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The Mel Robbins Podcast

Harvard Doctor Reveals Why You Have Cravings and How to Stop Them | The Mel Robbins Podcast

Why do you always crave dessert after dinner? Or a snack mid-afternoon?

Mel RobbinshostDr. Amy Shahguest

Jun 22, 20231h 25mWatch on YouTube

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CHAPTERS

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Chapter summaries

Why cravings feel irresistible: Mel’s 2pm chip habit and the science roadmap
Mel sets up the episode’s core problem: feeling “out of control” around certain foods despite good intentions. She introduces Dr. Amy Shah and frames the conversation around cravings, hunger, hormones, and brain chemistry—especially dopamine.
- •Mel’s daily 2pm craving example (truffle chips)
- •Emotional eating and post-dinner dessert urges as a common pattern
- •Promise of a science-based explanation (not willpower)
- •Dr. Amy Shah’s credentials and book premise
Hunger vs cravings vs appetite: three different systems in your body
Dr. Shah distinguishes hunger (nutrient need) from cravings (dopamine-driven wanting) and appetite (overall interest in food). She explains ghrelin’s cyclical nature and why hunger signals can be strong at predictable times without being an emergency.
- •Cravings: wanting dessert when you’re already full
- •Cravings share pathways with addictive behaviors (dopamine)
- •Hunger: survival-driven nutrient need; ghrelin cycles
- •Appetite dampens when you’re sick; interest in food drops
“It’s not your fault”: ultra-processed foods and the ‘Miami dopamine’ effect
Dr. Shah argues many poor food choices are engineered outcomes, not moral failures. Ultra-processed foods create an outsized dopamine hit, then tolerance, then a painful comedown that drives more craving—similar to other addictive loops.
- •Miami analogy: novelty dopamine → adaptation → needing more stimulation
- •Ultra-processed foods produce drug-like dopamine spikes
- •Aftereffect: irritability/discomfort that fuels repeated seeking
- •Cravings intensify as dopamine reward system gets trained
What ‘ultra-processed’ really means—and why it impacts mental health
They define ultra-processed food as something you can’t recreate in a normal kitchen due to non-food ingredients and industrial formulations. Dr. Shah links higher ultra-processed intake with inflammation, shorter lifespan, and substantially worse mental-health days.
- •Simple test: if you can’t make it in a kitchen, it’s ultra-processed
- •Examples: chips, candy bars, sundaes, packaged snacks
- •Ultra-processed intake correlates with more “mental health days”
- •Inflammation as a root pathway to chronic disease and mood issues
Relearning fullness cues: the ‘would you eat vegetables?’ test and satiety hormones
Mel asks how you know you’re full; Dr. Shah explains modern eating disrupts internal cues. She introduces satiety hormones (leptin, CCK) and offers a practical test: if vegetables don’t sound appealing, you’re likely not truly hungry.
- •We rely on external cues and lose hunger/fullness awareness
- •Leptin and CCK signal satiety to the brain
- •Cravings can persist even when satiety hormones say stop
- •Vegetable test as a fast way to distinguish hunger vs craving
Your gut is messaging your brain: how food becomes mood (and behavior)
Dr. Shah explains the bidirectional gut–brain connection and how signals travel from mouth and gut to the brain. They discuss research suggesting the microbiome can shape behavior and mental states, reframing cravings and mood as biological feedback loops.
- •Gut–brain communication influences mood, cravings, and behavior
- •Embryology: gut and brain originate together, then separate
- •Microbiome signals via neurotransmitters (dopamine/serotonin)
- •Animal studies: transferred microbiomes change measurable behavior
Fixing habits by balancing brain chemistry: dopamine foods in the morning, serotonin at night
They move into actionable strategies for supporting neurotransmitters naturally. Dr. Shah highlights tyrosine-rich foods to support dopamine (motivation/alertness) and tryptophan plus complex carbs to support serotonin (calm/sleep).
- •Tyrosine → L-DOPA → dopamine pathway support
- •Dopamine-support foods: dairy/soy/nuts/cherries (high-protein options)
- •Example breakfast: cottage cheese + fruit + nuts
- •Serotonin support: tryptophan (eggs, fish, lean meats) + complex carbs
Hydration as a hunger hack: when ‘hungry’ is actually thirsty
Dr. Shah explains that hunger and thirst signals are closely linked and often confused. Increasing water intake can reduce perceived hunger and help people regain clearer internal cues, especially when stepping back from ultra-processed foods.
- •Brain overlap between thirst and hunger sensations
- •No perfect universal ‘ounces per day’ rule, but more often helps
- •Drink water first, then reassess hunger after ~15 minutes
- •Reducing ultra-processed foods helps you ‘hear’ internal signals
Understanding the craving cycle: pleasure + pain, dopamine burnout, and why dieting backfires
They map the subjective feeling of cravings as pleasure mixed with internal conflict, driven by dopamine. Dr. Shah explains how repeated high-dopamine behaviors (food, games, social media) can deplete motivation and focus, and why crash dieting can amplify both hunger and cravings.
- •Craving signature: ‘heaven’ first bite followed by conflict and urgency
- •Dopamine can drive irritability and agitation after the reward
- •Chronic dopamine chasing can resemble burnout/ADHD-like symptoms
- •Crash dieting increases ghrelin (hunger) and dopamine-driven cravings
How food companies exploit dopamine—and the practical ‘3-2-1’ retraining method
Dr. Shah explains that dopamine is a uniquely powerful motivator that can override intention and propel action. She shares a behavior-change approach using random (intermittent) reward to rewire cravings, including a step-by-step method to swap an ultra-processed craving for a healthier alternative.
- •Dopamine can trigger action-seeking more than other neurotransmitters
- •Intermittent reward is the most addictive reinforcement schedule
- •‘3-2-1’ method: 3 random days/week, 2 minutes positive self-talk, 1 minute savor
- •Positive replacement behavior (e.g., sunny walk) after a slip
Psychobiotics and the microbiome: what probiotics are—and why food beats pills
Mel asks for a list of bacteria to take; Dr. Shah explains the emerging ‘psychobiotics’ concept linking certain microbes with mental health. She cautions that probiotic supplements have inconsistent results and emphasizes feeding and seeding the microbiome through fiber and fermented foods.
- •Psychobiotics: microbes associated with mood/mental health patterns
- •Microbes can signal the brain through multiple known pathways
- •Probiotic pills may be killed off as ‘foreign’; food delivery can work better
- •Best strategy: fiber + fermented foods (yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha)
The #1 probiotic isn’t a pill: exercise, short-chain fatty acids, and inflammation relief
Dr. Shah calls exercise the most powerful ‘probiotic’ because movement supports beneficial gut bacteria and increases short-chain fatty acids. These compounds help calm inflammation and support better brain function and mood, reinforcing why lifestyle changes can outperform medication alone for some outcomes.
- •Exercise increases beneficial bacteria and short-chain fatty acids
- •Short-chain fatty acids support brain signaling and reduce inflammation
- •Movement as a direct lever for gut health and mood
- •Reinforces diet + exercise as foundational ‘first-line’ tools
Breaking sugar cravings fast: the 3-day microbiome shift and the ‘juice is soda’ wake-up call
They tackle sugar cravings with a striking finding: gut bacteria can shift measurably within three days of major dietary change. Dr. Shah ranks top offenders (sodas/high fructose corn syrup, processed meats/dairy) and explains why many store-bought juices behave like soda due to lost fiber and nutrients.
- •Study insight: measurable gut microbiome changes in ~3 days
- •Worst offenders: sodas/high fructose corn syrup; processed meats/dairy
- •Pasteurized shelf juice lacks fiber and rivals soda sugar content
- •Core message: rapid change is possible without special supplements
Sleep, coffee timing, and circadian rhythm: restoring leptin and reducing cravings
Dr. Shah links insufficient sleep to lower leptin (satiety) and increased hunger/cravings, with higher mortality risks under chronic short sleep. She then outlines a morning routine emphasizing sunlight first and delaying coffee 45 minutes to avoid adenosine-related energy crashes and dependence cycles.
- •Sleep loss reduces leptin and increases hunger and cravings
- •Find your sleep need by tracking best-mood, most-refreshed days
- •‘Sky before screens’ to set circadian signals
- •Wait ~45 minutes for coffee so adenosine clears; fewer crashes/cravings
Dr. Shah’s daily eating routine + intermittent fasting done ‘earlier,’ plus the gluten myth
Dr. Shah describes a practical day of eating aligned with daylight and internal clocks: protein-forward breakfast, salad-based lunch with fermented foods, and serotonin-supporting carbs at dinner. She argues many people do intermittent fasting backwards by eating too late, and she clarifies that many ‘gluten issues’ are actually reactions to processed foods, not gluten itself.
- •Eat within daylight hours; avoid late-night eating when melatonin rises
- •Breakfast: high-protein ‘dopamine’ foods; lunch: salad + protein + fermented food
- •Dinner: complex carbs to support serotonin and sleep; protein snacks if needed
- •Gluten-free trial is fine, but reintroduce unprocessed wheat/sourdough to test tolerance

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