Are You Eating Too Much? Take Back Control Here’s How

Obesity rates in the U.S. (and other industrialized nations) have steadily been increasing for three decades now, as is consumption: Americans now consume an extra 425 calories each day than during the early ’80s compared to then.

Government officials, research scientists and fitness pros often blamed this on people lacking willpower to break away from unhealthy foods like gluten or fats or fructose; while diet book authors, TV doctors or nutrition specialists would cite something else.

But all of this pointing the finger never actually provides any tangible explanation as to why.

Why are we eating so much food?

Why is it so hard to stop?

Answer lies within us all.

Your brain guides what you eat. Ever open a bag of chips intending to have just a snack, only to discover an empty bag mere moments later?

Your brain is to blame. Our conscious, rational brain may think they have complete control of eating decisions: I eat what I want when I want, and stop when I’m full; but we actually have much less power than we think – most decisions we make are determined by physical forces behind-the-scenes that we may never even be aware of.

Deep brain physiology drives our eating, along with hormones, fatty acids, amino acids, glucose and body fat – while our conscious selves often just come along for the ride.

In this article, we’ll investigate:

What we must understand is how our brains dictate so many of our food decisions; that these physiological forces may contribute to weight gain; and what steps we can take to regain power over this situation.