Blame Your Brain for Diet Snafus

Memorial Day isn't the most diet-friendly holiday. So if you're like some of us at That's Fit and still reeling from those last-minute "It's a holiday..." so let's throw caution-to-the-wind decisions, you may be interested to know that you can blame you brain for at least one of those extra slices of key lime pie.

While low-fat labels appeal to our best dieting intentions, they don't do much to fool the brain, MSNBC reported. Researchers from the non-profit Oregon Research Institute took a look at the reward centers in the brains of two groups of young women. Both groups were given chocolate milkshakes. Even though the milkshakes were the same, one group was told that the chocolaty-goodness was a regular shake, while the other group was told it was low-fat.

When the scientists studied the women's brains as they drank the shakes, they found that the reward centers of those who believed they were consuming a full-fat milkshake lit up. In contrast, the participants who were told they were drinking a low-fat shake showed much less activity. So while your swimsuit-ready body may be preserved by consuming low-fat food, your brain is always the wiser.

So if you're consciously dieting, for example, consuming any kind of low-fat or diet-friendly food can serve as a reminder that you're on a diet and can't eat what you really want. Therefore, you may not get as much enjoyment out of what you're eating and may even forget the diet altogether. Emotional triggers, no matter what they are, can often have an effect on what, when and how you eat. The trick to overcoming them is to remind yourself that you're doing what's best for your mind and your body, even if it means exercising some control over what you eat.