Pleasure vs. "sustainable joy"

MaggieMae · Post by **MaggieMae** » Sat Jun 25, 2016 4:31 pm

I was watching a TLC reality show (don't judge me

) called MyBig Fat Fabulous Life. She is a 374 pound young woman named Whitney. On this episode, she went to a personal trainer who once helped her lose 100 pounds. Something the trainer said intrigued me. He said, " Whitney likes things that give her pleasure instead of sustainable joy." Hmmm. I had never thought of it like that. I want that pleasure of a candy bar or fast food. I was curious about what you guys think. What does pleasure vs. Sustainable joy mean to you when it comes to food/exercise.

noni · Post by **noni** » Sat Jun 25, 2016 9:02 pm

I would imagine by pleasure he meant, "instant gratification" of eating whatever, whenever.

Sustainable joy? Maybe applying good habits, which would help her shed the weight and gain health and the good feeling of being in control...much like following the No S diet.

Merry · Post by **Merry** » Sun Jun 26, 2016 4:12 am

noni wrote:I would imagine by pleasure he meant, "instant gratification" of eating whatever, whenever.

Sustainable joy? Maybe applying good habits, which would help her shed the weight and gain health and the good feeling of being in control...much like following the No S diet.

I think that's a good way of summing up, and I like knowing that I'm gaining health and self-control as I'm losing weight.

I would also so that for me personally, it's not just a choice between those two things. There is an aspect of daily pleasure (meals I enjoy, people and events I enjoy with or without food), and there is an aspect of delayed pleasure (knowing I can have that candybar on my S days if I want it). Knowing that there is regular enjoyment of food (nothing is forbidden but some things are delayed briefly) is critical for me staying on plan. Without that, then the trainer's statement would just be another twist on "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels," which rings hollow for a lot of people (otherwise we wouldn't be overweight!).

kaalii · Post by **kaalii** » Sun Jun 26, 2016 5:48 am

i think the key word here is "sustainable"...
or, in the line of what noni said, instant gratification vs. sustainable joy...

for me it refers less to "what" i'm eating... but more "when" and "how much" of food... and almost anything in life, basically...
delaying , postponing gratification to the appropriate times and occasions... and quantities that are not ridiculous to common sense... (although common sense nowadays is not necessarily common)...
this includes the moderation too - sometimes "i want it all and i want it now"... and that is also ok... as long as it is sometimes...

but to me sustainable applies to "what" im eating, as well to a point...
for example - sweets: sugar content of certain sweets coming from added sugar or on the other hand, sweetness coming from natural fructose eaten with fruits...
the first one, arguably, tastes better and gives more pleasure... but is addictive and can be harmfull in many ways...
the other one, on the other hand, is a more sustainable type of pleasure because that fructose is packed together naturally with fibre and vitamins so it releases the sugar slower into the bloodstream and shocking less our bodies with fast energy, stimulates/massages/cleans the intestines so they work better, feeds the good gut bacteria, our little helpers in just about any process in the body, gives us precious nutrients that contribute to our wellbeing, health and beauty... and it does taste good and sweet and is full of flavour... if we give it a chance... that is a sustainable joy example for me...
so i take the first one rarely and in small quantities and the second one more often and in bigger quantities... i even have to push myself a bit to have more of the fruits in my daily life as i didnt grow up as a much (more like at all) of a fruit-eater...
this is why in noS diet "no sweets" doesnt mean "no fruits", "never sweets", or "zero sugar"... that is sustainable joy to me...

MaggieMae · Post by **MaggieMae** » Sun Jun 26, 2016 12:41 pm

Great replies! You guys have even made good points on WHY no s is so wonderful. Makes me excited to have an nday tomorrow! Haha

Merry · Post by **Merry** » Sun Jun 26, 2016 8:05 pm

MaggieMae wrote:Great replies! You guys have even made good points on WHY no s is so wonderful. Makes me excited to have an nday tomorrow! Haha

Yes! It's interesting, but I almost always look forward to that first N day after the weekend!

LifeisaBlessing · Post by **LifeisaBlessing** » Tue Jun 28, 2016 1:14 pm

I think it's important to have both, really. If you're miserable on the road to "sustainable joy," how long will you stay on that road before exiting? One of the reasons I employed my NoS mods was to ensure that reduced amounts of food remained as pleasurable as possible. So while I can't indulge in multiple pieces of cake, I can sure have a small slice and stay on plan!

I'm kind of curious if Whitney's trainer took any of her "pleasures" into account when designing the plan he did when she originally lost the 100 pounds. Some of the trainers on these "Biggest Loser"-type of shows are in such a hurry for the clients to get on the "eat tons of veggies and fruit and clean foods, and exercise for at least an hour a day" bandwagon that they forget individual preferences. What happens when your client never embraces "healthy foods" or formal exercise? Are they doomed to stay overweight? How about accepting that they may never eat or exercise ideally (at least in the trainer's opinion), and design a realistic food and exercise plan around the person's personal likes, dislikes, and what he or she can live with on a daily basis?

kaalii · Post by **kaalii** » Tue Jun 28, 2016 5:29 pm

LifeisaBlessing wrote:design a realistic food and exercise plan around the person's personal likes, dislikes, and what he or she can live with on a daily basis?

sounds like a definition of sustainable joy to me