Healthy Weight Loss
Rats, chocolates, rewards and habits
An odd subtitle you might think but researcher Ann Graybiel from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has been conducting research for more than 10 years with wired rats, T-shaped mazes, and chocolate. She discovered that habitual action begins with a cue, which leads to a routine, which then ends in a reward. Once people (or animals) engage in this loop (cue, routine, reward) repeatedly, the cycle becomes near-automatic. That is, the cue and reward become neurologically entwined, thought processing is significantly reduced and a sense of craving (for the reward) develops.
Now the cue could be anything, stress, an advert which could send you to the cupboard to open that forbidden packet of goodies and before you know it you will have finished the whole packet which will not be helping your healthy weight loss goals.
While dieters who experience these problems do still experience immediate rewards from eating, their rewards are accompanied by a longer-term penalty, such as feeling bad about overeating the moment the food is gone, feeling weak and unable to control eating and gaining weight or failing to lose weight.
The challenge for the dieter is to develop a new healthier habit which will strengthen the chances of success by find a cue which could prompt them to go to the gym for a hard work out with the reward of say a relaxing massage.
David Ogden
CEO TheInterBiz LLC
Phone 386 308 1956 after 6PM EST
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