Recently I have been discussing how I have found myself addicted to sugar and how that has become a bad habit for me. Well this week I have been reading an amazing book called “The Brain that Changes Itself” by Norman Doidge, M.D. (2007) This has led me to understand and appreciate how we form habits and to understand that with consistency it is possible to change an old habit or create a new one.

To understand this more it is best if you imagine the brain as a road map. Each movement, habit, behaviour etc has a specific location and takes up a certain amount of space on the map. Previously it was considered that after a certain age this map was set and for the most part could not be altered. What modern research has shown is that the map is actually dynamic and changes as we change. So what does this mean for the person who is trying to create new patterns in their life? Doidge puts it like this “when we learn a bad habit it takes over a brain map, and each time we repeat it, it claims more control of that map and prevents the use of that space for good habits. That is why unlearning is often harder than learning” In other words every time you repeat a behavior pattern you are reinforcing that behaviour in your brain.

So what can we conclude from this information. Simply that consistency is the key to changing behaviour. It is only when we cease to repeat a bad habit that that it will lose its space on in our brain and allow other good habits to take over. Conversely if we are trying to build a new behaviour in to our life such as exercise, we must repeat the behaviour often and consistently for it to inhabit a larger space in our brain and eventually become a habit. This also explains why, when people who may have done something habitually for a long time stop for an extended period, they often find it hard to get back into it. For example I often talk to people who have been habitual exercises in the past but have stopped for some time and they will usually say it is so hard to get back into it. However if we keep it in our mind, that each time we repeat the behavior it will reinforce it in our brain making it easier to continue, then we should find it easier to change.

My challenge today, should you chose to accept, is this. Chose one thing that you want to change in your life, either a good habit that you are trying to create or a bad habit that you are trying to break. Commit do this every day for 3 months consistently and see if it becomes easier. I would love to hear what your thoughts are and if you are going to take up the challenge so please leave a comment and let us know.


Reference

Doidge, Norman. (2007), "The Brain that Changes Itself", Carlton North, Vic. Scribe Publications.

For most of my life have relied on one particular friend to be there for me on all occasions. You know the type always there. When you are sad it’s there to comfort you, when you are happy it is there to celebrate with you. When you are angry or even just plain bored and need something to do with your time there is my old friend! That’s right this friend I’m talking about is sugar! I am a classic sugarholic, as soon as I have a little bit of the sweet stuff I always want more! Recently however I received news from 2 different friends within the space of 1 week that they had been diagnosed as diabetic. Neither of these friends are overweight or unfit so it came as a great shock to both of them. This news along with the knowledge that I have about the effects of sugar on the body has caused me to reassess my relationship with sugar with some interesting results.

As a trainer and health consultant I am often talking to people about sugar and the response is often the same. “I don’t eat much sugar; I don’t have sugar on my cereal or in my coffee”. But what people aren’t realizing is that the sugar we add to our food usually contributes the least amount of sugar to our diets. It’s the sugar that is already in our foods that is we need to watch out for. All the cakes, biscuits, lollies and chocolates are often laden with sugar. But don’t forget many of the popular sauces that we put on our meats and stir-fries. Sweet chilli sauce and barbecue sauce for example are over 50% sugar. When you look at the nutritional panel on food labels you will see a line for carbohydrates and directly under that there will be a line for sugar. Usually there will be 2 columns, the column on the left will be the amt of sugar per serve and the column on the right will be the amount of sugar per 100g. So if a food has 60g of sugar per 100g then that food is 60% sugar. That is very high! It is a good idea to look for foods that have no more than about 10-15g of sugar per 100g.

So let’s have a look at the effect of sugar on our bodies. When we eat sugar there is a rapid release of glucose into the blood. This causes our blood glucose levels to rise rapidly, which in turn causes our body to respond by releasing insulin to remove the sugar out of the blood into other cells (mainly muscle). The more sugar that is consumed the more insulin will be secreted. This elevated level of insulin in the blood has been associated with a number of factors included, increased body fat particularly around the belly, increased risk of type 2 diabetes, decreased growth hormone production and premature ageing. Now if that isn’t enough to realize that sugar is not your friend but rather an imposter that is slowly trying to poison you let’s have a look at a few other negative effects of sugar on the body. Excess sugar consumption has been shown to decrease immunity, increase activity of bad bacteria in the gut, increases the risk of tooth decay and can worsen some skin conditions such as acne and psoriasis. Excess sugar consumption can also affect some mental illnesses including depression and anxiety.

So what am I going to do instead? I will still eat carbohydrates but I will get them from low GI whole food sources such as sweet potato and some fruit (not dried fruit and mostly after exercise). White flour has a similar effect to sugar so I will definitely be skipping that for the most part. I am also going to take on the attitude that I can not just have even a little bit of sugar because that will get me wanting more. However if you do feel that you just must have a little bit of sugar in your life the best time to have it is within 30-45 minutes of a workout as this is when your body is best able to use the sugar.

So next time you hear that chocolate bar whispering your name, just remind yourself that you and chocolate are no longer friends and that you would rather have a strong healthy body long term than a moment of indulgence that will quickly pass. Today I say good bye to my old friend sugar, will anyone join me. I would love to hear how you go. I will post my progress as the week’s progress. Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, fun filed week.