Successful dieting requires a good deal of self-control and discipline. Even though it requires a lot of self-restraint, there are people who can successfully diet and achieve their desired weight loss goals. Then there are those who consistently fail with their dieting efforts.
The difference between successful and unsuccessful dieting could be a result of how one’s brain is wired. As such, you can reprogram your mind to help with your dieting and weight loss efforts.
Successful Dieters Are Wired Differently
An interesting study was published in the International Journal of Obesity 2007. Researchers wanted to investigate if dietary restraint invoked specific patterns in brain responses. The researchers measured brain activity in response to the sensory experience of food consumption.
As expected, researchers confirmed that successful dieters had a much higher level of dietary restraint compared to non-dieters.
The Brain Centre for Behaviour Control
In response to meal consumption, successful dieters had a greater activation in the
dorsal prefrontal cortex (DPFC) as compared to non-dieters. The DPFC plays an important role in the central regulation of eating behavior. The present study shows that the response of this brain region to the consumption of a meal is enhanced in successful dieters. The researchers say that the extent of response in this region is associated with the level of dietary restraint.
The DPFC is considered to be the pivotal site for the cognitive control of behavior. Someone who has lesions in this region of the brain loses the balance between what he should be doing as compared to how he actually reacts. For instance, someone trying to lose weight knows that he should not be eating chocolate cake. But when he sees the chocolate cake, he just reacts by eating it. Dietary restraint like any other form of behavioral restraint, is associated with the activation of the DPFC.
Suppressing the Brain Reward Centre
There was a trend towards a decrease of activity in the
orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in successful dieters. The OFC is one of the reward centres of the brain. The OFC is the brain area where sensory signals from eating are decoded in to their reward value.
As such, successful dieters tended to block out the reward centres when eating a meal. This allowed them greater dietary restraint.
Can the Brain Be Reprogrammed
The research obviously shows that successful dieters have different “software” running in them. Can you reprogram your mind to run software for successful dieting? It is possible and the answer lies in your habits. You can rewire your “software” by cultivating new habits for healthy weight loss.
People usually fall of the weight loss wagon because they go to the extremes. They try to go on deprivation type diets. Their body fights back with a vengeance. The best way to reprogram the mind is by learning and practising healthy weight loss habits. Practise these habits for 30 to 90 days and you would have reprogrammed your internal software.
Public date: 09/01/2010
// Categories: Mind & Motivation, Science & Research // Tags: behaviour control, brain region, brain responses, chocolate cake, cognitive control, dietary restraint, prefrontal cortex, self control, self restraint, sensory experience, weight loss efforts, weight loss goals Back to top
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