A Little Link Love: Coconut Oil, Food Addiction and Willpower

September 19th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Motivation

First Things First:

Do you know who Miranda Kerr is?

Miranda Kerr Loves Coconut Oil

I didn’t – but I do now! An article just surfaced about this Victoria’s Secret model, wife of Orlando Bloom, new mother and coconut oil lover.

I will not go a day without coconut oil. I personally take four tablespoons per day, either on my salads, in my cooking or in my cups of green tea.

Rock on girlfriend! NOW I’ll remember who you are! You’re that chick who digs coconut oil! Orlando Bloom, Schmorlando Schoom.

Next Things Next,

Are You a Food Addict? by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.  This article is from last year (and in my opinion could have been titled a bit better) but carries a message that I think is really important:

Like any drug addiction, in order to be free from food addiction and its all-consuming cravings, you have to abstain from the toxic American diet for a full 8 – 12 weeks, no matter what.

If you do not strictly follow nutritarian eating for at least that amount of time, your taste buds will never adapt, and consequently you’ll never get to the point that you prefer eating natural, healthy food.

You have to put in the time of abstinence up front to get the results.

8 – 12 weeksThat’s 2 – 3 months!  Knowing how long it can take to break the Standard American Diet food addiction can be really helpful.  That little piece of info just might save you from giving up and going back to old eating habits out of frustration after only a week or two.  Hold tight, it gets easier!  It just might take longer than you initially expect.

And much like eating more vegetables is how you can learn to eat more vegetables – you definitely can lose your taste for processed foods when you stop eating processed food.  But there’s a withdrawal period as this article suggests, and like breaking any addiction – it can sometimes be a real struggle until you’re on the other side of it.

So That’s Why There’s Willpower!

From a recent article at Psychology Today; If Self-Control is a Muscle, Why Can’t I Exercise It?

I’ve heard willpower referred to as a muscle before –  if you’re resisting too many things at once, that “muscle” can get overtired and you’ll eventually cave.  This is why it’s important to go slowly with these sorts of things.

self-control can fizzle out-when people’s minds are taxed and fatigued, when they’ve been struggling at self-control for too long a stretch at once

But this is a bit different, and I’ve noticed this myself – that it’s much harder to exercise willpower when you’re tired or stressed.

My take away here?  If you’re stressed and/or tired, do yourself a favor and try to avoid situations where willpower will be necessary.   Of course that’s not always possible, but at least you know that you’re not “weak” or “hopeless” when you can’t seem to resist some stimulating food at the end of a hard day – you’re simply human.


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