Monday, April 7, 2014

Enjoyment vs. Satisfaction

So, I had an interesting thought today. Look out! She's thinking again... it could get dangerous!


I was reading a book review over on The Frugal Girl about a family who decided to try to cut out all sugar for a year. In the discussion section someone pointed out that for some people moderation works best while others do better with all out abstinence. I could immediately relate to this comment.

If you remember my Food Foibles post of about a week ago, the constant theme was that with many of my "trouble foods" once I start, I simply cannot stop. I speak as a person who has managed to down the equivalent of three giant chocolate bars in a week's time! Oy!


Anyhow... it got my little brain twirling and I realized that, for me at least, there is a HUGE difference between enjoyment and satisfaction. Many of the foods that I find to be really enjoyable, I also find to be intensely dissatisfying.

I'm not really sure how to put the sensation into words. It's sorta like when I eat chocolate, or ice cream, or dried fruit etc, it's pleasurable, but not quite as pleasurable as I want it to be, so I always feel like I need just a little bit more to be satisfied. And before you know it three chocolate bars have disappeared, and there's still no sense of satisfaction!


With the really sweet stuff like cake or frosting it's even worse. I always expect it to taste good, but it never really does. But somehow I become convinced that if I just eat a little bit more it will eventually taste as good as I think it should.

It sorta reminded me of a story CatMan once told me. I asked him if he ever tried cocaine back in his hippie days. He said he tried it once and immediately realized that it was a trap, because all it felt like was more.


It strikes me that this must be how addiction works, and it sorta turns my mental image of addiction on its head. I guess I always assumed that when a person is addicted to something it's because they really, REALLY like the substance or activity.

But now I'm starting to think that it's much more complicated than that. If my little enjoyment vs. satisfaction theory is correct, then people experiencing addiction aren't repeating the behavior because they like it so much, they're doing it because the experience leaves them in a state of being almost satisfied but not quite.


Is this just completely crazy, or has anybody else out there ever experienced anything like this? I'm dying to know what y'all think about my crazy little theory.






21 comments :

  1. I am the opposite, sorta. My problem is that I really enjoy too many unhealthy things. I'd have cake and champagne for breakfast for breakfast every day if I could! I could also buy a piece of jewelry a day too!

    I swear I must have been a princess in my last life. After all, no one is willing to treat me like one now!

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    1. OK... so perhaps we should just call you Marie Antoinette? :-)

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  2. Spot on. You're right there with the latest theories of addiction. I'll look out some reference for you later, if you're interested.

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    1. Ha! Perhaps I'm just channeling some psychological journal without realizing it!

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  3. This is exactly how I am with chocolate and sweets. I can't just have one; when I start I will eat the whole thing. It feels like an addiction, I keep going back for more because I have to.It's to the point of making myself feel ill.
    The only way I can deal with it is not have any or only to have one serving in the house.
    Marie

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    1. That is me! I think in the future I'll just postpone a trip to the grocery store if I'm having chocolate cravings!

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  4. As Rachel said, I think you're right on with what I have heard about addiction and overeating. And you figured it out all by yourself. :)

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    1. Well, as someone who struggled with eating disorders throughout most of my young adulthood I've had plenty of time to think about it!

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  5. I recently went to a conference on habits of happiness. The speaker touched on exactly what you have brought up. See, you could be earning the big bucks by traveling and speaking to us lesser beings! :) On a practical level, I have the same experience with potato chips--they never really satisfy but it's hard to stop. I read a book this past winter (can't remember the name of it, sorry!) talking about kids growing up with technology and the addictive behaviors they show with video games, compulsive Facebook checking, etc. I noticed early on with my son similar behaviors when playing games on the computer--irritable when separated, compulsively returning to the computer--so we had a chat about it and I have been more vigilant about reducing his exposure. I think some personalities seem more "addictable" than others and perhaps he is one of them?

    I've thought for a few years now, ever since my Weight Watchers experience, that our bodies become conditioned to eating certain kinds of food--I don't know if that is addiction or not, but I like to eat certain foods in a certain order every day. At least now my choices are, overall, a lot healthier than they used to be ... I no longer crave salty fatty snacks so did I re-condition my brain on that one?

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    1. Hmmm... addictive personalities. Well, if there's a genetic component I'm certainly at risk since both of my grandfathers were alcoholics and my mother was a compulsive eater.

      CatMan used to work as a therapist and his take is that addicts are never satisfied because what they're really doing is trying to use food or alcohol or drugs or whatever to fill some sort of emotional hole. So how could the food satisfy you when the source of your dissatisfaction is not, in fact, hunger! I know that my own eating disorder recovery began the instant I realized that the gnarling sensation in my stomach wasn't hunger, and my problem really had nothing to do with food.

      I think there are probably aspects of both theories at work.

      But in terms of general eating as opposed to disordered eating, I think you're totally right that we become conditioned to eat certain foods. Creating a "new normal" of healthier choices was certainly the key to weight loss for me!

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  6. Really interesting post, EcoCadLady. It reminded me of Goethe, where he makes a deal with the devil: the devil can have his soul once he is fully satisfied with any aspect of life. The rub is that the devil can't concoct a scenario that's truly satisfying to the human heart: we've got a built-in longing that's never satiated.

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    1. Wow! Now there's a philosophical take on the topic. So is it just that the devil can't find a way to satisfy the human heart or is it that humans are by their very nature not truly capable of experiencing satisfaction?

      Of course, any way you look it it, satisfaction is a fleeting sensation at best. I mean, just take the food example. Even if you eat a very satisfying meal, you're gonna be hungry again in a matter of hours. Hmmm... food for thought (yuk, yuk!)

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  7. I am the same way with just about every thing. I have pretty much convinced myself that nothing will taste as good as it looks and just try to avoid it, especially anything with sugar. Even in my smoking and drinking days, it wasn't the taste that kept me buying more, it was the act I needed. My own anti-anxiety activity.

    Oh, and if chocolate is in the house, I will eat it but I am always left wanting more.

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    1. Oh yes... the "anti-anxiety activity" I am quite familiar with that one!

      I think with the really sweet stuff I've finally managed to convince myself that it won't taste as good as I think it will... it's a bit more difficult with stuff like chocolate and ice cream though.

      But I just read an interesting post over on Lissa Rankin's blog where she's summarizing some thoughts of an author named Gretchen Rubin about core personality traits. Anyhow, apparently one of Rubin's maxims is that people are either moderators or abstainers. Moderators get really upset if they can't have any of xyz tempting thing, but are satisfied if they get a little. Abstainers, on the other hand, have to go cold turkey or else they're sunk. Interesting timing, don't you think... perhaps there really are NO coincidences!
      http://lissarankin.com/5-questions-guaranteed-to-help-you-know-yourself-better

      Anyhow, sounds like you and I both fall into the abstainer category for sure!

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  8. Have you heard of the trifecta of food addiction? Fat, sugar and salt. And when you use these three in combination with low fiber, it's easy to get hooked on eating more and more, without ever finding satisfaction.

    Manufacturers use this formula for making repeat consumers. The sugar doesn't even need to be table sugar, it can be something like the natural sugars in potatoes. So, French fries or potato chips contain all three -- fat (deep-fried), sugars (natural sugars in potatoes), and of course, salt. Or, salted caramel ice cream. Or manufactured cookies. All of which are low fiber, too.

    I've always had a problem with store-bought cookies. I could eat an entire bag of Chips Ahoy in one day, if I had them here. So, I never, ever buy packaged cookies. My home-baking is much less tempting for me for me to eat the whole thing. I found myself satisfied with one slice of that pie I baked this week, even though it was really delicious. It was lower in sugar (reduced some of the sugar with baking soda), moderate in fat (need fat for the crust), and minimal salt, plus, the fruit was loaded with fiber.

    My own experience with finding satisfaction in the foods I eat has to do with going with my first impulse. If I try to avoid eating something like a piece of candy or some avocado or a handful of nuts, I will eat everything else in the kitchen trying to find satisfaction. It isn't until I eat that piece of candy, avocado or nuts.

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    1. Hmmmm... very interesting. I'd like to say that I'm less tempted by home made goodies... but I fear it would be a lie. I'm remembering the last time I made a batch of shortbread butter cookies because I had a hankering for one. I downed the entire batch in a day or two! Perhaps they fall into the trifecta category? Sugar, salt & fat for sure! Maybe I just need to adjust my recipes to make them less addictive.

      I wish I was the sort of person who could do what you describe in the last paragraph, but alas, it would seem that I lack the "moderation" gene when it comes to certain foods. I do much better if I just don't have them around. Those giant Costco containers of salted cashews spell trouble for me!

      It's funny though, I don't react that way with alcohol or caffeine. I'm perfectly satisfied with one glass of wine, or one cup of coffee. Well, at least I don't have to worry about becoming an alcoholic! :-)

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    2. You're onto something with that first impulse, I think. I also end up doing the same thing if I replace a meal with a snack or spread it out too much, some part of me doesn't register when I've had enough

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  9. I totally get what you are saying that some things just beg for "more" and aren't necessarily more enjoyable or satisfying than alternate things would be.
    I haven't ever tried drugs because I am a consummate rule follower and I don't drink because I have alcohol intolerance, but I have a caffeine addiction that could vie any heroine user's "need".

    I love the taste of tea and Diet Coke but wouldn't water be as thirst quenching. (NO...I slapped my face for even thinking that)

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    1. OK... so I'm starting to think that internal wiring may come into play with this topic too. I like tea, but there isn't enough money in the world to get me to drink a diet Coke! And I could never be a caffeine addict, I just start to feel horrible after more than about one caffeinated beverage. Chocolate, on the other hand...

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  10. I was just thinking the same thing. We had cake for my husband's birthday, and I kept wanting to eat more of it because I thought it would be/should have been more satisfying. The same goes for a lot of other things that I eat too much of or do a lot.

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    1. For me, cake with frosting is the WORST! It just never, ever tastes nearly as good as I think it should. I think (hope) I've finally learned my lesson with that one though, and I feel less tempted by it. Chocolate, on the other hand...

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