Diet Rehab: 28 Days to Finally Stop Craving the Foods That Make You Fat (29 page)

• Is this all there is?

• Surely life should hold more than this!

• Where did all the fun and excitement go?

• I haven’t done anything new in a long time . . .

• I don’t recognize myself—how did I become so boring?

• I used to be a passionate person—what happened?

• Deep-fried-and-fatty to lean-and-mean: If you’re like most dopamine-deprived people, you will have gravitated to french fries, fried chicken, and energy drinks to give you the spark that you were longing for in your life. But there’s another great source of dopamine, and that’s lean protein. If you’re dopamine-deprived, you need protein—and lots of it. You should be sure to have some protein with every meal, and you need protein-rich snacks throughout the day to protect yourself against cravings. Check out Appendix A for some of my favorite quick and easy recipes for dopamine booster meals, or look at page 243 for some dopamine booster snacks. You’ll see that tasty foods like apples and almond butter are a great way to get a dopamine fix.

• Daring: You’re craving change, excitement, and adventure, so mix it up by learning a new skill or doing something you’ve always dreamed about doing. Ski down a mountain, learn to parasail, ride in a hot-air balloon, or do some public speaking. Sign up for that online dating service, or ask that cute barista out for breakfast. Scare the hell out of yourself! The more adventure in your life, the less fat you’ll crave. Even mix up your dopamine booster foods in daring ways. Egg whites, grilled chicken breast, and broccoli in a homemade sauce of red bell peppers, jalapeños, and Tabasco sauce may sound daunting to some—but not for you!

• Delight: If we don’t get delight in our lives, we’ll look for it in our food. Marvel at a sunset, visit an intriguing new stretch of a neighborhood, spend ten minutes a day doing something that you love. You’ll fill up on pleasure, and those french fries will just look like, well, greasy potatoes.

• Desire: I can’t advise you to fall in love—but if you did, it would be great for your waistline! What about rekindling some romance with your significant other? Or, if you’re single, do something you’ve always considered romantic, sexy, or thrilling: visit Italy, learn to play poker, take a tango class. Find
something
you desire, and give yourself permission to pursue it.

• Dare: Dopamine-deprived people need challenges, so test your creativity and see what you come up with. You might decide to redesign your garden, move around furniture in your living room or bedroom, or reorganize your closets. Learn a language, play competitive Scrabble, or just pick up a book of Sudoku—anything to experience a sense of struggle and accomplishment.