Characteristics of Fullness
Fullness is a capacity different for everyone; my fullness cues and level may be similar or vastly different from your cues. There are also a few factors that influence fullness that we will discuss in a future blog post. Feeling your fullness can be a journey in and of itself if you have had a lengthy past with dieting. This is especially true if you have also had a disconnected relationship with food for some time. There are 4 sections below where fullness can be described from a certain place in our bodies: our stomach, our head, our moods, and our energy level.
Characteristics of Fullness: Stomach
In our stomachs, we can feel various sensations regarding eating and fullness. We can experience extreme hunger and starvation, and mild hunger when we are feeling peckish. Our ranges include when we eat to the point of fullness and also past fullness. Overfull might be accompanied by feelings of heaviness and bloating. I can tell the difference between the time my stomach will begin to feel full and when it is at a comfortable capacity. From this physical feeling, I can take a cue as to whether I feel complete or want to keep eating.
Characteristics of Fullness: Head
When we are comfortably full, we can also notice a change in our thoughts. We can show signs of a diminished desire to eat; it makes sense, right? I can attest that when I have eaten to my comfortable state of fullness, I don’t have as much desire to eat anymore. If I were still hungry, I would continue to eat until I could notice that I was feeling full. You will also know you are full when you see fewer thoughts about food and eating. When I’m snacking while working on a project or trying to think of what I can make a blog post about, I do find myself snacking. But through the knowledge I gained from Intuitive Eating, I have been able to reconnect to my hunger cues and distinguish when I am genuinely full.
Characteristics of Fullness: Mood
Think about the last time you felt “hangry.” We all know what hangry is and how it feels, we might have trouble focusing, get a headache, or feel irritable. After eating, we feel relief and peace. Ideally, we would be eating before we hit that point of ‘hanger.’ It is easier to stay level with our mood when we eat before hitting that overly hungry state. Either way, it’s that wave of satisfaction when we feel comfortably full and pleasant. After all, we are giving ourselves the energy we were lacking because we were hungry. We get that mood shift when we are full. We can feel more relaxed or pleasant ourselves, and those around us can agree that we are more pleasant when we are not hungry.
Characteristics of Fullness: Energy
Similarly to how fullness can improve our mood, it can significantly improve our energy levels. Some folks can start to feel more energized or reenergized from the food they have eaten. Think of at the end of a nice dinner at home, all your favorite foods are available to you, how relaxed you feel when you are full. You could even feel drowsy, like at the end of Thanksgiving dinner, and you’re ready to settle on the couch to watch the parade or sports game. I know that for me after I am comfortably full, I can feel sleepy and may need a bit of rest before getting back to my work. Being aware of your energy level when you are feeling full will help you describe your own characteristics of fullness.
How are you when you’re hungry? What are some of the things you’re feeling or noticing now that you are more aware of the characteristics of fullness? The next time you’re eating a meal or a snack, take the time to sit and be present in your eating and note how you feel. Go through the sections discussed today and check in with how these feel for you when you are getting close to full or are truly full! If you have questions about Intuitive Eating, please message Robin Harris through email at robin@bodypositiveacupuncture.com to schedule a workshop. I look forward to more posts like these, which will dive into different areas of intuitive eating!