How instincts make you fat

If you've failed on every diet you've ever tried, it's not your fault.

Learn the truth about low-calorie and low-fat diets - and discover the only diet that works for natural, permanent weight loss.

The good food you eat on this healthy diet boosts your metabolism, controls your appetite, and improves your moods. And the healthy, nutrient-rich foods keep your kids from getting fat and protects them from diabetes.

This 5-page report is a must-read for anyone who struggles with their weight:

What Scientists Know about Low-Calorie Diets, but Your Doctor Never Told You

"I crave sugar and fat because my instinctual mind believes that those things are good for me".

When that simple truth finally sank into my thick skull, it really felt as though a huge emotional weight had fallen off my shoulders. For years I had been eating in a way that was self-destructive, and I felt as though I couldn't help it - "something else" took over when I was faced with a pan of cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting.

And, since that "something else" was obviously me, I was angry at myself a lot of the time. (Especially if I ate the whole pan of rolls, which I did far more often than I want to admit.)

But my anger didn't help much. It just meant I ate too much, and then felt bad about myself because of it.

When I finally realized that my "something else" part, my instinctive mind, was actually trying to do the right thing it really began to change my life.

It's very much as though a three-year old picked all of his mommy's prize begonias the morning before the flower show because he wanted to bring his mommy a pretty bouquet. Sure, you get frustrated - and might even want to cry. But how can you get angry when the little guy had such good intentions?

Your instinctive mind actually has good intentions when it makes you want sugar and fat.

It actually thinks that these things are necessary for your survival. And they are, in the tiny quantities that would have been available a million years ago. So why should we be angry at ourselves when we discover that we've just eaten something fattening?

How would it change your life if you didn't have to be angry at yourself because you ate a donut just a few minutes after you promised yourself you wouldn't? Just letting go of the inner judgment would be a great relief, wouldn't it?

But would it help you lose weight?

It certainly helped me. I lost 35 pounds last year, and I haven't had to struggle to keep it off. And this is after fighting my excess pounds for most of my life (I'm now 53 years old, so I've been fighting for a long time.)

Building a positive relationship with your instinctive self is the first step towards changing the way you think about food.

All by itself it's not enough, but it begins the process, by creating an awareness of how your instinctive mind works. And that awareness makes it possible to learn how to rise above the instinctive mind when you need to make a good, conscious decisions about what to eat.

Think about how many times you've found yourself eating something that you told yourself you wouldn't eat. You probably became aware within seconds that you were doing something that you hadn't intended to do.

That awareness doesn't come as a bolt of lightening, does it? It doesn't take any particular struggle to notice that you've just done something that is self-destructive. Nothing particularly special happens inside your head that would be noticeable to anyone around you.

Being "awake" feels perfectly normal. Because it is! You make conscious, rational, intelligent decisions all day long.

Now compare how it feels when you make those rational decisions, and how it feels when you struggle with your cravings (and lose.)

The conscious decision is actually easier, isn't it?

But you don't make conscious decisions all of the time. Nobody does. And it doesn't usually matter. But it matters when you are making decisions about food.

Sometimes "something else" takes over and makes a decision about what to eat while your conscious mind is "taking a break." It only takes a few seconds, and you find your dinner plate piled high with all the things you intended to avoid.

The problem is simply that you "wake up" after you've made the decision to eat the wrong thing.

Instead of before you make the decision.

So the most important thing to do when learning to "think thin" is to know that it is actually possible to decide to do something that you don't want to do.

You need to become fully aware of the possibility that you are "of two minds" - part of you wants the donut, and another part of you knows that the donut (and all the other things that you shouldn't eat) are making you dangerously unhealthy.

I don't mean that you need to become schizophrenic or anything. Just recognize that you have an old brain, and a new brain. Your old brain acts on instinct, your new brain acts on reason and judgment.

Your conscious mind can look at a menu and weigh the long-term consequences of eating the different foods that are offered. And then decide what to eat based not on cravings but on reason and health.

Your unconscious, instinctive mind has no capacity to think long-term, and doesn't know anything at all about nutrition in the modern world. It makes instantaneous decisions based on taste, habit, and cravings.

But it believes that it's decisions are in your best interest, and that it's choices will help you survive - it just happens to be wrong.

These two parts of your mind have different ways of looking at things, different ways of making decisions, and different goals. They work beautifully together almost all of the time. It's just when we're faced with modern, packaged, over-processed and fattening foods that the teamwork between these two segments of your brain breaks down.

That doesn't mean that there's something wrong with you. It's perfectly normal.

Self-help program for sugar addiction.

Jonni Good is the author of most of the original articles on this site. Jonni always looks for the easy way to solve common health problems, by working with human nature. Her books have helped hundreds of people lose weight, get fit, and regain their health - with less struggle. Please take a moment to visit her other sites:

Do You Gain Weight... Even when you eat less than your thinner friends? Learn why it happens, and how to use nutritious, satisfying food to break the metabolic pattern that causes some people to gain weight too easily.

Sugar Cravings and Addiction – Describes a simple program to help people break their addiction to sugar and fat. This book has been popular ever since it came out in 2003, and has helped hundreds of people lose their cravings for sugar and other simple carbs. Once the cravings are under control, it's easier to stick with your diet and regain your health.

Weight Lifting for Absolute Beginners – A guide to lifting weights for strong muscles and bones.

The Easy-Does-It Diet – A guide to creating your own delicious and healthy frozen diet meals. Eat healthy, low-fat meals without paying extra for store-bought frozen diet food.

Disclaimer: This site and the articles contained here are for information purposes only. The authors have made every effort to make sure the information is accurate, but no health decisions should ever be made based on this or any other website. Please contact your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program.

How instincts make you fat

"I crave sugar and fat because my instinctual mind believes that those things are good for me".

Your instinctive mind actually has good intentions when it makes you want sugar and fat.

The problem is simply that you "wake up" after you've made the decision to eat the wrong thing.

Newest Articles: