'Dopamine diet' explained as Tom Kerridge credits it with his 12st weight loss
Eating the foods you love and still losing weight sounds too good to be true - but it's not.
If you want to slim down your waistline, you've probably been told you need to cut out all the foods you enjoy and resign yourself to a life of boiled chicken breast and plain rice. But that's not the case if you follow something known as the "dopamine diet", which has been championed by celebrity chef Tom Kerridge.
Tom decided to lose weight after he began fearing for his health when he weighed 30st just before his 40th birthday. Five years later, Tom had shed a whopping 12st, and now, at 50, he's maintaining that healthy weight. The chef claims the key to his success is the dopamine diet - but what is it, and can it really help you lose weight?
What is the dopamine diet?
The dopamine diet has been billed as the weight-loss regime that also boosts mood. While there are several different versions of the diet plan, they all contain foods that are thought to boost levels of dopamine while also keeping you healthy. Dopamine is a brain chemical known as the "happy hormone", which is responsible for transmitting signals between nerve cells in the brain. It directly affects our brain's reward and pleasure centres and can boost our mood and make us feel good.
According to BBC Good Food, the dopamine diet is a low-carb, high-protein eating plan, that prioritises foods such as unprocessed meats including beef, chicken, and turkey, Omega-3-rich fish such as salmon and mackerel, eggs, fruit and vegetables, dairy foods like milk, cheese, and yoghurt, and dark chocolate.
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The idea with the dopamine diet is to keep overly sugary or salty treats to a minimum and increase your intake of fruit and veg as snacks throughout the day instead. You should still aim to eat regular meals to "prevent a sudden swing in hormones", but you should ensure your meals are packed with lean protein and healthy fats.
What has Tom Kerridge said about the dopamine diet?
When he began his weight loss journey, Tom wasn't a fan of restrictive diets and didn't want to be stuck eating food he didn't enjoy for the rest of his life. Speaking to The Mirror in 2017, he said: "It's impossible to lose weight and keep the weight off for good if you don't enjoy what you're eating."
Tom's version of the dopamine diet revolves around high-protein foods, vegetables and tinned beans, and he's said that his cooking method means he never has to compromise on flavour and he still gets to eat a "generous plate" of food without restricting himself to tiny portion sizes.
Discussing his recipe book, Dopamine Diet: My Low-carb, Stay-Happy Way to Lose Weight, he explained: "The cooking techniques mean there's no compromise on flavour and you're promised a generous plate of food. I'm hoping this will help more people to lose weight and still love what they eat."
Tom's weight loss took him five years to achieve, but he was able to do it in a healthy, sustainable way, using a diet he still follows to this day to keep himself on track. The Michelin-star chef also quit booze after starting his weight loss journey, as alcohol is often high in calories and provides little nutritional value to the body.
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