Why we’re wired to eat

Rewire your appetite by simply learning which foods work for you

Re wire your appetite by simply learning which foods work for you

Shifting the pounds isn’t just a matter of willpower. We are actually genetically wired to eat more and lose less, believes Robb Wolf, an American research biochemist turned diet expert who has just released his new book, Wired To eat, (penguin.co.uk). After suffering from ulcerative colitis along with a number of health concerns a few years back, Robb turned his life around by adopting a Paleo diet, which saw his health soar. Now he is introducing a new programme that goes beyond the Paleo concept to redefine the way we think about food in order to achieve long-term weight loss and wellness.

Your body’s unique needs

Robb believes we have to go beyond conventional advice to find out which foods suit our individual make-up. One of the key ways to do this starts with figuring out the types and amounts of carbs your body can tolerate while keeping blood sugar levels in check. Research proves that we all react differently to the same foods, and while some foods create a healthy response in people, others create a negative reaction. The idea is to work out what works best for each person so we can work with our physiology, rather than against it. ‘We are awash with information and not all of the nutrition information we are exposed to works for us. It may work for a spouse, friend or co-worker, but it may fail our unique needs. So, a common mistake is assuming that the programme that worked for someone else is going to necessarily work for us, explains Robb. You may have been avoiding ‘bad’ foods like rice or potatoes for years, only to find your body can actually tolerate them, or perhaps you’ve been eating ‘healthy’ foods in a bid to boost wellness, only to find out that these so-called virtuous foods are actually sabotaging your personal health journey. ‘Although we have many things in common as human beings, our genetics and microbiome are remarkably different. What works for one person (low carb), may be a disaster for an insulin sensitive person,’ shares Robb.

A balanced lifestyle

And it’s not just down to what you eat. Tweaking sleep, exercise and stress levels, can actually reset your metabolism to increase the chances of weight-loss success. Adequate sleep restores and rejuvenates us, it makes us feel better and more inclined to make healthy habits stick. Tissues damaged via everyday wear and tear heal, anti-ageing hormones such as growth hormone and melatonin are released and immunity is rebooted to protect us from illness.

Exercise is also another important factor to consider. But, rather than thinking of a workout as a means to burn off calories, do an activity you enjoy and you’ll reap far greater health rewards. And, when it comes to losing weight successfully, keeping tabs on stress levels is a must. It’s not easy, but try to put stressful situations into perspective and make more time for fun social activities whether it’s learning a new language, volunteering or trying a new sport.

The diet

Getting a clear picture of your health is important to help you assess realistic health goals. There are a number of ways to build a comprehensive picture of your current state of health – firstly, have a think about what you see in the mirror and how it makes you feel; secondly, take your waist to hip ratio (divide the circumference of your waist by the circumference of your hip); then get your blood pressure and fasting glucose levels (a marker of insulin resistance) checked at your GP.

There are three main dietary components that affect our appetite - protein, fibre and carbs. Protein, especially lean protein from animal sources sends a satiating signal to the brain, while fibre adds bulk so we feel fuller. Fibre also feed our gut microflora with nutrients, which has the added benefit of helping to provide immunity against illnesses. Carbs are also an important addition to a healthy diet, but the key is (as we already mentioned), to find the right amount of carbs for you. According to Robb, playing with a range somewhere between 75g and 150g is ideal for most people. His diet is divided into three distinct phases. Here’s a rundown of each component.

Phase1 The 30-day reset diet

This involves eating three meals consisting of 4-6oz protein at each meal, between 75g and 150g of carbohydrates mainly from fruit, vegetables and roots along with a helping of fat. Robb has created a food matrix (see below) from which you can build meals. For example scramble eggs in olive oil with grated carrot and season with salt, or make an egg and carrot frittata. Using the ingredients in the matrix you can invent different ways to use each food group while ensuring all your meals feature protein, veggies, fats and spices. The main focus is safe weight loss, through

satiating foods which help to balance insulin levels.

Phase2 The seven-day carb test plan

In order to create what Robb calls a personal nutritional blueprint, we need to ascertain which foods work for us and which don’t suit us. Firstly we need to figure out what kind of blood glucose response we get from meals. This is done by purchasing a blood glucose monitor (visit accu-chek.co.uk), which can test this via a finger prick. Next we need to track what we eat, when we eat and our blood glucose response. You can write it down or use a food tracker app. Every morning for seven days you should test a specific amount of carbohydrate at breakfast. Essentially, eat 50g carbohydrate (examples include 2.1 cups of oats or 1.47 cups of quinoa) and then track your blood glucose response two hours after your meal using your blood monitor. Ideally your blood glucose will be between 90-115mg/dl at this point. If it’s higher than this range then retest the same food on a different day at breakfast, but this time cutting the 50g carbohydrate food in half so you consume 25g and then test your blood response two hours after this meal. If the response is still above 115mg/dl then it’s likely that this particular food doesn’t suit you.

Phase3 Riding into the sunset

By this point you should be consuming a decent amount of protein each day, good fats and sticking to a carb level that suits you. Generally speaking this means 100-150g carbs from fruit, sweet potato, butternut squash and grains that you’ve discovered to suit you when doing the seven-day carb test plan.