscious decisions, then we could create our own pathways – pathways that lead to a dead end at the subconscious level for industrial not-so-foods, and pathways that lead to a joyful experience for the consumption of real, whole foods.

This way, we wouldn’t have to “force” ourselves to eat healthy foods. We also wouldn’t have to “deprive” ourselves of unhealthy foods that we currently crave. Instead, we could go about our lives effortlessly ignoring the unhealthy junk while easily and naturally enjoying the healthy foods that nourish our bodies.

This means that any sort of information about unhealthy option never even enters our conscious awareness.

Since this information never receives any conscious attention, then we don’t have to fight against ourselves to get our bodies to make the healthy decision. The healthy decision was already made for us, leaving our conscious mind free to handle more enjoyable tasks.

I understand that you may be skeptical about this idea. Sure, it sounds great, but come on – how could that be feasible? How can we change the underlying circuitry of our brain to produce outputs that we desire?

But this isn’t really any crazy new idea – it’s something that has already been happening to us as we go about our lives.

Can you think of any foods that you enjoyed as a kid, but are now revolted by? Similarly, are there any foods that you once thought were disgusting, only to enjoy immensely today?

Let me present my own example:

As a kid, I could not stand any ounce of onion in any food. Even the thought of it was enough to make me cringe. The reasons for this are many, but I can tell you the most significant factor was completely environmental: I grew up in a household that hated onions, and because of this, I learned a story that onions are gross, and I repeated this story to myself, never eating them, and never creating an opportunity for this response to onions to change.

But guess what happened? I went off to college, leaving that household, and began cooking with new people who, guess what – loved onions.

At first, it was a real willpower battle to say yes to these foods. My body wanted to pick out the onions, or even prepare my own meals. But for a short period of time, I made the effort to just eat them anyway. And guess what – I started to enjoy them!

Today, onions automatically, without any conscious effort, make their way into many of my meals, and it’s all because I put in an effort to change my story surrounding onions, allowing them into my routine, and allowing my body to embrace their taste. I put forth no conscious effort to get myself to eat this healthy food, and instead, find enjoyment when I eat them.

The truth is, the decisions that are made automatically (underneath the level of our conscious awareness) – these are subject to change.  Even though we may sincerely believe that we like or dislike certain foods, and even though we may crave certain foods while being disgusted by others – this is all subject to change, if only we become wise enough to make the necessary decisions that Reprogram the ways in which our subconscious processes information.

This means that it is entirely possible to create a life for yourself in which you automatically reach for healthy options while automatically avoiding the unhealthy options. You just have to be willing to put in the effort, now, so that you don’t have to spend the rest of your life battling yourself and instead can automatically make healthier decisions.

So, how do we do this?

How do we take on our own Reprogramming Process, making decisions that:

1. Lead directly to better health by choosing foods that directly improve the health of the body
2. Lead indirectly to better health and happier lives by impacting our ability to make healthier decisions more easily

How is this done?

How to make wise decisions: 

To get you started making wiser decisions, we will focus in on one side of the coin: adding in new, healthy foods to your diet. We’ll begin here because it will make your overall journey to good health easier if you focus first on building a base of real, whole foods before you give serious thought to removing the industrial not-so-foods from your diet.

Nevertheless, as you go through these practices, feel free to get a head start on the removal of industrial not-so-foods from your life by using similar logic.

Moving forward, let’s think about how we can build new, healthy foods into our life, in a way that our decision to choose these foods becomes automatic and enjoyable.

1. Rewrite your story

In Week 3, we took the time to evaluate the stories we tell ourselves that may by impairing our ability to make healthy decisions. Consider evaluating any stories that may be keeping you in a pattern where you are “forced to” eat any healthy foods, and where you “make yourself” avoid unhealthy items.

Is it possible to rewrite these stories?

• to open your mind to the possibility that you could truly enjoy the healthy foods? That healthy foods are naturally full of flavor, and that your body wants to enjoy them, if only you give them the chance.
• to write a story where you tell yourself about how those unhealthy foods are impairing your ability to live life to the fullest, and replace the story in which you tell yourself how you are depriving yourself when you don’t get to eat your (no longer) favorite junk foods?

2. Take action that aligns with these stories

Once you have your new stories that set yourself up for healthy choices, you must take action in alignment. To do this, you are going to have to exert some effort up front. But I promise you – if you can do the work now, you will reap the benefit as these actions become automatic, and maybe even enjoyable.

To take action in alignment with your new story:

a. Know that consistency is key: If you can open your mind to newer, healthier foods, and muster up the will for short period of time (1 or 2 weeks should do it), then you may be able to add in new, healthy foods into your diet. Consider picking one food at a time, and put in the effort ot make it a part of at least one of your meals every single day.

When you are inroducing these new, healthy foods, do yourself a favor and smile – enjoy the fact that you are putting in the effort to build a healthier you, and be grateful for it.

b. Take advantage of one of the fundamental principles of neuropsychology: Neurons that fire together wire together

Your brain functions, largely, based on associations between neurons (brain cells that communicate information). To take advantage of this, think about how you can create associations between pleasant or enjoyable items and your new, healthy food.

If there is one particular food that you really enjoy, and you can pair that food with a new food, then your brain will be more likely to associate this new food with that same enjoyment. And no, I don’t mean adding sugar to your broccoli to make it taste better, but by pairing other real, whole foods that you enjoy with these new foods.

c. Put in the effort to make new, healthy foods taste delicious

For some reason unknown to me, there is a strongly held belief in our society that vegetables (and other “healthy” foods) don’t taste good. This idea is absurd, as vegetables (and other healthy foods) are bursting with flavor, if only you are willing to give them the chance by preparing them properly.

For example, there is not much that makes me sadder than witnessing someone express their disdain for salads, due to the concept of “salad” as a meal that is lacking flavor or satiation value. In my experience, salads are a wonderful opportunity to load up on a variety of delicious and nutritious foods, forming together as one delicious, nutritious, satisfying meal.

When you are introducing a new, healthy food, do yourself a favor and do make that meal satisfying. You will never program your mind to enjoy spinach if you are eating spinach with low-fat dressing and croutons. Instead, start with a bowl of spinach and add in the goodies – nuts and seeds, full-fat dressing, spices, maybe some meat. Add in some of your favorite vegetables. And here’s a bonus – use this opportunity to add in more veggies: maybe you don’t love tomatoes: try adding those into this delicious, satiationg salad, so that you will come to look forward to fresh spinach and tomatoes as you begin to find joy in creating salads.

c. Take advantage of dopamine to form healthy habits

Psychology 101 tells us that dopamine is the key neurotransmitter involved in habit formation. When an action is paired with the release of dopamine, circuits are formed within our brains that pair that action with rewarding behavior, making our subconscious more likely to make decisions that lead to that behavior. If we can pair the introduction of new, healthy foods with the release of dopamine, then we can reprogram our subconscious minds to take future action that leads to eating these foods.

Dopamine is released for a number of reasons, but to name my favorite, one that you can use starting now:

• Dopamine is released following exercise. Use your post-exercise window as a period of time to introduce new, healthy foods.

d. Be cautious of dopamine to avoid the formation of unhealthy habits

The flip side of using dopamine hits to reprogram your mind to enjoy new, healthy foods is that we should all be aware that we are not programming our minds to enjoy unhealthy foods during these critical windows of time. Take care that you are not rewarding yourself with unhealthy foods, because this is a great way it harder on your future self to make healthy decisions.