Discover the Satisfaction Factor - Intuitive Eating Principle 5
Food is more than just fuel! We need to eat for physical and emotional satisfaction. Enjoying tasty food is part of the human experience and it is culturally intended to bring us together. Imagine connecting with others over a boring salad without dressing.
People often fear that if they allow themselves to eat pleasurable foods, they won't be able to stop. But really, allowing all foods will prevent overeating and binges.
Discover the satisfaction factor is the is the fifth principle of a framework known as Intuitive Eating. If you’d like to learn more about the first four principles, check out these posts:
What is intuitive eating?
Intuitive eating is a non-diet approach to eating that was developed by two registered dietitians, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. There are 10 principles of intuitive eating with a goal of helping you improve your relationship with food and your body.
Reject the diet mentality
Honor your hunger
Make peace with food
Challenge the food police
Discover the satisfaction factor
Feel your fullness
Cope with your emotions with kindness
Respect your body
Movement - feel the difference
Honor your health - gentle nutrition
New to intuitive eating and want to learn more? Check out this blog post.
Deprivation results in backlash eating
Have you ever been here?
You really want some sour cream and onion potato chips, but decide to opt for a rice cake instead because that is a "healthier" choice. The rice cake doesn't quite cut it, so you have another. Still not satisfied, you try eating some carrots. Maybe it's the crunch that you are looking for?
Because you are unable to fill the void of the craving for potato chips using alternate foods, you eventually eat the family-size bag of chips. This causes you to feel guilty and you commit to "starting over" tomorrow.
There is an alternative scenario.
You really want some sour cream and onion potato chips, so you decide to have some sour cream and onion potato chips. Because you know that the chips won't be very filling on their own, you decide to pair them with some cut up veggies and a dip. You find that you feel satisfied after a handful or two of chips along with the veggies and dip. Your tastebuds, your belly, and your brain are happy!
It’s okay to enjoy your food. Many people are fearful of letting pleasure into the eating experience because they worry they will seek food in an uncontrollable fashion. However, quite the opposite tends to be true. Deprivation is often what leads to backlash eating. Allowing all foods and eating foods that you enjoy will result in self-limiting eating.
How to discover the satisfaction factor
Step 1 - Ask yourself what you REALLY want to eat
If you have been dieting for a long time and have followed many rules to avoid eating, you may not know what you like to eat!
When you diet, you are often told what to eat and you never ask yourself what actually sounds good. So seriously, ask yourself. What do you want to eat? Think present tense! No need to lament the past or worry about how you will "burn it off" later.
Step 2 - Discover the pleasure of the palate
The art of eating needs to be relearned - without bias! Explore the sensual qualities of food. Allow experimentation! Practice pleasing your palate.
Explore the sensual qualities of food, which include:
Taste
Texture
Aroma
Appearance
Temperature
Volume/filling capacity
Respect your individual taste buds. Everybody has different taste preferences. It's okay if you don't like the same foods as other people. This is why structured meal plans are often unhelpful. No one can make food choices for you!
Thank about what you REALLY feel like eating. After experimenting with the sensory qualities of food, take some time to assess what really sounds good. It's also okay to stop eating something if it is not satisfying you.
Step 3 - Make your eating experience enjoyable
Savor your food. When you eat quickly and mindlessly, you don't give yourself the ability to experience the sensual qualities of food. Remember the 3 S's of satisfying eating:
Eat slowly
Eat sensually
Savor every bite
Eat before you get overly hungry. If you eat when you're overly hungry, your biological need for energy takes over the ability to eat mindfully.
Eat in a pleasant environment, as able. Think about restaurants - they ensure that the environment is appealing and inviting. Try to recreate this at home. Use a placemat/tablecloth, attractive dishes, etc.
Provide variety of foods. As able, keep a variety of foods available in your house. You never know what will sound good! Shop for a variety of fruits, vegetables, pasta sauces, seasonings, sweets, etc.
Step 4 - Don’t Settle
Adopt the motto "If you don't love it, don't eat it. If you love it, savor it". It's okay to leave food on your plate. Ditch the clean plate club! Finishing a plate of food that doesn't satisfy you will likely lead to you searching for food that does and may result in you feeling overly full.
Step 5 - Check in: does it still taste good?
Have you ever eaten an entire pint of ice cream and noticed that it doesn't taste quite as good at the end of it as it did at the beginning? This concept is called sensory-specific satiety.
Experiment with this yourself! Rate the satisfaction from the food you are eating at the beginning, then again halfway through, and again at the end. The ratings will likely decrease as you continue eating.
When food no longer tastes good, it's okay to stop eating. This may be a fullness cue! You will always get to eat again and food will taste better when you feel hungry.
It doesn’t have to be perfect
There will be plenty of times that you won't be able to eat exactly what sounds good. Intuitive Eating is not about perfection. It is more about finding a comfortable relationship with food.
If you eat a meal that is not very satisfying for whatever reason (perhaps you overate or you weren't able to eat something that sounded good), it’s okay! The important thing is jumping back into discovering the satisfaction factor at future meals and snacks as you are able.
Bottom line
Discover the satisfaction factor is the fifth principle of intuitive eating. Practicing this principle will help you to ditch the clean plate club and eat the types and amounts of foods that truly satisfy you.
If you are looking for more support in this area, we’d love to guide you inside The Nutrition Reboot Membership.
Up next
Principle 6 - Feel Your Fullness
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