Being satisfied with what we eat without missing portions

Especially in recent years, with our increasing pace of life and the abundance of stimuli, eating has turned into an automatic behavior. And as a result of this speed, meals that we do not understand how they end, food experiences that we do not feel satisfied, and problems with portion control are the main issues we complain about every day. What kind of satisfaction can we talk about if we rush through our meals, snack on the run and eat in front of the TV at night?

A satisfying meal is not a meal that smells of candles, music and romance. A satisfying meal is the opportunity we create for ourselves to take in the food with all our senses, to satiate them, to be present at the moment of eating.

If our minds are elsewhere when we eat, we look but we cannot see, we listen but we cannot hear, we eat but we do not understand what we are eating. What happens if we are only interested in our food? Mindful eating involves being present in the moment, aware of our senses, bodily sensations, hunger and satiety levels. The purpose of practicing mindfulness and slowing down while eating is so that we can use our senses to experience each moment. We do the opposite. It's as if we think that if we consume a lot of food, we can taste it, we'll be satisfied. But the way to be satisfied, to be fulfilled, is to eat with all our senses. So, how do I use these senses while eating?

First we eat with our eyes.  Our eyes give us information about the color, shape, texture and quantity of a food.  Passing our sense of sight is the first obstacle to our sense of satisfaction. Notice how the presentation of the food affects your appetite or desire to eat.  What is on the table? You can run through the names of the dishes and the things on the table.

Smell is one of the sensations that stimulates our senses the most and increases our appetite the most. So before you put the first bite in your mouth, notice the smells. To better understand how paying attention to odors while eating affects the feeling of satisfaction. For the first few bites of food, you can try pinching your nose with your hand and chewing the food without breathing.

Although taste is the first thing that comes to mind when we think of food, I think you have experienced how effective the senses of sight and smell are in the eating experience. When it comes to taste, the taste buds on the sides and back of the tongue and even in the throat can perceive 5 basic tastes: bitter, sour, sweet, salty. The combinations of these 5 in different amounts and intensities create the sensation we know as "taste".

Notice how the taste of food changes with each bite:

How when you chew?

How when you swallow?

Do you still get the same flavor?

Does it still look as attractive as it did at first?

Pay attention to the fullness of your stomach so that you know if this is enough for you throughout the meal or if you are still going to continue. To notice this, you can create small pauses between bites by placing your fork on the edge of the plate. Practicing mindful eating can help you understand your relationship with food and what food gives you. Spending some time with the following questions after practicing mindful eating will help you to recognize your experience more clearly:

1. How did you feel before the meal?

2. Did you find it difficult to stay mindful while eating?

3. What differences did you notice in your eating when you ate with mindful eating compared to your past experiences?

4. What will you take away from your mindful eating experience for your next experience?

5. What would you do differently in your next experience?