Science research backs up NO S Diet...

[Janette]

Incredible...For a while now, I've noticed (with a bit of disbelief) that when I stroll into Whole Foods, which houses some of my all time favorite sweets, that I can just walk in and not succumb to temptation..At first I thought it was a fluke - that I was just having " a damn good week"..However, it now happens with enough consistency to make me ask the question: Is it just because of my S days? It wasn't until I came across some interesting research that proved the following:

"Alain Dagher, a neurologist at Montreal Neurological Institute at McGill University, used imaging technology in a study of smokers to learn how anticipation influences brain activity. All his participants had brain scans, but only some were told in a advance that they would be able to smoke immediately after the test was completed. The others UNDERSTOOD that they COULDN'T have a cigarette for another four hours and that a carbon-monoxide monitor would be used to ensure that they complied. Dagher's MRI scans showed that areas of the brain involved in arousal and attention were essentially SHUT DOWN in the population that did not expect to be able to smoke afterward. The Study confirmed that you could reduce the behavior response to cravings by reducing expectancy of the reward..Somehow those people had the ability to suppress the cravings. If a reward is deemed and truly believed to be unavailable, it affects our arousal center in the brain that is responsible for us breaking so many diets." So, basically, it's more than just knowing I have some sugar coming on Sat/Sunday..Having truly internalized the N day rules, has literally changed the way my brain handles cravings..Freakin amazing..

[Kevin]

Thanks for sharing that. I love science!

Incredible...For a while now, I've noticed (with a bit of disbelief) that when I stroll into Whole Foods, which houses some of my all time favorite sweets, that I can just walk in and not succumb to temptation..At first I thought it was a fluke - that I was just having " a damn good week"..However, it now happens with enough consistency to make me ask the question: Is it just because of my S days? It wasn't until I came across some interesting research that proved the following:

"Alain Dagher, a neurologist at Montreal Neurological Institute at McGill University, used imaging technology in a study of smokers to learn how anticipation influences brain activity. All his participants had brain scans, but only some were told in a advance that they would be able to smoke immediately after the test was completed. The others UNDERSTOOD that they COULDN'T have a cigarette for another four hours and that a carbon-monoxide monitor would be used to ensure that they complied. Dagher's MRI scans showed that areas of the brain involved in arousal and attention were essentially SHUT DOWN in the population that did not expect to be able to smoke afterward. The Study confirmed that you could reduce the behavior response to cravings by reducing expectancy of the reward..Somehow those people had the ability to suppress the cravings. If a reward is deemed and truly believed to be unavailable, it affects our arousal center in the brain that is responsible for us breaking so many diets." So, basically, it's more than just knowing I have some sugar coming on Sat/Sunday..Having truly internalized the N day rules, has literally changed the way my brain handles cravings..Freakin amazing..

[~reneew]

I love this! Thanks for the info!

[Starla]

Thank you for posting this! This is exactly what I've experienced; it's nice to know there's a scientific explanation.