Let’s have a show of hands — how many of you have had some (well-intentioned) frenemy passionately declare that they can’t wait for you to get to their state of diet-nirvana where you crave the apple, nay, the KALE, instead of that microbiome-destroying candy bar? Did you also want to punch them in the throat? Just me?
/slides off into a corner.
Before you flip out and throw your phones at me, I’m not here to tell you that YOU JUST HAVE TO IMAGINE THE SALAD TASTES LIKE SNICKERS, or any of that nonsense. I happen to be in possession of a perfectly functional palate, and I am also not delusional, so I know full well that carrots and cereal are not interchangeable.
However, the human brain, while not quite silly enough to (always) be able to fall for Jedi mind tricks like that, does have a slightly different loophole we can take advantage of. Now, we know that those radishes do NOT taste the same, and in fact are highly unlikely to provide the same sort of pleasure, as a Reese’s peanut butter cup will, but — BUT! — we also know that there’s more to it than just flavour. The fruit/veg substitute will provide:
fibre
vitamins
minerals
(some) hydration
satiety
significantly more volume
where the candy bar will not, and, on top of that, it will not:
cause blood insulin spikes
have any potentially negative effects on your gut microbiome
be a step in the opposite direction from your goals
likely cause more cravings and be the cause of a binge-type eating episode.
And you know this, you’re all intelligent people (I know this because there is a high correlation of people who enjoy my brand of snark being Smarties). But what good does that do us? We’ve known this all this while, but it hasn’t made Nutter Butters any less delicious.
Enter Acceptance Based Therapy (ABT)— these ‘third-generation behavioural approaches’ involve a number of different techniques, including mindfulness, and other acceptance- and commitment-based interventions that seek to change the individual’s relationship with the negative thoughts, feelings and behaviours (as opposed to just trying to muscle through it through sheer willpower, or otherwise control or change those thoughts).
Traditional (first- and second-generation) behavioural techniques have a much more ‘skills-based’ approach: you’re probably familiar with a lot of these, such as goal setting (e.g. “losing 10% of my weight”), habit formation (e.g. “I will weigh myself each morning after brushing my teeth”), and setting up one’s environment (e.g. “I do not buy or keep hyper-palatable snacks in the house”). And these are fantastic skills and interventions to make use of; to this day (almost 3 years since achieving and maintaining my goal weight and physique), I make use of a number of them, and will for the foreseeable future.
However, ABT places a greater emphasis on the foundational values tied to those actions and outcomes, and, to my understanding, seeks to address the roots and motivations behind our behaviours (those both aligned and misaligned with our goals and values) rather than how said behaviours manifest.
And while it’s not to say that one is necessarily better than the other, there has been promising research that shows the efficacy of ABT in improving long-term weight control, both when used as a standalone technique, as well as in combination with other more common interventions.
If you are someone who struggles with “high internal disinhibition” (i.e. you consider yourself to not be highly motivated, have low self-discipline, and often struggle with willpower), this could be very helpful for you. And, if you are someone who has had short term success but struggles with long-term weight maintenance, the efficacy of how ABT prioritises long-term adherence is shown by a growing body of evidence.
One especially heartening result that has been observed in studies examining ABT is the high level of satisfaction that candidates have reported on these novel interventions. Add to that, research has even shown that the amount of internal disinhibition experienced falls over time. I’ve long been a proponent of finding sustainable interventions for you, whatever they may involve, and a method that decreases disinhibition and keeps you happy and satisfied is definitely one worth exploring.
But what does this mean, on a practical basis? Well, the next time you get frustrated because you want a pint of ice cream (and not even any of that “lower calorie, higher protein, frozen dairy product” stuff), but only have the remaining macros for a bowl of Greek yoghurt and frozen blueberries, instead of trying to convince yourself that Broyo tastes exactly like the Ben & Jerry’s you’re actually craving, try thinking about this instead:
What you’re craving is Phish Food, and that’s okay. These things happen, they’re perfectly natural (Phish Food is, after all, delicious), it doesn’t make you a low-quality human being.
You don’t have the calories for it today (maybe tomorrow though?), so you’re not going to have it.
Broyo isn’t going to taste the same, BUT it will help you hit your protein goal, it’ll be satiating, it’s not something you’re likely to binge on, and topping it with a little more fruit will increase the satiety quotient and get you a nice serving of fibre for the day.
The action you’re going to take is aligned with the future you’re working towards.
I’ll be honest: it’s not going to make the Broyo taste better, but it’ll probably aid in helping you to make the decision that you need to.
One parting note: if anyone tries to tell me that freaking cauliflower “rice” tastes “indistinguishable” from regular rice, you can just go right ahead and unsubscribe from this newsletter. And wash your mouth out while you’re at it. Riced cauliflower is a fantastic high-volume low-calorie option (ahoy, ABT!), but bear in mind that this intervention is not about deluding yourself. Also, if you’re actually able to fool yourself into thinking that cauli “rice” even remotely resembles actual rice, please, FTLOG, go buy some good rice, because I’ve got no idea what you’ve been eating.