How do you want to feel?

When you get up from the table, what sensations do you want to feel? Can you put it into words?

It took me a while to develop a vocabulary to talk about my hunger/fullness sensations -- so if you don't have a good vocabulary quite yet, don't worry -- just give it some thought.

To get you started, I will describe my experiences. When I get up from the table, I want to feel light. I want to feel satisfied with the taste of my food (I have had enough flavor) but do not want to feel more than just the beginning sensations of anything sitting in my stomach.

I do not like the feeling of being full. I do not like feeling the waist of my pants tight (although with the style of pants right now -- they don't really have waists that get tight -- but I don't like that feeling of my stomach being physically bigger than I am used to). I do not like the sensation of feeling tired after I eat (happens because when a person has a lot of food needing to be digested, the blood flow gets diverted to the stomach and intestines to supply the working muscles and pick up the nutrients from digestion).

I like the feeling of know I could eat more but am choosing not to. I feel successful when I know I made a choice that fit me and I was listening to my body.

I ate a terrific meal yesterday. Food was fabulous. Company was lively and fun. Service was marvelous. I got to eat a wonderful salad and then a perfectly prepared entree. I enjoyed every bite. I have everything positive to say about the whole experience.

What I can tell you for sure is that I wouldn't have such a glowing memory of lunch yesterday had I eaten more than I did. Even though the food was delicious, had I eaten more than I did, I wouldn't have felt successful in my eating and that would have colored the whole experience in a less positive light.

So here is the thought I have for you today -- enjoy everything and leave wanting more (more of the taste of the food, more of the company, more of the whole experience) knowing that you can have it again -- you don't have to get it all right now. If you can do that (pace your eating) you will feel more positive about the whole experience. As that happens, it will motivate you to eat less and enjoy what you do eat more. Positive experience begetting positive experience. And soon, it will be second nature to eat less and enjoy more. Now there is a habit worth pursuing.