I’ve talked about the mental aspects of healthy eating in the past. Lately I’ve gone a little overboard with junk food, so when I did my annual physical at the Doctor’s (“wellness visit”, in Medicare parlance), my weight had gone up a bit. I will see him for my follow up in August so this is a good chance to strengthen for 3 months.
I had an interesting conversation with Gemini about things like eating well and what to do when the voice of temptation whispers sweetly in my ear. I shared the conversation here. I asked for suggested reading and Gemini told me about the book “The Craving Mind” by Dr. Jud Brewer. Good tip, it was a very good and interesting book. It’s not specifically about food but about cravings in general, but the neuroscience of different cravings has a lot of overlap.
Dr. Brewer improved his mental health and happiness by actively practicing mindfulness and meditation in medical school. This led him to choose psychotherapy as his medical specialty. He has been treating patients and conducting research using imaging techniques and advanced technology such as fmri since graduation and this book recounts his experience.
One interesting theme is that BF Skinner’s classic Behavioral psychology ideas about rewards and learning still apply when it comes to desires. This reward system comes from an ancient part of our brain, which we share with many species, including, as Dr. Brewer showing, and very flattering to people, the sea slug.
Traditional ideas about mindfulness have useful therapeutic applications in this area. What interests me the most is the connection between desires and an area of the brain known as the Posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). There is a strong correlation between PCC activity and the default mode network. Things like cravings and anxious behaviors light up the DMN, while relaxing activities that loosen our tight grip on ourselves tend to calm it down. It is easy to monitor changes in PCC in real time, so Dr. Brewer uses it a lot in his work.
In addition, in his research Dr. Brewer has worked with patients with severe addictions such as smoking and drug abuse as well as eating disorders. So you have a good idea of what works. The bottom line is that mindfulness helps break the cycle of addiction. In addition, awareness of your craving thoughts is powerful. So when the little voice whispers “Aw, Cmon, what could another slice of pizza hurt”, if instead of agreeing, I can gain insight by trying to be aware of what is happening in my body right now. This is actually a practical app that comes from Buddhist insight meditation.
Between the book (and other free resources from Dr. Jud’s website) and the conversation with Gemini I have some great tips to try. So far so good, I’ve been able to cut down on junk food for seven days now.
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I am a Mechanical Engineer born in 1953, Ph. D, Stanford, 1980. I have worked in the mechanical CAE field for decades. I also have a lifelong interest in outdoor activities and fitness. I have had both hips replaced and a heart valve replacement due to a genetic condition. This blog chronicles my adventures in staying active despite these bumps in the road. View all posts by BionicOldGuy
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