3 Facts - Food Industry WANTS YOU TO FAIL & 6 Tips to SUCCEED

Losing weight seems anything but simple! With all of the trendy diet plans and new workout fads - it is easy to become confused. The good news is that the meat and potatoes of weight loss have not changed over the years.

It all boils down to Calories In versus Calories Out. Too many Calories In, and you will gain weight. Extra Calories Out and you will lose it.

Keep in mind that 3,500 calories equals one pound and every itty bitty calorie counts! The holidays are here and there's more sugar, fat, and salt than ever before in the foods we buy.

This season, I ask you to be more consciouse of your eating, such as what you're eating, when and where. Set yourself up for success not failure.

You really don't need to gain 10 more pounds this December!Be aware of how we're all a target for failure, courtesy of the "food industry".

Here are 3 FACTS I wanted YOU to know.

1. An Irresistable Combination Rewires Your Brain: Think of your favorite treat - most likely it can be broken down into the basic building blocks of sugar, fat and salt. This combination is known of as the ‘three points of the compass', a combination that has been shown to literally alter the biological circuitry of your brain.

Sugar, fat and salt give food a high hedonic value which gives you pleasure. This pleasure reinforces you to return to your favorite foods time and time again.

2 The Food Industry Targets You: Everywhere you go you'll see the clever work of the food industry, tempting you with highly palatable creations. Food has become a science, and your taste preferences the guiding light.

The food industry has one goal - to get you hooked. By constructing food items that are high in sugar, fat and salt they know that you will come back time and time again.

3. Conditioned Hypereating Becomes a Way of Life: Humans are conditioned to seek more reward. When readily available, hyper palatable food become our reward a pattern of hypereating quickly emerges. Here's how the cycle goes.

"Foods high in sugar, fat, and salt, and the cues that signal them, promote more of everything: more arousal...more thoughts of food...more urge to pursue food...more dopamine-stimulated approach behavior...more consumption...more opioid-driven reward...more overeating to feel better...more delay in feeling fulll...more loss of control...more preoccupation with food...more habit-driven behavior...and ultimately, more and more weight gain."  

 The good news is that you don't have to remain trapped in a cycle of overeating. Here are your 6 Simple Tips of Defense.

1. Don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
2. Pay more, eat less. Look for quality of food over quantity.
3. Eat meals. Cut out snacking, stick with structured meals.
4. Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does. Gas stations are great for fueling your car, but the food they sell are not suited to fuel you.
5. Try not to eat alone. Eating can become mindless when alone, leading to overeating.
6. Eat slowly. Eat foods that have been prepared slowly – that means no fast food.