Exercise and watch what you eat. Simple, right? Or not. What if other forces were at work, trying to put pounds on frame until you join the 58 percent of the world predicted to be overweight or obese by 2030? Many scientists now believe that it’s not your stomach you should worry about—it’s your brain. Listen to this episode with special guest Stephan Guyenet to discover how you can retrain your brain to beat cravings and food addiction once and for all.
Brief bio:
Stephan J. Guyenet, Ph.D. After earning a BS in biochemistry at the University of Virginia, Stephan pursued a Ph.D. in neuroscience at the University of Washington, then continued doing research as a postdoctoral fellow. He spent a total of 12 years in the neuroscience research world studying neurodegenerative disease and the neuroscience of eating behavior and obesity. His publications in scientific journals have been cited over 1,400 times by my peers.
Today, he continues his mission to advance science as a writer, speaker, and science consultant. His book, The Hungry Brain, was released on February 7, 2017. Current consulting clients include the Open Philanthropy Project and the Examine.com Research Digest. He is also the co-designer of a web-based fat loss program called the Ideal Weight Program.
Stephan lives in the Seattle area, where he grows much of his own food and brew a mean hard cider.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
– Could genetics influence our body fat and eating behavior? (4:34)
– Why “You can be whatever you want to be if you work hard enough” is inspirational but not true (12:10)
– What you should do if you’re not genetically gifted (15:06)
– How to fit exercise into your lifestyle without going to the gym (17:30)
– Why Stephan doesn’t think that technology will be the answer to the obesity crisis in modernized countries (22:41)
– Food Cravings: They’re all in your brain (26:09)
– How the food industry have figured out the specific amounts of salt, sugar, and fat to maximize how much you eat and to ensure repeat purchases (30:10)
– 3 Simple ways to prevent or stop food cravings and overeating (31:50)
– How to set your fat thermostat at a healthy level (33:10)
– Why your hormones can’t stop fat loss–it just makes it harder (36:00)
– Food rewarding and weight loss (38:23)
– Is food addiction real or bogus? (43:17)
– What is addiction? (46:46)
– The connection between food and addictive drugs (52:39)
– How modern versions of food, sex, and drugs exploit an innate “weakness” in our brains and behavior (55:23)
– How we get our life and health back from the excesses of modern civilization? (58:28)
– Outsmarting the instincts that make us overeat (1:03:57)
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Resources:
Stephan’s Book “The Hungry Brain”
