A previous client wrote in recently with a great question, and I want to share my response with you.

I’d love to hear your experience with this in the comments below!

Question:

“When you realized – and I am imagining you realized this at some point, because it feels like a universal truth – that you feel better when you eat to 80% fullness, what did you do to always stop then?

What tools did you use to remain present?

Even knowing this and having tools, how can one be conscious enough 100% of the time to remember this simple principle?

In this particular case, I am speaking of real foods – breakfast, lunch, dinner – not dessert because I don’t think we typically eat those out of a hunger cue, but instead a pleasure cue.

Even in that case, I am sure that can elude many!

Like, how to eat half the ice cream cone instead of the whole thing, when the body really doesn’t want the whole thing?

But in this question, I am more referring to stopping at 80% during a real meal, where one is experiencing varying degrees of hunger.”

Answer:

Hey m’dear!

This became totally irrelevant when I was –

A: No longer restricting at all.

First it was overt restriction then it became really sneaky and subtle as I progressed on my healing journey, so I had to continue to bring awareness to that.

I had to really commit to zero food restrictions.

The more I truly allowed myself freedom + deeeeeeep self-love, the less I overate or even thought about overeating.

B: Truly in my body.

When I started doing enough movement, dance, breathwork, and meditation within the frame of each week, I stopped overeating and eating foods my body didn’t actually want.

Other practices that were crucial: Paying attention to my food. Enjoying it. Chewing, pausing, breathing, slowing down.

I would not say that I eat to “80%” because I just don’t think about it that way.

But my “100%” does not involve discomfort, at all.

At the same time, I never try to remain slightly hungry after a meal. That sounds terrible to me lol.

I definitely used to do that – try to leave myself a little hungry – and it was such suffering. It would always ultimately lead to overeating, binging, and/or purging later in the day or at night.

I just stop when I’m full / satisfied, and very rarely feel any discomfort after a meal.

The only time I might feel discomfort is if something was literally bad, like food poisoning, or if some combination of foods really caught me off guard and did not work for my stomach. It’s very rare.

Even after Thanksgiving dinner I am up dancing and bouncing around on the trampoline with my niece. I genuinely have no interest in overeating or feeling uncomfortable in my body. Even my favorite foods are no longer enjoyable once I’m full.

I don’t have to think about when I’m going to stop or when I “should” stop, I’m just enjoying the experience of food and my body equally, like a sweet dance / convo.

Stopping when I’m full is very natural, and not something I have to think about.

It feels very unnatural to me to continue eating once my body is clearly done.

Also, making myself right now, like really really right, even when I did something “wrong.” Making my humanness truly right.

Releasing the pressure, including the pressure to be perfectly self-loving all the time.

Making sure I’m taking breaks throughout the day to release any pressure and judgment was tremendously helpful, too.

I used to do the “perfect” AM routine then kinda go full force into work and almost not come up for air in a way, thinking I had set the tone for the day and that was enough.

Shifting to pacing myself, eating enough throughout the day vs just breakfast and dinner, mini breathwork throughout the day, consciously relaxing my body had a huge effect on emotional state and food behavior.

It really comes down to liking and loving yourself.

Treating yourself like gold, and not making your current behavior wrong.

Giving yourself the benefit of the doubt, and knowing that your body is just trying to create safety through overeating.

That’s what I can share personally! I hope it helps.

Hugs!
Lula