At least, that's what the Italian health magazine Dimagrire is advising based on a survey of its readers and a consultation with 74 weight loss experts. Fully 80 percent of those surveyed by Dimagrire (which means "Lose Weight") agreed that a new love interest is the best way for both men and women to get in shape and shed pounds. And the weight loss experts concurred.
Why? Sure, wanting to look good naked may inspire us to eat smaller portions and stay on the treadmill longer, but that's not all there is to this. Falling in love bathes our brains with dopamine--call it the love drug--and that actually suppresses our appetites and increases the feeling of being full before we've even eaten. It's the Love Diet!
You know that great feeling you get when you eat chocolate? The sweetness stimulates the neurotransmitters and creates a general feeling of well-being. That's exactly what happens when you fall in love--except love doesn't pack on the calories the way chocolate can. "So, if being in love brings the same happiness, the organism doesn't need these foods to achieve well-being," Amleto D'Amicis told Dimagrire.
"With passion, a neurochemical wave is activated that is transformed into psycho-physical well-being," Alfonso Logoro, a neurologist and psychiatrist, told the Italian magazine. "Recent research would confirm that this joy in living lasts from 18 months to three years."
And that's the gotcha. While the love may last forever, the Love Diet doesn't. Get married and chances are you'll gain the weight right back. One-third of the Italians surveyed by Dimagrire admitted this happened once they married. And 23 percent said the Love Diet ceased to work once they became parents. But take heart with this fact: 12 percent said they never gained the weight again.
That's more!
Why? Sure, wanting to look good naked may inspire us to eat smaller portions and stay on the treadmill longer, but that's not all there is to this. Falling in love bathes our brains with dopamine--call it the love drug--and that actually suppresses our appetites and increases the feeling of being full before we've even eaten. It's the Love Diet!
You know that great feeling you get when you eat chocolate? The sweetness stimulates the neurotransmitters and creates a general feeling of well-being. That's exactly what happens when you fall in love--except love doesn't pack on the calories the way chocolate can. "So, if being in love brings the same happiness, the organism doesn't need these foods to achieve well-being," Amleto D'Amicis told Dimagrire.
"With passion, a neurochemical wave is activated that is transformed into psycho-physical well-being," Alfonso Logoro, a neurologist and psychiatrist, told the Italian magazine. "Recent research would confirm that this joy in living lasts from 18 months to three years."
And that's the gotcha. While the love may last forever, the Love Diet doesn't. Get married and chances are you'll gain the weight right back. One-third of the Italians surveyed by Dimagrire admitted this happened once they married. And 23 percent said the Love Diet ceased to work once they became parents. But take heart with this fact: 12 percent said they never gained the weight again.
That's more!