I am sure you have noticed that sweets have a calming, relaxing effect on you. They also make you drowsy and less alert. Have you also noticed that when you eat breakfast (which most overweight people do not eat) you feel drowsy and hungry by late morning? That’s not because you ate breakfast but because of what you had for breakfast.

Let’s suppose you had French toast or pancakes versus yogurt or cereal and milk. A carbohydrate breakfast of French toast or pancakes would raise your serotonin, causing you to feel tranquil but not very alert. If you had a business meeting at 10:30 A.M. you might have trouble staying awake and concentrating. A little more protein for breakfast might be better.

Too much protein and not enough carbohydrates would make it more likely that you will binge. High-protein, low-carbohydrate diets help to cause binge eating because they lead to lowered serotonin levels. Your body will crave carbohydrate foods on these diets in an attempt to increase serotonin.

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The physical micro environment. Most changes at the macro-environmental level require wide changes such as in government policy, food industry practices or the promotion of healthy choice by food marketers. However, at the individual level it is possible to ‘psychologically immunise’ individuals against the counter-productive influences of the environment through education, counselling and behaviour change practices. The idea of avoiding fast foods, reducing the availability or accessibility of fatty foods in the home and walking instead of using automated transport, all help to reduce the negative effects of the macro environment or micro environment, although it must be emphasised that these have to be continually reinforced to maintain effectiveness.

Foods coming into the home can be limited through the teaching of appropriate shopping skills—reading labels, purchase of alternative low-fat products and providing tips for shopping such as never shopping on an empty stomach. Members of the family can be encouraged to participate in local sporting activities, to walk to the shop for the paper rather than taking the car or to join in a family bike ride or bush walk. The overuse of energy-saving devices can be easily controlled within the home. All these efforts can help to maintain a healthier micro environment. In many cases the environment outside the home such as the work canteen or lunch bar can be influenced by one or two individuals and are therefore considered ‘micro’, rather than ‘macro’. The impact of a ‘School Canteen Project’ is an example of a few influential people modifying the environment which in turn affects large numbers of school children.

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2. Fats in the diet are converted into body fat (lipogenesis) whereas body fat from other sources of energy such as glucose (de novo lipogenesis) is negligible.

3. Fat, from both fat cells and intra-muscular sources, is utilised more readily by trained athletes than the untrained, hence physical activity at all levels is likely to be more lipolytic in the trained.

4. Breast-feeding enhances energy use significantly and therefore should benefit the long term body fat levels of the mother, as well as being important for the health of the baby.

5. Eating immediately after exercise might decrease post-exercise fat oxidation. Therefore recommendations for athletes to replace glycogen stores after strenuous exercise need to be separated from advice to overfat people doing physical activity to lose fat where immediate replenishment may not be optimal.

6. Stressors in the form of physical activity, cold and caffeine may increase catecholamine production and aid in the breakdown of stored body fat.

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For years, Maye had struggled with a seemingly insatiable appetite. “Once I started eating, I couldn’t stop,” says the San Francisco model and registered dietitian. “I didn’t get full very easily.” And her greatest weakness was sweets—candy, cookies, doughnuts, cakes.

Maye became a model at age 16. As her weight crept upward to 200 pounds, she moved into plus-size modeling and remained as popular as ever. But she was also becoming more self-conscious about her appearance.

Then one day while Maye was driving, her daughter reached over and jiggled the flab under her arms. “She thought it looked funny,” Maye recalls. “I said to myself, ‘I’m sick and tired of wearing jackets to hide my body, of wearing clothes without a waist, of not being able to tuck a shirt into jeans.’”

At that moment, Maye made up her mind: She was going to slim down, and she would do whatever was necessary to accomplish her goal.

Her first task was to tame her penchant for sweets. She knew that if she didn’t bring those goodies home, she wouldn’t eat them. So she stopped buying them.

Then, she filled her refrigerator and cupboards with healthful, low-fat foods, such as fruits and vegetables, yogurt, and rice cakes. And she began exercising—walking, riding a stationary bike, practicing yoga.

By eating better and working out, Maye was able to lose most

of her extra weight within 8 months. “IHook another 6 months for the last 15 pounds to go,” she says. That was 10 years ago.

These days, you won’t find a single candy bar or cookie in Maye’s apartment. Nor will you find Maye fretting over her figure. At age 51, she usually carries a healthy 140 pounds on her 5-foot-8-inch frame. She continues to model part-time. And she uses her training as a dietitian and her personal experience in slimming down to speak on weight loss, healthy eating, body image, appearance, and self-esteem.

WINNING ACTION

Leave the sweets in the store. Sometimes breaking a bad habit is as simple as “out of sight, out of mind.” It worked for Maye and it could work for you.

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