Why Diets Fail (Because You're Addicted to Sugar) (25 page)

It should be noted, however, that over the years, mixed evidence has accumulated regarding whether people are more likely to experience cravings while hungry, dieting or not. It may be that food cravings are more likely for some people than others. Individuals with an addiction to food may be especially accustomed to experiencing cravings for food, and when certain foods are restricted, these cravings may feel even stronger. At times, urges to eat certain foods can feel irresistible, and they can consume your thoughts and behaviors. But here is the good news: while cravings may arise when making any change in the way you eat, especially when giving up
foods that may be involved in an addictive cycle, (1) cravings are acute episodes, which will pass, (2) resisting them is (probably not surprisingly) associated with improved weight loss,
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and (3) you can take steps to reduce the intensity and incidence of these cravings.

You might wonder if these cravings will last or if they will continue to be as strong as they may seem at first. Fortunately, research has been able to lend some insight into this as well. A study comparing a low-carbohydrate diet to a low-fat diet found that participants assigned to the low-carbohydrate diet showed a more significant reduction in carbohydrate cravings.
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This reduction was apparent three months following the start of the diet and was further reduced at twelve months. Additionally, participants assigned to the low-carbohydrate diet reported a reduced preference for foods rich in carbohydrates and sweets compared to those assigned to the low-fat diet. Cravings for sugar were also decreased by three months, although after three months, these increased, suggesting the importance of using craving avoidance techniques, a few of which will be discussed next, even as time goes on. These results indicate that cravings for both carbohydrates and sugar can decrease even within the first three months.

Junk Food Consumption

Between the 1970s and 1990s, frozen potato consumption rose 63 percent based on reports from the US Department of Agriculture, evidence of a dramatic rise in french fry consumption.
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Also, estimates of the amounts of particular junk foods consumed by Americans yearly, per person, are alarming: 50 pounds of cookies and cakes, 100 pounds of refined sugar, 55 pounds of fat and oil, 300 containers of soda, 20 gallons of ice cream, 5 pounds of potato chips, and 18 pounds of candy!
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Food cravings can be a major obstacle to weight-loss success. In fact, researchers have found that the number one reason people reported not entirely following a strict diet during certain feeding studies was that they experienced food cravings.
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Because of the powerful effect that cravings can have on our food-intake patterns, it is important to have an arsenal of strategies on hand to avoid giving in to them if they arise.

Combating Your Cravings

While withdrawal is normally an acute phase that will eventually pass, cravings for certain foods may linger. This is because, as noted above, craving is a part of the normal appetitive process, and also because cues, situations, or memories of foods that you used to over-consume can arise at any time and perhaps weaken your resolve. Here are some pointers on how you can tame your cravings to stay on track with your healthy eating habits.

UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU CRAVE

The category of junk food is composed of those things that we know we aren’t supposed to eat too much of, but we eat them anyway: chips, ice cream, cake, cookies, chocolate bars, and so on. These processed foods are usually very high in calories and very low in nutritional value. Americans seem to spend a lot of time in the junk food aisles of the grocery store because, as a nation, we consume a lot of junk food. Factors such as low cost, convenience, and habit are all to blame, and as you are learning, addiction may also explain in part why people like to eat these particular foods so much and in such large quantities. Most junk foods contain a lot of added sugars.

HEALTHIER SUBSTITUTES FOR CRAVED FOODS

It is reported that, on average, Americans consumed 152 pounds of added sugars in 2000.
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In fact, in 2000, daily consumption of added sugars amounted to approximately 32 teaspoons for each person, which is about three times higher than the limit recommended by the USDA.
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So not only is junk food bad for you because of the added calories and lack of nutrients, but if it is loaded with sugar, it may fuel your addiction and lead you to want to continue to eat these foods, which will definitely pack on the pounds.

When initiating any change in your eating habits, by and large, junk foods are the largest class of foods that needs to be eliminated (see Eliminate Junk Foods,
this page
); however, they can also be the hardest to give up. But there are alternatives to junk food. The key is to identify
what
it is about the food that you crave, and then try to substitute it with a more appropriate food. For example, if you crave potato chips, think about what aspect of the chip you want to eat. Is it because you want something salty? Something crunchy? The table above outlines some commonly craved categories of junk foods and offers some healthier substitutions based on their qualities. It is
simply a matter of finding the alternative food that will satisfy you, at least enough to get you through the acute period in which you crave that particular food.

UNDERSTAND WHEN AND WHY YOU CRAVE

Some research has focused on how our emotional state may influence food cravings. On a regular (often daily) basis, people may feel stressed as a result of their jobs, families, or uncertainties about the future. There is evidence that when people are stressed, they increase the amounts of sugar and fat-rich foods they eat.
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This is related to the finding that stress stimulates the release of cortisol, a steroid hormone, which has been shown to stimulate appetite.
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Food, and in particular comfort foods, or highly palatable foods, may make us feel better. This could be for a number of reasons. For instance, it has been suggested that we may feel better because these foods give us some sense of pleasure, and eating them may serve as a distraction from stress or may moderate our stress response.
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All of these possibilities may help to explain why some people turn to food to cope with difficult situations in their lives. However, the types of food that people seem to turn to during these times generally are not healthy options. For instance, one study found that psychological distress among women was associated with food cravings for sweets and fast food.
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Another study among college women found that about 60 percent of participants reported an increased appetite when stressed, but only 33 percent reported eating healthy foods when stressed (versus 80 percent when not stressed). Instead, when stressed, participants tended to consume sweets and mixed dishes such as pizza or fast food.
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Using food as a coping mechanism is not a healthy approach to dealing with stress or unpleasant emotions, especially considering the possible consequences of weight gain and other health concerns
like diabetes. So, if you find that you often crave food when things in your life seem stressful, consider other, healthier coping mechanisms that might serve a similar function to eating. The key is to identify what function eating serves for you in that moment. Is it a temporary distraction? Does it make you feel better? Similar to junk food, you can find a healthier substitution depending on how you think it benefits you. For example, if it serves as a distraction, what else might work instead? Taking the dog for a walk? Reading a book? Listening to music? The alternative is entirely up to you and based on your needs, which may vary depending on the situation.

Variety Is the Spice of Life

Recent research using brain-imaging techniques has tried to investigate the effects of food craving on our brains. One study found that certain areas of the brain showed increased activation when participants thought about foods they enjoy.
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These brain areas, the researchers note, overlap with some brain regions associated with drug craving. What is particularly interesting about this study is that it was only participants who were placed on a monotonous or boring diet—that is, a diet that lacked variety—who showed increased activation in these brain regions when they thought about the food items they like. These findings again suggest common neural mechanisms related to both palatable foods and drugs, but also that the assortment of foods we eat may influence how strong a craving may be. They also emphasize the need to have an array of recipes and different foods on hand so that your meals don’t become too mundane.

Be Aware of Food Cues

We encounter environmental food cues almost everywhere we look, and the effects of these food cues may have a subtle but powerful influence on our decisions regarding what to eat. Food packaging, labels, logos, commercials, catchy songs—all serve to remind us of the enjoyable experience of eating certain foods in the hopes that we will buy and eat more of them. It’s Marketing 101. And the worst part is that we seem to live in a society that is one big food cue. Unfortunately, there are very few cues to eat kale or celery sticks.