Chapter 6

Principle Six

Discover the Satisfaction Factor

The Japanese have the wisdom to promote pleasure as one of their goals of healthy living. In our fury to be thin and healthy, we often overlook one of the most basic gifts of existence—the pleasure and satisfaction that can be found in the eating experience. When you eat what you really want, in an environment that is inviting and conducive, the pleasure you derive will be a powerful force in helping you feel satisfied and content. By providing this experience for yourself, you will find that it takes much less food to decide you’ve had enough.

Why Satisfaction and Pleasure Are Important

Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.

—Voltaire

Unfortunately, for so many in our culture, the pleasure of eating promotes feelings of guilt and wrongdoing, and, of course, dieting plays right into this ethic. It causes you to make sacrifices and settle for less. But if you regularly settle for an unsatisfying food or an unappetizing eating experience, satisfaction will not be the outcome; rather, you are likely to continue searching for a satisfying food, even though you are no longer hungry. Fortunately, studies show that Epicurean eating pleasure—a concept that involves an ongoing appreciation of the aesthetics of foods, their symbolic value, and the pursuit of pleasure—is correlated with smaller portions and higher well-being, yet is not associated with higher body mass index (Cornil and Chandon 2015). Eat what is truly satisfying and pleasurable, without attaching morality, and achieve increased psychological and biological health! It is no wonder that the French, who revere the pleasure of eating, have the third lowest rate of heart disease in the world.

Satisfaction is the hub of the wheel of Intuitive Eating. It is the touchstone for all of the Intuitive Eating principles (see figure 6.1). Each principle promotes your ability to find the most satisfaction in your meal. You will find that eating when you are moderately hungry, rather than ravenous or not hungry at all, will ensure more satisfaction. When you eat without a diet mentality, while making peace with food and challenging the food police, you’ll be free to discover satisfaction. You will receive more pleasure from a meal that is eaten without emotional turmoil. Respect for your body comes with an appreciation for the wonders of your body’s many capacities, including the enjoyment of food. Moving your body regularly and eating with an intention to feel good physically allows for far more satisfaction in life in general—and especially in eating.

Keep in mind that honoring each of the Intuitive Eating principles will give you the best chance of achieving the greatest satisfaction in your meals. In this chapter, you will be offered exercises to help you better understand this connection, so that you may regain your satisfaction and pleasure in eating.

What Do You Really Want to Eat?

In order to feel satisfied when eating, the first question to ask is, “What do I really want to eat?” This may be difficult for you, if you have never been asked about what you liked or wanted to eat. Begin by exploring your childhood eating experiences by answering the following questions:

Sensory Considerations

Respect your taste buds’ preferences. You may have true life-long preferences or dislikes for certain tastes or foods, but it’s important to consider that your tastes may change over time. You may have gotten caught up in a rebellious food fight, thinking that you didn’t like certain foods, and be surprised to find that you now like them. As an Intuitive Eater, be committed to choosing the foods that you truly enjoy, without applying moralistic judgment. Remember, only you can know what pleases and satisfies your taste buds. Don’t settle—if you don’t love it, don’t eat it, and if you love it, savor it!

The following questions will help you identify what it is you truly want to eat. It is most helpful to answer these questions when you are moderately hungry—perhaps a 3 or a 4 on the Description of Hunger and Fullness Sensations chart in chapter 2. As you go through the sensory considerations, ask yourself what feels right to you in this moment.

What Taste Sounds Appealing?

Consider these taste qualities: savory, sweet, salty, buttery, rich, bitter, tart, smoky, hot and spicy, bland, or mild.

Would something primarily sweet, such as a yam or a cookie, offer you satisfaction? Consider the following questions: Was your last meal primarily sweet? Did you have something like sweetened cereal and a piece of toast with jelly for breakfast? Would your enjoyment of the sweet flavor of the foods you’ve already eaten inform the flavor you’d like to experience right now?

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Think about foods that are salty—a pickle, for example—or perhaps a savory flavor, like pasta with a rich tomato sauce. Imagine that salty or savory taste on your tongue. Does it feel right to you at this moment?

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Now think about foods that are mild and even bland, perhaps cottage cheese and fruit. Imagine that mild flavor on your tongue and in your body. Is this the right flavor for you right now?

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Is there another flavor sensation that appeals to you?

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What Texture Sounds Interesting?

Consider these textures which a food or meal offers: smooth, creamy, crunchy, chewy, crispy, crumbly, hard, soft, flaky, gooey, mushy, sticky, greasy, dry, moist, thick, thin, heavy, light, or lumpy.

  1. Imagine the sensation of a smooth, silky food, such as pudding, on your tongue.
  2. Now, think about eating something crunchy. Would you like to crunch on lettuce leaves in a salad or perhaps some corn chips?
  3. Maybe smooth or crunchy don’t appeal to you right now, but something chewy is more desirable. Perhaps a steak or a bagel would give you that sensation.
  4. Is there another texture that’s more appealing?
  5. Perhaps you want a variety of textures in this meal.
  6. You might find that none of these textures fits the bill in this moment and that you’d rather have the experience of drinking without chewing. Then a smoothie might do it.

What texture would you like right now?

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What food or foods would provide that texture?

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What Distinct Aromas Are Appealing?

Much of the pleasure of eating comes from smelling. People who have a diminished sense of smell receive much less pleasure when they eat. Each of the foods you identified above for its appealing tastes and textures may also have a distinct aroma that may or may not be appealing to you.

In this moment, is there an aroma that comes to mind that would spark your palate?

What Temperature of Food Is Enticing?

Another sensory consideration is the temperature of food. Imagine being inside the house while it’s raining and cold outside. You may be sitting in front of a roaring fire and reading a good book when your first hunger signals emerge.

Does a bowl of steaming soup seem right at that moment?

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Now, imagine that you’re lying on a lounge chair on the beach on a hot summer day, watching the ocean waves breaking.

A bowl of soup may not fit in this scenario. Does a cold milkshake or a cool bowl of fresh fruit with cottage cheese feel perfect?

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Consider the temperature of your beverages in making your meal more satisfying.

If you want coffee, would you prefer it hot or more tepid?

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Or, perhaps, would you like tea, either iced or hot?

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If you’re drinking water, would you prefer it with ice or at room temperature?

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What About the Appearance of Food?

The look of the food on your plate can affect how satisfying your eating experience will be. Experiment with the following image of a chicken dinner. Visualize a plate filled with a poached chicken breast whose skin looks barely cooked. Next to it is steamed cauliflower and some mashed potatoes. Is this beige meal appealing to you? Does this image provide a pleasurable meal? Now, transform that meal by considering color. The chicken is roasted to a golden brown color. Replace the cauliflower with grilled asparagus spears, and replace the mashed potatoes with yams topped with a bit of cinnamon. Disregarding how much you like or dislike the actual foods on the two plates, consider how much these changes to the mere appearance of the meal change your enthusiasm for eating it.

When you think about what you really want to eat, ask the following questions:

Would I like something colorful and diverse or uncomplicated and bland looking?

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How would any of these appearances affect the satisfaction of your meal?

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Some other aspects of food appearance could be vertical height, such as a tower of food; flat, like a quesadilla; different textures and shapes and sizes of items on the plate; and the arrangement of food (all in one bowl or on separate plates, like an assortment of appetizers or items on a buffet table).

How Do You Feel about the Volume and Sustaining Capacity of the Food?

The last sensual quality to examine is the volume of food, which will be experienced in your stomach rather than through your senses. Some foods, like a hearty bean chili, digest slowly. If you eat a big salad or steamed vegetables, they’ll fill you up right away but not give you much satiety, because they digest more quickly. When you’re choosing what to eat, consider the following:

Do you want something heavy and hearty that will fill you up and that will sustain you for a long time, like macaroni and cheese or beef stew?

Or do you want something airy, light, or small, which might not fill your stomach or might not hold you very long, such as popcorn, yogurt, or an energy bar?

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Now that you have considered the taste, texture, aroma, temperature, appearance, and volume of the potential foods you will choose for a meal, store these sensual considerations in your mind. Remember them each time you ask yourself, What do I really want to eat right now? Consider each of your senses. Then think about the meal as a whole. You may not be able to satisfy each of your senses in every meal. That’s okay. Choose the components that are most important in the moment.

The Importance of Eating Slowly and Mindfully

Inner awareness, or mindfulness, is a critical part of the entire process of Intuitive Eating. Staying present allows you to feel the direct experience of your body and the many sensations of eating. To help you practice this mindfulness, we have developed the Intuitive Eating Awareness Training (iEAT).

iEAT Scripted Activity

This is a guided eating activity to help cultivate your awareness and experience of the many sensory nuances of eating, which will ultimately contribute to your satisfaction in eating.

Get Ready

It would be helpful for you to read aloud the script (below) and record it—for instance, as a voice memo on your smartphone, which you can replay during the exercise, but be sure to turn the ringer off on your phone so you are not disturbed by a call. This will allow you to place all of your attention on the eating process (rather than trying to juggle the reading with your eating experience). Then follow these next five steps:

  1. Select a time and a place in which you can eat without distraction.
  2. Choose a small food that you would like to eat that does not require utensils (such as dried fruit, nuts, a pretzel, a piece of chocolate, a slice of bread, a small piece of fruit, some granola, or a cookie).
  3. Provide a napkin or plate.
  4. Turn off the ringer on your phone and other devices, including the sound of incoming texts.
  5. Replay the recording you made of the script below and follow its instructions.

iEAT Practice

Now that you have experienced paying attention to specific senses while eating, it’s important to continue to practice this mindful eating. For this upcoming week, select six meals or snacks in which you can devote your attention to the sensory aspects of eating. Use the iEAT Practice Worksheet below to record these experiences. Pay attention to and check off all of your sensory experiences while eating a meal or snack, and then describe your experience.

iEAT Practice Worksheet

iEAT Reflection

How did the iEAT experience compare with your usual process of eating? Consider the time spent eating and the different sensory experiences.

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What would you need to do in order to eat in this manner with most of your meals? Consider setting an intention to select one meal, such as lunch, as you begin practicing this process.

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How did paying attention to sensory aspects contribute to your satisfaction in eating?

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Advanced iEAT Practice: Distracting Thoughts

Although you have been working at eating most of your meals without engaging in distracting behaviors (such as watching television, reading, or checking for text messages), you might still find yourself distracted by your thoughts. Perhaps you find yourself ruminating on a conversation that didn’t go well with your boss, stressing about an upcoming deadline, or comparing your meal to your dining companion’s meal. Distracting thoughts can pull you away from the experience and satisfaction of eating. One way to deal with this issue is a process involving two steps (which often need to be repeated):

  • Select a sensory focal point for your meal, such as how a food tastes or perhaps its mouthfeel. Each time you notice yourself lost in thought while eating, simply label it as “thinking,” without judgment.
  • Gently direct your mind to the sensory focal point of your meal, such as paying attention to the taste or mouthfeel of the food.

Be prepared to repeat those two steps often. The real practice here is redirecting your mind to an eating focal point and away from your thoughts. This process is very similar to the process of simply noticing stray thoughts during meditation and gently bringing your attention back to your breath.

Sensory Specific Satiety

In the field of hedonics—the study of pleasure—the concept of pleasantness is important in influencing food choice and may play a role in determining the amount of food consumed. This is called sensory specific satiety (SSS). Studies of SSS have found that it occurs within two minutes after consumption of a single food, when there’s been little opportunity for digestion and absorption, and it’s specific for the sensory aspects of the food (Rolls 1986; Hetherington, Rolls, and Burley 1989). If you are eating mindfully, you will begin to notice when that moment of SSS sets in, for example, when your taste buds begin to be desensitized to the taste. At that moment, you might notice that it doesn’t taste as good as it did when you first bit into it. SSS encompasses the proposition that by evaluating the sensual qualities of food, which you identified in the preceding exercise, you can determine when the pleasantness of food decreases. With this focus, you’ll naturally come to just the right amount of food you need to give you the most satisfaction.

Typically, we eat more than one food in a meal. As the pleasantness of a group of foods decreases, it often corresponds to an increase in satiety, leading to a decrease in hunger and desire to eat.

Advanced Practice: Detecting Sensory Specific Satiety

For this exercise, first check in with your hunger to see if you’re moderately hungry. Then pick one food that appeals to you, after going through all of your senses, as you did above (in the section What Do You Really Want to Eat?). Make sure you try this with only one food.

Note the time. Begin to eat, slowly and mindfully. As you continue eating, ask yourself the following questions:

  • Has the flavor diminished?
  • Does it still smell as good?
  • Is the texture and appearance still as appealing?

When you notice that the “pleasantness” of the food has lessened, note the time to see how many minutes have passed. How long did it take for SSS to set in?

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Repeat this exercise, but this time, serve yourself a meal with a variety of foods. Does it take longer for the pleasantness of the meal to diminish when there is a variety of foods? How many minutes?

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With this knowledge, you will find that by stopping at the point that the pleasantness of the food diminishes, you’ll walk away from the meal, physically comfortable and satisfied. And don’t worry—your body has wisdom; you’ll get just the amount of nutrition that your body needs over time.

The Impact of Hunger and Fullness

Have you ever eaten very little during the day when you know that you’ll be going out to a lovely dinner in the evening? People do this all of the time, saving up for the meal without considering the consequences. It’s common to ignore the fact that going into a meal feeling ravenous is a sure route to gorging on as much food as you can to satisfy yourself. Once you’re in a state of primal hunger, all possibility of true satisfaction from your meal is removed by the drive to get the food in quickly. Likewise, it is just as hard to be satisfied from a meal if you sit down to eat when you have no noticeable hunger at all. You will get more pleasure out of a meal that’s begun when you’re moderately hungry.

Last Bite Threshold

The last bite threshold is the point at which your body gives you the cue that you are at a comfortable fullness level (around 6 or 7 on the Hunger Discovery Scale in chapter 2). At this point, you will find that satisfaction in what you are eating will begin to diminish. For the greatest satisfaction, be sure to provide a variety of foods and to practice ending your meal when you reach physical satiety. The Satisfaction Discovery Worksheet will help you find the last bite threshold as you’re rating your fullness.

Satisfaction Discovery Worksheet

Circle the number that best reflects your hunger level before your meal or snack. When finished eating, rate your fullness, and then rate your level of satisfaction. Remember, there is no right or wrong number; it’s merely a method to help you listen to and discover satisfaction in eating. At this point, you will have found the last bite threshold.

© 2017 Evelyn Tribole / New Harbinger Publications

Reflection on the Satisfaction Discovery Worksheet

What trends did you notice with hunger, fullness, and satisfaction?

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Did you notice the last bite threshold? If so, by identifying this point, were you able to hone your satisfaction quotient even more acutely?

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In this section, you have learned and practiced that you will have the best chance of finding satisfaction in your meals when you begin eating with moderate hunger and eat to a point of comfortable fullness. At this point, you have reached the last bite threshold, which brings with it diminished pleasantness and satisfaction from the food you’re eating.

Your Eating Environment

People frequently treat eating as they might treat washing their laundry—just going through the motions of a necessary but dull task, hardly paying attention—simply just getting through it. If you choose to eat your meals without regard to your environment, the satisfaction of eating can be diminished. The following exercises will help you create a peaceful and inviting environment that will maximize your satisfaction.

Examine Your Current Eating Environment

How much time do you allot for your meals?

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Where do you eat most of your meals—at home, in a restaurant, at school, at work?

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Do you sit, stand, or walk while eating?

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Are you engaged in other activities while eating, such as talking on the telephone, sitting in front of your computer, watching television, driving, or something else?

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Whom do you eat with—a friend, a partner or family members, work or school associates, or someone else? Or are you eating alone?

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If you’re eating at home, do you eat at the dining room or kitchen table, or are you eating at your desk or on the couch? Is the area clear or cluttered?

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If you have a table, describe what it looks like. Does it appeal to your aesthetics? What kind of plates and utensils do you use? Are they paper, plastic, ceramic, stainless steel, or something else?

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Do you play music while you eat?

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Which emotions do you generally feel when you eat? Are you calm, anxious, bored, fearful, or something else?

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Reflection

What are your impressions of your current eating environment?

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Do you notice any themes or trends from your responses above?

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Consider these possible issues:

  • Time to Enjoy Eating. You may be eating rapidly and trying to squeeze your mealtime into a five-minute slot between jobs or chores. Or are you giving yourself plenty of time to appreciate your food?
  • Distracted Eating. If you are standing up while eating, whether it be in front of the refrigerator, looking out the window, or racing around the house, you are missing the opportunity to sit, relax, look at your food on the plate, and take in its sensual qualities. If you are engaging in these activities while eating, it is unlikely that you can focus on your meal.
  • People. Eating with someone else can often enhance your pleasurable experience, but it can sometimes distract you from your food. If you’re comparing what you’re eating with another’s meal, or you’re engaged in an uncomfortable conversation, it’s possible that you won’t notice whether the food is actually to your liking or whether you’re beginning to reach your last bite threshold. (Consider your companions at each meal. It may vary.)
  • Clutter. If your eating space is cluttered, and there’s barely room to set down your plate, the mess can distract you, and you will not have a calm, satisfying eating experience.
  • Setting. If you eat in an unattractive setting, you’re not honoring the experience of eating and not receiving the ultimate satisfaction that eating can offer.
  • Noise. If you listen to loud, head-banging music, or there’s construction going on next door, or your coworkers are arguing or talking loudly at the next cubicle, you will feel the antithesis of a soothing environment.
  • Stressful Emotions. If your emotions are intense, it’s difficult to feel calm enough to enjoy your meal.

Cultivating a Pleasant Eating Environment

If you create an intention to reduce as many distractions as you can, while increasing the pleasantness of your eating environment, then your chances of achieving satisfaction in your meals greatly increase.

What modifications could you make in your home to provide a more pleasant eating environment?

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Your Emotional Connection to Eating

For some, mealtime is a sacred time, set aside for enjoyment and pleasure. For others, it feels like a battleground or a prison.

Your Emotional Atmosphere

Contemplate the following questions:

How often is there chaos in your house when you begin to eat a meal? Chaos could include the dog barking, the baby crying, everyone rushing to get to work or school on time, a cluttered table, the phone ringing incessantly, and so on. What can you do to reduce some of this chaos? Perhaps you could get up fifteen minutes earlier to give yourself a moment to breathe and contemplate the gratitude you feel for some of the gifts in your life. Maybe you can turn the ringer off on the phone while you are eating and clear off the table the night before. Or if your timing allows, you might want to have a snack before you get the kids off to school and can then return home and sit down to enjoy your meal. What changes are you willing and able to make?

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Is the room (at home, at work, or at school) filled with tension? If there is tension between you and your partner, your parent, or any member of your household, take the brave step of finding a time outside of mealtime to speak up about what you’re feeling and what you need. If possible, consider seeking counseling, either for yourself or group counseling with the others, to improve the emotional situation in your home.

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Are people arguing during mealtime? If others are arguing among themselves and bringing that argument to the table, speak up and ask that they either resolve their problems at another time or refrain from engaging in them while eating. This is not your problem, but it affects your enjoyment of your meal. Set up a nonargument zone during meals. How will you do this?

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Is there plenty of food available? Do you feel that you won’t get enough to eat or that there won’t be enough variety, so that you can choose what you actually feel like eating? If your refrigerator is bare, because neither you nor anyone else in your home has done the food shopping, develop a plan for who will do the shopping and a regular time for this to occur. What ideas do you have for resolving this situation?

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Are people criticizing what or how much you eat? If they are, it’s highly unlikely that you can focus on your enjoyment of your meal, since you’re eating in a hostile environment. What boundaries can you set to create a neutral eating environment?

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You deserve to have an emotionally healthy and happy eating environment. You may not be able to accomplish all of them—certainly not at once—but each incremental step you can take will lead you to more pleasure and satisfaction in your eating.

Your Favorites: Foods, Dining Companions, and Places to Eat

Spending a moment contemplating your favorites—foods, places to eat, and companions—will increase the chances of enjoyable eating experiences.

What are your favorite foods?

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Who are your favorite eating companions? If you eat with people whom you enjoy (including yourself) and with whom you feel safe, your meals will be more satisfying.

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Do you like to eat at home, in restaurants, at friends’ homes, at parties, at large events, or in some other setting? List your favorite places to eat in order to heighten your satisfaction in your meals.

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The next time you are planning an outing involving eating, take some time to remember your favorites—special foods, people, and places. You’ll find that the quality of your eating experience will be heightened.

Wrap-Up

Discovering the satisfaction factor of eating is a full mind-body experience. It allows you the freedom to pick just the right food for your taste buds. Be sure to stop trying to gain satisfaction from food that’s not hitting the spot. It can have an unfortunate result. You might end up overeating and then looking for yet another food to satisfy yourself. Be sure to monitor any remnants of guilt you hold about your choice of food. They will diminish your eating experience.

In this chapter, you have evaluated what you really want to eat, as well as other factors geared toward getting the most satisfaction possible from your meals. Remember, it takes time and patience, and you must learn not to judge yourself. Practicing staying present is an important factor for achieving satisfaction in your eating. Doing so may be your first step in finding a more fulfilling life.

In the next chapter, you will delve more deeply into how to cope with your emotions without using food.