The Blog
The Feel Good Diet!
Tuesday 28th March 2017
The Dopamine Diet
I reckon with the change in weather this week, the clocks being altered and April looming, I'm going to name this week "feel good week". We need to fill our lives (and our plates) with things that we love and things that our bodies love, so this will be a chance to explore them!
Firstly, I've been looking at the Dopamine Diet to see how wanting to lose weight doesn't mean a long period with Misery Meals (my description of those plates of food that don't have you skipping up to the table). Tom Kerridge is a good example of this, with his beaming smile and "healthier physique". This great chef has been filling his face with feel good food and losing weight, along with healthy portions and cutting out alcohol. So, how did he do it? What's the science behind it and can we do it too?
Dopamine is the "feel good" chemical in the brain, that sends happy messages of well being through out our bodies. It assists in helping our heart and brain function correctly and our weight and energy to be maintained efficiently.
Our bodies are helped to create this dopamine when it breaks down an amino acid called tyrosine. By eating foods that are high in this, it is thought these dopamine messages can be optimised and run at their best. Sounds easy! Feeding yourself happiness foods is surely a recipe for success!
I have been reading up on the articles about Tom Kerridge and his opinion on his massive weight loss - over 12 stone to be exact! He followed this 'dopamine diet" by eating these foods high in tyrosine, keeping his carbohydrates very low and removing alchol from his diet. Whereas I wouldn't recommend clients to remove food groups from an eating plan, this approach Tom used, worked for him. He even added to one interview with the Daily Mail, that he now preferred a good bowl of greens than a bowl of chips! I think it goes to show, that with both motivation and time, you can change the way you perceive food and what you are drawn to.
So, back to the foods: What are they? Is it all low calorie, tasteless and salad based? No! The list below may surprise you -
- Dairy Products (full fat cheeses, cottage cheese, yoghurts and double cream)
- Eggs
- Fish (oily fish like mackerel, salmon, fresh tuna and sardines, all high in omega3)
- Fruit (apples, bananas, blueberries, grapes, papaya, strawberries and watermelon in particular)
- Good Quality Meat (beef, lamb, pork, chicken and turkey)
- Vegetables (avocados, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach and kale)
- Nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, pecans and walnuts)
- Wheat germ, oats, beans and seeds
- Green Tea, Coffee and chocolate (Yes! But I would suggest moderation here!)
- Fermented Foods (sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir)
So, you are armed with the food list - what about some recipes? I tell you what, go and buy a few of these items on your next shopping visit and I will send some recipes over to inspire you.
Remember that old phrase "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach"? There may just be some real truth in this - feed you and your loved ones some happy food and you may create some real harmony at home.