Why You Overeat - the Unholy Trinity of Sugar, Fat, and Salt - and How to Stop Overeating

I have arrived. Yep, those twenty extra pounds that I thought only attached themselves to lesser mortals found me. I can blame age, slowing of metabolism, blah, blah, blah, but I know exactly how it happened and have a plan to get rid of these unwanted stowaways.

I've learned that three foods keep you coming back for more, whether you want to or not. This article will teach you why these foods are so tempting and how you can stop sabotaging your health and your goal of a slim waistline.

"Overeating is not due to an absence of willpower, but a biological challenge made more difficult by the overstimulating food environment that surrounds us.¹"

Behold the Unholy Trinity: Sugar, Fat, and Salt

"Pick an appetizer. What's in Buffalo wings? You start with the fatty part of the chicken. Many times, it's fried in the manufacturing plant first. It's fried again in the restaurant. That red sauce? Sugar and fat. That creamy sauce? Fat and salt.

"So what are we eating? Fat on fat on fat on sugar on fat and salt.²"

Sugar, fat, and salt are the least beneficial foods you can eat, yet they are the most tempting. Trust me when I tell you that McDonald's knows this all too well.

Pop Quiz Hotshot

Yes, that is from the movie, Speed. Couldn't help myself - giggle.

1. You are at McDonald's. Which choice has fewer calories - a Premium Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken or a Cheeseburger?

2. Which option is healthier - veggie chips or potato chips?

3. You are serving steak for dinner and want to offset the calories with a healthier side. Should you serve rice pilaf or a baked potato?

4. Should you drink that beer or opt for a smoothie?

5. Tuna sandwich or roast beef sandwich?

Here are the answers . . .

1. The cheeseburger - 300 calories. The salad contains 420 calories (without dressing 320 calories - still more than the cheeseburger)

2. Neither. They both have about the same calories and fat content.

3. A medium (3" diameter) baked potato contains 160 calories. Add two tablespoons of light sour cream (40 calories) and one pat of butter (36 calories) and the potato still comes in at just 236 calories.

A one-cup serving of a typical box of rice pilaf from the grocery store has 310 calories and a whopping 1180 mgs of sodium.

4. Actually, neither option is nutritionally good; however, you could splurge on a beer with 5.5% alcohol and consume fewer calories than the 500 calories in a typical strawberry-banana smoothie.

5. Roast beef, even with cheese (about 500 calories) trumps tuna (700 or more calories). Why? The mayonnaise in tuna salad.

Why We Love Foods That Want to Kill Us

In order to understand why you overeat, especially foods containing salt, fat, and sugar, you need to know how your brain works, and how it encourages you repeatedly to eat more than you should.

Your Brain is Out to Get You

Here's what happens. The neurons in your brain that are stimulated by taste and other properties of highly pleasurable food are part of the "opioid circuitry," which is a fancy name for your body's primary pleasure system. When you experience pleasure of any kind, your opioid circuitry produces chemicals in your brain that have rewarding effects on your entire body and mind.

The Role of Dopamine

Do you remember the advertising slogan "Bet you can't eat just one?" The food people were counting on your dopamine to make you want more than one - in fact, to want a whole bag of the stuff.

The dopamine in your brain drives you to desire foods that aren't good for you. When you become aware that sugar, fat, or salt is available, the dopamine in you makes you want it, want more of it, and want it right now!

Over time, the act of eating rewarding food becomes automatic - a habit. You're hooked, and you gain weight.

How to Stop Overeating

Often, the weight gain slowly creeps up on you. That's what happened to me.

If you are overweight, and you generally eat more than you need to, you have some degree of "conditioned hypereating." It's a common situation - your brain's determination for pleasurable eating is overwhelming your desire to eat right and stay healthy.

But don't despair. There is a way out.

Regain Control of Your Eating Habits in Five Steps

Always be aware of what you're doing. First, figure out situations that lead you to eat. Write them down. To break the hold your eating cues have, you must be aware that they are happening. Do you go right for the fridge when you get home from work? Write that down. Do you workout? Great! Do you hit Starbucks after your workout? Write that down.

Engage in different behaviors. When an eating cue hits, plan to do something different. When you come home, don't go to the pantry and have a snack. Go change out of your work clothes instead. At work, don't go to the snack bar or vending machines. Eat the healthy snacks you brought with you. At a fast food restaurant, know which foods are healthier. Better yet, cut out fast food altogether. Always have a Plan B.

Formulate new thoughts about eating that compete with, and serve to change, your old, traditional thoughts. Use this basic thought process, "I don't have to do that; I can do this and feel better about it."

Find support to help you make healthy choices. I use the My Fitness Pal web site to keep me accountable - my review is here. The best feature is the message that tells you if you have a day like today, you'll weigh X amount in five weeks - that's some serious motivation!

Take steps to control your emotions about eating. To change what you eat, focus on how you approach food, how you feel, and create a plan to change your habits. Substitute these new rules for your old ones.

New Rules

You may have already told yourself, "I should stop eating donuts," a thousand times. That isn't a rule for you and it doesn't work.

Try "If -- ..then" rules, like these.

"If someone brings donuts to the office, then I'll not take even one."

"If my family wants fried chicken for dinner, then I'll get roast chicken instead."

"If the restaurant serves a huge portion of food on my plate, then I'll put half of it aside to take home and eat on another day."

Why New Rules Work

When you implement your new eating rules:

1. Your brain gets excited when you are cued to eat something with salt, fat, or sugar.

2. Your rule kicks in, and you pass it up.

3. The prefrontal cortex of your brain sends a message that you got pleasure from walking away and not eating.

4. In time, the intensity of the dopamine in your brain diminishes, the satisfaction of rule following increases, and you notice that your plan is working. Your salt, fat, and sugar intake drops dramatically, you lose weight, you feel better, you look better, and your self-confidence increases.

I've been doing this for only a week and it's already so much easier.

Delivering Yourself from Temptation

Despite your best intentions, there will be times when cues are going to tempt you to eat salt, fat, and sugary foods.

Switch off the thought immediately as you would change the channel from a bad TV show. Replace the thought with a new one, such as "I am a healthy eater today" or "I feel good about myself when I stick to my plan." Make sure it is a positive thought. You've had enough negative thoughts about yourself and those don't work.

Reward Yourself

When you've lost a certain amount of weight, or when you managed difficult cues for several days or weeks, celebrate! Do something fun and rewarding!

Sources:

1. Food Rehab: "Conditioned Hyper-Eating"

2. Why Do We Overeat? Author Blames Fat, Sugar, Salt

3. Crave Man - David Kessler Knew That Some Foods Are Hard to Resist; Now He Knows Why , The Washington Post