The diet industry is big business. People who want to control their weight and how they look are often desperate to try any diet that promises the results they want. There are many kinds of diets, from restricting certain types of foods like low-carb or low-fat; to diets restricting calories overall, while other diets let you eat any amount of calories.
Why is it so hard to stick to lose some weight or stick to a diet?
Many sabotage themselves despite their best intentions. Our diets say don't eat this or that, but we do. Even if we aren't on a specific diet but understand more about nutrition, we can be aware of how bad processed sugars and refined foods can be, yet it seems we are often still at the mercy of our cravings.
It seems that despite our conscious willful efforts, the ingrained desires and habits for those bad foods has us reaching for them over and over, even if we know it's not what we want for our long term goals. Dr. Heidi Sage has come up with three reasons why this can be happening to us. There are (1) food cues like smell or sight that trigger our desire to consume them; (2) the temptation of those forbidden foods we enjoy; (3) the "what-the-hell" effect of just going for it.
Food Cues
This is when our senses pick up on sensory cues that trigger automated responses like salivating or drooling over a delicious smell or seeing our favorite pastry. We could even be eating something else and a certain taste can remind us of another food that we are restricting ourselves from eating.
Hunger is felt in the brain through the stimulation of the hormone gherlin. At such times we notice food cues a lot more. Not only that, when we're hungry the brain pays more attention for cues about unhealthy foods that have high energy in them, which is usually foods that have high sugar or fat which makes them taste appealing and keeps us hooked and wanting more.
When we get hungry, we want to resupply on energy, and the quickest and easiest way is through crappy unhealthy food with sugars. High calorie foods are attention-grabbing regardless of whatever advertising they use.
Forbidden Foods Are More Tempting
The foods we give up in our diets are usually more pleasurable to our taste buds and possibly comforting in how they make us feel. Avoiding eating foods we enjoy doesn't mean the craving is eliminated. Research indicates that people can have an even greater desire to eat forbidden foods when we're depriving ourselves of them, as opposed to allowing ourselves to eat them have less of a craving.
We easily prime ourselves. Ask someone not to think about an elephant, and they will likely think of an elephant. Ask someone not to eat their favorite food, such as chocolate, and they might think of chocolate more.
One study showed that seeing images of chocolate -- or other deprived food -- made that food more important to them and have a greater desire to eat it compared to people who were not depriving themselves. And those who started to eat their deprived food again usually consume more calories as a result of being without their favorite food for so long. Avoiding to eat our favorite pleasurable foods will tend to produce more temptation.
The "What-the-Hell" Effect
We need to listen to our bodies for when were actually hungry, then that simply only have an appetite or desire to eat. Some diets force people into eating only certain things at certain times. People will overeat because they haven't been eating at other intervals in the day and are at the point where they are really hungry. Eating smaller amounts throughout the day might be more beneficial.
Sometimes calorie restrictions don't match up well with scheduled eating times as people are still hungry, and they will consume more calories than they should have according to the diet. Some diets claim a small violation is enough to derail the whole back.
This is where you get the what-the-hell effect, where people just go ahead and eat that extra piece because "what the hell", it's only one piece so it's not likely to have a major impact on the diet. Except that people who have broken the rules of their diet will also tend to consume more calories at a later meal as well. Once a dieting failure is recognized, they can also trigger negative emotions like guilt or stress which can also cause overeating. Binge eating can snowball as a result of "what-the-hell" eating.
The Right Diet?
Diets with rigid rules, such as eating at a certain time, only allowing certain calorie intakes, or forbidding certain foods that people and enjoy, can all contribute to increase the risk of over eating. By understanding ourselves more, how the brain works and the boys requirements for nutrition, we might better be able to withstand many of the temptations to being drawn to high calorie or unhealthy foods.
Personally, if you have issues with eating bad unhealthy foods, I would suggest learning about recipes that have similar flavors, sweetness or high caloric intake, but aren't unhealthy or as unhealthy. There are many recipes for natural sugars already present in foods, such as recipes with raw fruits. If you want to go sweeter and really mimic some of the high sweetness in many desserts for example, there are tons of recipes that have dates in them, and this provides the satisfaction for the sweet tooth that many of us crave.
Check out these recipes I've personally made. They are all uncooked "raw" desserts. They are very good. I'm not saying they are very healthy though, but natural nut fats and natural fruit sugars are a lot better for you :)
Blueberry Strawberry Banana Ice Cream Cake
Raw Chocolate Mousse Tart With Lemon Cashew Cream
RAW VEGAN CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES with VANILLA CREAM FILLING
Related:
- The relationship between reward contingency and attention to conditioned food cues
- Startling Sweet Temptations: Hedonic Chocolate Deprivation Modulates Experience, Eating Behavior, and Eyeblink Startle
- From Homeostatic to Hedonic Theories of Eating: Self-Regulatory Failure in Food-Rich Environments
- Beware the "What-the-Hell Effect," Especially on Holidays!
- Restrained and unrestrained eating
- Associating a prototypical forbidden food item with guilt or celebration: Relationships with indicators of (un)healthy eating and the moderating role of stress and depressive symptoms
Thank you for your time and attention. Peace.
If you appreciate and value the content, please consider:
Upvoting 
, Sharing 
or Reblogging 
below.
me for more content to come!
Please consider supporting me as a Steem Witness by voting for me at the bottom of the Witness page; or just click on the upvote button if I am in the top 50
Sugar is a killer. Too many pounds eaten by the average American. Cut out sugar from your diet, you will shake for up to 4 days, you will be beyond the sugar craving and all is well.
Sugar is stuffed into almost every processed food you can buy. White carbs count as sugar in terms of how your body processes them.
You literally can only buy food in the grocery from the outside wall. Anything you buy from the aisles in the center is not going to be healthy
STEEM On!!
Right on! Stay away from sugar. I do :)
I signed up for a 14 day detox with pretty much no food that I could eat :( :(. Gave into my cravings pretty fast and then obviously, as you explained, the "What-the-Hell" effect kicked in!! I can see myself go through the detox with something like the blueberry strawberry banana ice cream cake.. looks yummy :)
LOL, it tastes good, but costs a lot to make compared to standard desserts. But healthier too.
I am sure it is worth it though!! If you can shed extra pounds in exchange of few extra bucks, I am all for it!!
Great article, however I find that it's okay to sin once in a while, maybe even a few times a week. Your substitution tactics can work for some people, but I just need the 'real' thing. I've found that by incorporating days of fasting after your sinful days, you can completely negate any weight gain, even lose weight. It's more about not eating sometimes than eating healthy all the time. I advise intermittent and regular fasting, there is the saying: less is more.
Substituting natural sugars in whole foods for processed sugars is way better ;) It more than just weight gain. Fasting sure :)
Thank you for sharing. Well, I am quite sure that that What-The-Hell-Effect is based on me haha! But honestly, nowadays it is really difficult to mantain to a diet. And you are right, it definately is a big business. Here in Brazil, you can find supplement stores or diet stores everywhere!
LOL. Well I use supplements, getting the "all" nutrients in food can be challenging. Vitamins and nutrients can be secured elsewhere in our day and age hehe. Getting it in the source of plants is best though.
I really like your approach.
We are genetically predisposed to want those calorie dense foods (high in fat/high in sugar).
Your concept embraces that in a measured/intelligent way.
Thank you.
No problem at all.
Modern culture is all feast of famine. Probably a bit too much feast when I look around in public or in the mirror.
We need a balanced/smart approach, something maintainable. Your post is all about that, so I'm a big fan.
Those desserts look really yummy, but it's so much easier to buy the big chocolate cone ice cream at the supermarket.
From my experience, you need strong motivation to lose weight and I think wanting to look good works better than wanting to stay healthy. We're vain.
I'm trying to be a better person, not be vain anymore, so I'm looking forward to the chocolate ice cream. After all, it's the soul that matters!
Yes, it's easier and cheaper to buy those store made desserts. But it tastes good and you know it's healthier ;)
I find myself trying to "spend" those calories where they really count.
I don't want to eat some low-quality supermarket doughnut or cookie, when I can have something a little higher end that I'll really enjoy.
Controlling the portion size can also really help. You really want that sinful deliciousness but you can probably satisfy that craving without a huge portion.
I'm closest to the what-the-hell effect. It's probably the most common reason out of the three (at least from the people around me). And it became a sort of monkey see monkey do. That and people around me don't give much weight to dieting lol. And I'm on steroid food cravings so I'm having a hard time sticking to "small frequent meals". And it's surpirising you're a sweet tooth enough to bake your own desserts. They look and sound good too so I might pass the links to my sister or mom. I'm only good at eating. And lastly, I'm not a fan of the texture of dates. Or it could just be that I've only tried packaged date products. My dad loves those though.
Dieting (in this context) is a complete waste of time and money. People should learn about nutrition and just eat healthy, nutritious food and combine this with regular healthy exercise. Only eating red foods on every second Tuesday, coupled with calorie limits and 'sins' is a complete waste of time and effort. In the extremely unlikely event that you do lose weight, you won't have learned anything about nutrition and will likely put in the weight in a few months at best.
Yup, nutrition knowledge is lacking, even in doctors.
it's getting harder and harder to lose weight as more delicious food is made and promoted on the internet. well，for foodies，it's mission impossible😂
Life is too short for diet...
You commented within a minute of posting... why comment without reading?
I read it in big, your article is well organised and it's easy to be read :D
Life is too short to read what we already know.
I'm impressed!!!! Way to go!
@krnel
You commented within a minute of posting... why comment without reading?
I have loved following you, your posts have made me hungry ;) @krnel
You commented within 2 minutes of posting... did you even read the post?
good advice... and I snack on Garlic daily
I guess if you're trying to live forever... graze with the sheep. I made it 72 years (almost- I got a week or so) eating whatever I want. I may not see 90, but like you say in the post... "What the Hell" I'd rather live 72 years and be happy than eat some diet prescribed by some idiot that will change his/her mind next week. You live- then you die... it's really as simple as that.
It's all very well, but not all have the patience to refrain from their favorite tastes. The problem of bad food depends on the psychology of man
Yup its all psychology.
This very science-y post had a rather unexpectedly delicious ending. Some of those raw desserts look like quite a bit of work for my lazy ass though. My favourite thing to do is blend frozen banana and then add different things to the mix...a tbsp pure cocoa powder and some mint flavouring, or some peanut butter...which I know is fatty but it's better than a pint of Ben & Jerrys. The result is a really nice ice cream type food and I never feel the need to add sugar. I would love to make gorgeous raw cakes like that but when it comes down to it I'm too much of a lazy sod :p I love looking at healthy food porn though, and if I'm ever feeling less lazy I will be giving that raw lemon tart a go!
Yeah I haven't made any of those in a long time, over a year. Frozen banana is great though, easy ice cream :)