SO HOW DOES THE DOPAMINE DIET WORK?

Tom calls his Dopamine Diet the ‘low- carb, stay-happy way to lose weight’. Its low carbohydrate intake lowers your body’s blood sugar levels causing the body to burn stored fat for energy, which leads to weight loss. It also uses foods high in an amino acid called tyrosine, which stimulates the production of the happiness hormone dopamine in the brain.

‘A low- carb diet is one with a carbohydrate intake of less than 100g a day,’ explains Tom, ‘ though this varies depending on body size and activity levels. Decreasing carbs causes the body to burn stored fat for energy which ultimately leads to weight loss. In my new book I’ve included net carb counts for each recipe. This is the total carbohydrate count a serving of food contains after you’ve deducted the fibre content and any sugar alcohols – in other words the net carb value has a significant impact on your blood sugar.’

He adds that boosting dopamine levels as you diet means you should enjoy the whole process more. ‘ Dopamine is the hormone our brains produce when we experience a pleasurable sensation, and there’s evidence to suggest low dopamine levels can make us feel lethargic and apathetic, and even depressed. That’s absolutely not the state you want to be in to lose weight. Our bodies can create dopamine by breaking down the amino acid tyrosine, which is found in lots of different – and fortunately delicious – foods, which I’ve used in my recipes.’