-Science Daily
This headline by Science Daily is shamelessly pimped out to get traffic without any regard for the millions of people who will click on it and quit reading before they reach the end of the article, believing they have found yet another reason to give up once and for all on getting healthy and losing weight. Worse, it's not even an accurate representation of the science that appears at the heart of the article.
Come, all ye fatties, and feed on the trough of inadequacy.
And did they have to use an image of a stomach that looks like a big, sweaty dude at a wedding reception, torn between sidling up to the dessert table or the hotel concierge? Even if people are "doomed to fail" at losing weight, it doesn't mean they have no sense of style... or clothing size for that matter. Obesity doesn't have to look like that.
If you read on, the message is certainly discouraging but doesn't exactly rise up to condemn us all to a lifetime of collapse and decay. It goes on to say that - in people who have consumed a high-fat diet for extended periods - the nerves and hormones that kick in to tell us we are full are not working properly. The problem persists even after people have changed their diets and lost weight - maybe permanently, but maybe not. More studies are needed.
No doubt, it's depressing. The study was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council. These people are legit - but if you read the study like Science Daily does and look at it through the end-of-times perspective they present in their headline, you'd be led to believe that if you've ever been fat and would like to live slimmer, you are DOOMED TO FAIL. Awesome.
It's a bullshit reading of the implications of the science, and whoever titled this article should be ashamed of him/herself.
The news coming out of this study is actually extremely helpful. It lets us know what we're up against. Without that information, without realizing that the messages traveling to our brains have fallen down on the job, we don't have a shot in hell of trying to combat it. If we press on, unconscious of the facts, Science Daily is right, we are doomed.
But if we lean on this knowledge, we can find a new way to define hunger and fullness - because what these scientists are really talking about is satisfaction - and there is definitely a middle ground between hunger and satisfaction.
Generally, for people with normal brains and stomachs, this precarious middle ground can be found about halfway through a meal. They are no longer starving but want to keep eating, looking for that magical sensation of satiety, fullness, and peace. Pretty much everybody blows right on past this halfway point - hyperspeed pasta party - in search of that glorious release. We are not accustomed to paying attention to this middle sensation, stopping to look for it, but if we want to lose weight, we have no choice but to get up close and personal with it.
What I take from this study is that obese and formerly-obese people should understand that the message to stop eating may not kick in for them soon enough. If your brain and stomach aren't connecting right, you can't rely on them.
The loss of that feeling of satisfaction is something worth mourning. It is a very real loss, but it most definitely does not mean that you or your diet are "doomed to fail." It means you have an extra hurdle to jump. And having this information gives you a whole hell of a lot more power than you had before you knew it.
If we understand that our brains will consistently tell us to eat more than we need, maybe we have a fighting chance of doing something about it.
Try looking for that different sensation. Look for the middle ground. Look for "not being hungry" rather than being "satisfied." They are two very different things. And plan ahead so you do get eat to "satisfaction" once a week, or twice a week, or however many times you need to feel sane. Look forward to it. Choose those times and savor them, but the rest of the time - the rest of the normal, daily, boring time - eat until you are not hungry instead of eating until you're full.
And use studies like this to shape your strategy rather than beat yourself down. Before we buy into inflammatory, misleading headlines, we need to dig a little deeper and see how we can use the information to our advantage. Or just ignore the static.
Don't let flashy, traffic-driven headlines determine whether you win or lose. And make sure to show up at the wedding looking and feeling sleek and confident, no matter what size you are.
Science Daily, your headline sucks. Next time, give us a little credit.
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