It is well known that the use of a particular muscle creates pathways in the brain. It has also been established that mental (e.g., visual) practice causes a similar rewiring in the brain’s network. Mental training has the power to change the physical characteristics of the brain itself.

This is called neuroplasticity. Scientists are also discovering that this kind of change can also occur even without input from the material world, i.e., thought itself can cause actual changes in the neuronal connections of the brain.

I think that this kind of mind training can alter the way we approach eating behavior itself, affecting and changing the brain-gut pathways, and the accompanying neurochemistry involved in satiety and hunger.

On one level, one can hypothesize that this is one reason why cognitive behavior therapy can work in correcting disfunctional eating behavior that leads to obesity. In addition, I think that manipulating the nutritional profile of the food itself (i.e., maximizing nutritional density per calorie) will also help in creating a “positive neuro-behavioral feedback loop” that can ultimately result in restoring the body back to a correct and healthy weight. Nutrition and mind training working hand in hand.