Category: Companions
The Processed Food Industry
On Michael Moss’s reporting, the processed food industry engineers foods to maximize craveability, including a “bliss point” for sugar, the level that maximizes pleasure. “Vanishing caloric density” is said to leave your brain registering less than you ate, on reporting rather than measurement. Dynamic contrast (crispy and creamy) prevents sensory boredom. On that account, these aren’t accidents but design. This companion covers what “hyper-palatable” means, the key engineering techniques, and what this means for you. (3 min read)
The Social Media Food
Social media food content is engineered to maximize engagement, not support your health. Spence’s review reports that viewing food images activates reward-related brain areas and increases salivation — the authors coin the term “visual hunger” and argue the response is amplified by how much food imagery there now is. Whether that translates into eating more is a reasonable next step this series has not measured. Algorithms show more of what keeps you scrolling. Audit your feed: does food content inspire healthy choices or trigger overeating? Curate deliberately — unfollow triggers, follow support. This companion covers why food content is prevalent,…
The Sugar Industry
Documents revealed in 2016 show the Sugar Research Foundation funded, and set the objective for, a 1967 Harvard review that blamed heart disease on fat rather than sugar — though that it shaped the conclusions is circumstantial. Research by Kearns exposed this manipulation that influenced dietary guidelines for decades. Industry strategies: funding favorable research, attacking critics, creating doubt. Understanding this history explains confusing dietary advice and warrants skepticism toward industry-funded research. This companion covers the historical manipulation and modern implications. (3 min read)
The Gray Area
The gray area is where sustainable change actually lives. Research by Fairburn shows perfection is unsustainable; failure triggers abandonment. But “pretty good” — eating well most of the time, allowing for imperfection — is where long-term success happens. Comfort in this middle ground prevents all-or-nothing cycles. Paradoxically, accepting imperfection often produces better results than demanding perfection. This companion covers the problem with extremes, what the gray area offers, and building gray area comfort. (3 min read)
The Black and White Thinking
Black-and-white thinking creates a trap: once you eat something “bad,” the day is “ruined,” so you keep eating. Research by Mann shows prohibition increases craving — forbidden foods become obsession. Foods exist on a spectrum from more beneficial to less beneficial. A nuanced view allows imperfect choices without catastrophe. This companion covers the black-and-white pattern, how it hurts you (the “what the hell” effect, restriction backlash), the gray alternative, and making the shift. (3 min read)
The Diet Start Date
The clean start date is an illusion that lets you keep eating poorly today while feeling good about future intentions. Research by Steel on procrastination shows waiting serves psychological functions — permission to continue, illusion of commitment, avoiding present discomfort. Monday has no special willpower. The best time to start was the past; the second best time is now. This companion covers the psychology of future starts, why it fails, the case for now, and what starting immediately looks like. (3 min read)
The Industrial Food System
The food industry’s goal is selling more food, not improving health — and these goals often conflict. The engineering is measured, not alleged: hyper-palatable combinations are quantitatively defined and exceed ratios found in nature, 62% of foods in the US food system database meet the criteria, and the “bliss point” is a real per-product calculation — though for fat there is no bliss point, so it can be added without a ceiling. The most useful number for a shopper: 49% of items labeled low, reduced or no sugar, fat or sodium still qualify as hyper-palatable. The wider claims about marketing…
The Compassionate One
Compassion and standards aren’t opposites — they’re partners. The central result is counterintuitive and comes from four experiments: self-criticism after a failure creates fear of failure, undermines performance and can lead people to give up entirely, while self-compassion after a failure increases motivation to improve. So compassion isn’t the consolation prize for lower standards; it’s what keeps standards reachable. The compassionate one has high standards and responds to falling short with kindness rather than cruelty — they don’t lower the bar, they change what happens after. Of the framework’s three parts, self-kindness is the facet most strongly tied to adaptive…
The Negative Self-Talk
You speak to yourself about eating in ways you’d never speak to a friend. The negative self-talk feels like truth but it’s a habit — and it is an input to the behavior it condemns: self-criticism after a lapse produces distress, distress produces eating as escape, and that produces more self-criticism. Self-compassion interrupts the loop at the first step. The evidence is more specific than “be nice to yourself”: across four experiments, self-criticism after failure undermined performance and made people more likely to give up, while self-compassion after failure increased motivation to improve. In a randomized trial — 60 women…
The Eating Environment
Where you eat shapes how you eat. Research by Robinson shows eating while distracted (TV, screens) increases how much you eat at the time, and increases what you eat an hour or two later by nearly twice as much. Eating at a table with minimal distractions supports awareness; eating in front of screens, in the car, or standing in the kitchen supports mindless overconsumption. Designate an eating spot, remove screens, sit for all eating. This companion covers why location matters, common locations and their effects, and designing better. (3 min read)