diet Archives - Diane Hamilton

Biohack Your Brain: Diet And Lifestyle Changes For A Healthier Life With Dr. Kristen Willeumier

Medications can only do so much and, most of the time, only really alleviate symptoms. To find the long-term healing you need, you have to go straight into the root cause. Dr. Kristen Willeumier, a neuroscientist with expertise in neuroimaging and psychiatric disorders, is all about doing that. With her new book, Biohack Your Brain: How to Boost Cognitive Health, Performance & Power, she details the ways you can balance your brain’s chemicals so our body and mind can function more efficiently. She sits down with Dr. Diane Hamilton to tell us about it, discussing topics from the gut-brain connection and how we can use diet and lifestyle nutritional interventions to help with anxiety, depression, and stress.

Continue reading “Biohack Your Brain: Diet And Lifestyle Changes For A Healthier Life With Dr. Kristen Willeumier” →

Is Your Personality Making You Fat?

The Wall Street Journal’s article Is Your Personality Making You Put on Pounds listed some personality traits that may affect weight gain. Some of the links between personality and weight gain include weight gain in people who are:

Less Agreeable
Night Owls
Stress Junkies
Mindless Multitaskers
Givers
Perfectionists

The author of the article provides some fixes for people who exhibit these traits.

Impulsiveness has also been linked to weight gain. The Huffington Post reported, “A 2006 study by Maastricht University of 26 obese children found that the most overweight children were also the most impulsive. Another study, published in 2008 by the University of Alabama, found that obese women had significantly lower impulse control than normal weight women, while a 1976 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition similarly found that obese women were more likely to be “non-conforming and impulsive” than their non-obese peers.”

Neurotic people also have issues with weight gain. The National Institute of Aging studied nearly 2000 people and found that people with high levels of neuroticism and low levels of conscientiousness displayed more frequent weight increases and decreases.

The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology released a study that studied participants based on the Big Five personality traits of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. There were a total of 14,531 assessments across the 50 years of the study. Pyschcentral reported that the results showed, “greater weight gain among impulsive people; those who enjoy taking risks; and those who are antagonistic — especially those who are cynical, competitive and aggressive.” ABCLocal reported that this study showed, “that people who are meaner are more likely to gain weight with age. Those considered more conscientious were likely to be leaner.”

A lead researcher from the Institute of Aging, Angelina Sutin, was interviewed by Boomer Health and Life. Sutin stated, “We hope that by more clearly identifying the association between personality and obesity, more tailored treatments will be created. For example, lifestyle and exercise interventions that are done in a group setting may be more effective for extroverts than for introverts.”

WebMD claims that if you know your diet personality, it can help you lose weight. Weight loss plans should be based on whether you are a:

Support Seeker
Serial Snacker
Free Spirit
Sweet Tooth
Distracted Diner

To find ideal diet plans based on each of these types, click here.

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Famous Computer Geniuses With Asperger’s
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10 Mistakes People Make When Dieting

Part of my training I received as a pharmaceutical representative included receiving a certification from the Certified Medical Representative Institute. The CMR courses were amazingly comprehensive, and made me appreciate all of the training people must undertake in order to become medical doctors. The courses I took were graduate-level and gave me in-depth knowledge about body systems such as the cardiovascular, digestive, endocrine, and immune systems, and so on. The courses covered not only human anatomy and physiology, but also disease processes, medical treatments, and scientific/medical research.

Everyone I meet seems to have issues with their bodies. I am often asked questions about how I stay healthy and if I have any advice for weight-loss. I would recommend that if you’re going to diet, try to avoid these common mistakes:

1. Don’t skip meals. You’ll just be hungrier later, and overeat.

2. Don’t expect to lose too much too quickly. Crash diets are unhealthy.

3. Watch how many calories you drink. Sodas, juice drinks and many other beverages have lots of calories.

4. Watch your portions. Try to leave a little on your plate when you’re finished. You don’t have to clean your plate.

5. Watch the condiments. Adding a lot of condiments adds a lot of calories.

6. Watch your grazing. Nibbling on little things can add up.

7. Eat several small meals during the day rather than a few big ones.

8. Try not to eat late at night.

9. Be sure you’re drinking enough water.

10. Don’t buy junk food. It will be easier to avoid it when you’re at home.

I am a fan of the book Food Rules by Michael Pollan (2009). He suggests 64 rules that people should follow in order to be healthy. I recommend checking it out!