Why you keep eating when the food tastes soooo good!!
Understanding the Pleasure Threshold: A Key to Intuitive Eating
Ok, the pleasure WHAAAAT?
Yep, the pleasure threshold.
Let’s get right into it.
Do you ever find yourself stuffing your face with pizza or ice cream, even when you're already full?
Do you ever find yourself at your favorite restaurant ON YOUR BIRTHDAY and the food is soooo good and you’re SOOO FULL but all you can think is “damn this tastes good” so you keep eating it.
Do you feel like this is all your fault and you just need more self control?
I’m here to tell you self control and will power have NOTHING to do with why you don’t stop eating.
Ok, so thennnn why do you keep eating even though you’re full?
Because it tastes good?
TASTE GOOD = PLEASUREEEEE
You are seeking more pleasure. You have a minimum amount of pleasure that you need to conclude the meal and you’re not going to stop eating until you get it.
This your pleasure threshold.
So, why does the pleasure threshold exist?
Our brains are hard-wired to seek pleasure, and food is one of the easiest ways to get it.
And so why do you always want more more more when food tastes so good?
When we eat something that we love, our brain releases dopamine, which is basically a happiness hormone. But if you've been living under the oppressive cloud of diet culture, you might not be able to fully receive the pleasure from your food, so you keep chasing more.
Let's go deeper….
2 main things happen to our pleasure threshold throughout our life time:
1. We block the pleasure we receive from food and RARELY reach our pleasure threshold the first time around.
Have you ever walked into the kitchen with a major sugar craving, and thought… “Ok, I’m going to satisfy this with something healthy?”
Then grabbed something to munch on like a rice cake with honey drizzled on top.
Deep down you wanted ICE CREAM, but you opted for the “healthy rice cake.”
Pretty soon you’re back in the kitchen searching for more food because the rice cake just didn’t do it for you!!! AND THEN, you felt like this was a will-power problem??
Again, this has NOTHING to do with will-power. The rice cake did not get you to that pleasure threshold you were initially seeking, so you kept seeking more.
That's not a will power problem, that's a pleasure deprivation problem.
2. Our pleasure threshold actually increases over time from DEPRIVATION.
When we’ve gone YEARS, maybe even LIFE TIMES thinking things like…
“chocolate is unhealthy"
“tacos are bad”
“I’m a bad girl if I shove this cake in my mouth”
…. there becomes this new type of pleasure we call PSEUDO-PLEASURE
Pseudo-pleasure is literally pleasure you’re receiving from food because you believe you’re “doing something bad” which, don't get me wrong, can feel kind of fun.
But the truth is, this is not true, authentic pleasure. In fact, we call this pseudo-pleasure because it’s fake.
This isn’t the kind of pleasure that leads you to satisfaction, feeling energized, happy/emotionally satisfied or feeling good in your body.
This is the kind of pleasure that’s coming from a place of guilt and shame.
Once this type of pleasure is an integral part of your relationship with food, you start seeking THIS type of pleasure (which is fake pleasure)!!!
Now your pleasure threshold is sky high and you’re chasing something that’s not real.
No wonder you feel like you’re addicted to sugar!!!
Ok, sooo yes… dieting, diet culture, and the diet mindset, do a number on our pleasure threshold, but it's ok!!!
You can re-attune your pleasure threshold, maximize the pleasure you're receiving from food, and stop feeling like you don't have any self control.
Say hello to intuitive eating
Here’s how intuitive eating helps with all things pleasure!!!
1. Intuitive eating gets rid of the diet mindset = no more blocked pleasure.
This is that little voice in your head screaming “DON’T EAT THATTTT!!!!”
Who’s going to receive pleasure when someone is literally in your ear scream shaming you. The diet mindset and guilt/shame that follows directly blocks you from receiving pleasure. This means it takes MORE FOOD to reach your pleasure threshold. So you feel like you should be eating less and yet that very voice telling you to eat less is actually causing you to eat more? Hmmmm.
2. MIND-BODY connection = more pleasure from food received.
Intuitive eating helps you connect, deepen, and receive pleasure from food. Throughout the intuitive eating process you will re-attune pleasure with your brain and body. Think about an old piano that’s way out of tune, so you have to literally hire a PROFESSIONAL to come in and fix it. This is what happens to our pleasure-brain-body connection after years of telling yourself delicious foods are FORBIDDEN. Once you finally re-attune this pleasure-brain-body connection, you’re able to receive the maximum amount of pleasure from food efficiently because there’s a direct communication channel between you, your body, and your tongue.
3. No more chasing fake/pseudo pleasure = lower pleasure threshold.
Once you stop feeling guilt/shame about food, get rid of thoughts like…. “Ice cream is bad” and actually MAKE peace with these foods, you stop chasing after this heightened oseudo-pleasure threshold and start actually feeling satisfied. This means no more obsessing about food, no more feeling out of control around food, and no more pushing past fullness.
Ok, so there you have it, this is the break down of the pleasure threshold!!!
