David Kessler was on the The Colbert Report talking about his new book The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite
It was kind of funny because David was so mild mannered he totally waited for Steven to give him space to talk before he would. It kind of forced Steven into a pattern that allowed David to get his message across. I’m not sure if it was entirely on purpose, because David had a bit of a difficult time communicating his message.
His message was that diets full of salt, sugar, and fat get people in a sort of habitual cycle of eating it, thinking about it, and never really feeling full, as to continue the cycle. He didn’t use the word “addiction”, but at the end of the interview he did use the word “rehab” to describe how someone would break the cycle.
Once you’re in this cycle you need to reprogram your brain. It’s not just about not doing it anymore, it’s about being able to not do it anymore.
I personally know what he’s talking about. I weaned myself off fast food and now I can’t even imagine how I ate it. I was a person who could eat McDonald’s three times a day. I don’t think I ever did that, but I could have.
I took a long time to do a couple of things. First, I learned to appreciate healthier foods one at a time. Sometimes they were only mildly healthier or sometimes less healthy but at home. When you do this, you may have a quesadilla with block of cheese in it, but you realize how unimportant fries are to you. This is a good step.
Second I slowly learned to cook foods at home that I honestly liked. Cooking at home allowed me to avoid the fries and also to choose only the items I really liked as cheats instead of having to accept everything that comes with fast food meal.
Third, it’s just about making incremental improvements. Not only did I make healthier foods, but I would learn to fit cooking in. It takes a while, and I’m still working on it. But I’m getting better.
Amazon: The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite