This is a week focused on gentle nutrition. I tried to be more non-judgingly aware of what I ate (I logged my meals on daytum.com) and how the different foods made me feel. You don’t need to read all the statements of how different foods make me feel at the end of the post. What I really want is to give an example of making these things as explicit as I can so that I start to naturally choose the foods that make me feel better.

An interesting insight was reading a chapter from the HAES (Health at Every Size) book from Linda Bacon on effects of different foods – just as additional information to better understand how foods make me feel in the longer term. E.g. a new insight for me was that with some foods it’s much easier to feel satiety signals than with others – so I experimented with this). I could indeed verify that:

  • Eating wholegrain cereals and bread, fresh vegetables and nuts I feel fuller almost with every bit. I could quickly see the change of the appeal the foods had for me. The first few bites were the most satisfying. By the end of the meal the food in the plate would lose almost all of its appeal, it felt almost as appealing as leftovers dug up from a trash bin of a fast food joint. I experienced this as some pretty advanced magic from my brain
  • Another thing about these wholesome foods was that they really have to be chewed. This makes it that I get much more taste from every bite, and also other feelings in my mouth (e.g. the cracking feeling when breaking down nuts, crunchiness of fresh pepper or radish…). As a consequence, I would also get tired of chewing by the end of the meal, increasing my desire to stop
  • Eating white wheat pasta/pizza crust with fatty processed meat almost felt as empty bites melting in my mouth and disappearing down my system. The simplicity of salty taste is highly attractive to my taste palate, but the satisfaction from it can be compared to downing a coke on a sunny day vs. slowly enjoying a glass of complex red wine or a good single malt. The amazing thing is how I almost don’t have the feeling of fullness with this type of food. It comes later, and when it’s there it can feel like a piece of rock in my stomach. Looking back, the whole experience is quite crude. Now I have to say it does not always feel like this. Three weeks ago, we had pizza, but we all had a moderate serving, and ate it with a lot of salad. This left us feeling quite satisfied.
  • Eating a piece of cake mostly felt satisfying, but it was difficult to predict the level of satisfaction I will derive from it. It’s also difficult to assess the level of fullness with this type of food. Sometimes, it feels me feeling satisfied, but often it feels me feeling uncomfortable and drowsy if I eat it after a meal. If I eat it on an empty stomach, it leaves me craving “real food”.

Another insight was the visual and other non-taste related aspect of foods. Colorful fresh looking fruit and vegetables are very appealing and really impact the overall satisfaction. Food arranged nicely on the plate creates different feeling in me than a sandwich wrapped in paper almost begging me to be gobbled down in front of a computer screen. Where and how I eat the food also has a big impact. Eating distracted (TV, computer…) typically leaves me feeling full but not satisfied.

I ate a lot of fruit this week: ever so refreshing crunchy thirst-quenching watermelon – a first one this year. Heavenly aroma of strawberries, sweet-sour juiciness of orange, sour crunchiness of apple, softness of a sweet pear, and exploding sweetness of grapes made a couple of moments for me this week.

  • Fruit eaten first thing in the morning felt cleansing. Especially if I had it with some green or white tea. It helped me deal with the bloating caused by pizza I ate last Friday
  • Fruit eaten in the middle of the afternoon feels refreshing, especially after a nap.
  • Fruit eaten as a snack during work goes down pretty fast and quite mindlessly. It is a nice refreshment, although apples can make my digestion go in overdrive
  • Eating fruit right after a meal does not make me feel good. I feel bloated and gassy

I still can’t reach the level of fullness in the evening that I yearn: the neutral light feeling I have after breakfast and lunch. But I do make several steps to that every week. Patience will be a key.