Signs of Diet Sabotage
Think you're filling your plate with wholesome foods? Not if you're piling on the extras.
Sometimes
a carrot stick is just a carrot stick. But for many of us, it's a
crunchy, bright orange vehicle for decadent dip--blue cheese, perhaps,
or a nice herbed ranch. And as you dunk your sixth or seventh spear
into that delicious dressing, you might tell yourself, Well, at least I'm eating a hearty serving of veggies right now. True--but you're also consuming quite a lot of salt, fat, and calories.
Wrecking our otherwise healthy food picks along with our waistlines is often beyond our control. In his book The End of Overeating
(Rodale), former FDA commissioner David Kessler, MD, explains that when
you smell, see, or even think about "highly palatable" foods--ones that
are high in fat, sugar, or salt--your brain can trigger the release of
dopamine, the reward-seeking neurotransmitter. Just walking by a Krispy
Kreme can cause your brain to send the "eat me" signal loud and clear.
So in a way, you can blame the dopamine surge for forcing you to eat
that glazed doughnut.
The fact is, it's possible to stop your pleasure-seeking brain from
making menu decisions--you just need to know what to look for and be
knowledgeable about what counts as a "pitfall." Check out these common
acts of food sabotage, plus our easy strategies for steering clear of
them, so that more often than not, you can keep delicious, healthy food
top of mind, even in the face of temptation
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