Why pleasure can be the key to losing weight

Dieting is often agonizing: our culture has led us to associate healthy eating with hunger and sacrifice.

Fortunately, when I researched the mind-body connection for my book “The Expectation Effect“, I discovered that there are ways to change our food mindset.

And they all center around the idea that pleasure is an essential ingredient to any weight loss regimen.

As paradoxical as it sounds, cultivating an indulgent attitude toward food may be the best way to control your waist measurement.

It is important to rethink our perception of weight and diet, and the health benefits of indulging in food.

If our beliefs influence the way our bodies respond to food, is it possible that a simple change in mindset can help us control our weight?

As a science writer, when I explored the topic, I realized that the way we think about what we eat can shape our appetite through multiple psychological and physiological pathways.

And taking advantage of those “expectation effects”diets can be much easier to maintain, with greater long-term success.

How can it be?

Our appetite is influenced by signals from the digestive system – such as the sensation of stretching in the muscles of the gastrointestinal tract and chemical sensors that detect the presence of nutrients – that help measure the amount of food we have consumed.

But it turns out that we also depend on sources of information that come from our minds – such as our memories of what we have eaten and our expectations of its content – for our brain to make sense of those signals and determine how hungry we will be later.

Even small differences in presentation, such as food labelscan influence those expectations.

In one experiment, participants were given a protein bar.

To some, it was labeled as a healthy bar that contained high levels of protein, vitamins, and fiber.

To others, the text described it as a savory snack with a chocolate flavor and a delicious raspberry core.

That labeling had a profound effect on participants’ reported hunger after eating it.

People assumed the healthy bar would be less satisfying, so they felt less full than those who ate the “tasty treat.”

In fact, the association was so strong that they soon became hungrier than participants who hadn’t eaten either bar.

hormones

Our mindset can even change our hormonal response to food.

In the early 2010s, Alia Crum, a health psychologist at Stanford University, gave participants 2 shakes on different days.

Like the test with the chocolate bars, the nutritional content of the shakes was the same. But the participants saw different labels each time.

One label described the milkshake as ‘bottled heaven’, indulgent, delicious and made with sumptuously smooth ice cream. They were told that it had 620 calories in total.

The other label described it as light and healthy, with only 140 calories.

Before and after the participants drank the shakes, Crum took blood samples to measure levels of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates hunger and usually falls after eating.

He found that the labels alone affected the presence of the hormone.

Ghrelin rose and then fell much more dramatically when participants viewed the indulgent label that emphasized the pleasurable aspects of the food compared to when they viewed the label that emphasized its low calorie content.

The body’s response in the first case was similar to that normally seen after a satisfying meal.

Deprivation

The ghrelin switch may be especially important as the hormone can also reduce metabolism.

That means deprivation expectations could prevent your body from burning as much energy, making your weight loss even more difficult.

These expectancy effects do not end there.

Our attitudes can influence how quickly food moves through the digestive system and even the absorption of important nutrients like iron.

If you feel like you’re depriving yourself of what you want, you may be getting less benefit from your food.

remember the pleasure

These findings have some important implications for dieters.

They show that when we are trying to lose weight, we must not forget the pleasure of eating.

Of course we can consume foods with fewer calories, but we must try to make sure that they are full of interesting and intense flavors that excite the taste buds.

You can also create a sense of anticipation by visualizing what you’re about to eat, and even describing dishes to yourself in sensual language that evokes indulgence: instead of “low-calorie, low-carb cauliflower and shallots,” perhaps “tasty little cauliflower florets.” browned with crispy shallots, sprinkled with ginger and turmeric.

And when it comes time to eat them, make a conscious effort to savor and enjoy every bite.

enjoy it

Finally, we must avoid the negative feelings that often accompany occasional indulgences, as they are rarely productive.

One of my favorite studies found that people who associate chocolate cake with celebration were much more likely to stick to their diet goals than those who saw it as a source of guilt.

The idea is that whether you’re eating a salad or a candy bar, enjoying it will help you control your calorie intake. But let’s be clear: You can’t turn a lettuce leaf into a feast with the power of your mind.

Crash dieting is unlikely to be much easier with this change in mindset, which also doesn’t give us carte blanche to eat as much as we want.

However, for regimens that involve reasonable calorie reduction over a long, sustained period, these small changes can certainly help.

With the right mindset, we can sometimes eat cake, and still achieve our goals.

* This article is adapted from the video of BBC Reel “Why pleasure is key to losing weight”