Why Do I Do That??

Have you ever wondered why you struggle with eating the very foods that you know will sabotage your dietary goals or do the things that you’re pretty sure will set you off on the wrong path? There are several factors that you need to be aware of in order to decipher the answers to these age-old questions.


Is there actually a food or type of food that ‘trips your trigger’? Right now you’re saying OMG she’s in my head. You may answer with a resounding yes and you may even be able to give name to the offender(s). However, there really are no ‘BAD’ foods; it’s just that your personal and physiological responses to having eaten a particular food may be out of whack. So what do you do with this ‘wackiness’?

Your first step is to identify those foods, situations, emotions and people who set you off your nutritional goals. I know it sounds awful to single out people that set you off but it’s true that the company you keep affects your choices. Do you eat when you’re happy? Sad? Stressed? Excited? Depressed? You need to identify the emotions that tend to make you feel like eating out-of-control. How do you feel when you have little or no control over your food choices? Or when you’re faced with too many choices, such as an “all-you-can-eat” buffet? You need to have a plan when you are faced with these situations. We’ll take a look at some strategies later in this article.

Another aspect you need to understand is that your brain is wired for self preservation. If you are faced with the possibility of starving (i.e. low calorie diet) or that you can’t have certain foods (i.e. carbohydrates) you’re brain goes into overdrive to prevent self destruction. There is a part of your brain called the hypothalamus that controls hunger, thirst, sexual desire among many other senses. Over the course of your life you have trained your brain, more specifically your hypothalamus, to control a cascade of physiological events that leave you feeling like you have no choice but to eat more than is reasonable. So, are you at the mercy of this process? Yes and no! Your journey may take longer and may require a bit more effort than others but you are not doomed to failure.

If your child was slower at learning math than the other children in his grade would you consider him doomed to be less-than? Of course not! Maybe you would spend more time helping him with his assignments. Or, maybe you would find him tutor. You wouldn’t just give up on him. Right? In a sense, when you give up on yourself because it’s too much of a struggle you’re telling yourself that you’re not worth the effort. Maybe YOU need a tutor!

Life throws us curveballs every day and sometimes we just need help to make it through the day. The act of securing a support system does more than make you feel good. It can, over time and with repetition, actually retrain your brain to respond in a way that doesn’t overreact (the sky is falling) to the stresses life presents and from upsetting your apple cart. The stress hormones produced when you perceive stress, whether physical or emotional, signal the hypothalamus to go into preservation mode. Stress hormones cause your blood sugar to go up, which promotes the production of insulin, which in turn causes the blood sugar to drop. It’s almost like a rollercoaster ride, and it’s precisely at this point that you are physiologically and physiologically, vulnerable to overeating or overreacting. The key is to understand the triggers that make you feel stressed or out-of-control and learn new ways to deal with them.

Here are some ideas to consider:

• Understand your stress, thus over-eating triggers. Get assistance from a health professional that can help you see and understand your behaviors and responses in a new, healthier way.

• Give yourself plenty of time and positive feedback for making even a little progress. Take small steps toward making better choices. Set short and long-term goals so you can measure your success. Have someone you trust hold you accountable.

• Eat small frequent meals throughout the day so the blood sugar roller coaster doesn’t leave you vulnerable. Make and stick to a reasonable eating and exercise plan. Weight loss may not be the first or even primary goal. Maybe you need to just start eating for life and health, let the weight loss be a result of a new way of eating.

• Know that you are not a failure, weak willed or a bad person. For some of us this whole eating and exercising thing is a little more challenging than we’d like. Embrace the challenge so a new and healthier you can be there for your family, friends and co-workers.

• Realize that you are not what you weigh, nor are you what you eat. Try not to succumb to societies unreasonable version of the perfect (skinny, sexy, smart, good looking) you. Don’t let what you weigh or what you eat become a negative experience. Remember, a negative experience = stress undesirable behavior like over eating or eating anything you can get your hands on at the moment.

• Make a plan! If you need help let me know. I’ve been there, seen it all, and done it all. I just can’t remember it all at my age. Trust me, I remember enough to help you make a plan and live a new and healthier way.



Lu Herbeck

Puravida Fitness - Nutrition Director

luherbeck@yahoo.com