Weight Loss Tip - Avoid Stocking Your Pantry With Tempting Foods.

Emily McGuigan. 1st August 2023

Let’s set the scene. You have had an emotional day, work has been stressful, the boss has given you a hard time, and you have simply had enough today.

You arrive home, not only stressed but hungry too. You head straight for the pantry, open it up and there it is, your relief for the day. Thinking to yourself “I don’t care how bad it is for me, all I want right now is that block of chocolate”! In an instant you have devoured half a block, and it feels good, but after so much sweetness you are now craving something salty, opening the pantry again, you find some salt and vinegar chips, they have your name written all over them. Before you know it, you've popped open the packet and taken a decent handful. That has help to settle the hunger, and it’s also helped to settle down that stress level.

Now, you think to yourself, it’s time for dinner. But ugh what to have, the thought of cooking right now does not sound inviting, perhaps you could get take away? It's just down the street...great idea you tell yourself! You order a pizza, a large of course because you are so hungry, you’ve had a terrible day, and you deserve this to just sit and relax tonight. Your pizza arrives and you plonk yourself in front of your favourite tv show, you don’t notice how much of the pizza you’ve eaten and realise you’ve had a couple more slices than what you probably should have, but you don't care, you are full, you are satisfied. And you might just finish off a couple more pieces of that chocolate as a sweet treat to finish off the evening.

Now, let us go back to the beginning of this story. It's the same situation, you are stressed, it’s been a long day and you are hungry. But this time when you open your fridge there is no chocolate block waiting for you, the pantry doesn’t have a bag of chips with your name on it, and your nearest take away is half an hour away. Although you are starving, and the idea of cooking does not sound inviting, you have no choice, you need to make something, and fast. You open the fridge and notice a packet of pre chopped stir fry veggies, and a chicken breast, brilliant, a stir fry you think, that’s quick and easy, it’s salty, and it will fill me. So, you hop to it, and after 10 minutes you have a healthy stir fry sitting on your lap.

Your favourite show is on, and you can finally relax. You finish off your stir fry feeling really satisfied, but you would really love a little treat to end your day. You head back to the pantry and find a tin of stewed apples, that will do you think. So, you heat up the apples, plop a spoonful of yogurt on it, sprinkle with some cinnamon and just like that you have your yummy, sweet dessert at the end of your day.

You might be starting to wonder where I am going with this? What’s the point of this story?

Let me explain.

(Credit Image: Sugar & Cloth)

It is simply to compare and demonstrate the eating habits of someone who had access to quick fast food, opposed to someone who didn’t. And how different their choices were when it came to the foods they consumed. They were both equally satisfied at the end of the night, they were both able to sit down and relax with their favourite show, but here’s the difference:

Scenario A: A total of approximately 2865 calories (114 grams of fat, 150.9 grams sugar). Scenario B: A total of approximately 503 calories, (8.8 grams of fat, 30 grams sugar).

That's a pretty big difference hey! And the main reason behind it was the access to the easy, high calorie food, when it was within reach, and instantly accessible, it was almost irresistible. However, in scenario B, the temptation wasn't there, which ultimately led to a healthier choice of food.

What I am trying to show here is that our physical environment can have a huge impact on how and what we eat, which often leads to how and why we might gain unwanted weight.

A recent small study selected two groups of people to go on two different diets, though both groups ate the same number of calories, one group ate calories derived from ultra processed foods while the other ate unprocessed real foods. What the researchers found was that those on the highly processed diet gained weight, while those on the unprocessed diet actually lost weight. Concluding that it’s not only the number of calories we consume, but also where these calories come from. (1)

Our stress levels are also highly correlated with what we choose to eat. Foods high in sugar and fat give us a great hit of dopamine, it makes us feel good, so it is easy to see how when given the option, especially when we are feeling stressed, we are instinctively inclined to choose the highly palatable and rewarding foods. But perhaps, if we avoid tempting ourselves with the easy access to those foods in moments of weakness, we can help to avoid overloading the body with empty calories and still find a way to satisfy ourselves. (2)

The moral of the story is this. If you are trying to lose weight, or simply maintain your weight, it is better to avoid stocking the pantry with tempting foods in the first place. By taking away our choice, it leaves us to seek better alternatives. That’s not to say we may not indulge in a delicious treat or a takeout meal every now and then, but by removing these things from our pantry's we can help to reduce temptations and will ultimately be healthier for it.

Emily

Disclaimer. For educational purposes only.

References

1. Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food Intake: Cell Metabolism Published May 16 2019. Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food Intake. Kevin D. Hall 5Alexis Ayuketah Robert Brychta Peter J. Walter Shanna Yang Megan Zhou

2. Stress and diet interact to change our brain’s response to the foods we eat « Nutrition# « Cambridge Core Blog. Stress and diet interact to change our brain’s response to the foods we eat. Conner W. Wallace, PhD. 10 November 202