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End of Overeating 7 – Set Rules

Posted: May 9th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: End of Overeating | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on End of Overeating 7 – Set Rules

End of OvereatingAs approaches for treatment of hyperconditioned overeating are outlined, the End of Overeating next focuses on the essential nature of clear and easily remembered rules we can actually follow. Hyperconditioned overeating is intrinsically impulsive, so we must break the grip of that impulsive behavior. Concrete “if-then” rules are an important part of that battle.

I was reminded in this section of the effort Michael Pollan has invested in constructing clear, simple food rules. His rules are things like, don’t eat anything with more than five ingredients or with ingredients you can’t pronounce or don’t recognize. He also has rules like, don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.

These are the same sort of rules. Clear and categorical rules — “I don’t eat french fries” — are the easiest sorts of rules to follow consistently. As people with celiac disease, my younger children and I are familiar with that sort of rule. “I don’t eat gluten” must be an absolute rule for us.

The book provides some good examples of the sorts of rules Dr. Kessler and researchers have found effective. It doesn’t simply provide the theory.