When you ignore what foods satisfy you and settle for the “healthier” option or what you “should” eat, guilt or shame invades your eating experience.
Things that do NOT lead to satisfaction:
- Eating a salad when you want a steak!
- Eating in the middle of a fight with a loved one. Chances are you are not solely focused on the eating experience.
- Eating to ignore your feelings. This is completely normal but we should also build other coping mechanisms!
Steps to regain pleasure from eating:
- Ask yourself what you really want to eat
- Discover the pleasure of the palate
- Make your eating experience more enjoyable
- Don’t settle
- Check in – Does it still taste good?
Step 1: Ask yourself what you really want to eat
Identifying what you truly want to eat by using the pillars of satisfaction can be difficult when leaving the grips of diet culture. Every single diet (ever!) teaches you to ignore what you actually want to eat. Diet culture, and those still stuck in it, often tell you what you “should” eat, for your whole life.
Allow any guilt & shame to pass! Diet culture has taken away the pleasure in eating for many of us. It’s time to reclaim it!
Make a list of foods you actually enjoy. Add them to your grocery list the next time you go shopping and give yourself unconditional permission to eat.
Step 2: Discover the pleasure of the palate
Creating an enjoyable eating experience involves exploring the sensual qualities of food:
- Volume: How much food do you wish to eat right now? You have permission to have seconds or to take home leftovers.
- Taste: Are you craving salty, sweet, savory, etc.?
- Aroma: What smells are most appealing in the moment?
- Texture: Do you want crunchy, creamy, soft, fluid, etc.?
- Temperature: Are you craving something warm or cold?
- Appearance: What colors or shapes are most appealing?
Step 3: Make your eating experience more enjoyable
Different difficulties can arise when trying to make your eating experience more enjoyable. Being stuck in a go-go-go mentality may limit how present you are through the eating process. Working through your lunch break is a distraction from the satisfaction of eating.
The following steps can help you savor your food during a meal or snack:
- Make time to appreciate your food
- Try sitting down at your table or desk
- Take deep breaths before beginning to eat
- Pay attention to the sensations of eating
- Taste each flavor and try to identify them
- Feel your fullness
Step 4: Don’t settle
Know that you are not obligated to finish eating a food just because you took a bite of it. If you don’t love it, don’t eat it! if you love it, savor it. Use the idea of not settling to prioritize your favorite foods.
This can be difficult when thinking of food insecurity; the food you love may not be a viable option. Also, the”clean plate” mentality dismisses this.
Step 5: Check in – Does it still taste good?
Check in with yourself throughout your meals—before, during, and after!
Eating too quickly or not being present during the eating experience hinders your opportunities to check in throughout the experience.
There is no “perfect” intuitive eater! Every interaction you have with food will help you better understand your relationship with food.
We’ve discussed eating your favorite foods and creating a pleasant environment. But, there will be times when you do not have the option to get exactly what you want.
For example, you may be eating over at a friends house and the options there are less than desirable. Or, maybe you’re traveling and remaining flexible because you are traveling with a group.
This is when primal hunger, also known as biological hunger, kicks in and you need food. So, you eat the food available to you.
Understand the importance of nourishing your body, always!
If you enjoyed this blog post make sure you check out our post “Intuitive Eating Principle #4: Challenge the Food Police” here!
Want to learn more about intuitive eating?
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