Principle 6-Discover the Satisfaction Factor

I love when I take a bite of an amazing bite of food and feel like I'm melting into it-that's why I love this step because it's so much fun to actually begin to enjoy and feel satisfied after you eat, instead of feeling guilty. Food tastes so much better when you find satisfaction in it. The Japanese have the wisdom to promote pleasure as one of their goals of healthy living. In our fury to be thin and healthy, we often overlook one of the most basic gifts of existence-the pleasure and satisfaction that can be found in the eating experience. One of my good friends, who happens to be a chef, recently lost over a 100 pounds. He said one of the things that helped him the most was finding joy in food. So instead of sitting down and just eating an apple-he would cut the apple into as many small pieces that he could and every bite he would take he would exclaim to himself-this is the best apple I have ever eaten, it is so good, I love it. He relishes every bite of food he takes and he ENJOYS IT!!!

Tips for finding joy in food:
1. Give yourself permission to seek pleasure in your eating.
2. Figure out what you really want to eat by paying attention to the following sensations associated with eating.
a. Taste-sweet, savory, salty, sour or bitter
b. Texture-hard, crunchy, smooth, creamy, etc
c. Aroma-sweet, acrid, mild, etc
d. Appearance--color, shape, eye appeal, etc
e. Temperature--hot, cold, icy, temperate
f. volume or filling capacity--airy, light, dense
3. think about how your body might feel when you finish eating: will you be physically satisfied, will a dense food make you feel uncomfortabley full later or an airy food leave you feeling empty, etc.
4. Make your eating environment enjoyable:
a. Eat when gently hungery rather than overhungry
b. make time to appreciate your food.
c. Create an aesthetic environment-placemats, colorful dishes, etc
d. Sit down to eat
e. Take several deep breaths before you eat
f. savor you food
g. pay attention to eating as slowly as you can
h. taste each bite of food taht you put into your mouth
i. provide variety in you meal.
j. Avoid tension while eating.
5. Don't settle, eliminate the unenjoyable