Who Designed Your Craving? (Hint: It Wasn’t You)

Why can’t you stop eating ultra-processed foods? It’s not a lack of willpower. In this episode, I break down 17 techniques the food industry uses to override your hunger and fullness signals, and give you simple checks to spot every one of them.As a lifestyle medicine physician, I hear it constantly: “I know better, but I can’t stop.” Here’s what I want you to know. Food companies employ scientists whose entire job is engineering hyperpalatable foods that keep you eating past full. In this episode, we look at the bliss point, vanishing caloric density, the fat and carb combination that barely exists in nature, and why variety packs are designed to defeat your brain’s natural off switch. Then I walk you through my Food Defense Protocol: practical steps for reading food labels, catching hidden sugars, auditing liquid calories, and building healthy eating habits that work with your biology instead of against it. If you’ve been blaming yourself for food cravings and overeating, this conversation will change how you see every package in your pantry.What you’ll learn:* What the bliss point is and how companies calculate the exact sugar, salt, and fat ratio that maximizes cravings* Why foods that melt in your mouth bypass your fullness signals* The fat and carbohydrate combo that hijacks your brain’s reward system* How hidden sugars get split across five or six names on the ingredient list* The Food Defense Protocol: seven checks to protect yourself from ultra-processed foods* Why liquid calories are the biggest blind spot in most dietsDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/who-designed-your-craving-hint-itCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe