Overcome survival instincts to lose weight
Stress for Success
February 3, 2009

I used to be ravenous in my 20s and feared that I’d never get control of my eating. My near-daily splurges included three big Snickers bars, an entire three-row package of cheap cookies, or a large bag of potato chips.

But here’s what really woke me up. After moving to a new apartment with all new kitchen supplies I discovered to my horror that I’d consumed an entire 3-pound can of Crisco in one month! I loved greasy popcorn.

Once I became conscious of this disgusting fact I completely quit eating popcorn for many years. Now I infrequently eat microwave popcorn.

Had I continued gorging I’d be a candidate for the 86% of Americans who could be overweight or obese by 2030, including 96% of non-Hispanic black women and 91% of Mexican American men. As much as $956.9 billion might be spent for overweight and obesity-related costs, one of every six health-care dollars. All of this is according to Youfa Wang, MD, PhD, associate professor with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for Human Nutrition.

The overweight or obese are at increased risk for developing hypertension, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Researchers estimate that children and young adults may have shorter life expectancies than their parents if this obesity epidemic continues unabated.

But as I wrote last week, much of our obesity problem comes from the human survival instinct to protect against future starvation by eating calorie-dense fats and sugars and eating more than we need.

Whether you want to lose weight from your holiday excesses or you simply need to shed some pounds you’ll have to overcome this evolutionary programming of eating until you’re full. My favorite advice is from Michael Pollan, author of "The Omnivore's Dilemma," "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

You’ll also need to develop greater awareness of your excesses and the willpower to change until healthier eating becomes a lifestyle.

Deidre Barrett, professor of psychology at Harvard and author of “Wasteland” says, “… most people fail in the first three days on a diet,” so it’s important to know what to expect. It takes:
* 72 hours of cravings to reset hormonal levels;
* Another couple of weeks before dieting becomes easier;

She also suggests no cheating on a diet because taking an absolute approach is better than moment-to-moment decision-making regarding what to eat.

Your instinct to eat until you’re full also triggers rationalizations that you must become consciously aware of and argue against. How do you justify eating something you know isn’t on your diet? “I’ve had a stressful day and having ice cream won’t kill me.” Argue against your excuses. “I may deserve something for being stressed but it doesn’t have to be food.”

When in my 20s I didn’t realize it was instinct driving my eating habits. I thought I was just a pig (that’s harsh but you should have seen what I ate!) I simply came to the conclusion that I’d rather be healthy than full. How about you?

Jacquelyn Ferguson, M. S., of Inter Action Associates, is a trainer and a Stress Coach. E-mail her at www.jackieferguson.com with your questions or for information about her workshops on this and other topics and to invite her to speak to your organization