Exciting Food Experiences?

I recently read a post on an IE board by a new member. She stated that for lunch she "pops in a 'Lean Cuisine meal". She added that she "always steam some broccoli or a sweet potato, or both, to complement it, but it's rarely an exciting food experience". She continued to describe her evening meal of "grilled chicken with bbq sauce on it and a sweet potato" which she ate "out in the backyard and inhaled the smell of fresh cut grass, and closed (her) eyes and really tasted (her) food." Finally she stated that "The result (was) that (she) had about eight bites of (her) sweet potato and maybe four of (her) chicken...and (she) was SATISFIED!" Her insight from that experience was "perhaps I was bingeing/stuffing my face with cookies and candy right after my lean cuisines because I was NOT satisfied with my meal--and wanted to taste something I knew would taste good."

After reading that post, I recalled that many IE approaches encourage people to choose foods that really satisfy them and really enjoy every bite of food. However, 'satisfy' usually means taste good (in their mouths), rather than feel good in their bodies or keep them unhungry for awhile. 'Satisfy' can also mean 'fulfill cravings for' certain foods. People often crave foods after seeing, smelling or hearing about those foods, even though they aren't hungry. In my experience I can only crave foods I have eaten and enjoyed. If I haven't eaten a specific food, I won't crave it after seeing a tv commercial for that food. Perhaps my 7 food allergies make me less apt to want to try a food which I saw advertised on tv, because many 'tasty' foods include my allergens. Nevertheless, I notice that few IE newcomers consider how the foods feel in their bodies or whether the food keeps them unhungry for hours after they eat.

Then I began to realize that I no longer need an 'exciting eating experience' to satisfy my hunger. I eat foods I enjoy and focus on the tastes, textures and sensations in my stomach so I can recognize when I'm full and stop eating. However, I don't need my meals to be 'exciting'. I just need to feel unhungry and pain free after eating. Not experiencing any digestive pain is exciting enough for me. I prefer to feel excited about my current life, my activities, my plans for the future, rather than seek excitement or peak pleasure from every eating experience.

Many IE gurus teach their followers that choosing really satisfying (tasty?) foods and enjoying every bite of food will prevent overeating or even bingeing, because they don't need as much food when they enjoy the experience. I suspect slowing down to taste and experience the food allows our bodies to digest the food enough to tell us we've had enough. If we eat rapidly and mindlessly, we can miss those 'full signals' and overeat.

However, I recall that binge eating was very exciting for me. Just thinking about what I would let myself eat during the binge was exciting. So replacing binge eating with exciting mindful eating experiences may have taught me to me eat less and recognize full signals. Nevertheless, at some point I no longer needed exciting eating experiences. I was content to vary the same 2 breakfast menus, 3-4 different lunch menus, and maybe 5-6 different dinner menus. I preferred quick to prepare, allergy free and physically satisfying foods over exciting eating experiences. I like to forget about eating until I felt hungry. Then I want to quickly prepare or thaw a meal that I knew would satisfy my hunger without causing digestive pain. When I feel full, I feel excited about getting back to whatever activity was interrupted by hunger.

I used to overeat to procrastinate unpleasant or boring activities. Then I learned to choose activities at times when those seemed most interesting or appealing. For example, I have more energy in the morning. So I like to do more energy challenging tasks in the morning. I like to do gardening on sunny days, rather than cold, rainy days. I enjoy stand up activities when I'm energetic. I enjoy sit down activities when I'm tired. Of course, I have the freedom to choose when I do what I do.

Many women have schedules or activities dictated by jobs or children or even spouses. Or do they? Are they so disconnected from their own wants and desires that their entire days revolve around serving other people? So their only excitement comes from the food they eat or their 'exciting eating experiences', when they mindfully eat exactly what they want?

Do IE principles encourage women to substitute exciting eating experiences for exciting bingeing experiences? Rather than feeling excited about 'getting away with' a binge, they can feel excited about allowing themselves to eat exactly what they like all the time. Initially 'breaking out of diet jail' may seem exciting. However, if only their eating experiences promise excitement, IE followers may continue to lead a very boring or even miserable life between those peak eating experiences.

I don't know exactly when I went from seeking peak eating experiences to physically satisfying and painfree eating experiences. However, I suspect that change occurred sometime after my 7 allergy diagnoses and struggles with 6 different gut bugs. I'm also unaware of exactly when I began to prefer satisfying life experiences over exciting eating experiences. However, this feels more 'normal' than interrupting boring or stressful days with 'exciting' albeit mindful eating experiences. "Is not life more important than food and the body more imporant than clothes?" (Mathew 6:25b) Admittedly, I'm still hung up on the clothes part. I love sewing garments. However, I also love expressing my creativity through gardening and cooking.

I suspect that my intuitive eating journey has taken me beyond seeking satisfaction ONLY from eating. IMO life IS more important than food or clothes, once we have successfully met those 2 basic needs. People who don't have enough foods or clothes may still obsess over meeting those needs. However, most overweight people who embrace IE do have enough food. They just need to allow themselves to eat when they are hungry, foods that satisfy hunger and stop eating before they cause physical pain. Then they can begin seeking satisfaction from the rest of their lives.