that eating is a biological instinct,
and like any other biological instinct,
our instincts around food do not easily conform to our will.

The diet industry would have you believe that weight control is a simple function of “choosing the right foods” or “not eating too much,”

but the reality is,
willpower can not overcome what is instinctive—
instincts that are influenced by various factors,
including, but not limited to,
our physical hungers, our emotional state, our fears of food scarcity (whether ‘rational’ or created by a history of restrictive eating), etc.

For short periods of time,
I may seem to gain control over my instincts,

 control over my breath, for instance—

but at some point,
if I try to control it long enough,
I will inevitably start gasping for air.

 And so it is with food.

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