I heard this on NPR a couple of days ago and meant to post it then, but forgot. They are running a series about weight loss/gain and aging that has been interesting in the way that NPR stories are always interesting even when they have no relation to your life. But when you've lost 30 pounds and regained 20 of that in spite of regular exercise and what I *thought* was careful attention to my diet, it's even more interesting.
The story covered research on how your brain responds to food after you've lost weight and it turns out that under normal circumstances you respond to food using the logical/rational part of your brain, but after weight loss you respond with the emotional part of your brain, so you make stupid choices. It has to do with the depletion of leptin, which is associated with reward-seeking behavior. When your leptin is low, you eat Oreos even if logically you know you won't starve in the 45 minutes before dinner and you really shouldn't be eating these things.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123894109&ps=cprs
1 comment:
What if your initial weight loss was as a result of an emotional REJECTION of food? 8-) I think I need some of this stuff!
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