When it comes to intuitive eating, I’m a big proponent of shooting for satiety and not necessarily just fullness. Some might say that these two ideas are one in the same, but I would argue there is a big difference. I can eat six cups of lettuce and feel “fullness” in my body, but I will be nowhere close to feeling satiated. Let’s take a closer look at these two concepts.
Fullness
The Cambridge Dictionary defines fullness as “the fact that something is full.” For me, fullness describes a purely physical feeling- it’s more about volume. I imagine eating to where my stomach walls are being stretched enough for signals to be sent to my brain to tell me I’m full. There are food components such as fiber that can contribute to this feeling of fullness and we know some people can use fluids (temporarily) to contribute to this fullness. But again, think of drinking a 2 liter- of course, you’re going to feel physically full!
Satiety
Satiety on the other hand, is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as “the state of being completely satisfied, especially with food or pleasure, so that you could not have any more.” For me, the important difference here is the satisfaction or pleasure that you get from the food. Can you feel full without being satiated? Absolutely. I see this a lot with dieters. They may eat things because they are low in calories which allows them to eat larger amounts of it in order to feel full. I will often hear them discuss feeling full after a meal, but still craving something else. This is when we talk about what is missing- the satiety.
I decided to write this post today because I experienced this lack of satiety last night with dinner and it was funny to watch myself navigate this situation. My husband had picked up burgers on the way home from this food truck we like. Normally, their burgers are great, and their fries are delicious, so I was looking forward to the meal. Last night, however, was different. There was a seasoning on the fries that I didn’t care for which left me a little bummed and not really able to enjoy them. The burger had gotten a little too cool before I started eating it and I chose to be lazy and not go warm it up. So, I sat there and ate my semi-cold burger with weird tasting fries.
Later, after cleaning up, I sat down to watch an episode with the family and noticed I kept thinking about the ice cream in the fridge. Being that it was so soon after dinner and I had eaten a normal amount for dinner, I knew I wasn’t “physically” hungry. I also knew I had had some cookies with the kids that afternoon, so I knew I wasn’t deprived of sweets. I tried to bring my focus back to the show, but my thoughts kept going back to the delicious cookies and cream waiting me in the freezer. Finally, I told myself that clearly, I wasn’t satisfied with my dinner, and I got up and got a bowl of ice cream. Afterwards, I felt satisfied (and full) and got back to watching the episode with a smile on my face.