The vicious circle about food

Our tendency to label things is totally natural but when it comes to weight loss it can be harmful. When you label a food as “junk” or “unhealthy it helps you to stay on track ” in the short term but in the long term it can trigger a treacherous mechanism and bring you in a kind of perverse loop. This happens because when a food is considered “off limits”, we feel physiologically and psychologically deprived. Studies on The European Journal of Neuroscience and Behavioural Brain Research have shown that when we restrict our food intake the body starts a series of chemical reactions involving dopamine release that leads us to crave foods that are high in calories because they become more rewarding for us. Even only looking at images of these “bad foods” starts this loop. Because the food has become more attractive after restricting periods, most of us eventually give in to the “off limits” foods and tend to lose control. This usually causes a loss of confidence and a tendency towards negative emotions). This can start a restrict/binge cycle. This all-or-nothing thinking is the reason why loads of people experience yo-yo dieting for years and think that there is something wrong with them. The good news is that you can break the vicious circle by making a plan with different strategies with the support of a nutritional therapist. Usually, it means to remove or change the label, to replace the thoughts about the food or to associate the thought with a different behavior.