If you never feel full or satisfied after eating, would you like to start feeling your fullness? Do you struggle to feel and acknowledge that you are full? Have you been dieting so long, you’ve lost touch with your body’s signals?
When we are restricting, and only allow ourselves a certain number of calories, carbs, fat grams, etc., we tend to use that external cue to tell us what to eat.
Our internal cues for regulating our food intake is that we have hunger, and we start to feel full. However, when dieting, we tend to ignore our hunger, and we eat beyond our fullness.
We are designed to use those internal cues. We were created to feel hunger for survival and to ensure proper nourishment. We are also made to know when we’ve had enough. However, we start messing with those cues very early on.
When I had my first baby, I was given a log sheet to fill out when I nursed her. I was told to wake her up every 2 hours so that I could feed her. In addition, I was to feed her for at least 15-30 minutes for each feeding. Now, when she was hungry at the 1-hour mark, I thought something was wrong. Maybe I should put a pacifier in her mouth so I can hold her off until the 2-hour mark?
Actually, what was happening was distrust of our design! Our desire to get the baby on a schedule, or to fill them up so that they can go a long stretch between feedings, is the start of us ignoring fullness. As they grow to be toddlers and children, we make them eat all of the food on their plates so that they may have dessert. This is often continued into adulthood.
Why do you never feel full?
There are many reasons we never feel full or eat past the point of initial fullness. Did you have to clean your plate? Were there starving children somewhere that you were saving by eating past your fullness? It could be that we are distracted while we eat. Therefore, we don’t feel our body’s cues.
Maybe we are filling ourselves with food to fill an emotional need. Perhaps, we have X number of carbs, calories, points left, so we feel entitled to them.
Additionally, we may be eating with such urgency due to biological hunger, that we blow right past the cues to stop. If you are constantly undereating, you will feel an insatiable hunger until your body feels properly fueled.
So how do we learn to pay attention to our bodies? Above all, how can we learn to trust and honor our amazing bodies? I’m going to outline some tips to start feeling your fullness.
Start feeling your fullness:
1. Remove Distractions
Do you eat in front of the TV? Or maybe you scroll through your emails or social media while you eat your meals? Do you frequently snack in the car? All of these activities can distract us while we eat.
We aren’t mindful of what our food tastes like or when we start feeling content. I challenge you to eat at your kitchen or dining room table, every meal. No TV, phone, or computer. Just the food.
2. Check-in
If you haven’t been able to determine your sweet spot for fullness, maybe establish some check-ins while you eat. Maybe a few minutes into the meal, you rate your hunger. A little while later, check again.
Do you want more food? Is it your stomach that wants it, or do you want more because it tastes good? No judgments, just check to see what you need and why you need it.
3. Take Your Time
You probably know this already, but slowing down during a meal helps your food register in your brain. When we eat slowly and mindfully, we can feel ourselves gradually come to fullness.
Think back to a time when you felt stuffed. What was your speed of eating? Was it rushed?
4. Stop Dieting
When we diet, we completely ignore our internal cues for eating and are completely driven by external cues—how many calories left, macros needed, etc.
Are you underfed most days? Have you ever overeaten on “cheat day”, or when you are eating a forbidden food? How about the weekend leading up to a diet?
Let your body be your guide. Trust your body, not a calculator, to tell you when you’ve had enough.
5. It’s Okay to Leave Food
Many of the people I’ve worked with struggle with food waste. They were taught as children to eat what was served. All of it!
When you start to feel full, it is okay to stop. Stuffing yourself to the point of discomfort benefits no one! Save your leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch. Start off with smaller portions, knowing you have full permission to get more if you need it.
Trust Your Body: Start Feeling Your Fullness
One fear when people start their intuitive eating journey, is that they will never feel full. That they will be unable able to stop eating if they allow their favorite foods.
Your body will let you know when you are full. You just need to trust it! You can do this! Today, you can start feeling your fullness and break the chains of dieting!
About the author
Erin is a registered dietitian and diabetes educator with almost 20 years of experience. She specializes in weight-inclusive diabetes care and prevention, intuitive eating, fitness, and women’s health. She works as a consultant and writer in the health and wellness space. Erin is passionate about empowering people to manage their own health and to have peace with food.