How to Stop Overeating

How to Declare 'An End to Overeating'

If cake is your BFF (best friend forever), if the call of Cheeto sends you into an orange-stained spin, if you start to drool at the mere mention of Cinnabon, and/or if you are mad at yourself for giving in and diving into a vat of chocolate, then pull up a chair and start clicking for an interview that just may change your relationship to food and, in turn, your life.

Read as Janice Taylor, weight loss coach, hypnotherapist, and author of All Is Forgiven, Move On interviews Dr. David Kessler, author of, The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite. Dr. Kessler was Commissioner of the FDA from 1990-1997 (under two administrations--one red, and one blue), and during that time he was responsible for putting a squeeze on the tobacco industry and reinventing the food label. Janice found him to be an authentic, caring human being who has battled the bulge himself and is a model teacher for how you can take control of your overeating.

Click to learn what Dr. Kessler told Janice about how to stop overeating.

Janice Taylor is the author of the Our Lady of Weight Loss blog on Beliefnet, and the book, All is Forgiven, Move On.

Cracking the Overeating Code

JT: Dr. Kessler, you invested seven years of your life meeting with top scientists, physicians and food industry insiders, exploring and investigating just how we (Americans) have lost control of our eating habits. This research must be very important to you.

DK: Yes, very important on a number of levels. While watching Oprah, I heard a woman speak about her inability to control her eating, and the pain and frustration that accompanied her lack of control. I wondered, "What is going on? What's driving this?"

And I related to her story. There's almost nothing in my life that I do on impulse. But foods and the cues that surround them have the power to make me act against my own will. I wanted to understand how this works. I wanted to crack the code.

The Fattening Food Industry

JT: You found that the food industry plays a rather prominent part in the fattening of America. Please explain.

DK: The food industry is a for-profit business. Their business model is to pull out all the bells and whistles, load the food with multiple layers of salt, fat and sugar, thus creating what I call "carnival food." This carnival atmosphere keeps us wanting and coming back for more.

The food industry's first priority is to make their foods as highly 'palatable' and appealing as possible. They discovered that certain foods can and do keep us eating and eating, with no end in sight.

It's important to understand that when we think of the word 'palatable,' we think of something that tastes good. When the food industry uses that word, they are primarily referring to the food's capacity to stimulate the appetite and prompt us to eat excessively.

The Brain Chemistry Factor

JT: How does our brain chemistry come into play?

DK: Our brain is the command center of an elaborate communication system. It encourages us to seek out pleasurable things – food being one of them.

Palatability refers to how food engages our senses. Is it cold? Creamy? Does it smell good, and does it taste good? Usually, the most palatable foods contain layer upon layer of fat, sugar and salt. The combination of these factors can and do stimulate the neurons, which are the basic cells in the brain. The brain responds to these highly palatable, rewarding and pleasurable foods by firing electrical signals and releasing brain neurons that are encoded with 'palatability.'

Our brains are being excessively activated – bombarded throughout the day - by food cues. Food cues include the actual food we eat, as well as external cues such as anchors to time of day, location, sound and sight. These cues activate the brain, grab its attention, arousal sets in and it drives consumption.