Essex County Physical Therapist Offers Dieting Advice

MONTCLAIR, NJ — The following article comes courtesy of Matthew Cifelli, the COO and Partner at Parabolic Performance and Rehabilitation, which has locations in Montclair. Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Don’t forget to visit the Patch Montclair Facebook page here.

For many of us, we often struggle to avoid the box of doughnuts at work or the chocolate cake in the refrigerator. Just the simple thought of something sweet and savory often results in losing the battle to make healthy decisions. Some of you may be saying, “Yes, this happens to me all the time”, and are wondering why it’s so hard to resist something as seemingly innocent as a piece of cake. Well, it has everything to do with a mindset.

The attraction you feel for that piece of cake is much more deeply rooted then just a mild interest. As humans, we are programmed to want and resistance can become extremely difficult. In the book, The End of Overeating by Dr. David Kessler, he explains that when you ingest foods that are high in sugar, fat and salt our brain releases certain pleasure-stimulating chemicals (opioids) into the blood stream. This causes you to have intense feelings of reward and satisfaction, as well as suppression of pain or stress. The pleasurable effect is very similar to the feelings that morphine and heroin users experience.

Naturally, it can be very hard to stop and is the reason why you are always craving more. But wouldn’t it be easier to just refuse taking the first bite to begin with? That challenge is directly related to the release of another brain neurotransmitter called dopamine. This chemical messenger is responsible for motivating you to seek out that piece of cake, which facilitates the opioid release. Dopamine causes your entire world to revolve around the thought of that piece of cake and to go get it. Once you become a victim of the cake a few times, the entire cycle becomes a vicious habit that is satisfying, very ingrained and extremely difficult to break. The brain’s circuitry is now hardwired to want the piece of cake.

The sad news is that according to the CDC, 38% of our population is considered to be obese, which is an alarmingly high percentage. Our society is filled with unhealthy food options and this essentially force feeds that poor neural circuitry that was discussed earlier. But on the flipside, you can start making immediate changes to right your ship. You can start working on drawing a new map in your mind that will have you passing by that piece of cake on your way too much better pleasures, and here’s how:

1. Stop thinking and eating those highly palatable foods that aren’t in your plan for success. This will be difficulty at first, but if you think more about your goals and where you want to be, change will start to happen.
2. After you have conquered your own mind, the next step is to allow the stimulus to cool, as Dr. Kessler puts it. You’ve weakened the circuitry that has been driving the poor behavior and now you must trust the process. It will get easier and easier each time you allow the stimulus to cool, but be patience is key.
3. As you work on reprogramming your brain, focus your efforts on new rewarding experiences that feed your quest for achieving fitness success.

Remember, you possess the power to overcome bad habits but you can’t let matters get the best of you. Stay focused, stay strong. Now go out and get what’s in front of you!