The Law of Diminishing Returns (With Food)

There is a law in economics which states that the more a consumer has of something, the less they want it.  As supply goes up, demand goes down.  This is what volume pricing is all about.  If merchants want to sell you a lot of one thing, then the price per unit has to go down.  Why would I buy a mega-pack of anything if the unit price was the same as buying a smaller amount?  They have to make it “worth my while”.

This Law, I have recently realized, applies to food as well.  When I am feeling hunger, and when I take the first bite of something delicious, I will definitely rate that bite with a perfect “10”.  Maximum enjoyment and taste delight. 

However, something happens to my taste perception as I continue to eat.  As my hunger is satisfied, my returns diminish.  My enjoyment level and my taste delight go down with each bite.  Think of how good the first bite of a dessert tastes compared to how the last bite tastes, and more importantly, how your enjoyment levels change.  The score can easily go from a “10” to a “4” during the same dessert, right?

Because the HCG protocol represents a period of very low calorie consumption, when only a small amount of food satisfies me, and where I have to stay between 3.5 and 5.5 on the hunger scale, I am now much more focused on what my body is telling me.  I have to pay attention to my hunger.  I want to never hit “hungry” or “full”.  And, as I learn to stop eating when I hit satisfied, I find that I am truly enjoying me food more. 

When hunger is satisfied, and I keep eating, it is no longer about hunger.  And, because of the diminishing returns, it isn’t completely about enjoying the taste of food.  It is about something else.  I am learning through this protocol to pinpoint exactly when physical hunger ends and emotional hunger begins. 

More food does nothing for taste delight or emotional fulfillment.  In a society of abundance and gluttony, learning to honor my body’s hunger signals is just that—learned.  By simplifying all of my other eating variables on the Mind:Body protocol, I am successfully honing in on hunger and satiety.

This is a great thing.  Learning to enjoy food to the fullest is healthy and essential to permanent weight control.