What Does Your Brain Say About You and Why You Should Pay Attention

I saw this fascinating two-hour programme Change your brain, Change your body with Dr Daniel Amen on PBS recently. He tells you what your brain says about you and why you should pay attention.


He was talking about the connection between the body and the brain - one of my favourite subjects - in this case the focus was on the manner in which the brain affects weight loss.


All of the information is taken from his book Change Your Brain, Change Your Body and get a load of readers' responses on his blog.


Dr Amen was so passionate about the subject that I was hooked and it washed the sleep from my eyes.  I took tons of notes; some are verbatim and some not, so this is just for information and you should refer to his website or blog for specific details.

Everything he said made sense; I was familiar with some of the information he shared too which perked me up.

My weight loss delimmaI made some interesting connections in my own weight loss delimmas and it made me understand why it was so hard for so long. Notwithstanding the fact that I was doing it because others said that I should which is impossible when trauma is the reason for it all.


Anyway, once that was dealt with and when I stopped forcing the issue and concentrated on my self (psychotherapy and meditation) that is when most of my excess weight fell off like magic. His site and book should help me get over the hump to lose my last seven kilos (16 pounds). We'll see.

Main talking points connecting brain and body

Just the way we are in charge of our thoughts and can change what we think and therefore change our habits. I know, I know, easier said than done for some and that's where Dr Amen and people like him come into the picture.

In exactly the same way, when we know how our particular brain functions, this insight provides us with the torchlight we need to highlight those areas we knowingly or unknowingly ignore.

Okay, here are the salient points:

1 - Boost your brain to lose your belly.

2 - Know your motivation. You must have a burning desire to lose weight. This enables you to focus your mind and motivates you to avoid foods which are detrimental to your losing weight. 

One way to stay focussed on your objective is to write down your motivation and keep it where you can see it. That makes it concrete.

Also, according to what you eat, it inhibits you. And eating foods with a high sugar and high salt intake activates stimulates the addictive part of your brain.

3 - Know your brain type. According to Dr Amen, most people have a combination of two brain types. There are five:

• Compulsive - stuck on the thought of food. They're also late night eaters who stay up late worrying which creates additional stress which in turn causes them to eat. It's usually indicative of low levels of serotonin which calms the brain. The typically skip breakfast as well.
• Impulsive - Constantly on diets. Poor impulse control, easily distracted, short attention span. This brain type needs to boost their dopamine levels and they need more protein in their diets and less carbs.
• Combination type: compulsive/impulsive - This type overthinks and gets stuck on negative thoughts (that's partly me, Yours Truly). Supplements like 5-HTP and green tea in addition to increased serotonin and dopamine (from exercise) is recommended for this brain type.
• Sad overeater - typically struggles with low energy and easily gains weight in winter. Low levels of vitamin D are also a problem (lack of sunlight) so exercise is also necessary.
• And finally, the Anxious overeater worries and eats constantly to make him or herself feel better but it doesn't work.

 

If your hormones are out of balance, no diet will work for you. So go get your hormones checked ladies. A simple saliva test will provide the doctor with all the information he or she needs to know to rectify the imbalances. It did for me.

A saliva tests measures among other things your levels of estrogen, progesterone, testostorone (yes, women have it as well), DHEA (the mother of all hormones) etc. and indicates what's low and/or too high.

4 - Get your cravings under control. To do this you need to:

• Keep your blood sugar under control.
• Eat breakfast, have smaller meals during the day.
• Decrease stress levels; try hypnosis and meditation. I would also suggest that you reconnect with yourself through the emotional freedom technique.
• Decrease artificial sweeteners in your diet. They activate the need for more sugar. Eliminate all diet drinks.
• Outsmart food triggers. By that he means know when you're vulnerable and take preventive measures. Going to a friend's house with fattening snacks or mom's house with the typical calorific dishes? Eat before you go and drink a large glass of water before the meal.
• Hidden food allergies can also trigger food cravings. Here he spoke about lactose and wheat intolerances.

5 - Kill the ANTs - automatic negative thoughts. Monitor your thoughts and constantly ask yourself "Is this true?" Identify the little lies you tell yourself and write them down!

You will be shocked and amazed when you see what you tell yourself. Monitor your negative thoughts for one month and keep asking if what you're telling yourself really makes sense. That is a huge wake up call. We tend to be our own worst enemies.

6 - Eat right to think right. And there are seven rules to follow:

• High quality calories in/high quality calories out i.e. no fast foods and eat complex carbs.
• Drink lots of water and don't drink your calories i.e. no diet drinks. Eliminate them completely. (The agro-chemical industry is lying to you about zero calories.) Replace sodas with water and lemon and add a drop or two of Stevia which is a natural plant sweetener from Latin America with very low calories.  Note: Don't be mislead by the FDA which actively supports big pharma and the agro-chemical industry!
• Eat high quality lean protein during the day: grass-fed beef (no antibiotics), turkey, etc.
• Eat high carbs, low glycemic (sugar) foods like whole grain bread, brown rice instead of white, fresh fruits and lots of veggies. The whiter the bread, the faster you're dead.
• Focus your diet on healthy fats and eliminate trans fats and animal fats from your plate. Animal fats store toxins. Also. cows are meant to eat grass not corn which is why they require so much antibiotics. It is not natural to them. These unhealthy fats block the brain from knowing when the stomach is full.
• Eat from the rainbow i.e. eat colourful fruit and vegetables.
• Cook with brain-healthy foods and herbs like tumeric, safran, sage, cinnamon etc.

7 - Dr Amen provided ten points but nature called and I missed this one. Sorry :)

8 - Know your BMI - body mass index. Excess calories pack on fat so they do count.

9 - Hypnosis and meditation can boost your brain.

10-Start today.

This is wonderful, wonderful stuff and just the top of the iceberg so be sure to check out Dr Amen's blog, website and book if you are looking for long-lasting weight loss backed by science.

And guess what I just found, an article by Dr Amen on HuffPost on the same topic, change your brain change your body. It completes what I have written.

I sincerely hope you, dear reader, find it interesting enough to follow up. Do let me know. And thank you for reading.