the food addiction.

years ago i heard that m&m’s contain a certain ingredient that made you addicted to them. i searched far & wide through the depths of google, bing, wikipedia & i even asked jeeves! alas, i searched & searched to no avail. i therefore decided to end the wild goose chase & move on with my life. however, fast forward to the present & it turns out that i may have heard right!

a recent study sent to us by a study-abroad fitness nerd has shown that it is possible to become addicted to unhealthy foods & this addiction may be responsible for the global obesity epidemic. to sum up the findings, it’s been shown that high-fructose corn syrup can cause behavioral reactions in rats similar to those produced by drugs of abuse such as cocaine. this “food addiction” hypothesis was shown at the 2013 canadian neuroscience meeting by dr. francesco leri & suggests that someone could be addicted to food just as one is addicted to drugs of abuse. while the increased availability of highly-palatable foods worldwide could partly explain the high incidence of obesity, this is not the entire reason. how do you explain why some people are obese & others are not while they’re given the same amount of available food? dr. leri & others suggest that one important factor could be individual differences in vulnerability to addiction. surveys show that in the consumption of cocaine, only a small percentage of individuals who try the drug actually become addicted. dr. leri wanted to know if he same could be true of “addictive foods” & his data produces evidence that laboratory animals show a shared vulnerability to develop preferences for sweet foods & for cocaine.

while this research may lead to novel pharmacological interventions for obese individuals, it may also help increase the public’s understanding of the effects of unhealthy food choices. public education regarding nutrition & fitness is one of the goals of The Fitness Nerds, so we are very interested in what these studies result in!

if you’re interested in reading the full story, follow this link! sadly, my university does not have access to the journal “addiction biology”, so we cannot read the entire paper, but we’ll work on getting that for you asap!!

now, this doesn't mean you can blame your "addictive behavior" for overindulging in sweets! it's quite the opposite. it's scary to think that our bodies could be addicted to food in the same way it's addicted to a dangerous drug. because of this, it's best try to stay away from foods with high amounts of high-fructose corn syrup to begin with, so your body doesn't even know it exists! there's a lot more to the corn syrup ingredient that most people know, so look out for an upcoming post that explains a little more about this scary ingredient & how it’s popping up in places you wouldn’t expect!!

keep studying, nerds! we love your enthusiasm (:
xx TFNHQ

*DISCLAIMER: all of the data from this post is from the provided link. we did not personally deal with these mice. let's just say, we'll leave it to the professionals.

it's a shake & share event!

hey nerds! this week we have our first of many live events coming up & we want you to join us! you may have seen our pictures of shakeology on our profiles, but how do you know what it really tastes like? well, we want to show you! if you live in the pittsburgh area (or even if you don't...we love road trips!) come to our very first shake & share event & try out all the flavors you want! we'll have a variety of different recipes for each of the 4 flavors & if you're lucky, we might even fulfill on-site requests ;) check out the details below, read more about the shakes on this website & we hope to see you there!! oh & we'll have vegan flavors too!!

keep studying!
xx TFNHQ

lauren's before && after.

well, nerds. we have what you wanted! our official Ultimate Reset before/after pics are in & we're shocked! you know you're feeling better & your jeans fit a little looser, but we thought it was because they hadn't been washed yet! the truth is, the reset worked & we look better than we have in a while! check out the first of our transformation stories with before/after pics below & see for yourself! email us at fitnessnerds@gmail.com if you have any questions about how you can try the ultimate reset!

LAUREN'S RESET TRANSFORMATION

for me, the reset was a great way to learn discipline & self-control. i was always the type of person who would eat food just because it was there. bored? eat food. up late? eat food. standing around at a party? eat the snacks! why not? just a few handfuls won't hurt! well, even though that's true, if you're really trying to lose weight or eat healthier, the hidden calories & choosing WHAT snacks you eat are the main issues to overcome. there's a difference between eating 10 chocolate pieces & 10 carrots. not only are the carrots bigger, but they're so much healthier for you. with my IBS, i find myself needing to eat more than just 3 meals a day. now that the reset got me into the habit of eating lots of fresh fruits & vegetables on a daily basis, i'm much more inclined to grab a clementine as a snack instead of the bag of chips. in addition, i survived 3 weeks without any caffeine, alcohol, soda, processed sugar & meat. things that i'd eat too much of on a daily basis were suddenly removed from my routine & i was able to do it! so now, with the addition of a consistent exercise routine, these items in moderation will still allow me to get more fit without depriving myself entirely!

a favorite outcome of the reset is that i've developed the habit of cooking food for myself & enjoying the prep time. it's now time i can devote to meditation, thinking about what i've done so far that day & what else i can do to make it the most productive day so far. i've become more patient after getting home from work, understanding that i'll be more satisfied with what i eat if i know that i prepared everything myself & knowing each ingredient i eat. another reset outcome favorite is that i'm not dependent on caffeine anymore. i still haven't had a caffeinated drink since ending the reset, but it doesn't mean i don't indulge in my favorite starbucks latte! it feels great to be able to wake up in the morning, feel refreshed & be able to function without the need of any stimulants. but if i want that little place in my heart to be warmed up, i'll grab a decaf soy sugar-free latte & enjoy it for the taste, rather than the caffeine-rush i used to use it for before.

lastly, my body feels like a well-oiled machine! if i eat too much of something, or something my body isn't really used to & probably shouldn't be exposed to, my body let's me know! i don't mean to be TMI...but it feels good to know that my body is finally understanding what i've known all this time. it enjoys fresh or steamed vegetables as opposed to french fries. it also knows how to tell when i'm full, if i'm hungry, or if i'm simply thirsty. drinking water more is definitely the #1 habit i'll take out of the 21 days. it curbs my hunger more than anything & it's helped the most with my IBS. FUN FACT: no one should ever feel thirsty at any moment during the day!! that obviously means you're not drinking enough, which may also mean you feel hungry at times when you really aren't, thus eating unnecessary calories. food is fuel! it's not a source of any type of emotion. once you realize this, you'll look at food a completely different way & you can start having more control over your health, thus living the life you always wanted :) well, that's my spiel!! thanks for reading & i hope there were some inspirational tidbits along the way! my free ultimate reset shirt will be arriving on monday so look out for those posts on instagram! i know i'm super excited to have completed my very first beachbody program & i can't wait for the next one!

keep studying!!
xx TFNHQ