Something I Find Fascinating

Not long ago, I completed the E-Cornell plant-based nutrition certificate. One of the instructors is Dr. Douglas Lisle, who is a clinical psychologist.

Dr. Lisle explains a phenomenon known as the "pleasure trap," which explains why we are so susceptible to "overdoing it" when it comes to unhealthy food.

I did a search online and found out that he has an excellent TED talk available.

If you have an extra 17 minutes, and if you're interested in the psychology behind overeating junk food, I highly recommend checking it out. Dr. Lisle is a funny guy. I think you'll enjoy his humorous teaching style. He’s also got some great art and graphics.

The Way We’re Wired

As Dr. Lisle explains, our brains are "wired" to:

• Seek pleasure

• Avoid pain

• Save energy

This gives us a survival advantage and is useful in an environment of scarcity.

The problem is, we don't live in an environment of scarcity. We live in an environment of excess.

This changes everything.

Supra-Normal Stimuli

Our environment today is filled with "supra-normal stimuli." In other words, food that is extremely tasty (pleasurable), extremely rich in calories (energy efficient), and extremely convenient (also energy efficient).

Just what our brains are looking for!

Because our food environment has changed so drastically in the past century, we've "hijacked the instincts."

Our brains have not had time to evolve with the environment. Our brains, on a primal level, think and feel that we're doing the "right" thing...

... When in fact we're self-destructing.

Like an addictive drug, these foods provide a greater surge of dopamine, which "light up" the pleasure-centers of the brain.

Also like an addictive drug, this "high" eventually dulls. We get used to it. It becomes less of a high, and instead something that feels "normal."

Even worse, "normal stimuli" (whole foods in their natural form) feel "wrong" to the brain. We don't experience near as much pleasure with them, and therefore don't crave them.

This is a big problem since these foods are healthiest for our bodies.

So what can we do about it?

It helps to understand that when our bodies are used to "supra-normal stimuli" (in other words, the junk food that surrounds us every. single. day.), it's normal for the healthy stuff to feel "wrong" to our brains.

By making the decision to eat healthier foods, we enter a "recovery" stage.

Not gonna lie -- this isn't a fun stage.

But there’s hope!

The good news is that there's light at the end of the tunnel. If we stick with it, our sensitivity to "normal stimuli" (whole foods in their natural form) returns. In other words, these foods will eventually taste better and better, and we will crave them more and more.

So next time you feel like beating yourself up over the deep-dish pizza and ice cream that you went crazy on... Remember this:

• It's normal.

• Your brain is simply doing what it's wired to do.

• The environment is the problem (easy access to these foods).

• It takes some work (consciously going against our nature and our environment), but we can absolutely turn things around. The more we stick with it, the easier it gets. Eventually the "right" thing will feel more and more right.

How about you?

What’s your experience with regaining a taste for “normal stimuli”? I’d love to hear from you! Please leave a comment below.

This post was originally published on October 9, 2019.