Why Dieting Makes Decision-Making Harder

Not only is dieting stressful, it can have a long-term negative effect on one’s decision-making abilities and brain function.

Dieters do double duty when it comes to making decisions. They make all of the same decisions on a daily basis that they needed to make before — but now they have an additional layer of decisions about eating and exercising, which are often conflicted and confusing. These decisions are momentary for most people, as in, “I’ll have the fish.” But dieters often have emotions attached to those decisions: guilt, shame, feelings of failure and weakness.

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Over time, the brain actually forms what scientists call neural pathways connecting poor decisions and negative resulting emotions. So avoiding those negative emotions understandably causes a reluctance to make any decision at all.

Long-time dieter Betsy Camden, of Houston, Texas, identifies.

“Sometimes, I’m overwhelmed by a decision, even if it’s not about food,” she told LifeZette. “I’ve been failing at diets for 30 years. I feel I’m damned if I decide this, damned if I decide that. All my decisions seem to lead to failure and a reminder of my weight.”

If dieters spend much time on nutritionally reduced food plans, they are also not giving their body proper nutritional support, which helps balance brain chemistry.

A UCLA comprehensive study of 31 diet results showed that 96 percent of dieters gain back all of the weight they lost — and more. The average regain is 108 percent.

Dieters are literally programmed for defeat, and it gets harder with every failed diet, said Brandon Mentore, a strength and conditioning coach, functional medicine practitioner and sports nutritionist from Detroit, Michigan.

“The dieting conundrum emerges from a combination of genetic and neuro-metabolic factors, interacting with all the psychological and social factors from childhood to adulthood,” Mentore told LifeZette. “In other words, it’s a combination of hardware, meaning the brain — and software, meaning what we’ve been taught and habits we’ve learned, that causes the dysfunctional cycle of dieters.”

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Science is studying the effect of neurotransmitters, the brain chemicals that communicate information that create behaviors, moods and emotions, many of which cause unintended eating or other unhealthy behaviors. There are three that impact dieters and their behavior: dopamine, acetylcholine, and serotonin. One is typically dominant.

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1.) People with high dopamine tend to seek pleasure and are highly prone to addiction. These are the diet-breakers who binge and are extremely susceptible to the sight and smell of food.

2.) Acetylcholine-dominant people are highly driven and focused, but often become obsessive and compulsive about diets. They can become so fixated on a diet that they overdo it, and can become extremely rigid about their food intake.

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3.) The third neurotransmitter affecting dieters is serotonin, which causes fluctuations in mood, even to the point of mania, depression and anxiety.

“Serotonin-dominant individuals are often serial dieters, jumping from one diet to the next,” Mentore said. “They should not depend on ‘dieting’ as normal behavior, but be moderate and include foods that help balance and boost serotonin.”

Moderation isn’t a word one often sees associated with losing weight. Diets are often extreme and almost always completely omit or severely limit one food group.

Tell a dopamine-dominant person to avoid carbs — and he or she will likely head straight to the bakery. It’s not a moral failing; it’s brain chemistry. Tell an acetylcholine-dominant person to avoid carbs, and that individual will likely avoid any and all forms of carbohydrate; this person may also become highly judgmental and controlling of others.

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The good news is that brains are “plastic.” These default decisions can be “reprogrammed” with healthier choices, made repeatedly — effectively healing a “diet mind.” As logical, healthier decisions are made and reinforced over time, new habits are formed and old ones fade.

The longer the positive behaviors are continued, the easier they become. This aligns with an approach to weight that focuses on long-term change and health, instead of a quick fix.

Pat Barone, MCC, is a professional credentialed coach and author of the Own Every Bite! bodycentric re-education program for mindful and intuitive eating, who helps clients heal food addictions.