I’ve been reading a bit lately about dopamine. [Check out The Willpower Instinct if you want to know what I'm reading.]
Wait! Come back. I promise this is interesting.
I’m not going to get all super-geeky and science-y on you here. I’m tempted, but the reality is that I was more of a Language Arts girl in school, so as much as I love the science, it may just come out as, “Oh! BRAINS DO KEWL STUFF!”
Back to dopamine.
Through various experiments over the years, some based on Pavlovian theory and involving cute little rats in top hats (no, they didn’t really have top hats, but I like to imagine them that way when I read about the experiments…like they’ve been invited to a special party), scientists have deemed dopamine to be responsible with craving, desire, and want.
Dopamine response: triggered.
The experiments advanced to people. Fun stuff where they’d watch their brains while they gave them something to do. Like, press a button and you might get a reward. They watched the dopamine response light up every time the person pressed the button. The brain did it’s little “Wooo! I be gettin’ paid!” dance every time the button was pushed, even if the person didn’t actually win anything. When the subject did actually win, the dopamine response stayed quiet.
So, this is all good, right? I mean, dopamine motivates us to do things. If I work hard on X, then Y will happen.
Well, here’s the thing about dopamine. It’s an attention hog. Once triggered, it hones in on what triggered it and wants to repeat the action. It keeps telling us, rewards are coming. Do it again. And again. Even if a reward never comes.
And it doesn’t do this only for things that benefit us.
Ever find yourself sitting at the computer and clicking on your email every time you hear that new message chime, even though you know it’s probably junk mail? Clicking over to Facebook every time a new notification pops up, even though it’s probably just that same friend playing Farmville again?
You’re chasing the promise of reward.
That’s why clothing retailers have scantily clad models on their walls – they are triggering your dopamine response. While you logically know that buying those $90 jeans isn’t going to improve your sex life, those half-naked images trick your brain into thinking that may just be your reward.
In a click-and-satisfy world inundated with marketing, our dopamine reaction gets triggered a LOT.
Obviously, dopamine has it’s place. The problem is that we can find ourselves confusing the promise of reward for happiness.
What’s that mean?
Ever find yourself craving a hot, juicy, cheeseburger? Oh, and with fries, crisp and salty and fresh from the deep fryer. And a huge cup of ice cold soda.
[If I just made you crave one, I apologize. Keep reading.]
How many times have you given in to that kind of craving? You head to your local fast food joint, wolf down those calorie-laden treats, and then, you’re ready to conquer the world!
Or more accurately, you pass out face down at your desk, groan about your stomach, and wonder how many minutes you have to spend on the elliptical to work off that lunch, a lunch that is bound to repeat on you in the middle of your presentation to the executives at the three o’ clock meeting.
You swear off giving in to your fast food cravings, only to find yourself shouting your order to the drive thru speaker a few days later.
Why? Did it deliver on everything you imagined the last time?
No. But that’s how that “promise of reward” works. We chase the “promise” even if it is never fulfilled.
This applies to a lot more than food and diet choices, but given my participation in #aHeartFitFriday, I thought a lot about this idea as I mindlessly reached into my pantry for a box of cookies. Why was I reaching for them?
(Cause cookies are awesome, duh.)
But was I happy post-cookie? Not really. If anything, I had a bit of a sugar headache, and felt badly about the poor choice of snack.
So I started paying more attention this past week to what I was thinking (or not thinking) when I hit the fridge and pantry. I still allowed myself the occasional treat, but not before thinking it through. Do I really want this cookie? Why? Am I hungry? Looking for a happy fix? Can I fix either of these things without the cookie?
The results were interesting. I definitely ate far fewer cookies, encouraging myself to grab an apple if I was really that hungry, and finding something that would ACTUALLY make me happy if it was something else. (More on the happiness stuff next week.)
I’ll continue in the weeks ahead to focus more on things that bring actual happiness, not things that trick my brain into chasing a reward that may never come.
Because behavior changes are much longer lasting than any diet.
And…my official #aheartfitfriday update:
Weight: 181 lb
Bust: 44
Waist: 35
Hips: 44
Given that I wasn’t super focused on my exercise routine this week, I am happy with the results. New goals for the week ahead. We’ll see how they turn out.
[For those that came to the blog yesterday for the Tell Me a Story series, apologies. This week has been much busier than anticipated, so I had to postpone. But that does mean you have a few more days to give your suggestions for where the story goes next!]
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I love bio/neuropsyc so you can talk dopamine all you like!
Alas, having worked with lab rats for a few years, I can assure you that they don’t get to wear top hats. However, they are the cutest, smartest little buggers and I would love to have one as a pet.
Best of luck with your Heart Fit Friday challenge! (Now you’ve made me crave burgers, fries, and a Coke…thanks a lot…LOL!)
Teresa, I used to have two pet rats.
My husband had a pet rat long before we were together – I think they are adorable and smart little guys. I wouldn’t mind having one – although that probably wouldn’t be wise with the cats, dog, and toddler.
Teresa – I love reading about bio/neuropsych stuff. I’ll be sharing more I’m sure after reading this book. It’s fascinating stuff!
When I worked for Weight Watchers, one of the things I told the members was to stop and actually THINK about what you were doing. If you are, for instance, reaching for the cookies, stop and think about the pros and cons of it. Kind of like what you’re doing.
I’m still trying to build my nerve about posting this Friday thing. I think by next Friday, I might have talked myself into it.
Plus, by then, I should be over my illness and will have exercised all week.
It makes total sense – thinking a choice through to the finish – but I know that when I am tired, cranky, etc it’s hard to do. But I am trying!
I’m looking forward to your post next week!
Luckily I’ve trick my brain into not giving me the dopamine response when it comes to sugar and fast food. Instead I get the “ick, I’m going to feel horrible if I eat that” response. It took a long time (and I’m still working on it for Chick-Fil-A, but I just remember being behind their truck full of half-dead chickens when I feel the craving come on, and that helps), and if I break down and eat too much sugar one day, it’s definitely harder to forgo it the next day.
If only I could trick my dopamine response to alcohol, I’d be the healthiest person alive!
The book actually discusses how you can use dopamine in a positive way – train your brain to use it to motivate you for the positive. It’s pretty cool that we can work WITH our brains, instead of fighting with them.
I don’t want to fight with my brain. I think she’d win.
[Hope my photo didn't trigger the wrong response for you
]
I wish I had read this BEFORE I ate those two peppermint patties. Off the computer. Time to move. Glad you remain motivated. (Hey, I think you should link to your prior post somehow, so people can see what you are doing and how you are progressing! Just to put a little bug in your…dopamine.)
PS: I’m at page 350 and I THINK I just figured out the problem in the book. I need to reverse the protag’s arc. This will require a bit of revision, but I am excited that I actually figured it out. Finishing will be the reward.
After typing this, I mindlessly walked to the pantry and you KNOW I was going for that box of cookies. I had to stop and go, “I just finished talking about this!”
[PS - YAY! Progress. That is awesome. I can't wait to read it.]
This is great information. You’re so right about habit changes being a better long term goal. In the past I’ve found that making small changes in my routine has made such a big difference over time.
I’ve been doing similar things actually because of the WW points. It makes so much more sense why tracking points works now, too. I mean, I’m still chasing a promise of reward. If I aim for lower points items, I have more points to use.
I did buy the book and it’s sitting on my kindle. Still haven’t read it, but I’m hoping to find time to do that this weekend.
Great job in the stats department, too! Those are great results!
I know when I did WW points, I would do the same thing. Squirrel away my points so that at the end of the day, I could reward myself (or not worry about one slightly poor choice at the end of the day when I was tired).
And thanks on the stats! I think that may have been water weight, but I’ll take it.
This is such an interesting post, Amber, but it made me crave an In’N'Out burger. When I got home from babysitting, I asked hubby to go get us some burgers. We’re on a tight budget, so we don’t eat much fast food these days, so I won’t feel too guilty, but when he came home with a burger and a chocolate shake, well, I was a happy camper. That was so yummy, so I guess the dopamine button was pushed, but I sure enjoyed the reward, too, dopamine or not! LOL! Have a wonderful weekend.
Lynn, if there was an In N Out near me, I might have been tempted, too!
I’m kind of a science geek, too, so I was totally with your train of thought from the beginning. I hate dopamine, but without it there would be no pleasure.
Since that’s the case, we have to find ways to trick it, I guess. Denying ourselves the short term satisfaction for greater satisfaction with the long term goal. Also, doing the same thing over and over expecting different results is the definition of insanity, someone once said, I think. So, if we keep eating Big Macs, we can’t expect to lose weight, I guess.
Have a good week!
I think that was one of the things that fascinated me – the fact that dopamine convinces us that we WILL be happy, but it doesn’t actually bring happiness. Crazy how our brains can confuse the two for the same thing.
Great post, Amber. (Except for the part where you made me crave a cookie!) Changing behaviors for the long haul is definitely what works best. Good luck with your goals!!
Hahahaha. Well, indulging here and there isn’t a bad thing, so you can have a cookie.
Maybe this is why food journals and cognitive-behavioral reprogramming work. They make us stop and think about what we’re doing and what we will likely reap from that behavior.
I’m so (not) glad I read this right before going out for a big dinner with the hubby.
You’re doing great, Amber!
Exactly! I’ve always done my best not when I’ve been on a restrictive diet, but when I’ve kept track of what I eat.
Hope you still enjoyed your dinner!
Dopamine. Cookie. How many times have I thought they were synonymous. But like you mention, Amber, many times after eating something sweet and unhealthy were left feeling blah. I know the feeling too well and yet I succumb, every time. I really have to work on my will power and reach out for the orange and not that cookie! Interesting read, chica!