Fullness: Cues and Control
Hunger and fullness cues can feel confusing after years of any combination of dieting, intermittent fasting, overeating, or simply ignoring the cues themselves. If listening to your body sounds like a foreign concept, you are not alone! Children are the most in-tuned with these natural hunger and fullness cues. And as parents offer up, “clean your plate and you can have dessert” those cues begin the slow fade to diminishment.
The good news is that we can re-learn these cues and pay attention to them, and hone we can this skill of listening to our hunger and fullness as we did when we were children.
One of the most important steps to feeling your fullness is SLOWing down. Make a point to not rush through your food like someone might steal it. Turn OFF your phone, laptop, tv, or any other device to totally focus on your meal. Without distraction, you are able to more easily notice your body telling you it is full or hungry. Enjoy your food with all 5 senses. Focus on one sense at a time and think about how you are experiencing your food. Take a full 2 minute break one quarter, half way, and three quarters through your meal. This may seem unnatural at first, but it will get easier as you practice.
It’s important to remain non-judgmental around your transition from less-desirable to more-desirable eating habits. Don’t beat yourself up- rather offer yourself compassion as if you were teaching this technique to a small child with patience and kindness. These habits take time to take root, and you are less likely to be successful without self-compassion.
Rebuilding those hunger and fullness awareness cues can be exciting and even fascinating with some curiosity. You will develop a great trust in your body. Accessing this information leads to true transformation and a more vibration, whole-bodied life. We typically eat several times every day of our life, so enjoying it more fully opens up gratitude and fulfillment.
Some tips to notice your fullness:
Every time before eating, gently ask yourself, “Am I really hungry?”
Check in with your emotions before eating. You may say, “How am I feeling right now?” If your answer is sad, stressed, lonely or anxious, assess if you are attempting to numb those feelings with the comfort of food.
Do those quarterly checks during your eating breaks as mentioned above. Each time ask, “How full am I right now?” This is an important muscle to develop!
Take at look at your eating environment and notice if there is anything that will distract you from eating your food with all 5 senses?
If you are eating from a place of hunger and not simply because food is available, mindfully use every sense to enjoy your food.
Here are a few other influencers of food choices that you want to be aware of, so you can notice if you are purposefully overriding your hunger and fullness cues:
Negative emotions such as fear, boredom, loneliness, anxiety, stress.
Positive emotions such as excitement, desire to “treat” yourself for hard work.
Environments such as vacation, travel, workplace break room treats.
Social events like work functions, having visitors in town, parties.
Other events such as birthday parties, holidays, anniversaries.
And your own behavioral choice to ignore hunger and eat past fullness.
