Mindful eating involves listening to your body and being aware of how you feel physically, mentally, and emotionally while eating. Satiety cues vary from person to person, and it takes trial and error to determine the level and intensity of hunger and the foods/amounts that will satisfy it. Just like children who generally push food away when they are content, intuitive/mindful eating is about tapping back into your own wisdom.
Key Findings:
- Mindful eating involves listening to your body and being aware of how you feel physically, mentally, and emotionally while eating.
- It takes about 20 minutes for the satiety signal to go from the gut to the brain, and the composition of a meal can influence satiety.
- Including real/whole foods with fiber, protein, and fat (and balancing omega-6 with omega-3) can help you feel full and satisfied.
Recommendations:
- To optimize your eating habits, tune in to how you feel physically, immediately after and every hour after eating.
- Eat meals that include real/whole foods with fiber, protein, and fat (and balancing omega-6 with omega-3).
- Be patient and allow your body time to register fullness.
To optimize your eating habits, you can start with a typical meal and then tune in to how you feel physically, immediately after and every hour after that meal. If you’ve eaten the right amount for optimal health, you’ll likely feel a slight level of hunger but still feel content immediately after eating.
It takes about 20 minutes for the satiety signal to go from the gut to the brain, and the composition of a meal can influence satiety.
Including real/whole foods with fiber, protein, and fat (and balancing omega-6 with omega-3) can help you feel full and satisfied.
About 60 minutes after eating, you should feel satisfied with no desire to eat another real food meal. When you approach the 2-hour mark, you may be starting to feel a little hungry and could probably eat something, but it’s not a big deal yet. If you are feeling quite hungry, you may not have had enough food or enough of a given type of food to hold your satisfaction. At 3 to 4 hours, you should be feeling like it’s about time to eat again. Your hunger should be stronger, and it will vary depending on when you exercised and what your daily physical activity level is. If you aren’t hungry yet, you probably had a bit too much food at your previous meal. After 4 hours, you’re likely hungry and ready to eat. This is when the “I’m so hungry I could eat anything” feeling kicks in, and if you wait much longer, chances of making a poor food selection go up dramatically. It’s important to have nutritious and appealing foods available.
Remember, it’s okay to feel hungry occasionally. Hunger plays a vital biological function, and accepting this feeling is important. If you’re trying to get or stay lean, feeling hungry occasionally is normal and okay. It’s essential to understand and accept this feeling because it’s not going anywhere, and it plays a crucial role in maintaining a healthy lifestyle