SATISFIED, NOT FULL!

Chances are, if you’re carrying excess body fat, then you may have developed a habit of eating until “full.”

To maintain a healthy weight without dieting or calorie counting, it’s going to require the development of a NEW habit: eating until you’re “satisfied.”

They’re not the same thing.

As humans, we’re born with physical cues to let us know when to eat and when to stop. That’s the purpose of hunger and satisfaction.

However, because we’re immersed in a culture that encourages eating accordingly to a clock and cleaning our plates (with increasingly larger portions), we’ve stopped paying attention to our physical cues and now seek external factors to determine when and how much to eat.

So, what are the differences between eating until “satisfied” vs eating until “full.”

You can physically FEEL the difference between the two in your own body.

FULLNESS feels like:

a heavy stretched stomach

uncomfortable

sluggish; avoid working out

SATISFIED feels like:

neutral; no feeling in the stomach

light with no heaviness or discomfort

energetic; could go for a long walk

If you’re stepping away from the table feeling “full,” you’re likely in a caloric surplus. When aiming for maintenance or a calorie deficit, you should feel “satisfied.”

Oftentimes, our body provides us with a physical cue – like sighing or putting our fork down and leaning back in our chair -to let us know we’ve hit our point of “satisfaction.”

If you’re not paying close attention, it’s easy to miss this signal, which is why it’s best to eat your meals at a table while undistracted.

Satisfied feels GOOD.

Full is when you’ve gone beyond the point of good and find yourself in the land of regret. Ever found yourself saying “I wish I hadn’t eaten that much- now I don’t feel so good”

Full rarely feels better than satisfied, but if you’re someone who seeks that heavy feeling at the end of every meal, the first step is understanding why.

What was in those last two bites that weren’t in the first two?

The key is learning how to master your hunger and fullness cues using mindful eating techniques, so you never have to diet again.

Click here for a free coaching call to help manage your hunger and fullness cues.