I know what you're thinking right now.
What fullness? I don't ever feel full. If you've been on diets for a long time, I believe you.
You've programmed yourself to "feel satisfied" when you've eaten 300 calories or a banana and 1 tbsp of peanut butter. Cantaloupe? Yes I can.... feel full on it (that link is for any Brooklyn 99 fans).
But, when it's time to cheat, you are straight up plowing past "full" all way to stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey.
I could get all Rousseau on you about this but, effectively, modern society encourages us to stray from our natural inclinations. Living in NYC, I know this all too well. We are a city that never sleeps even though, biologically, we need to sleep to survive.
Add in "Clean Plate" moralism, a compulsive need to finish everything on your plate, and you've got the reason why we never feel full. Here's the most important component of intuitive eating:
LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!
The 10 principles of intuitive eating are written in a specific order for a reason. You have to follow everything up to this point to be able to honor your fullness.
You have to give yourself "unconditional permission to eat." You have to be done with dieting. You have to eat when you're hungry. You have to legalize all foods and challenge any rules, guilt or shame you have around food.
Here's the action item this week:
Become conscious again.
Pay attention to your body and cravings. Do a yoga class or meditation. Do something that helps you bring awareness back to your body.
Take a break from your TPS reports, email, Facebook or Netflix binge and sit your ass down at your table and eat.
Give yourself permission to just feel whatever you're going to feel when you're full. Maybe you will keep eating and get REALLY full.
Whatever you do is fine. Remember this is not a "hunger and fullness diet."
Just listen to your body. See if you can hear your body say, "Hey dude. I'm full."
Then maybe, just maybe, the dude abides.