Hi, again, welcome to the continued group read of Dr. David Kessler's The End of Overeating. This evening, we're into Part 5, "Food Rehab," Ch. 40, "The Treatment Framework." For links back to the rest of the series, please see the previous installment from Kessler series initiator Edward Spurlock, on Ch. 39.
Once again, it's all about those of us who tends fo suffer from almost uncontrollable, cravings for certain "hyperpalatable" foods -- high in fat, sugar and salt. And the title "Food Rehab" is not a throwaway, because Kessler's take is that this type of food affects some of us like an addictive drug and even changes our brains. Creating a struggle for control that is not unlike what people experience with nicotine, for example.
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Unlike most diet plans -- or other kinds of rehab programs -- Kessler states:
I don't offer a one-size-fits-all technique, because I know it will not work...It takes individual experimentation to determine how you can sructure your environment and strengthen your behavior.
That's honest. And it matches what we've learned in WHEE. One size cannot be expected to fit all of our individual minds and metabolisms any more than one size can be expected to fit all of our bodies -- even if we were all at our chosen ideal weight this very minute.
But the principles throughout Kessler's book can be useful to many of us in designing our own program.
So here's a summary of some reminders in this chapter:
Conditioned hypereating is a biological challenge...a chronic problem that needs to be managed...
Not "cured."
Every time we act on our desire for sugar, fat and salt, and earn a reward...it become harder for us to act differently...
Oops, yes, that's been happening to me again in the past few days. The trouble is I'm into some heavy writing tasks, and I tend to concentrate so hard that I'm ravenous before I realize it might be a good idea to eat. So...well, I hate to admit this, but in my healthy kitchen I do have plain white sugar. I've gotten in the habit of adding a couple of tablespoons to a glass of 1% milk, which makes a very quick pick-me-up...not as bad as a Mars bar, but still.
The loss of control...is magnified by diets that leave us feeling deprived. New learning can stick only when it generates...satisfaction.
Woops again.I had gotten into the habit of relying on repetitive, boring foods, for the same reasons as above.
Restoring control...requires...many interlocking steps...behavioral, cognitive, and nutritional elements...
In Ch. 39, Kessler described a cognitive element, learning to redefine hyperpalatable food and large servings as "ick."
Lapses are to be expected...we can...use "slips" to our advantage...as tools for recognizing where we might stumble and reminders of the need to develop new learning...Situations will arise in which the old reward value of food is almost impossible to resist. This isn't a sign of failure, but simply a reminder that it's difficult to unlearn...
I'd like to hang that one up over my desk, in gold lettering.
To illustrate how learning and change is incremental, Kessler desrcribes how, at one stage, he proudly described to a "top food coach" a healthier dinner he had just consumed on his own self-designed program.
"You just ate twice as much as you needed"
she came back at him. It's to Kessler's great credit that he didn't get discouraged and give up. He just added that information to his collection of helpful facts.
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January 13
Weds AM - ???
Weds PM - Edward Spurlock
January 14
Thurs AM - ???
Thurs PM - ???
January 15
Fri AM - ???
Fri PM - Wee Mama
January 16
Sat AM - ???
Sat PM - Edward Spurlock (Kessler, Ch. 41)
January 17
Sun AM - ???
Sun PM - kismet. Something. Who knows what.
January 18
Mon AM - NC Dem
Mon PM - ???
January 19
Tues AM - ???
Tues PM - Clio2 (Kessler, Ch. 42)