The brain is in charge of whether or not you’re overweight. It calls all the shots, but needs the right materials-whole foods- to maintain the correct body size.

I’ll let you in on a secret- many experts say we can be in charge of ANY disease, not just obesity. The answer is whole food nutrition. Who would have guessed?

Certainly not the majority of us. We eat like a bunch of trained seals. Why?   Well, because we ARE trained!  Ads on TV, radio, billboards etc play over and over, programming us to buy and eat certain products.There are chemicals in these products that may addict us. Many of us seem to be on a downward spiral, whether it be related to weight or just health in general.

There’s great profit in all this for the food companies, but also for those who make a living off our being in poor health.

Here’s the good news. The human body is such a miracle that it doesn’t take much to get us back on track. Just a few changes, consistently, can start to turn things around. We are more powerful than we are aware, millions of times more powerful than the most advanced computer. We were put together that way, and I don’t personally think it was an accident. Somebody ‘up there” Created us so that we could have alot more control than we presently seem to have.

 But we’re electric.  If we can’t get electricity from whole, live foods, we shut down. And look around, read some statistics. Sit in a Walmart parking lot. What you see isn’t pretty. It looks like a few of our circuit breakers might be off.

But, again, you have the power to change this. I’m seeing an amazing difference as I continue to add fresh herbs to my meals, drink green tea, etc- simple changes. Nothing happens overnight, but must admit that the changes are alot faster than I would have expected.

Hope you’re making a few changes, too-

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Are you a binge eater? Alot of people say they aren’t. But guess what. If you eat reasonably all day, and then at night have one cookie/chip/whatever and end up eating the whole bag, you’re binging!

If that happens, you can reset your metabolism by doing one of the following-

-eat 1/2 cup blackberries or blueberries

-drink 2 glasses of water

-drink 1-4 cups of green tea

Also, experts say magnesium is a great agent for calming nervousness (which leads us to binge). Some excellent wholefood sources are figs, spinach, and kale.

I made  soup last night with kale. It tasted good and packed alot of nutrition – if you want the recipe email me at bethinwithin@gmail.com

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That was always my challenge. Food was  my drug of choice.

Science says the #1 reason for this could be that our brain chemistry is whacked.  Another way to put it: we may have neurotransmitter deficiencies. Neurotransmitters control the electricity in the brain.

There’s lots of reasons for neurotransmitters not to work at an optimal level.  High stress, not enough sleep, too many processed foods, and too much sugar.( Sugar is one of the major stressors and it’s in everything -even bread- check out your bread label.)

This week in the Be Thin Within group we indicated, energetically, that ”dopamine” was our most stressed neurotransmitter. Here’s some info on how stress from a dopamine deficiency might effect your life. This is just the tip of the iceberg,  to get you thinking. Also, there’s no special order to the list.

Procrastination, remaining in abusive relationships, unkempt appearance, few close friends, forgets obligations, resents suggestions and/or authority, rejects help to avoid being a burden, feels undeserving, pessimistic, sabotages one’s own goals, turns down opportunities for pleasure.

Dopamine works like a natural amphetamine, so it’s  tied into addiction. There’s plenty of information  if you to go www.google.com or www.youtube.com  I saw an interesting video on compulsive gambling related to dopamine deficiency.

Also, dopamine is responsible for our metabolism, and the larger we get, the lower the number of dopamine receptors- in other words, the more our metabolism slows.

Finally, dopamine is responsible for “big belly fat”. That’s because when dopamine is low, cortisol takes its place. Cortisol is the back-up energy hormone. Unfortunately it’s also known as the obesity hormone.

Here are a few foods that help increase dopamine naturally. First of all, protein rich meats, poultry, and fish are rich in the amino acids that we need. Then cottage cheese, oat flakes, ricotta cheese, wheat germ, granola,and yogurt are recommended.

In the book  “Younger(Thinner) You” by Eric Braverman, he recommends eating plain yogurt every day. I’m doing this, and have gotten to enjoy it. It’s especially good mixed with granola (non-sugar). He also recommends drinking tea at every meal to raise dopamine level.

Some spices to boost dopamine are basil, bay leaves, black pepper, cayenne, cumin, fennel, flaxseed, garlic, ginger, mustard seed, rosemary, savory, sesame seeds, tarragon, and tumeric.

Bet if we started writing down what we really eat each day there wouldn’t be much real food at all.  That’s because when we’re deficient in dopamine we tend to choose high sugar, fast-digesting carbohydrate foods, trying to feel energized.

Just a small change, like drinking tea with every meal, or adding a couple of spices, can make a major difference.

Your brain may be crying for help. Can you hear it?  No? Well, the cry comes in the form of your excess weight.

If you are literally hearing your brain speak,  that’s another topic.

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Apparently we don’t get heavy because of our stomach – it’s our brain chemistry. Stress alters the balance of neurotransmitters, or chemicals. in the brain.

If we really want to lose weight and keep it off, this is important information to have.

Each day this week I’m going to post some symptoms of gaba, serotonin, acetylcholine, or dopamine (neurotransmitter) deficiency and then some foods that might help balance this out. Most of the information is coming from Dr. Eric Braverman’s book, Younger (Thinner) You Diet. I highly recommend you get a copy of this book!

I’ve been changing my diet in very small ways in keeping with his suggestions, and my cravings for salty foods- crackers and cheese were my weakness- is gone!

Last week the most stressed neurotransmitter in the Be Thin Within group was GABA, so here’s some information.

Gaba is your brain’s calming agent. It’s your electrical “off” switch. (Remember, we’re electric)

Too little gaba can make you feel anxious, overwhelmed, unwell and even shaky. Migraines, mood swings, sleep problems, anxiety and panic attacks may all be related to gaba imbalance.

Gaba deficiency  can “warp” your recognition of the consequences of an action.  ( You know, when you eat certain foods even though you know you’ll feel sick later) . 

 Binge eating is linked to gaba deficiency.

Gaba boosting foods are complex, high-fiber carbohydrates

A few examples are beans, bran, brown rice, lentils, oatmeal, root vegetables, or sweet potatoes.

Also high vitamin B foods boost gaba- bananas, liver, beets, broccoli, cantaloupe, figs, grapefruit, halibut, kale, nuts, oranges, spinach.

Dr. Braverman also says that spices are powerful neurotransmitter balancing agents, and that we should carry them with us so that even if we eat out we can add them to our food.( he suggests 3 spices with each meal.) Some gaba boosting spices are caraway, cardamom, cilantro, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, lemongrass, oregano, paprika and poppy seeds.

Am on my way now for my favorite Sunday morning biscuit.  At least I eat at the health food store and they say the biscuit is organic. Whatever. Who knows, maybe down the line I won’t want that biscuit, but I enjoy it so much! That has to be stress management, right?

 Anyway, I’ll stock up on a few recommended foods for the rest of the week  to balance our my personal neurotransmitter deficiency- which is not gaba but another one. More on that another day.

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Over the next few days I want to share some things I’ve been reading about brain chemistry and its role in weight control.  Alot of the information will be coming from Dr. Eric Braverman book ” Younger (Thinner) You Diet”.

 Looking at  weight control, we now know that our metabolism is actually controlled by the brain.  The brain produces electricity, but if that electricity is not transferred at the right power, the brain will create specific food cravings to “fix it”.

So, just like we’ve been saying all along, obesity really has very little to do with will power or determination. It’s an electrical thing.

 Think about it this way:   If your circuit breaker at home was broken, would you just decide that it wasn’t meant for you to ever have electricity?  Or would you blame yourself?  ( that could be a bad example, some of us blame ourselves for everything.)

Well, your brain is like the circuit breaker box in your home. In other words, it can be fixed.

Dr. Braverman talks about reconditioning the brain (circuit breaker) through foods, because every food you eat is a precursor to one of the vital brain chemicals. He focuses on 4 primary chemicals, or neurotransmitters, dopamine, gaba, acetylcholine, and serotonin.

We’re looking at more than just weight control, though. For example, one of the most devastating diseases, Alzheimer’s, is related to acetylcholine.

Dr. Braverman says that type 2 diabetes begins with food cravings, binge eating and weight gain, which leads to obesity, which leads to dementia.

So, we’ve got alot to consider here. If you don’t have time to research all of this yourself, please check  in for the next few days and I’ll share what I’ve learned.  I’ve been following just a few of his food recommendations and already the craving for salty foods (crackers were my biggest weakness) is gone!

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