On the SLD forums, Bennetta wrote:
I never noticed this before, but I used to eat as a way to thwart boredom. Nothing to do? Make some food! The odd thing here is finding myself doing a ton of other things when I would have otherwise been cooking or eating just to entertain myself. Now, instead of heading to the fridge when there’s nothing to do, I clean, write letters to friends, or do whatever.
This change in behavior shows that the Shangri-La Diet makes food less pleasant. When we don’t feel good (such as are bored), we look around for activities that will make us feel better. Eating is no longer one of those activities. This shift in the hedonic value of food — which happens because our set point becomes lower than our weight — painlessly keeps us from eating. Or if we do eat, we stop sooner.
Michel Cabanac, a professor of physiology at Laval University, Quebec City, has studied how hedonic shifts control behavior in several areas, including thermoregulation and body weight regulation.
I noticed the same connection between boredom and food, but often it was boredom with some task I was supposed to be doing (i.e. work) and food was a way to avoid doing it. After doing SLD for a few weeks (sugar water version) and losing ~20 lbs, food wasn’t as attractive an alternative. A year or so after doing SLD I also stopped all caffeine, which I had previously consumed in the form of 2-3 espressos per day. The coffees were also an excuse for taking a break from less attractive but more mandatory activities. I never replaced the espressos with a decaf tea or any other beverage. I mostly just drink water with meals now and rarely in between. It appears I need less water because I’m not drinking all that caffeine.
I guess now I just have to quit reading and posting comments on blogs and maybe I’ll finally get some work done
While I had the same experiance I would not, absolutely not, describe it as making the “food less pleasant.” The pleasure remained. The appetite is what evaporated. I find I have to husband the appetite in service of the hedonic pleasure. I found the discovery of a distinction between appetite and hedonic desire/pleasures thought provoking. Particularly when you turn it back on the common presumption that fat people are suffering from a moral failing.
Ben, my experience is that when I am less hungry, eating is less pleasant. Your experience is different?
“The pleasure remained” — at the same intensity? When I am not hungry some aspects of eating are still pleasant, such chewing.
Seth,
Is there an analogous way to make playing on the Internet less pleasurable? Is there an hours-logged-on-the-net satiation point that can be lowered in some way?
Thanks,
Araglin
what a great question! my answer is I don’t know.