You can’t control your unique genetic makeup, your history of dieting, nor your physiological response. But you can control your behaviors. Here are three simple (but not necessarily easy) steps you can take to help your natural appetite regulation system get back online and do its job better:

Step 1: Eat more whole, fresh, minimally processed foods. This means stuff like: Lean meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy and/or plant sources for your lean protein. Fruits and vegetables, ideally colorful ones. Slow-digesting, high-fiber starches such as whole grains, starchy tubers (e.g. potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, cassava, etc.), beans and legumes. Nuts, seeds, avocados, coconut, fatty fish and seafood for your quality fats.

Change your brain

Step 2: Eat slowly and mindfully. No matter what you eat, slowing down will help your brain and gastrointestinal tract coordinate their activities. It will help you feel more in control of choosing what and how much to eat. Plus, since the signals are getting through properly, you’ll often feel satisfied with less food.  Step 3: Eat fewer processed, hyper-palatable foods. Step 3 can be tricky. We get it. After all, this whole article is about how appealing those foods can be. Step 1 and 2 will make Step 3 easier.

If you get more of the “good stuff”, and stay mindful as you eat it, there’s often less room (and desire) for the other stuff.Over time, if you do these 3 steps consistently: You’ll probably notice you crave highly processed foods less, and feel more in charge of your food decisions in general. You’ll feel fuller for longer as that leptin loop returns to normal (at least to some degree, keeping in mind that each person’s body and the situation is a bit different). You may lose body fat. You’ll probably find you feel, move and perform better, too.

Food intake is complex

Physiology plays a big role. But so do psychology, relationships, and our larger society, our culture, our lifestyle, our individual knowledge or beliefs about food and eating. This means you aren’t “doomed” by physiology. You can use other things to help your body do its job.

A meal of whole foods, properly cooked and seasoned, and enjoyed at the dinner table with your family or friends is going to be much more satisfying than eating in your car next to the drive-through window. You don’t have to live in a world of bland and depressing “health food” just because you aren’t carpet-bombing your taste buds. Throw a little butter and salt on those veggies. Make them taste good — just not “too good”, too often. Your brain will love you for it.