Finding your Fullness





                                                                      

                                                  

    Ever see something so delicious that your mouth starts watering and you can't wait to taste it? Then as soon as you do, you just keep eating it as it tastes way to good to stop? The end result of feeling so stuffed. 

Yes of course because we all do it or have done it. 

     We can look at that as mindless eating. Not being in tune with what we are doing. When we are mindful, we create the ability to feel our fullness. When we are mindless, we pass the feeling of being satiated to just the feeling of discomfort from being so full.

You know the saying " eat to live, not live to eat"? That's being mindful. Any extra energy we are not using only gets stored as fat anyways. Definately not on my list of things to do today. :)

     Not only do we cause ourselves the discomfort of being so full but we also stretch our stomach. The more we do that, the more you will end up eating each time because your stomach will need more food to feel satisfied. This is one reason why when we start a new diet we feel so hungry the first few days. Our stomachs are to big to feel satified with the smaller amounts of food it is now getting, However your stomach will start to shrink and will become more satified with the amounts of food it is now getting.

Here are a few pointers to help us to feel our fullness:

1. Eat slowly and enjoy the taste of what you are eating. After all you worked hard to cook it, you deserve to enjoy it.

2. Eat 5-6 smaller meals a day rather than eating 3 large ones to avoid getting to hungry. Skipping meals is a huge no no. You are just setting yourself up on that one. 

3. Take a break during eating to listen to what your body is telling you. After about 20 minutes you should have a pretty good idea if you are still hungry or not.

4. Have conversation after a few bites to help slow down your eating. Great time for the family to catch up on their day.

Did you know that the average size of a human stomach is about the size of your closed fist. This is when it is empty though. It can stretch to fit about a pint of food.

Here is a chart I copied off the internet I thought was to great not to share.

                               

* Remember to be mindful, take your time and enjoy your food and may you be Nutritionally Well.