The title of this article is a bit "strong" but it is the question we asked ourselves after a short but intense culinary journey in the pizza capital: Naples!
Alessandro and I were in the Neapolitan land for 4 days and we ate divinely: sfogliatelle, babà, cuoppi (cone with various fried specialties inside), ice cream and lots and lots of delicious pizza!
Every meal was an opportunity to try new things: pastry shops and restaurants were a constant.
On our return we immediately resumed our balanced diet and exercise but we felt like we wanted to continue with that "festive" lifestyle, certainly not healthy and balanced.
So we asked ourselves: is eating poorly addictive?
By analyzing our culinary trip, we can certainly tell that we ate much more sugar and fat than usual.
Foods rich in sugar and fat stimulate the pleasure center in our brain by releasing dopamine, a neurotransmitter linked to feelings of pleasure and reward.
One of the fundamental ingredients for creating a habit (good or bad) is precisely the obtaining of the reward: the less time that passes between the action and the reward, the faster our new habit will form.
If you are interested in the topic, we talked about it in a past newsletter "Aiming for habits and not for goals".
By continuously eating foods of this type, a vicious circle is created which is increasingly difficult to break and which can lead to consequences such as weight gain and feeling tired, as well as a worsening of general health.
The fact of having noticed this having this feeling, made us realize how much we had "grown" from a food point of view. Recognizing that you have temptations is the first step to avoiding them and this, in our opinion, is due to the fact that we plan our meals and follow a balanced and healthy diet.
The key is therefore to recognize the signal from our body that tells us "something is wrong" and act accordingly. For us it was about going back to planning our meals on Weekly Menu, going to the gym and remembering that beautiful trip that we will surely do again.
Alessandro and I were in the Neapolitan land for 4 days and we ate divinely: sfogliatelle, babà, cuoppi (cone with various fried specialties inside), ice cream and lots and lots of delicious pizza!
Every meal was an opportunity to try new things: pastry shops and restaurants were a constant.
On our return we immediately resumed our balanced diet and exercise but we felt like we wanted to continue with that "festive" lifestyle, certainly not healthy and balanced.
So we asked ourselves: is eating poorly addictive?
First of all, what does it mean to eat poorly?
By analyzing our culinary trip, we can certainly tell that we ate much more sugar and fat than usual.
Foods rich in sugar and fat stimulate the pleasure center in our brain by releasing dopamine, a neurotransmitter linked to feelings of pleasure and reward.
One of the fundamental ingredients for creating a habit (good or bad) is precisely the obtaining of the reward: the less time that passes between the action and the reward, the faster our new habit will form.
If you are interested in the topic, we talked about it in a past newsletter "Aiming for habits and not for goals".
By continuously eating foods of this type, a vicious circle is created which is increasingly difficult to break and which can lead to consequences such as weight gain and feeling tired, as well as a worsening of general health.
Thank you meal planning!
The fact of having noticed this having this feeling, made us realize how much we had "grown" from a food point of view. Recognizing that you have temptations is the first step to avoiding them and this, in our opinion, is due to the fact that we plan our meals and follow a balanced and healthy diet.
The key is therefore to recognize the signal from our body that tells us "something is wrong" and act accordingly. For us it was about going back to planning our meals on Weekly Menu, going to the gym and remembering that beautiful trip that we will surely do again.