Click to listen to the audio…
You can eat pizza while on diet, as long as you’re faithful
The actual calories in the pizza aren’t causing the trouble, it’s the fact that your brain doesn’t have a clue, how many calories are in THAT PIZZA
You’re hungry……………
So you pop into the cafeteria for a bite to eat.
How hungry you are, will influence your choice. You will way up the options and select a food item, that will taste good, be within your budget and HIT THE SPOT.
How do you know it will HIT THE SPOT ?
Because you learned it.
Learning to HIT THE SPOT
You’ve had this or a similar item before, when you were hungry and when you were done, you were satisfied.
Your brain has worked out, three quarters of a Pepperoni pizza HITS THE SPOT.
So………….
When you’re hungry and need a bite to eat, you don’t have to think about it, you know, if you buy the pizza, eat three quarters of it, your hunger will be taken care of.
Somewhere in the filing cabinet of your brain, the calorie count of pizza has been stored away.
Your brain is so……………….. SMART.
Thinking is overrated
It doesn’t waste time and energy analyzing “what’s for dinner”, this energy conservation step, allows you to focus your attention on far more important things.
Like being NICE.
Except………….
You’re a high flyer, you’re going places, meeting new people – you don’t always buy your pizza from the same place.
So what ?
Pizza on the go
Pizza is a pizza, right ?
Not exactly.
When researchers, in Bristol went looking for a Pepperoni pizza, to HIT THE SPOT, they found there were 71 different Peperonni pizzas on offer, in the city. When they analyzed the calorie count of all the regular sized pizzas, they found a staggering difference in the amount of calories.
The “diet” pizzas, checked in at 501 kcal/pizza, while the delux models, clocked in at 1909 kcal/pizza. That’s a 1408 kcal difference.
Mmm……
Your brain’s entry for pizza calorie count could be a little lot off.
The calorie count of your pizza is…
Since your pizza eating is not a highly intellectual process, this incorrect assumption, can be problematic. If your brain things it’s getting 950 kcal, because that’s what it’s got on the books, but you’re eating a 1909 kcal/pizza. You’re getting twice as many calories.
And those extra calories, have got to go somewhere.
Like your hips.
The pizza problem
Is not just a theoretical conundrum, it plays out in the real world. This is what the group of researchers from the University of Bristol, discovered when they invited 66 “hungry Bristolites” to their pizza parlour.
Invitees visited the parlour on two separate occasions, 1 week apart.
On one occasion, pizza was served first, followed by additional snacks, on the other occasion, they just got the snacks.
The pizza that was served, was an average pizza, the calorie count being 1208/kcal.
How was your pizza ?
When the pizza was served, the team quizzed the participants………….to discover
- If they thought the pizza would HIT THE SPOT.
- If the pizza, had HIT THE SPOT.
Then, they counted up, exactly how much snacking had taken place, to see whether the pizza had indeed HIT THE SPOT.
And……….
Confused brains
Many brains got seriously CONFUSED.
The number of “calories” it took to be FULL, varied when the pizza was on the plate.
Suggesting, calorie counting by the brain, had been skipped and the pizza playbook was being used. Oh dear !
Eating pizza dangerous business
Your pizza habit, might be behind your weight troubles….
Not because the pizza is a high calorie meal, but because your brain hasn’t got a clue, how many calories are coming.
So it errs on the side of too little.
So it errs on the side of too little.After all, you don’t want to DO LUNCH and still be hungry.
So what should you do ?
Pizza not forbidden
Ditch the pizza ?
Not necessarily……. although you might want to consider eating the “diet” versions of pizza, rather than the deluxe version. Is the extra 1408 kcal, that much tastier ?
I know, the answer to that is debatable….
When pizza is on the menu
Remove the uncertainty….
Pick one type of pepperoni pizza and STICK WITH IT.
Pick one type of pepperoni pizza and STICK WITH IT.Your brain will do, what it’s really good at….it will LEARN the calorie count of that pizza. So that every time you have pizza, IT KNOWS exactly what to expect. And behaves appropriately.
The pizza principle
This principle doesn’t just apply to junk food, there is an enormous variability in the calorie counts of many products, if you’re weight watching, you’re probably better off, being BRAND LOYAL.
The more familiar your brain is with a brand, the more likely it will get the calorie count “right” and thus, protect you from overfeeding.
Further reading
Variety is the spice that drives obesity
The “I am full message” is easily overridden by the sensory regions of the brain so the option to eat a variety of foods leads to more food being eaten.
Eating boring food when you’re bored is pointless
When you’re bored, you have NO PURPOSE. To feel more meaningful you need to FEEL something. Make what you eat FUN……
Stop exercising to lose weight
Exercising is designed to create a calorie deficit, which should mean stored calories get used and whalla……….. thinness – but this often doesn’t happen
