Want to lose weight? Eat bland.

El_Dangeroso

Stephan has finished up his series on food reward:

Food Reward: a Dominant Factor in Obesity, Part VII
Now that I've explained the importance of food reward to obesity, and you're tired of reading about it, it's time to share my ideas on how to prevent and perhaps reverse fat gain. First, I want to point out that although food reward is important, it's not the only factor. Heritable factors (genetics and epigenetics), developmental factors (uterine environment, childhood diet), lifestyle factors (exercise, sleep, stress) and dietary factors besides reward also play a role. That's why I called this series "a dominant factor in obesity", rather than "the dominant factor in obesity".


Nevertheless, the more I read, the more I'm convinced that excessive food reward and/or palatability is the elephant in the room when it comes to obesity and metabolic dysfunction. We live our lives surrounded by foods that are professionally crafted to satisfy our basest gustatory desires-- to drive us to eat more, against the wisdom that our bodies have accumulated over millions of years. They do this by exploiting the hard-wired preferences that guided us toward healthy food in the natural environment.

Obesity is not always going to be 100 percent reversible. I know no one wants to hear that, but I'm not in the business of selling snake oil. Some people can reverse it completely; others won't lose any fat at all; the majority can probably lose a substantial amount of fat but not all of it. Highly controlled diet studies in rodents show that obesity due to eating highly rewarding/palatable refined food is mostly reversible when they are placed back on low-palatability whole food, but they don't usually lose all of the excess fat, and the longer they've been obese, the less fat they lose (1, 2, 3). The capacity for the fat mass "setpoint" to re-establish at a lower level may diminish over time, varies between individuals, and probably also depends on other factors that no one currently understands. I think it's important to be kind to yourself, and not set unreasonable expectations.

I can't guarantee that what I'll present here will help everyone, but it is unlikely to do harm. As always, these are simply ideas for you to consider. You are fully responsible for your own implementation of them, and your own outcomes.

Recommendations

I've organized this weight loss strategy into five different "levels" based on the desired outcome. Some people may want to use this strategy in a preventive manner, or to address metabolic disorders other than overweight that are related to excess energy intake (insulin resistance, fatty liver, etc.), in which case they would probably want to stick to levels 1-3. Levels 4 and 5 are primarily for people who are not losing weight at the lower levels, and would like to further reduce food reward and the body fat setpoint.

The goal is to adopt a diet that allows fat mass to return to a healthy level, while eating nutritious food to fullness. You may initially feel deprived, but you should become more satisfied by simple food over time.

Level 1

The low-hanging fruit:
Avoid the highest reward foods: candy, sweetened chocolate, ice cream, cake, cookies, other sweet baked goods, fast food, pizza, and other foods that you know are particularly problematic for you. Don't put yourself in a position to be tempted by these if you can avoid it.
Minimize liquid calories, particularly sweetened beverages, beer and sweet cocktails. Modest quantities of milk, wine, and unsweetened spirits are fine.
Don't snack. In France and many other countries with strong food traditions, snacks are for children. Adults eat at mealtime, in a deliberate manner.
Level 2

In addition to everything in level 1:
Avoid industrially processed food in general, particularly packaged food with many ingredients. Minimize restaurant food. Cook your own food from single ingredients to the extent that you're able.
Avoid adding sweeteners to food and drinks-- including artificial sweeteners. The sweet flavor itself is a reward factor.
Avoid seed oils (corn, soybean, sunflower and safflower in particular).
Include a regular source of omega-3 in your diet. This can come from some mixture of wild-caught fish, flax seed/oil, pastured meat/dairy/eggs and green vegetables.
Level 3

In addition to everything in levels 1 and 2:
Reduce the overall energy density of your food (calories per volume) while keeping it nutritious, but don't go overboard. This can be accomplished by adding extra vegetables to the meal, and using potatoes and sweet potatoes as the main source of starch (rather than bread, pasta, rice, etc.). Microwaving is a fast and effective way to cook potatoes and sweet potatoes for those who are short on time.
Focus on minimally processed foods.
Don't add fat to your food. That doesn't mean don't eat fat, it just means keep it separate from your cooking. If you want to eat butter, eat it separately rather than mixing it in with your dish.
Level 4

This level is about simplicity. Here, we are approximating the reward value of certain non-industrial diets. In addition to everything in levels 1-3:
Eat only single ingredients with no flavorings added. No spices, herbs, salt, added sweeteners, added fats, etc. If you eat a potato, eat it plain. If you eat a piece of chicken, eat it plain. It can be in the same meal as other foods, but don't mix anything together. If you would like to keep salt in your diet, dissolve it in water and drink it separately.
Cook foods gently. Minimize grilling, sauteing, broiling, frying, and particularly deep frying. Add a bit of water to the pan, rather than oil, when cooking meat or vegetables, and cook gently with the lid on.
Minimize all liquid calories.
Only eat foods that taste good when you're hungry; avoid foods that you'd be inclined to snack on even when not hungry. A lot of foods move from the latter category to the former when they're completely unseasoned.
Some people will benefit from avoiding wheat. Your mileage may vary on this.
Level 5

This level reduces variety, which is another reward factor (4). This is something that you attempt at your own risk, as there may be downsides to eating the same foods every day. I think the risk is small if you choose your three foods carefully. I wouldn't recommend doing this indefinitely, but rather as a short-term strategy to lose fat, followed by a more relaxed maintenance phase.
Pick three foods, and eat nothing else. Try to pick foods that will provide a relatively balanced diet. A starch, a meat and a green vegetable is one possibility. For example: potatoes, broccoli and beef. Again, cook everything gently and add no seasonings to your food whatsoever, including salt.
Macronutrients

Some people have lost fat simply by avoiding carbohydrate or fat. I've heard people say that a low-carbohydrate diet in particular curbs their cravings and allow them to have a healthy relationship with food again (although others have developed strong cravings on low-carbohydrate diets). I believe this is mostly, if not exclusively, driven by the fact that carbohydrate and fat are major reward factors.

I believe that all things being equal, it's best not to restrict any macronutrient to an extreme degree (there may be some exceptions, such as diabetes). That being said, as carbohydrate and fat are major reward factors, they are additional tools in the toolbox that you can use to further reduce reward if you choose.

Don't be a Drill Sergeant

Ultimately, for any diet to work, it needs to be sustainable. It's probably a good idea to allow yourself a meal or two a week that you really enjoy. Just don't indulge in the worst offenders-- foods that will stay on your mind, and reinforce your cravings for days or weeks. You know what your own trigger foods are. Don't even put yourself in the vicinity of those foods if you can avoid it. If your diet is balanced and nutritious, your cravings should subside over time, and you will become more satisfied by simple food.

An Alternative Strategy

In his book The Shangri-La Diet, UCLA psychologist Dr. Seth Roberts outlines a simple strategy that he claims can lower the body fat setpoint without significantly altering the diet. The technique involves taking flavorless calorie-containing foods between meals, which lowers overall energy intake by suppressing appetite (according to him, by lowering the setpoint). I'm not going to steal his thunder, so you can read his book, or visit his website or forum if you want more information about how to implement it.

I tried Dr. Roberts' strategy for a week out of curiosity, and it did suppress my appetite somewhat. According to the theory, the more excess fat mass you begin with, the more your appetite should be suppressed. I didn't have much fat to lose, but I noticed a modest effect on my appetite nevertheless. I have a few reservations about the technique. I don't know much about its long-term effectiveness or safety, and neither does Dr. Roberts, according to our communications. It doesn't strike me as having the potential to be very dangerous, but as our ancestors didn't sip refined olive oil between meals, the precautionary principle applies. Still, it's an interesting technique that I'll be keeping my eye on in the upcoming years.

This just sounds so depressing to me, but then again, I'm one of the lucky people who loses weight easily on level 2 with some very mild carb restriction.

I can't imagine not being able to uses spices and herbs, I think I'd rather stay fat if that was the case.

Does anyone else think they could handle level 4 or 5 if they had to?

boogle

Very grim! I love cooking (and eating what I cook :pac:) so I'd find it hard to live like that for more than a few weeks. I don't think I'm an insatiable beast when it comes to "reward" foods. I can actually limit/reduce carbs or fat without much fuss. As long as I can have herbs and spices...

Bottle_of_Smoke

not a hope

rocky

how is this any better than a low fat or a low carb diet? It isn't. And when people get back to their old eating habits, guess what happens.

Not sustainable

El_Dangeroso

rocky wrote: »

how is this any better than a low fat or a low carb diet? It isn't. And when people get back to their old eating habits, guess what happens.

Not sustainable

Yeah, the brain needs that dopamine man! *Itches arms*

El_Dangeroso

boogle wrote: »

Very grim! I love cooking (and eating what I cook :pac:) so I'd find it hard to live like that for more than a few weeks. I don't think I'm an insatiable beast when it comes to "reward" foods. I can actually limit/reduce carbs or fat without much fuss. As long as I can have herbs and spices...

You might be a level two person so..

I think 4 and 5 are for 'hard-losers'.

pecker1992

out of interest.......whats his connection with herbs & spices & weight loss??? makes no sense whatsoever to me anyway?

Red Cortina

With regard to just eating 3 foods all the time. When I read that I thought: That doesn't actually sound so bad.

This is probably because I would have a tendancy to eat the same food all the time anyway.

TBH it probably depends on the type of person you are and the sort of personality you have to be able to eat the same food day in, day out.

Ophiopogon

I do think I understand what he would be trying to do here but I just can't see how someone who is overweight from living on processed food would stick this and I just think they would fall of the wagon big time.

For me the use of herbs and spices is extremely important, I eat clean and low carb. I think the flavour helps with my recognising that I'm full. As in if I sit down to eat a meal that I prepared and tastes amazing and I pay attention to what I'm eating then I think my brain and stomach connect quicker and I eat only the required amount. Personally I think If I had to sit down to plain chicken and plain boiled veg I'd straving in no time.

You have to have some pleasure with food, it can't just be about energy, as someone said I would rather be fat than live this hell!!

Jarren

How about this Guy?

"most of the food I eat doesn't taste good. I don't eat for taste, I eat for performance"

http://www.formerfatguy.com/weblog/2007/07/eating-for-performance-sean-sherk.asp#axzz1QhJvQBb6

I have to agree with other posters here about bland foods,it's not sustainable in long term:(

Bottle_of_Smoke

pecker1992 wrote: »

out of interest.......whats his connection with herbs & spices & weight loss??? makes no sense whatsoever to me anyway?

What I've gathered is that the approach is to take away the "reward factor" of food. Herbs/spices taste good so they provide a chemical reward for the brain and make you enjoy eating.

Wibbs

It's also down to personal taste preferences, so on this diet idea I'd be dubious. EG I like bland foods in the main. Yep. I don't like spices and if you put sliced peppers in my food I'll likely be done for assault. Strong stuff like anchovies and I'll likely be done for murder. Too much sugar would put me off too. The very thought of eating a pizza with all those different competing flavours is ugh to me. I've always been like this even as a kid. I go for texture rather than flavour. I could follow a lot of this diet easy peasy. Though I do like the texture of fat so that would prove a block. Now the result of that is that I am the same weight I was 20 years ago(and rarely exercise), so it "works", but I've also a very low appetite anyway. I'm very odd in this so I can't see how it would be sustainable for normal folks.

I reckon you could sum this whole thing up into: if it tastes too good, its probably too bad for you. But again it smells like another one of those extreme diets.

hollypink

Why on level 3 is it ok to eat potatoes and sweet potatoes but not other starches like bread, pasta, rice? Is it because they are unprocessed? (hope that's not a silly question )

Caros

I'm afraid I'd have to say NO to levels 4 and 5 but I'm more or less following a level 1 to 2 at the moment and it's working. I love to cook so levels 4/5 would be out for me but I have adapted alot of my recipes to suit my current lifestyle change.

El_Dangeroso

hollypink wrote: »

Why on level 3 is it ok to eat potatoes and sweet potatoes but not other starches like bread, pasta, rice? Is it because they are unprocessed? (hope that's not a silly question )

Not a silly question at all. Potatoes are more nutrient dense than bread, pasta or rice.

El_Dangeroso

Wibbs wrote: »

It's also down to personal taste preferences, so on this diet idea I'd be dubious. EG I like bland foods in the main. Yep. I don't like spices and if you put sliced peppers in my food I'll likely be done for assault. Strong stuff like anchovies and I'll likely be done for murder. Too much sugar would put me off too. The very thought of eating a pizza with all those different competing flavours is ugh to me. I've always been like this even as a kid. I go for texture rather than flavour. I could follow a lot of this diet easy peasy. Though I do like the texture of fat so that would prove a block. Now the result of that is that I am the same weight I was 20 years ago(and rarely exercise), so it "works", but I've also a very low appetite anyway. I'm very odd in this so I can't see how it would be sustainable for normal folks.

I reckon you could sum this whole thing up into: if it tastes too good, its probably too bad for you. But again it smells like another one of those extreme diets.

Stephan is promising some tips to sustain the diet in an upcoming post. But yeah, it's all very complicated, according to Seth Roberts, using spices or flavours that you are not used to will also lower the set point.

When I was in Australia all the food tasted strange and I dropped about a half stone without trying.

I don't think we can't always equate flavour with food reward, the only reason you like certain flavours is because your brain has associated them with calories at some point. So I'd be reluctant to say tasty=bad, more that engineered by food scientists to be hyper-palatable=bad.

My own personal addendum to the theory is that flavour-reward associations are most strongly formed in childhood and after this are very difficult to modify. Take american chocolate for example, disgusting to Europeans, plus twinkies, ugh, can't imagine anyone binging on something that tastes like a gone off dish sponge. But I have some American friends who think cadbury's tastes like crap too.

This is why it's so important to keep children away from junk food, you are giving them a habit of a lifetime.

Wibbs

I'd add their mothers tastes while they were in the womb too.

El_Dangeroso

Wibbs wrote: »

I'd add their mothers tastes while they were in the womb too.

Hmm, not so sure about that one. It would be totally amazing if true, but I haven't seen evidence, beyond hyperglycaemia in the womb contributing to later propensity to diabetes.

There's also evidence that undergoing famine in one generation causes obesity in subsequent generations.

But as regards tastes, I'd be pretty confident they're culturally and environmentally determined.

Wibbs

Maybe... maybe not... http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16721-alcohol-in-pregnancy-may-give-kids-a-taste-for-booze.html http://ewnlifestyle.com/1734/babies-develop-food-preferences-in-the-womb

EileenG

Wibbs wrote: »

I'd add their mothers tastes while they were in the womb too.

They definitely get their mother's tastes while they are breastfeeding. Breastmilk acquires a flavour of whatever the mother has eaten, which is why babies in India have no trouble eating curry as soon as they are on solid foods, they've been getting the flavour since the day they were born. It's also a possible reason why Irish babies, who are largely bottle fed a formula which doesn't change taste, tend to go for sweet and bland foods.

Iristxo

Personally my problem is not food satisfaction, I can drop pounds easily enough because when I go on a diet high in fat and protein, even though fat is rewarding, I still don't have a huge appetite and for me it's quite easy to under-eat, and in fact I wind up many days doing CR unwillingly. But if I don't get enough carbs to some extent or indeed enough calories I wind up being "unhappy". Really, I don't know if this is due to the lack of a specific nutrient or just plain not enough calories and not enough carbs. As a result I've forced myself to up the amount of calories and carbs and bang, I am putting on weight again

Anyone else like me out there?

Bottle_of_Smoke

Wibbs wrote: »

It's also down to personal taste preferences, so on this diet idea I'd be dubious. EG I like bland foods in the main. Yep. I don't like spices and if you put sliced peppers in my food I'll likely be done for assault. Strong stuff like anchovies and I'll likely be done for murder. Too much sugar would put me off too. The very thought of eating a pizza with all those different competing flavours is ugh to me. I've always been like this even as a kid. I go for texture rather than flavour. I could follow a lot of this diet easy peasy. Though I do like the texture of fat so that would prove a block. Now the result of that is that I am the same weight I was 20 years ago(and rarely exercise), so it "works", but I've also a very low appetite anyway. I'm very odd in this so I can't see how it would be sustainable for normal folks.

I reckon you could sum this whole thing up into: if it tastes too good, its probably too bad for you. But again it smells like another one of those extreme diets.

In a way I think this backs up the diet. If I'm correct you have mentioned before you are slim?

So yeah I could see how this diet could lead someone to being slim, in that if followed it takes away enjoyment of food and simply makes the adherents see food as nothing but a source of energy and nutrients, much like putting on a jacket makes you warm

The catch is I think most people wouldn't stick to it. They are just too primed to like tasty foods, most people when faced with a restaurant simply are not going to say "I'd like some boiled chicken and greens with a plain baked potato" - whereas you personally may be the exception as having relatively odd individual taste in food

Iristxo

By the way another trick that works for me in case anyone is interested: have a coffee (v little milk, no sugar) within 30 min of commencing your lunch, or dinner. This suppresses my appetite right down.

El_Dangeroso

Iristxo wrote: »

Personally my problem is not food satisfaction, I can drop pounds easily enough because when I go on a diet high in fat and protein, even though fat is rewarding, I still don't have a huge appetite and for me it's quite easy to under-eat, and in fact I wind up many days doing CR unwillingly. But if I don't get enough carbs to some extent or indeed enough calories I wind up being "unhappy". Really, I don't know if this is due to the lack of a specific nutrient or just plain not enough calories and not enough carbs. As a result I've forced myself to up the amount of calories and carbs and bang, I am putting on weight again

Anyone else like me out there?

Maybe if you kept your carbs and fats separate, that would lower the reward but still allow you to get enough cals?

I had the same problem on low carb too, very hard to get enough cals to maintain.

El_Dangeroso

I think Stephan read this thread:

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/07/simple-food-thoughts-on-practicality.html

He addresses the sustainability aspect. Basically he says the more you eat simple food (perhaps I was harsh using the word 'bland') the less you desire highly rewarding food.

Looking back I know that I always lost more weight when my diet was relatively repetitive and simple. I also know that simple ingredients taste so much better when you aren't eating hyper-palatable food all the time.

I'm helping a friend lose weight at the moment. She is very picky when it comes to food (loves bland food and was eating mostly bland convenience food) so I've given her a rota of 5-6 meals that I know she'll eat and it's pretty much meat, a vegetable and a starch with some full fat dairy, with nuts and eggs for snacks. Simple as it gets and she's flying it. I haven't told her to deliberately restrict cals, fats or carbs (save for perhaps a slight re-education on portion sizes - but if she's hungry she can eat more).

She's lost 4lb in the first week and doesn't feel hungry at all.

Caros

I have found that as I've eliminated chocolate, biscuits, and the ilk from my diet the less I desire them, was hard for a while. Sticking with fresh fruit, veg and to use a term I've learned from boards - eating clean - for the main part -is of great help to me in weight loss and in other areas of my health as well.