Obesity predisposition traced to the brain's reward system from PhysOrg.com
The tendency toward obesity is directly related to the brain system that is involved in food reward and addictive behaviors, according to a new study. Researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) and colleagues have demonstrated a link between a predisposition to obesity and defective dopamine signaling in the mesolimbic system in rats. Their report appears in the August 2008 issue of The FASEB Journal.
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My comment: I grew up thin, but gained significant weight in college. I've spent most of my adult life anywhere from 60 to 150 lbs overweight--usually by 80 lbs or more.
I've tried numerous times to lose weight, using various "diets": Powdered protein, Atkins, rabbit-food, etc. Most "diets" just didn't work for me at all—and the few that did didn't stick (which fact was inspiration for a one-liner I would tell people who informed me they were on a diet: "Don't worry about losing weight, you'll find it again!")
Interestingly, it was always the case that any "diet" I tried that "worked" the first time, wouldn't work so well (or at all) on any subsequent attempt. The first time that happened to me (using powdered protein drinks,) I thought it was just because I had gotten older. Now I know better.
I used to think that being overweight was something my body was doing to me (i.e., a "slow metabolism.") Now I know better.
Since mid-November 2007, I've lost more than 80 lbs. I've done it by eating three weighed and measured meals every day, while eating nothing in between other than water and tea. And by not eating anything that contains flour or sugar. I've not had to do any exercise. I'm not taking any "diet pills." I've not had to starve myself. I've not had to eat any strange foods: I eat normal, everyday foods, every day: meats, vegetables and fruits.
But I follow the rules of my program precisely every day—no exceptions allowed. That's the key: I let my program, my food scale and my self-honesty govern what I eat, instead of my emotions and past conditioning. I've learned that that's the only way to keep any addiction under control: Deny your rationalization engine any precedents it can use against you; use (or develop) the self-honesty necessary to follow the rules, and don't injure it by allowing any exceptions.
