When I begin helping clients reconnect with their hunger and fullness cues, sometimes there are a flood of emotions such as sadness, guilt, or frustration. Other times there is a certain numbness and confusion, as some people engage in restriction to the point where hunger cues are absent and difficult to re-awaken. Toward the end of intuitive eating practices, clients recognize comfortable patterns with honoring hunger and fullness cues. They often experience lessened guilt around hunger pangs (if any was present before) and find more trust and safety in honoring their biological cues for starting and stopping eating.
Understanding Hunger and Fullness Cues
Developing early hunger awareness is a skill explored in intuitive eating counseling, especially when clients are interested in how to stop overeating. Honoring biological hunger at its earliest signals builds trust between your mind, body, and spirit. Otherwise, we can trigger a primal drive to overeat when we ignore hunger cues for too long.
Hunger cues can be physical, emotional, or psychological, such as:
- Stomachaches or headaches
- Stomach pangs or twinges
- Feeling irritable or “hangry”
- Feeling depressed or anxious
- Becoming tearful or frustrated
- Having difficulty focusing
- Feeling foggy
- Feeling disconnected from others
- Having frequent thoughts about food
- Feeling dizzy or nauseated
Practical Strategies for Mindful Eating
Intuitive eating is different from mindful eating, but it does contain some similar aspects. For example, both approaches would support listening to your body’s hunger signals and developing an awareness of fullness cues. In intuitive eating counseling, I utilize a hunger-fullness scale to help clients place their sensations of biological hunger and fullness cues into feeling uncomfortable, neutral, or comfortable.
Some other overlap between mindful and intuitive eating might include slowing down meals to notice texture, flavor, and satisfaction. Additionally, IE encourages the unconditional permission to eat and embrace all foods without guilt.
Some mindful eating tips:
- Check in with your level of hunger prior to eating
- Slow down your eating to notice what you enjoy most
- Pay attention to sensory input, such as colors or textures of food
- Ask yourself, “What could I do to make this eating experience even 1% more satisfying?”
- Limit distractions (like watching television or listening to music) unless you are neuro-divergent and need them to create a satisfying eating experience
- Check in with your level of fullness after eating
Recent Comments