The Power of Vegetables

Sue was using EBT instead of weight loss surgery. One day in an EBT group, she said to me, "Oh, I get it. You eat more veggies." That week she had lost three pounds, and it was the week she had loaded up on spring greens, baby carrots, red peppers, and cucumbers.

It looked like it was a matter of veggies, but underneath that behavioral facade was quite probably a chemical cascade that made eating veggies not only powerful, but safe . . .I say addictive because  eating vegetables when in the brain is wired for Brain State 4 or Brain State 5 can be addictive.

In Brain State 1, vegetables are DELICIOUS, because we are eating them with a love of life, and ourselves, or meaning and mattering. They are a celebration of life not evidence of self-hate and deprivation, and thus fodder for rebellion and cookie binges. The reward circuits are flush with feel-good neurochemicals.

In Brain State 5, the cascade of stress hormones and unbalancing of neurotransmitters makes vegetables offensive -- they don't get us that false high that comes from sugary, fatty foods -- and if we keep eating those vegetables, some other addictive pattern will take hold. It turns out that very low calorie rigid dieting, being plugged into deprivation, causes abnormally high neurotransmitters or the dieting high. Eating a diet that is long on veggies and fueled by chemical highs sets us up for neurotransmitter lows, unstoppable drives and cravings and weight regain.

So science is showing us that vegetables are very powerful -- as long as you eat them at Brain State 1.

But to really believe this you need to experience it.  So for the next 3 days try checking in before each meal and get to Brain State 1.   And see how your appetites change!

Use EBT's 1-2-3 Eating and cover half your plate with veggies, 1/4 plate with lean protein foods and 1/4 plate with high fiber grains or fruit.  Be sure to drizzle on some olive oil or other healthy fats, such as nuts or seeds.

Enjoy!