Discover how to lose weight with eating plan that boosts mood enhancers
Anyone who's ever tried to lose weight recognizes the cycle: go on a diet, lose some weight, hit a plateau, feel stressed, return to old habits and gain back EVEN more weight. It's called yo-yo dieting. While low-carb, high protein diets like the Atkins and South Beach diets have been popular for years, what most people don't realize is that the very diet they're counting on to help shed pounds is actually starving their brains; depleting their supply of the mood regulating neurotransmitter serotonin. The result is that many people can't stay on their diet and lose the weight. For others, the damage can range from loss of sex drive to food cravings and from insomnia to compulsive behavior.
Dr. Cheryle Hart, author of the new book, "The Feel Good Diet: The Weight-Loss Plan That Boosts Serotonin, Improves Your Mood, and Keeps the Pounds Off for Good," (McGraw-Hill 2007) recognizes how critical neurotransmitters are-not just for successful weight loss, but for every aspect of life. "66% of adult Americans are overweight and many of them truly want to lose the weight," says Dr. Hart. "But the dynamics are stacked against them because low-carb diets rob the brain of precious neurotransmitters. That's why it's so crucial for people to learn how to eat in a way that will boost those mood enhancers and help them lose weight."
A Mayo Clinic-trained gynecologist and weight-loss specialist, Dr. Hart recognized a pattern in her private practice-she started noticing that more and more women on these trendy high-protein diets were becoming depressed. "You'd think they would be ecstatic with their weight loss," says Dr. Hart. "But I was seeing just the opposite. And it really impacted their marriages. One frustrated husband told me, 'My wife lost more than weight. She also lost her mind.'" More than one husband confided to Dr. Hart that he would rather have his wife 'fat and happy than skinny and witchy.'
In "The Feel Good Diet," Dr. Hart explains the science of how diets impact the brain and how neurotransmitters affect a person's body and their well-being. Simply put, your hormones and the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine all work in tandem to help maintain weight control, reduce stress and let you live in a healthy manner. Including the right foods and supplements in your weight loss plan can help keep it all in balance. And that right balance leads not only to long term weight loss, but also to a happier, more positive outlook because those mood enhancing neurotransmitters are no longer depleted.
Dr. Hart also shares several common causes of low levels of serotonin and dopamine that most people aren't aware of:
Getting older- 60% of adults past age 40 have some degree of deficiency
Prolonged emotional or physical stress - when stress is severe or prolonged, adrenal glands become exhausted and can't keep up
Hormone imbalances - hormones influence neurotransmitter release and activity
Sleeping poorly - most serotonin is replaced while you sleep
Certain medications - long term use of diet pills, stimulants, pain pills and narcotics can deplete neurotransmitter stores
So can caffeine, nicotine alcohol and recreational drugs
"The Feel-Good Diet" offers yo-yo dieters a chance to break the vicious cycle of losing and then re-gaining weight; permanently, with complete step-by-step daily eating plans that increase serotonin production. Snacks of specific foods shown to raise serotonin levels like chocolate, certain fruits, bread, and pasta are purposely scheduled throughout the day and evening. Complete lists of these serotonin-boosting foods are provided. Full details on the nutritional supplements proven to raise serotonin levels are also given. Restaurant menus and even fast-food dieting choices that boost serotonin help dieters succeed in the real world. Recipes, like the popular "chocolate S'more Serotonin" dessert, are included as a bonus.
"The true goal of "The Feel Good Diet" is teaching people how to eat right, exercise right and make more serotonin," says Dr. Hart. "That way they can actually enjoy being thin."
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