072: Robb Wolf on How to Turn Off Cravings & Rewire Your Appetite

Ever struggle to find a way to turn off cravings for junk food like cookies, candy, or soda … or even for healthy foods like whole carbs, sweet fruits, and dark chocolate? (‘Duh’ question, right?) If so, you are definitely not alone, and you needn’t feel guilty. You’re not broken. You’re just eating the way you’ve been wired. Tune in to find out what I mean! Enter Robb Wolf, Appetite Expert It’s a real honor to have Robb Wolf on the show today. He’s one of the world’s leading experts on Paleolithic nutrition and the New York Times bestselling author of The Paleo Solution Diet . His new book (about to be released at the time of this podcast) is called Wired to Eat , and it’s all about how to literally rewire your brain in a positive way and turn off cravings when it comes to food. Robb inspires thousands of people around the world every day with his philosophy on healthy eating, especially through his top-ranked podcast and wildly popular seminar series. As a former research biochemist and also California State Powerlifting Champion, he’s no lightweight! He brings an energy I really admire to everything he tackles. Let’s find out what he has to say! Wired to Eat … But How Do I Turn Off Cravings? Robb realized after finishing his first book that there was much more to be written on the subject of the Paleo diet and health. A Paleo approach is the starting point, sure, but there is a huge variation in the way people respond to different foods. Some people do well on low-carb diets … some don’t. Some do well with grains … some feel better off of them. Some do great on a ketogenic diet for a while, and then develop puzzling new health symptoms. So what’s a health-conscious person to do? Wired to Eat takes a broad (and deep) look at the neuroregulation of appetite and the disturbances modern life introduces to our body’s natural desire to eat to survive. The truth is, we are genetically wired to eat more and move less . Not long ago in a premodern society, this was needed for survival. This is the total opposite of what the health movement (experts) tells us. Eat less! Move more! And you’ll be healthy! Any wonder then that it’s hard to make good choices? Robb believes understanding why it’s so hard to “eat right” and make “good choices” helps dispel emotion and guilt surrounding food. And this will help us identify other psychological issues that might make it hard to turn off cravings. But how to do it? The 7 Day Carb Test Plan: Robb’s Prescription for You One really neat tool in Robb’s Wired to Eat book is his 7-Day Carb Test Plan. This part of the book moves away from general research and advice to talk about what type of foods your body might favor. This test gives confidence that if you choose to eliminate a food, it’s worth the sacrifice. You will actually know whether or not you do well a certain food rather than blindly following a one-size-fits-all diet prescription. Again, the Paleo diet is the starting point … not the perfect diet. If you tolerate beans well, you should keep eating beans! It’s pretty ingenious that Robb recommends using a glucometer during this carb test. Not many diet prescriptions give an actual biological picture of a specific person’s insulin resistance and response to carbohydrates the way this te