What is satiety? Why can’t I manage my appetite and why do I often feel hungry or unsatisfied?
The feeling of satiety is described as the quality or state of being fed or gratified. Reaching satiety, in principle, should be easy. In reality, it can be much more complex function that relies on the body signalling the brain to either initiate or cease the production and or control of a number of hormones.
Modern eating behaviours and standard daily nutritional profiles set us up for failure to reach satiety easily. Often, our appetite is mistaken for the feeling of hunger, we are unsatisfied and deprived, craving more quantity or a variation in flavour profile, salty, sour, and more often sweet.
Foods devoid of quality nutrient profiles and highly refined foods starve our bodies of the fuel we require to function optimally. Hence, they have us feeling hungry again shortly after our meal. Consequently, we can also often overeat and experience bloating, fatigue, and general discomfort due to these eating behaviours. Do you ever need to sloth on the couch, nap after eating a meal, or fall into a food coma? You’re not alone.
Sadly, these eating patterns and behaviours have been socially accepted as expected, especially in Western cultures. Our expectation and standard for normal has become skewed in the last century or so. We can either feel wholly deprived and unsatisfied or uncomfortable and stuffed. Both scenarios are then an invitation for the onslaught of self-sabotage, ridicule, shame, etc. Ever paid attention to those conversations in your head about food???
Now let me pause here for a moment to clarify. My message is not to discourage anyone from enjoying life’s more superior culinary experiences or to say that, at times, our food choices will be what they are. I encourage dinner with friends at a new restaurant, large family gatherings with all the trimmings, birthday celebrations, Sunday dinner followed by dessert, etc. After all, social connection, enjoyment, and general fulfillment are equally vital to one’s overall health picture. Additionally, sometimes constraints mean we will reach for the closest and quickest food option; this is also understandable. I’m simply bringing our attention to the bigger picture.
We have become so malnourished by our poor meal choices and eating patterns that our bodies continually suffer under immense workloads. If we aren’t building our plates well, we are setting ourselves (our bodies) up for failure. If we fail to create a solid foundation, we cannot balance our blood sugar levels and insulin, hormones, satiety, or hunger, not to mention our feeling of fulfillment.
Food is certainly my love language, and I would be confident to say you would be hard pressed to find someone that wouldn’t find enjoyment in a well-balanced and delicious meal. I’ve said it before meals don’t need to be complicated to be satiating.
Benefits of feeling Satiated;
If you think you might benefit from learning how to build a meal that will satisfy you, stabilise your blood sugar levels, and feel fuller for longer, I’d love to hear from you, here. Link to free 15 minute discover call
