Why Willpower Fails: The Psychology of Food, Cravings, and Weight
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Why do we reach for food when we actually need rest or comfort?
That this is not just a matter of w being weak willed or not having willpower our brains and our microbiome have all been hijacked by the food industry.
How do societal messages and body‑image comments shape our eating habits?
So I think the first thing is to acknowledge that it's not your fault and then to focus on what's in your control. So obviously there are some health behaviors that are in our control.
What is the “pause” technique and how can it help us make mindful food choices?
We know that lifestyle is so important. And what can I do about this now?
How can we tell the difference between emotional hunger and physical hunger?
You know, I think there's a difference between why me?
In what ways do stress and sleep deprivation affect cravings and food choices?
Why is this happening to me?
Why is willpower a myth when it comes to cravings and weight loss?
Which isn't gonna get us anywhere, as opposed to now what's in my control?
What coping tools (including diaphragmatic breathing) can replace emotional eating?
What can I do?
How do GLP‑1 medications, food‑noise, and the restriction‑binge cycle influence a healthy relationship with food?
What is an action I could take to move one step closer? to reaching whatever goal it is that somebody has.
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Go to C dot com slash hymen and use the code twenty five hymen to get twenty five percent off your first month. That's SED.com slash hymen and use the code twenty five hymen. If you're a woman in your forties or fifties or beyond, I want to talk to you directly for a second. Around perimetopause and menopause, your body becomes much less efficient at building and maintaining muscle. And most women are never told this. They're told to eat less and move more. When in reality, protein needs actually go up as estrogen declines. And that's one reason I use perfect amino myself every morning in my smoothie. It delivers all nine essential amino acids in a predigestive form your body can use immediately to support muscle and bone health.
Without adding a lot of excess calories on top of the whole food protein you're already eating. I've also found many people notice fewer cravings when they take it in the morning because their body is finally getting the amino acids it needs. Head over to bodyhealth.com and use hymen twenty for twenty percent off your first order. That's bodyhealth.com in the code hymen twenty. Welcome, Rachel, to the Dr. Hyman Show. So good to have you here.
Thank you so much. I'm honored to be here with you today. Okay,
your work's really important because it it covers an area about food that often doesn't get discussed, which is not what to eat. Or what's good or bad to eat, but more about our relationship to food. The psychology of eating and nourishing ourselves and the challenges that a lot of people face uh around the relationship to food. And often people have a very dysfunctional relationship to food and and often people are struggling with cravings, with food noise, with just dysregulation. And that's why we see, you know, seventy five percent of Americans overweight. We see people struggling with weight. We see this craze of GLP one drugs that have taken off that are Exploding 'cause people are looking for a way to kind of interrupt this cycle of addiction and craving and food noise and and and and and also emotional eating and
I mean I've I've done that for sure, you know, like I'm stressed, tired, I'm like, oh god, I just want a pint of ice cream right now. Give me uh give me a pint of chunky monkey, I'll be good. You know. I I kinda wanna kinda talk about how how even though we've know more about nutrition than ever before, like w why is changing the way we eat So difficult. Like what are we missing about food noise, about cravings, about w willpower, and what do we got wrong about it? And what how do we need to rethink our whole relationship to food?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why do we reach for food when we actually need rest or comfort?
0:00–0:08
2
How do societal messages and body‑image comments shape our eating habits?
0:08–0:17
3
What is the “pause” technique and how can it help us make mindful food choices?
0:17–0:22
4
How can we tell the difference between emotional hunger and physical hunger?
0:22–0:24
5
In what ways do stress and sleep deprivation affect cravings and food choices?
0:24–0:26
6
Why is willpower a myth when it comes to cravings and weight loss?
0:26–0:30
7
What coping tools (including diaphragmatic breathing) can replace emotional eating?
0:30–0:31
8
How do GLP‑1 medications, food‑noise, and the restriction‑binge cycle influence a healthy relationship with food?
0:31–1:09:07
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from The Dr. Hyman Show
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