Welcome to the continuing diary series "Let's Read a WHEE Book Together!" This week, we're continuing with David Kessler's The End of Overeating, Chapter 41. If you're just discovering this diary series, you will find links to the previous installments at the bottom of this diary.
WHEE (Weight, Health, Eating and Exercise) is a community support diary for Kossacks who are currently or planning to start losing, gaining or maintaining their weight through diet and exercise or fitness. Any supportive comments, suggestions or positive distractions are appreciated. If you are working on your weight or fitness, please -- join us! You can also click the WHEE tag to view all diary posts.
The End of Overeating, by David Kessler, M.D.
Chapter 41: Planned Eating
As Clio2 mentioned in her diary on Tuesday, we're into Part Five of the book: Food Rehab. In chapter 41, Kessler begins to offer really practical advice to treat "conditioned hypereating." He lays out the structure for the chapter in the first paragraph: a new way of "planned eating" based on four principles:
- replacing chaos with structure
- just-right eating
- choosing foods that satisfy you
- eating foods you enjoy
The promise of "planned eating," according to Kessler, is that if this practice is followed over time, your behavior will be reconditioned, and conditioned overeating will begin to lose its grip.
Replacing Chaos with Structure
Planned eating starts with...well, planning. Or more accurately, structure. Kessler presupposes that people who have issues with conditioned overeating are prone to make bad decisions about food, at least some of the time. Planned eating begins with taking away "opportunities" to make decisions in vulnerable moments by using self-imposed rules. By making rules, you make food decisions in advance of your vulnerable moments. These rules about what, when, and where to eat can be designed for the individual, rather than having to live under a one-size-fits-all regimen prescribed by a diet book. There's only one rule that must be adhered to, at least at the beginning:
If it isn't part of your structure, you don't eat it.
Later, as you learn portion control and develops new, useful habits, you may well be able to add foods that would have caused problems in your pre-structure diet.
Just-Right Eating
The next step of Kessler's plan is choosing the right amount of food in advance. How much is the right amount?
For most people, a just-right meal is one that will keep away hunger for about four hours. A just-right snack should keep you satisfied for about two hours.
As we WHEEbles know, Kessler believes the American obesity epidemic is the result of something he calls "conditioned hypereating," an out-of-control response driven by foods rich in sugar, fat, and salt. I believe habit - what Brian Wansink refers to as "mindless eating" - plays a stronger part in our national obesity epidemic. The great thing about "just-right eating" is that it applies equally well to those of us who are habitual, "see-food" (see food, eat food) eaters as well as those conscious of the draw of what Kessler calls "hyperpalatable foods."
Kessler notes that some people count calories or weigh their foods to determine how large their portions should be. For those who find these regimens too difficult or time-consuming, he offers a simpler strategy: start by serving and eating one-half of your usual meal. Wait thirty minutes, then pay attention to your feelings of satiety and fullness. Wait an additional hour (ninety minutes total) after, and check again. If you're experiencing real hunger after ninety minutes, serve and eat three-quarters of your usual meal at the next mealtime, and repeat the 30- and 90-minute checks for hunger.
He goes on to say:
There is a strong cognitive element to this process. What I perceive to be satisfying will help me determine whether it actually is. If you say, "I'm going to be hungry after I eat that" or "That won't be enough" when you're served a plate of food, then you'll probably want more. But if you believe the food in front of you will fill you up, it's likely to do so...Once you learn that smaller portions won't leave you hungry, you can begin conditioning yourself to think, "That was enough," "That filled me up," or, best of all, "That was just right."
Choosing Foods That Satisfy You
Those of us who have had success with low-carb diets are familiar with the idea that some foods are more satisfying than others. According to several popular diet plans, this is because some foods cause a faster rise-and-fall of blood sugar than other foods. These diets, including Nutrisystem and The South Beach Diet, classify foods based on the "glycemic index." On the other hand, the low-carb Atkins Diet identifies fat as the most-satisfying food component.
Kessler does not mention the glycemic index in chapter 41. Rather, he asserts that the reason some foods are more satisfying than others is due mainly to the feelings of fullness produced when they're in the stomach and the speed at which they leave the stomach. According to research, protein is the most-satisfying food component, leaving the stomach at four calories per minute. Fat leaves the stomach just half as quickly as protein. Unfortunately, fat is not the most satisfying food component (despite what Dr. Atkins wrote), because the body doesn't sense as great a feeling of fullness while fat is in the stomach. High-fiber foods, such as nonstarchy vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, leave the stomach slowly and produce a greater feeling of fullness (compared to fat) while they're in the stomach.
Kessler summarizes:
Putting all this together gives us a basic formula for satiety: foods that occur in nature, consisting primarily of high-fiber or complex carbohydrates (such as whole grains and many vegetables), combined with protein and a small amount of fat...
Essentially, that means a diet based largely on lean protein and whole grains or legumes, supplemented with fruits and nonstarchy vegetables.
Or, as someone else said,
Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
Eating Foods You Enjoy
The fourth element of Kessler's planned eating strategy is finding pleasure in your eating. Until the habits of portion control and sensible food choices have become second nature, however, this rule might better be stated as "Enjoy the foods you (can) eat." Or as Buddy Holly Stephen Stills or Billy Preston might have put it, "If you can't eat the food you love, love the food you eat."
Kessler says,
What you may be able to do is learn to savor the food you can control. Consciously paying attention to the pleasures of taste and the experience of eating food can be an effective way to deepen its reward value.
Back in December, I reviewed a book by Paul McKenna titled I Can Make You Thin. Kessler's strategy of conscious attention to the pleasures of food is reminiscent of McKenna's Golden Rules Two and Three:
- ...
- Golden Rule Number 2
EAT WHAT YOU WANT, not what you think you should
- Golden Rule Number 3
Eat CONSCIOUSLY and enjoy every mouthful
- ...
Mental Rehearsal
Toward the end of chapter 41, Kessler introduces the idea of mental rehearsal as a way to help ensure the success of planned eating. Mental rehearsal takes the verbal, left-brain aspects of planned eating and "layers and loads" these strategies with visualizations and emotional rewards that support the new habits.
Kessler advises that you should visualize yourself making good choices in advance, rather than waiting until you're actually making the decisions while trying to keep the elements of planned eating in mind. For example, while waiting to be seated at a restaurant, you might visualize yourself choosing a lite beer or just water when the waiter takes your party's drink orders. Before opening the menu, take a few seconds to see yourself choosing the fish with garden vegetables instead of the Fettucine Alfredo. According to Kessler, advance mental rehearsal will not only help you make the correct decisions when the time comes, but will help reduce stress and make you less susceptible to becoming sidetracked by temptations in the heat of the moment.
Previous chapters from The End of Overeating:
Part 5: Food Rehab
Chapter 40: The Treatment Framework (reviewed by Clio2)
Part 4: The Theory of Treatment
Chapter 39: Emotional Learning (reviewed by me)
Chapter 38: Rules of Disengagement (reviewed by Clio2)
Chapter 37: Reversing the Habit (reviewed by me)
Chapter 36: Invitations to the Brain (reviewed by Clio2)
Part 3: Conditioned Hypereating Emerges
Chapter 35: The Culture of Overeating (reviewed by me)
(there are links to Chapters 27 through 34 in my Chapter 35 review)
Part 2: The Food Industry
Chapter 26: Purple Cows (reviewed by Clio2)
Chapter 25: The Science of Selling (there are links to Chapters 14 through 24 in my Chapter 25 review)
Part 1: Sugar, Fat, and Salt
Chapter 13: Eating Behavior Becomes a Habit (reviewed by me)
(there are links to Chapters 1 through 12 in my Chapter 13 review)
Scheduled WHEE diaries:
January 17
Sun AM - louisev
Sun PM - kismet. Something. Who knows what.
January 18
Mon AM - NC Dem
Mon PM - ???
January 19
Tues AM - ???
Tues PM - Clio2 (Kessler, Ch. 42)
January 20
Weds AM - ???
Weds PM - Edward Spurlock
January 21
Thurs AM - ???
Thurs PM - 1864 House
January 22
Fri AM - ???
Fri PM - ???
January 23
Sat AM - ???
Sat PM - Edward Spurlock (Kessler, Ch. 43)