No need for willpower

Joy and food.

It’s not my style to tell people how they should feel.
As far as I’m concerned, people should feel exactly how they feel.
Who am I to say otherwise?
I am happy to share my feelings and beliefs, though.

One of my beliefs is: It’s healthy, empowering, liberating, delightful, and possible to find joy in food—but not all food.

When we eat hyper-palatable processed foods, we experience a tremendous amount of pleasure. But pleasure is not joy. Pleasure is quick and fleeting. It’s high and then low. It goes away as quickly as it came, leaving us wanting more. Scarcity and pleasure go hand in hand.

Joy, on the other hand, is deeper. Quieter. Calmer. It’s not reliant on things outside of us. We can feel joy when we’re doing nothing but sitting in a park watching the scene in front of us. Or closing our eyes and listening to our breath. Joy lingers like a poem on the tongue. It’s expansive and abundant.

I do not believe it is possible to feel joy from processed, hyper-palatable foods.
Pleasure? Abso-fucking-lutely.
Joy? No.

I believe that in order to feel joy from food, it has to be the kind of food that works in harmony with the body. That’s because the sensation of joy doesn’t come from our senses, it comes from our experiences. Cooking your own healthy food that supports you and keeps you feeling good brings a sense of inner joy that you can access anytime.

When that food also tastes damn good, there’s no longer a need for willpower or self-discipline because you prefer it over anything else. That’s when eating this way becomes a lifestyle instead of a temporary diet you “go on.”

What a lovely thing to find joy in food, and to realize the seed of that possibility is planted in every one of us, and all we have to do is help it grow.

Let’s talk more about the joy you’ve found in a plant based lifestyle over in our Facebook group. Are you filled with joy when following our meal plans? Or maybe you’re making the Caesar Dressing (free on the blog) from this week’s #MollyMadeMeDoIt challenge, and you can drizzle the joy all week. Use the hashtag #FoodJoy, and I’ll connect with you there.

Molly