That subject was something brought up in my Weight Watchers meeting yesterday. I had never heard of it before. But as she started to explain it, it made complete sense. It has been defined as food consumption that is not driven by the need for calories but just for pleasure. Hmmm, pleasure eating... Been there, done that. The thought stayed with me as the day went on. How many times have I eaten, not because I was hungry but because I was emotional? Most often its associated with negative feelings. If I am depressed, sad or upset its so easy to walk to the fridge take something out and eat it. It dulls the pain of whatever I am going through. Those that suffer from hedonic hunger are similar to gamblers or drug-dependent persons that are preoccupied with their habit even when they are not engaging in it. They experience frequent thoughts, feelings and urges about food. These may be prompted by food related cues such as the smell or sight of food, talking, reading or even just thinking about food. That's a lot of cues.....
In talking with my cousin yesterday, we discussed the fact that we are trying to view food simply as fuel. She mentioned that she doesn't want to view it as "Ok now I need to work off this huge plate of Carne asada fries I just shoved down my face" but rather "I'm going to eat this fruit, yogurt and nuts because it will fuel my body." Later in researching the subject of hedonic hunger there was a paragraph that brought this thought back up into my head:
"Subjective feelings of hunger are more likely to reflect our hedonic hunger level than our body's actual energy needs. Our body's hunger signals are not closely linked to the amount of food we are likely to eat at the next meal or snack. Satiety (the state or condition of fullness gratified beyond the point of satisfaction) has only a small effect on the pleasantness of foods. It's the availability and palatability of foods which keep us eating."
It made total sense. So many times I have eaten when I wasn't hungry. It was hedonic hunger, not my body's actual need for fuel. So now I have the desire to learn how to control that hunger. In addition to just normal 'self-control' I have read of several ways to help fight against hedonic hunger. So this will be a new road in my journey to fixing me.
This concept of hedonic hunger deeply interests and fascinates me. I look forward to learning more about what triggers it, how to avoid it and get it out of my life!
Hope you have enjoy your day and remember, food is our fuel!
~Chrissy
My Progress
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This is an interesting thing to think on.... here's where my mind went with this topic:
Jehovah created everything with a specific purpose and intent. He created food as fuel (and bear with me for my comparative example) and he created sex for procreation. Both of these activities have a purpose - but he also created both of these activities to be pleasurable. There is no specific NEED for food to taste good and there is no NEED for sex to feel good - but they DO. And Jehovah designed them specifically to be that way.
Where we go wrong (I think) is our loss of balance between the intent and the pleasure. Jehovah is a perfectly BALANCED God. And I might even take it so far as to say that THAT is what our imperfection is: our loss of balance. We get lost in the pleasure and lose the intent.
Our culture has developed to revolve around pleasure-seeking activities and the two that give people MOST pleasure are eating and sex. Look at the media- what does it focus on? What does it glorify? Both are found CHEAP, EASY, and in ABUNDANCE.
Just as we are bombarded with photos of naked women and images of sex everywhere we go - we are also inundated with images of delicious, tantalizing food. Satan uses these DESIGNED flesh-gratifying things to cause us to seek an imbalance. With us being "broken" creatures - our tendency is to NOT have balance.... we are weak. So, quite often - we get lost in the pleasure and lose the intent... which is where that honest, self-examination comes in.
So, I don't necessarily think eating for pleasure is WRONG - just as having sex with my husband and NOT getting pregnant isn't wrong. The err, to me, is in the approach and the level of balance that is sought.
I EAT - and enjoy.... but I try to ask myself: "Am I going TOO FAR with this? Is this TOO much pleasure? Am I falling out of balance?"
I struggle with this everyday. I eat for pleasure ALOT. So this question is on my mind - ALOT :) And I feel that if I DENY myself eating for pleasure COMPLETELY - then I am out of balance the other way... and not enjoying life as Jehovah intended for me to.
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