Gratitude - a Gateway to Satiety

Many people feel ashamed of the feeling of satiation. Feeling pleasure from fullness and food is a foreign concept to more people than you think. Letting the body enjoy food is very hard for many people who have dieted or restricted their entire lives. For some, maybe there is a moment of pleasure when eating, but at some point an intense feeling of guilt or shame creeps in.

Fullness can be felt no matter the content of the meal. If a person wants to fill up on just apples – they can feel full. A common diet or restriction meal is grilled chicken and veggies... but the person that fills up on meals like these is not likely to be satiated. Fullness can exist independent of satiation, but satiety can not exist independent of fullness.

Satiety is defined as a feeling of fullness as well as feeling the pleasure of eating. The pleasure of eating can be a combination of the taste of food, texture of food, experience of the meal and the people around the table. As we can experience satiety without gratitude using gratitude as a gateway to experiencing satiety, may be really helpful.

Have you ever experienced gratitude for eating or for food in general? Being grateful of the sheer fact that there is food on your plate is important, but sometimes we can dig even deeper than that. Being grateful for the people around you. Being grateful for the beautiful kitchen table you are sitting at. Being grateful for your taste buds or your working organs that digest your food.

Here are some ways you can use "Gratitude as a Gateway to Satiety" (and there is no better time than Thanksgiving to test this one out)

1. Pick one item on your plate or around your table and thank it. This is an exercise you can do silently. It takes less than one minute and it’s really easy. Even if you don’t feel the least sincere about it, thanking a food on your plate can actually open the door of positivity towards food.

2. Write in a FOOD gratitude journal. Choose one food item or meal you ate during the day and write about why you are grateful for it. It can be for different reasons other than taste. You can be grateful for the color of a food, the shape of a food, the way a food makes you feel. You can be grateful for the memories the food brings, the person who made the food, or the people around you as you eat it.

3. Send a gratitude energy gram. Sit at the table before a meal and put your hand on your heart. Send a spurt of grateful energy to food, family or friend that’s sitting there. Close your eyes. Feel the gratitude in your chest, heart or head and visualize sending a beam of light to someone or something in the room or out of the room!

Happy Thanksgiving to the JuliENERGYnutrition Community.

May gratitude be your gateway to satiety this season.

- Julie