One of the big things you see in the fitness community is the term "Cheat Day" or "Cheat Meal". You also see people who follow extremely strict diet plans "fall off the wagon" and binge eat things outside their diet plan. With those who fall off the wagon, they often feel guilt and disappointment in themselves which further derails their fitness plan.
I propose a different solution; I call it moderation. Depriving yourself of things that you enjoy is a shame; as a human and an adult, you should be able to practice self-limitations when you eat, be it not having the whole bag of Doritos or using just a little bit less butter on your popcorn.
I have been writing a few fitness plans for my friends and the one thing I stress is that they can have a treat here and there. I have found through years of observation and my own personal experiences that depriving yourself of something you enjoy has a few common effects on your physical and mental health.
I propose a different solution; I call it moderation. Depriving yourself of things that you enjoy is a shame; as a human and an adult, you should be able to practice self-limitations when you eat, be it not having the whole bag of Doritos or using just a little bit less butter on your popcorn.
I have been writing a few fitness plans for my friends and the one thing I stress is that they can have a treat here and there. I have found through years of observation and my own personal experiences that depriving yourself of something you enjoy has a few common effects on your physical and mental health.
Emotions
For the sake of example, we will use the diet plan of someone who has cut out sugar from their diet. This person goes out of their way to avoid sugar in their daily routine, and may or may not have other self-imposed dietary restrictions.
The science behind deprivation and how it affects the brain has a lot in common with the brain chemistry of someone with Binge Eating Disorder (BED). Common emotional symptoms of BED that also are found in those that deprive themselves of a food they enjoy include but are not limited to:
Food and the pleasure derived from eating and drinking affect the part of the brain called the neucleus accumbens. This part of the brain is responsible for controlling the way the pleasure hormone dopamine is processed in the brain. The neucleus accumbens is also the piece of the brain responsible for addiction, as it connects the limbic system (emotions and behavioral motivation) and amygdala (emotional reactions and habits).
It is important to understand this little science lesson because it helps you to understand how eating certain foods creates a pleasurable emotional response. Back to our person who avoids sugar.
When someone craves a substance, it kicks the neucleus accumbens into high gear, increasing anticipation of future pleasure. That's why eating that ice cream or candy tastes so good; when you eat it, you're satiating the physiological craving. Cravings are the result of mental chemistry!
Unfortunately, when you consistently avoid cravings without managing them properly, this portion of your brain keeps running on high. The craving gets worse and worse i.e. the anticipation of that future pleasure increases, until the person finally cracks. Since they have been depriving themselves of this pleasure release for so long, their brain releases a huge flood of hormones that make them feel better. This excessive release of these hormones is the same as when a drug addict finally gets their fix; you have now opened up more hormone receptors which are gonna make the cravings that much worse the next time. This is why people with BED often feel depressed when they are not bingeing, and why our sugar-avoider feels more depressed when the initial high is gone.
These feelings of depression after the initial craving release can derail someone from their goal by skewing their ability to understand that they can start it all again tomorrow. In that case, that person will often give up because they feel powerless to their cravings, when in actuality they could have made the pleasure reaction much less powerful if they had never let the craving get so huge in the first place.
The science behind deprivation and how it affects the brain has a lot in common with the brain chemistry of someone with Binge Eating Disorder (BED). Common emotional symptoms of BED that also are found in those that deprive themselves of a food they enjoy include but are not limited to:
- Feeling depressed, disgusted, ashamed, guilty or upset about your eating
- Never feeling satisfied, no matter how much you eat
- Desperation to control weight and eating habits
- Feeling stress or tension that is only relieved by eating the food you've been avoiding
- Having a negative emotional response after consuming said food
Food and the pleasure derived from eating and drinking affect the part of the brain called the neucleus accumbens. This part of the brain is responsible for controlling the way the pleasure hormone dopamine is processed in the brain. The neucleus accumbens is also the piece of the brain responsible for addiction, as it connects the limbic system (emotions and behavioral motivation) and amygdala (emotional reactions and habits).
It is important to understand this little science lesson because it helps you to understand how eating certain foods creates a pleasurable emotional response. Back to our person who avoids sugar.
When someone craves a substance, it kicks the neucleus accumbens into high gear, increasing anticipation of future pleasure. That's why eating that ice cream or candy tastes so good; when you eat it, you're satiating the physiological craving. Cravings are the result of mental chemistry!
Unfortunately, when you consistently avoid cravings without managing them properly, this portion of your brain keeps running on high. The craving gets worse and worse i.e. the anticipation of that future pleasure increases, until the person finally cracks. Since they have been depriving themselves of this pleasure release for so long, their brain releases a huge flood of hormones that make them feel better. This excessive release of these hormones is the same as when a drug addict finally gets their fix; you have now opened up more hormone receptors which are gonna make the cravings that much worse the next time. This is why people with BED often feel depressed when they are not bingeing, and why our sugar-avoider feels more depressed when the initial high is gone.
These feelings of depression after the initial craving release can derail someone from their goal by skewing their ability to understand that they can start it all again tomorrow. In that case, that person will often give up because they feel powerless to their cravings, when in actuality they could have made the pleasure reaction much less powerful if they had never let the craving get so huge in the first place.
Physical
Swap over now to someone who has been avoiding extraneous fats in their diet. This is a common dietary restriction because it makes sense: the less extra fat you're eating, the more your body has to burn the fat you already have in order to create energy.
As many people who don't have dietary restrictions already know, if you all of a sudden eat an excessively greasy or fatty meal, you feel it in your belly (my late stepdad used to call that feeling "bubble guts"). It's your body's response to being stressed out by what you have just consumed; your gastrointestinal tract needs to work that much harder than it normally does in order to process what you just put in it. It has been found that after eating a high saturated fat meal that artery function decreases, primarily because the inner lining of your arteries is unable to expand to increase blood flow.
When you avoid fat and all of a sudden subject your body to a fatty meal, you are gonna have a few common post-meal symptoms. A few we all have experienced are diarrhea/loose stools, indigestion, heartburn, nausea, even vomiting.
Our bodies are extremely efficient machines; they learn to run as best as they can which what fuel you give them. Think about it like a car- if your car is used to getting 91 octane fuel, and all of a sudden you gas up with 87 octane, your car is going to have to work that much harder to maintain its normal level of efficiency. It's the same with your body!
As many people who don't have dietary restrictions already know, if you all of a sudden eat an excessively greasy or fatty meal, you feel it in your belly (my late stepdad used to call that feeling "bubble guts"). It's your body's response to being stressed out by what you have just consumed; your gastrointestinal tract needs to work that much harder than it normally does in order to process what you just put in it. It has been found that after eating a high saturated fat meal that artery function decreases, primarily because the inner lining of your arteries is unable to expand to increase blood flow.
When you avoid fat and all of a sudden subject your body to a fatty meal, you are gonna have a few common post-meal symptoms. A few we all have experienced are diarrhea/loose stools, indigestion, heartburn, nausea, even vomiting.
Our bodies are extremely efficient machines; they learn to run as best as they can which what fuel you give them. Think about it like a car- if your car is used to getting 91 octane fuel, and all of a sudden you gas up with 87 octane, your car is going to have to work that much harder to maintain its normal level of efficiency. It's the same with your body!
Solution
I myself have survived a five year struggle with anorexia and bulimia, and so I definitely lean towards working with brain chemistry to maintain a stable mental environment. Because of this experience, my solution is simple: don't deprive yourself and stress your neucleus accumbens.
By occasionally having a treat, you don't create the anticipation of that pleasure release. Your body also won't have to go through as much stress if it's already used to processing the treat. By having the treat every once in a while, you are less likely to binge on it and have the negative emotional response to "falling off the wagon".
Also think about it this way- if you're following your fitness plan and meeting and bypassing your goals, you have more than earned a reward here and there! It's just important to exercise self control and self respect and not to overdo it and cause yourself a setback.
So go have that ice cream. I just bought a 6 pack of coconut paletas, my favorite treat!
By occasionally having a treat, you don't create the anticipation of that pleasure release. Your body also won't have to go through as much stress if it's already used to processing the treat. By having the treat every once in a while, you are less likely to binge on it and have the negative emotional response to "falling off the wagon".
Also think about it this way- if you're following your fitness plan and meeting and bypassing your goals, you have more than earned a reward here and there! It's just important to exercise self control and self respect and not to overdo it and cause yourself a setback.
So go have that ice cream. I just bought a 6 pack of coconut paletas, my favorite treat!