SECTION 1: The Nature Of Overeating & The Forces Exploiting It

Lesson #1 WE'RE WIRED TO OVEREAT.

Have you ever wondered why we start wanting a nibble of food and end up binging? Why do we overeat even when we don’t want to? 

Few of us intend to hit food like a linebacker, yet almost all of us end up doing just that. Why? In this lesson, you’re going to learn a surprising conclusion drawn by evolutionary biologists: We are wired to overeat. 

 LESSON TAKEAWAYS 

AIM: Get you to understand you don't binge on sweets because you lack self discipline or self-control. You overeat because you were designed to do so. 

GOAL: Set you up to understand the next few lessons-- how the conscious brain can  outsmart our instinct to overeat.

Lesson #2 ARE WE "ADDICTED" TO THE FOODS WE CRAVE?

We use the phrase "sugar addiction" in everyday conversation because our experience is eerily reminiscent of what we think of as drug addiction. You start eating, believing you're only going to eat a certain amount but once you start you can't stop. 

You try to get a handle on it. You try to cut down but you repeatedly fail. There's a compulsive quality to it that can start to take on a life of its own. Despite a strong motivation to stop you're unable to get consumption under control. But here’s a question--do scientists actually believe sugar is an addictive substance?  The answers will surprise you.

LESSON TAKEAWAYS 

AIM: Understand sugar's properties encourage disordered eating (overeating, binging). That between the addictive nature of sugar and our wiring to overeat we need to put "guard rails" around the consumption of sweet foods and beverages

GOAL: Awareness that sugar ignites our instinct to overeat in a way that no other food does. This is necessary to understand the "guard rails" we discuss later.

 Lesson #3 PROCESSED FOOD IS DESIGNED TO MAKE US OVEREAT

By ordering laboratory scientists to manipulate chemicals and food substances into their highest “bliss points,” food giants can knock down the natural guard rails we have to prevent overeating. 

A natural craving for cookies might compel you to eat three or four. But the way they are manufactured compels you to eat eighteen. Basically, the food industry produces food designed to make us lose control. And since three-quarters of the groceries we buy are processed food, we have a lot to lose control over. Here we discuss the science of how the industry makes processed food addictive. 

LESSON TAKEAWAYS 

AIM:  Help you understand why it's so hard to control our eating around processed foods and why we have to protect ourselves from the industry’s predatory practices.

GOAL: Create a mindset shift that you can't approach eating sugary food the way you would, say, celery. Understand there are forces arrayed against you that have nothing to do with willpower and self-discipline. 

Section 2: How To Weaken Cravings For Unhealthy Foods

Here you’re going to learn the most effective ways to weaken or eliminate cravings for chocolate, junk food or any other unhealthy food. 

Centering around what neuroscientists call "food cue reactivity" you'll find proven, evidence-based techniques to liberate you from crushing cravings. 

Lesson #1: "GUARD RAILS" THAT WEAKEN CRAVINGS & AVOID OVEREATING 

From common sensory cues that trigger overeating to serving styles that encourage binging you'll learn how unconscious eating behaviors set the stage for a loss of control.

LESSON TAKEAWAYS 

AIM:  Awareness of particular eating patterns, habits and behaviors that contribute to a loss of control.

SKILLS YOU'LL LEARN: How to avoid behaviors that start with cravings and lead to binging or overeating. You'll develop very specific "guard rails" that keep you safe while either entirely avoiding addictive food or allowing you to eat rational portions without wanting more.  

Lesson #2: HOW TO CREATE MORE FRICTION AROUND ADDICTIVE FOODS

Again, we cannot approach a donut the way we would an apple. Here we investigate a concept known as "friction" that's proven to eliminate or significantly reduce overeating. 

LESSON TAKEAWAYS 

AIM:  Awareness of how creating "friction" around addictive foods can practically guarantee you won't overeat.

SKILLS YOU'LL LEARN: Dozens of tactics and strategies designed to stop you from overeating, not from enjoying food you love. 

They are a recognition that our instinct to overeat, the addictive properties of processed foods, and the industry’s exploitation of our cravings all compel us to approach these unhealthy foods differently than we do healthy foods. 

Section 3: How To Reduce Or Eliminate Stress Eating

Lesson #1  Quick Mindfulness Meditations and Breathwork Proven To Stop Stress Eating

There are dozens of research studies showing that certain mindful meditations and strategic breathwork are highly effective in stopping or reducing stress eating.  In this lesson, you'll learn what they are and how to use them to maximum effect. Surprising finding: None of these techniques take longer than 5 minutes.

LESSON TAKEAWAYS 

AIM: Understand how investing as little as 5 minutes a day can significantly lower or eliminate overeating.

SKILLS YOU'LL LEARN: How to achieve a calm, relaxed state that can prevent overeating.

Lesson #2: WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU’RE ABOUT TO STRESS EAT

In this lesson, you’re going to learn some simple tools you can use when the urge to stress eat comes over you. Developed out of pioneering psychologist Walter Mischel's work on "The Marshmallow Experiments," these techniques are remarkably effective at heading off a binge.

LESSON TAKEAWAYS 

AIM: Understand how the power of techniques like "self-distancing" and others can radically reduce urges to binge. 

SKILLS YOU'LL LEARN:  How to apply these techniques to your particular situations. 

Section 4: How To Stop The Self-Sabotage

Overeating is easy to do if you don't know how full you're getting, if you eat while you're distracted or look at your environment instead of your self-assessments to determine when we should stop eating. All of these amount to self-sabotage. 

In these lessons, you'll hear advice from neuroscientists on how to reverse the eating habits and patterns that keep the sabotage in place. 

Lesson #1 STOP DOING THINGS THAT FORCE YOU TO OVEREAT

In this lesson you'll learn how "Distracted Eating" (eating while you're watching tv or scrolling through your smartphone) or "Package Eating" (eating out of a bag or box) force the brain to use environmental factors (the show ends, the smartphone battery goes out) to stop eating rather than internal satiety cues.

LESSON TAKEAWAYS 

AIM:  Understand how the brain's ability to determine satiety (normal eating) is radically altered by unhealthy eating habits, which inevitably lead to overeating. 

GOAL: Stop sabotaging yourself; stop doing the things neuroscientists say promote overeating.

Skills You'll Learn:  Techniques that avoid forcing the brain to look outside the body for signs to stop eating. Methods that produce the kind of mindfulness that makes overeating almost impossible. 

Lesson #2 HOW A SIMPLE MATH TRICK CAN HELP YOU EAT NORMALLY

Ever notice how often you underestimate how full you are? For example, you decide you have room for dessert so you eat it but 20 minutes later you feel STUFFED. What went wrong? In this lesson, you'll understand why we're so bad at estimating our fullness and what we can do about it.

LESSON TAKEAWAYS 

AIM: Understand why neuroscientists believe we constantly underestimate how full we are. 

GOAL:  Learn how to use a simple math trick that can give you nearly 100% accuracy.

Skills You'll Learn:  How to apply this math trick at every eating opportunity--breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. 

Section 5: How To Eat Less Without Feeling Deprived

It's possible to feel just as satisfied eating a smaller portion of food than a larger one. This might sound ridiculous to anyone used to eating Avalanche Burgers or drinking 64 oz Big Gulps, but science begs to differ.

In these lessons you'll see how easily you can start eating a lot less without leaving the table hungry.

Lesson #1  SENSORY SPECIFIC SATIETY HELPS YOU EAT LESS WITHOUT FEELING DEPRIVED.

In this lesson, we'll explain a concept called "sensory specific satiety," a phenomenon we all experience when we eat: We receive less pleasure with each bite. That's why the first slice of pizza is WOW and the fourth slice is MEH. 

Neuroscientists have proved, in dozens of studies, that sensory specific satiety can be exploited to help people eat a lot less food and feel completely satisfied.

LESSON TAKEAWAYS 

AIM: Understand the physiological underpinnings of sensory specific satiety.

GOAL:  Understand its specific ability to help us eat less. 

Lesson #2  HOW TO USE SENSORY SPECIFIC SATIETY ON SNACKS--BOTH SALTY AND SWEET

Studies show that people eat less when they pay more attention to their taste buds (sensory specific satiety--the declining pleasure of food) than their stomachs (how full they're getting).

In this lesson, you'll learn how these studies were conducted and how to apply them to your own eating.  

LESSON TAKEAWAYS 

AIM:  Learn the central tenets of these studies--"Eat until the pleasure of the flavors subside."

SKILLS YOU'll LEARN:  How to apply the gist of these studies to your own eating so you can harvest the same benefits--eating less and feeling satisfied. 

Section 6: How Rituals Stop You From Overeating

Perhaps one of the most surprising findings in the neuroscience literature is the power that rituals have to stop you from overeating. 

In fact, the research shows that rituals are instrumental to sustained weight loss. In these lessons you'll find out why and how you can incorporate rituals into your own eating. 

Lesson #1  HOW RITUALS STOP PEOPLE FROM OVEREATING SNACKS.

In this lesson, you'll find out about a famous Harvard experiment that showed rituals can help you eat less and enjoy it more. We'll re-enact the study in your own snacking so you can test-drive the concept and see the influence rituals can have on your eating.

LESSON TAKEAWAYS 

AIM: Understand why rituals stop overeating, enhance enjoyment and create a deeper appreciation for food..

GOAL:  To incorporate rituals into your daily habits before you eat any snack.

Lesson #2 HOW TO USE RITUALS BEFORE & DURING MEALS TO STOP OVEREATING

Experts who study the role of ritual in weight loss say every meal, taken alone or with others, should have a conscious beginning, middle, and end. Here you'll find out what they are and the best rituals that fit your lifestyle. 

Please note that studies show rituals are most effective when they're fairly short, so you time-pressed folks....don't worry!

LESSON TAKEAWAYS 

AIM: Understand how rituals are a hallmark of mindful eating and they have a long history of producing weight loss.

GOAL: Find out which rituals (we list a lot of them) work best for you.

SKILLS YOU'LL LEARN:  Best practices for meal and pre-meal rituals to maximize weight loss, stop overeating and enjoy your food more. 

Section 7: Cast Your New Eating Habits In Cement

Ending overeating and binging requires the establishment of new eating habits. It isn't difficult but it does take time. You will inevitably go through periods where you'll forget what to do, become resistant or sabotage yourself in some way. 

In this section, we show you how to avoid the traps of building new eating habits by overcoming resistance, dealing with frustration and rebounding from failures. 

Lesson #1: Awareness 

Building new habits require you to pause and pay attention to what you’re thinking and doing. 

They require in-the-moment “sensors” that go off when you’re in the middle of a habit you’re trying to break, or a habit you’re trying to establish. In this lesson, you'll learn the art of "cultivating a witness state" so you can be more aware of what you're doing.

Lesson #2: Build "Emergency Reserves" For Setbacks

The latest studies in resilience show that a strategy called "Planning For Setbacks" dramatically increase accomplishment of goals. We'll show you how to apply this brilliant approach.