Intuitive Eating: Discover Satisfaction
Finding satisfaction is one of the most powerful principles of intuitive eating. Working on this principle will make practicing the others so much easier.
How would you define satisfaction? What does it feel like to know you’re satisfied? How does your body feel? What emotions come up for you when you feel satisfied?
To me, it’s that feeling when I’ve eaten something that was absolutely what I felt like. It’s a fully pleasurable experience - from my hunger, to the actual food, to my fullness and to the thoughts in my head. For me, I get more satisfaction when I eat when I’m moderately hungry to start with and until I’m comfortably full.
Start by asking yourself: what will satisfy me right now?
Think through the following:
Ask yourself what you really want to eat - and remind yourself you have unconditional permission to eat (learn more here).
Think about what qualities of food are going to satisfy you the most right now - what taste, texture, aroma, temperature or cuisine are you in the mood for?
Check in with your hunger, and consider what kind of fullness you’re needing to reach. For example, a satisfying snack to get you through the afternoon may not necessarily need to fill you up, so that you can be moderately hungry again by dinnertime.
Create a pleasant eating environment. Work out what’s practical for you in that moment. Maybe you could plate the food up and sit down to eat it? Or minimise distractions and eat the food mindfully? Set the dinner table and even light a candle?
Don’t settle. If you don’t love something, don’t eat it.
A woman in one of our workshops shared a story about a friend who loved store-bought packets of biscuits, but she never allowed herself to have them. As you’d expect, this meant she increased her cravings for them and when she opened a packet she tended to finish it quickly. After she gave herself unconditional permission to eat, she realised she didn’t even like the taste of store bought biscuits! You might find the same - when you’re not eating from a place of restriction, you realise certain foods actually don’t satisfy you and you’d find more satisfaction in something else.
It doesn’t always have to be perfect.
Obviously, you’re not always going to be able to feel perfectly satisfied with every meal - intuitive eating is not about perfection! You might cook a meal but it just didn’t turn out that good, or you might have packed lunch for work but by lunchtime you don’t feel like it and don’t want to waste it either. When this happens, remind yourself there are so many meals ahead of you - most likely in just another three to four hours! Know you’ll find other opportunities to find pleasure and satisfaction in your eating.
The more you discover and pursue satisfaction in your eating, the more you’ll uncomplicate your relationship with food.
This blog is not a substitute for medical, psychological, or dietetic advice, and is for informational and educational purposes only. If you or somebody you love is struggling, contact your GP, or call/text 1737 to speak to a licensed therapist.