Have you ever found yourself going for a second serving of your planned meal, even though you know you’re meant to be sticking to one plate? Or enjoying a treat, only to spiral into more indulgent choices? If so, you’ve experienced the Priming Effect — a psychological phenomenon where eating moorish food triggers the desire to keep eating more.
What Is the Priming Effect?
The Priming Effect occurs when we consume indulgent foods, which for the human body is anything that is high in fat and/or high in sugar. This could be natural or manufactured sugars, although manufactured sugar has a much stronger impact. Foods that have a combination of fats and sugars, such as sweet pastries, are the worst culprit, leading to the strongest priming urges of all. These types of food can create a chain reaction, pushing us to eat more, which can quickly spiral out of control. This is the Priming Effect.
This phenomenon is part of our evolution. Our bodies are designed to seek calories, as we need this energy to survive. Therefore, when we were hunter-gatherers, obtaining a food source that was high in fat or sugar, such as an elk or some honeycomb, would cause our brain to obsess over finding and eating more, as it would allow us to get all the energy we need for now, as well as store some for the future, when we might not be so lucky. This was useful when calories were difficult to obtain, but is the bane of our weight control goals in the modern era.
Nowadays we can experience the Priming Effect in various situations, such as eating a planned meal that contains oil or cheese, or when we indulge in a cheat meal. These situations do contain risk, but as we are eating such foods within our plans, the risk can be easier to mitigate. As a side note, if you aren’t approaching cheat meals with a plan, then check this article to see why you really should!
The larger risk is when we give in to a temptation, as the Priming Effect can become combined with the What The Hell Effect, which is the mindset that often creeps in after a single indulgence, leading to thoughts like, “I’ve already broken my diet; I might as well go all in.”. This type of thinking causes us to eat more, prolonging the Priming Effect and leading to a negative spiral of indulging. For this reason it is very important to not let the Gremlin in your mind convince you that “Just one won’t hurt” or that having one treat will satisfy the craving and it will end there. It may seem to make sense, but it is a trap!
The Power of Awareness
The Priming Effect thrives on impulsivity. By becoming aware of how indulgent foods influence your choices, you can create a buffer against its impact. Remember, a momentary indulgence doesn’t have to derail your progress. With the right mindset and strategies, you can enjoy your treats without letting them control you. Even reading this article will already put you in a stronger position to resist the Priming Effect in the future!
How to Manage the Priming Effect
Dealing with the Priming Effect is something we all have to experience. It does get far easier, however in the early stages it can feel like a real challenge. But don’t worry — there are simple strategies you can use to break free:
- Recognize the Short Lifespan of Cravings The intense cravings driven by the Priming Effect will fade within 5 to 15 minutes. They can feel overwhelmingly strong during this time, especially early in your lifestyle change. But they will fade quickly. So focus on riding out the wave!
- Distract Yourself When a craving strikes, try a distraction technique. Go for a walk, call a friend, or engage in an activity you enjoy. Usually, by the time you’re done, the Priming Effect has disappeared.
- Control Portions For indulgent meals that are part of your plan, cook only what you need. If that’s not possible, serve yourself a portion and immediately put the rest away. This removes or at least delays the temptation to go back for seconds.
- Plan Your Cheat Meals Don’t follow free meals on a whim. Rather, plan them in as part of your overall strategy. Almost like building in small, controlled forest fires to prevent larger ones later. In addition to this, develop “exit strategies” to help you transition back from cheat meals to normal eating.
- Resist spontaneous indulgence As you now know, due to the brain’s risk of falling into the What The Hell effect, spontaneous indulgences are risky to your long-term nutritional adherence. Instead, focus on building small regular treats into your plan, such as a piece of chocolate after dinner, and creating meals that are truly enjoyable for you, for instance adding feta to your salads if you crave cheese.
By applying these approaches, you will find overcoming the Priming Effect far easier. And as time goes on and your lifestyle change becomes more ingrained, the strength of the effect after eating high fat or sugar foods will get lower and lower, until you get to the point of wondering why it was ever an issue in the first place!
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