“Just one” is one of the most common self-deceptions around food. The first bite activates reward circuits, creating desire for more. Your own history is the evidence that matters: think of the last five times you had “just one” of a specific food — if four ended with eating more than intended, “just one” isn’t realistic for you with that food.
This companion explores the “just one” lie, the history test, why some foods defeat moderation through bliss point engineering, the honest assessment questions, and the alternative: don’t start. (4 min read)
Known defects on this page:
- em dashes were set without spaces The site's style spaces its dashes; 351 pages carried them un-spaced, and every one was corrected.
- We overuse the em dash in our prose. We use the em dash more often than easy reading allows, and we are changing how we punctuate.
Written by AI, directed and approved by me. How this is made →