Wine and the PFC?

[Nicola]

Hi Gillian,

I’m a bit behind this week and have just watched your video 3:3 – Desire, the solution. It was so clear and so well-presented – thank you! It all makes such sense. I can’t believe no on else is teaching this stuff!

I had a major craving for some wine last night. I’ve discovered that the wine is a major trigger for overeating – Lucy and I were mentioning yesterday that the “wine and crisps” combo is very addictive. I have a question about this – would it be true to say that drinking the wine affects the ability to activate the PFC? Do you know of any studies on this? I did manage to resist the wine through remembering my work on motivation and choice, and telling myself this was just my addictive desire (and thankfully didn’t feel deprived). I did this because I knew that I wouldn’t be able to stick to 1 glass, and when I’ve had 2 glasses the crisps get raided! But – I can’t wait to include this work on properly “working through” the desire as well.

By the way, I am finding the shifts I’ve had through just those 2 themes (motivation and choice) to be extraordinarily effective. I realise I need to fully include this third piece but already I feel differently around food. Not as frantic and driven.

Thanks, Gillian, for your amazing work!

Nicola x

[Lucy]

Hello Nicola,

Yes I agree wine/alcohol can be a big trigger of overeating for me too…interesting queston about wine and the PFC,
thanks!

[Gillian]

Nicola, really good to hear that you are finding value in this course. I’m delighted.

– would it be true to say that drinking the wine affects the ability to activate the PFC? Do you know of any studies on this?

No, I don’t know of any studies. My view is that the major impact would be from the belief that you cannot make a choice after drinking wine, rather than the effect of alcohol in the brain.

Consider how quickly you would ‘sober up’ if there was a real, life-threatening emergency – the house on fire, your children’s lives at risk. You wouldn’t be alcohol-free legally, but I bet you’d be able to think quickly and act appropriately.

This issue with wine will be good to use for the written exercise at the end of Week 4 – “4.6 Next: Exploring Mindset”.

[Nicola]

What a brilliant response! Duh!!

[Nicola]

It could well be that just having a glass of wine in hand is the cue….

[Gillian]

Even thinking about having a glass of wine can be a cue!

[Nicola]

It being Friday is a cue!!!

[Gillian]

Take a look at the Webinar Replay for Week 3 on Desire. Around 8 minutes from the start I list “Friday night” as an example of the cues.

[Nicola]

Yes, thank you. Definitely food for thought for me.

[Author]

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