Everywhere you look these days, someone is hacking something. There is literally everything from how to hack your floor cleaning to how to hack your relationship to pretty much every home improvement chore that once seemed insurmountable … now just about anyone can hack it. We have become a culture with infinite information at our fingertips and just in case that is not enough… take a shortcut, for an even quicker, easier result.

As a nutritionist, I sometimes feel like health hacker should come after my title. Most people want to now the fastest, easiest, most painless route to a healthier life. A culture of shortcuts must mean that this works for health, too. People want the hack because they carry a self limiting belief that they lack not the information but the…. will power. If I, with my health hacker hat on, can help people circumvent the big WP then success is possible.

Right off the bat, I share with my patients my biggest secret, my own biggest hack … I DON’T BELIEVE IN WILL POWER when it comes to nutrition.  It just simply is not what nutrition is about.

I believe in our will to survive when we are faced with death or danger, that my friend is pretty power-ful stuff. But I don’t think it is helpful to have will power over our habits or our diet or our relationship with food. I haven’t seen it work yet. When people have this will power or power over approach to their health, they submit themselves to a life full of good camp/bad camp, on/off the wagon, behaving/guilt ridden. To make progress and to really feel healthy – these merry-go-rounds gotta go.

These thoughts create a toxic and chaotic mental space which makes the route to health … bumpy … to say the least. Beneath the mental merry-go-round chatter, there is real physiology happening in our bodies. There is a hormone communication super highway, there are a trillion bacteria setting up shop in your gut, there is a lymphatic system informing your immunity and circulation, there is a rhythm called peristalsis trying to nudge your digestion along, there are mitochondrial powerhouses in every cell of the body that need  fuel to thrive … and this is just to name a few! Not only is it all freaking incredible but it could really use some peaceful, easy feelings. Some understanding that the body is complex and needs steadiness, attention and love.

Sugar is a big confuser of love, attention, energy and the like. Sugar affects our physiology in a big way : from feeding our sugar loving bacteria to feeding our neurotransmitters or feel good sensors – sugar has a complex interaction with our well being. It is also a common culprit in the will power battle .

But … let’s look a little closer.

To bring some clarity to the underlying reasons we reach for a sugar fix, take a peek at the 3 main neurotransmitter pathways that light up from sweetness. This handout can help lead you towards a diet that nourishes your physiology and keeps you free of the quick fixes. Let these tips help HACK what you may be misinterpreting as a need for WILL POWER! Click below and  enjoy!

And as an added bonus, a great recipe this week from  Lauren Chandler to satisfy your serotonin!

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Feel Good Foods 

… a sneak peek from my 10 week online course Heartfelt Health