Ep. 10 Make Healthy Eating Fun Again

[00:00:01] So I once had a client tell me this story about how she was going out to dinner and was at a fast food restaurant.

[00:00:08] And because at that time, she and I were really working on making peace with food and that unconditional permission to eat the foods that she enjoyed and to eat what she wanted, she knew that that night she wanted a cheeseburger.

[00:00:23] But as she was standing in line, the woman in front of her ordered a grilled chicken sandwich.

[00:00:30] Now, for my client, this woman who was in front of her was thin and beautiful and had this body that my client so desired for herself.

[00:00:40] And when she heard her order this grilled chicken sandwich that order got into my client's head.

[00:00:47] She said that she instantly felt guilty and ashamed for wanting a cheeseburger and her inner food critic that inner food police was screaming at her.

[00:00:57] That she'd never be healthy like the woman in front of her if she ate that cheeseburger.

[00:01:02] So what did my client do?

[00:01:04] She ordered the grilled chicken sandwich and said it was one of the most miserable and unpleasurable eating experiences she'd had.

[00:01:14] Because she really didn't want the chicken sandwich.

[00:01:17] She really wanted the cheeseburger.

[00:01:21] But she let her diet culture food beliefs scare her out of eating something that would satisfy her taste buds.

[00:01:30] She said the sandwich was dry and flavorless and she wished she just would have ordered the burger because what happened is when she got home,

[00:01:39] she ended up in a binge looking for something to satisfy her, something to satisfy her taste buds.

[00:01:47] She subbed out what she knew she wanted, what would be satisfying, what would be nourishing, the way that she wanted to fuel her body.

[00:01:56] But she subbed it out for something that was less than satisfying, something that she didn't really want and ultimately didn't enjoy.

[00:02:06] And choosing that healthier, quote unquote healthier option in the moment only ended up wreaking havoc on her later in the day.

[00:02:17] But we do this a lot in life, right?

[00:02:20] We choose the lesser good.

[00:02:22] We don't pursue what we really want or what the desires God puts on our heart or you know, the food that he's telling us we would enjoy.

[00:02:34] Instead we choose something someone else thinks is good for us.

[00:02:39] So we substitute seeking out God's goodness with trying to achieve worldly goals and desires and material goods.

[00:02:50] But what if I told you that just by learning to seek satisfaction in what you eat,

[00:02:58] it could help you reorient other areas in your life towards seeking God's goodness instead of what the world is saying is good.

[00:03:10] Welcome to the Nourished to Bloom podcast where your faith meets your health.

[00:03:14] I'm your host Cara Trakta, a registered dietitian and certified Catholic coach

[00:03:19] and I'm here to help you cultivate a deeper connection with your body, your spirit and the nourishment that sustains them both.

[00:03:26] In a world filled with noise and confusion about food, health and body image,

[00:03:31] this podcast offers truth and healing from a Christ-centered perspective.

[00:03:35] Together we'll untangle the deep roots of diet culture and discover what it means to truly care for ourselves

[00:03:42] through joyful nourishment of mind, body and soul.

[00:03:46] We're here to dive into the transformative power of intuitive eating coupled with the rich teachings of our Christian faith.

[00:03:51] With every episode I'll be cheering you on, offering insights, inspiration and practical tools to help you

[00:03:58] heal your relationship with food and embrace the beauty of your body as a temple of the Holy Spirit.

[00:04:04] With confidence and courage that can only be found in Christ.

[00:04:09] Join me as we journey together towards a more holistic approach to wellness,

[00:04:13] one that honors the wisdom of your body as God's creation,

[00:04:18] the teachings of our faith and the unique purpose you're called to fulfill.

[00:04:22] You were made to bloom, to come into full beauty and health in order to bear good fruit for the Lord with your life.

[00:04:30] So if you're ready to nourish your body, feed your soul and bloom into the best version of yourself,

[00:04:36] then you're in the right place and I'm so happy you're here.

[00:04:39] Welcome to Nourish to Bloom where every day is a sacred invitation to thrive.

[00:04:49] Hey there, welcome back.

[00:04:51] So over the last few episodes we've talked about how we feel guilty when we eat foods we enjoy or that are labelled quote-unquote bad by diet culture.

[00:05:01] And somewhere along the way we started to believe that guilt was the correct response to eating good food

[00:05:08] and that to eat healthy means not eating anything that's labeled quote-unquote bad for you.

[00:05:17] Part of this is because like we've talked about diet culture and food marketing presents delicious food as sinful or indulgent.

[00:05:26] Thus it plays into our moral virtues and I touched on this in episode 8, Making Peace with Food.

[00:05:33] But food is a gift from God.

[00:05:36] I want you to think about when the Israelites left Egypt and they were in the desert and how God sent them manna from heaven

[00:05:44] and how satisfying it was and how good it tasted.

[00:05:49] What we eat now in today's day and age should also be pleasurable and satisfying.

[00:05:57] It improves our relationship with food, it improves our eating experience.

[00:06:03] It just brings this level of satisfaction and pleasure into our life.

[00:06:12] And when we make enjoyment and satisfaction a part of healthy eating, we can really carry that mindset into other areas of our life.

[00:06:22] And this helps us increase our overall attitude of gratitude.

[00:06:27] We start to seek and see things through the lens of how whatever it is that's in front of us is truly a gift from God.

[00:06:36] So I want you to think about every diet you've been on.

[00:06:40] Would you say that overall the experience was one of pleasure or enjoyment?

[00:06:49] Like, be honest, were you happier or more fulfilled when you were eating diet foods or eating foods that were only approved on this diet or weight loss plan?

[00:07:03] Or did you find yourself a little bummed out by your limited choices?

[00:07:08] I mean, maybe you did lose some weight but chances are you likely gained it back.

[00:07:16] And so did that whole experience going through that deprivation and that restriction just to drop a couple of pounds only to gain them back?

[00:07:24] Did that whole experience having such limited choices of eating, did it bring you more contentment or joy out of life?

[00:07:33] I mean, I would go out on a limb here and say probably not.

[00:07:41] When I was dieting changing my body was what I thought would lead to satisfaction and fulfillment.

[00:07:48] I told myself that if I just could lose the weight, if my body just looked this way that I would be happy.

[00:07:56] But now I know thanks to intuitive eating and thanks to the deep mindset work that I've done over the last few years.

[00:08:04] And after healing this relationship with food in my body, I realize that no matter how much weight I lost or what my body looked like,

[00:08:16] even if it did bring a little bit of satisfaction and fulfillment in the moment, it was fleeting.

[00:08:21] It didn't last.

[00:08:23] And so through this healing journey, I've been able to recalibrate and realign my life to make it more Christ-centered knowing that only the Lord can satisfy

[00:08:36] and only he can bring that lasting and sustainable satisfaction and fulfillment to my life.

[00:08:43] Because true joy and fulfillment can only be found in the Lord.

[00:08:47] And when we stop focusing so much on food and weight and body image and start focusing on living your life for the Lord,

[00:08:54] there's no way that your overall enjoyment and satisfaction in life doesn't increase.

[00:09:01] There's no way that you don't become a happier person.

[00:09:05] So I challenge you daily to seek ways to be grateful for the Lord's provisions and blessings through just simply beginning by enjoying and choosing foods that are satisfying from a taste perspective,

[00:09:20] from a nourishing perspective.

[00:09:23] In 1999, a food psychologist named Paul Rosen conducted a study of four students and found, I'm sorry, not four students, four countries,

[00:09:35] and found that the French are the most food-pleasure oriented and the least health-oriented when it comes to their food choices and how they approach eating.

[00:09:46] While in great contrast, Americans had the greatest worry over their health and eating and greatest dissatisfaction with what they ate.

[00:09:57] Interesting enough, the French have a longer life expectancy, take less medication and have markedly lower rates of heart disease,

[00:10:06] despite the fact that their diet appears to be less than healthy because they have the highest per capita dairy fat consumption, think cheese, butter, cream.

[00:10:18] And this whole thing is known as the French paradox.

[00:10:23] We can also look at the Japanese and their culture.

[00:10:27] One of their wisdoms when it comes to eating is to promote pleasure as a goal of healthy living.

[00:10:35] But thanks to American diet culture, we often overlook these gifts of pleasure and satisfaction that can be found in the eating experience.

[00:10:45] I'm going to give you one more example.

[00:10:47] We also can see how enjoyment and satisfaction of food and meals is important in other countries.

[00:10:54] So I don't know if you've ever seen it. It's on Netflix.

[00:10:57] I highly recommend it. It was a really good show documentary thing, but on the show Down to Earth and it's hosted by Zach Efron.

[00:11:06] He visits one of these blue zones in Sardinia, Italy.

[00:11:12] And so these blue zones are an area of the world that has the highest percentage of centurions, which are people living to be 100 years older, older.

[00:11:21] And while he was there, he saw the striking contrast between the what the people in Sardinia, Italy, ate versus that of Americans.

[00:11:32] Their diet actually consisted of large amounts of carbohydrates and lower amounts of protein.

[00:11:38] They also just in their daily living moved more.

[00:11:42] But it's funny when we think about, you know, they were eating more carbohydrates and less protein.

[00:11:47] But in America, aren't we like taught protein as king?

[00:11:51] And so if we can, if we look at this and we have this mentality and this mindset that

[00:12:01] America is the gold standard of how we should eat with with our diet culture and trying to be as healthy as possible.

[00:12:10] And the probably the most diet foods that are out there, if our food supply is supposed to be promoting our overall health and wellness.

[00:12:22] Why is America dealing with such a health crisis.

[00:12:27] So in each of these areas that we've talked about France and Japan and Italy, they all these areas have major differences in what they are eating in the particular food they are eating compared to what we eat in America.

[00:12:44] But even amongst themselves are all eating a very different diet from each other.

[00:12:49] And yet have, you know, some of the healthiest people and this healthiest relationship with food.

[00:12:57] So what really makes them some of the healthiest people.

[00:13:01] It's not about what what they are eating.

[00:13:05] It's really about their relationship with food and this positive attitude towards eating and this encompassing and embracing that eating is one of life's pleasures.

[00:13:19] So this idea of satisfaction in what we eat can coexist with healthy eating.

[00:13:26] We can use our nutrition knowledge, as well as knowing what foods will taste good to help us make informed food choices that are best for each of our own bodies.

[00:13:39] Diet culture tells you it's a one size fit all that everybody should be eating the same thing and if everybody is eating the same thing that everybody should lose weight and everybody's should everybody's body should look the same.

[00:13:50] Does that happen.

[00:13:52] No, health and wellness and nutrition is not a one size fits all.

[00:13:58] It is a very individualized approach to eating and intuitive eating helps you tap into your unique individual needs and what your body.

[00:14:10] What foods best help your body and what foods taste good to you.

[00:14:16] And once you think about satisfaction being this mental part of fullness.

[00:14:21] When we choose foods we enjoy we promote satisfaction which keeps us from continually seeking food to satisfy a taste, a particular flavor or a texture craving.

[00:14:34] And when we choose foods that are satisfying it makes it easier for us to honor our fullness cues to know that we can stop eating when we're comfortably full because we have eaten foods that we enjoy.

[00:14:46] So we have the mental satisfaction and then we're feeling that fullness in our body.

[00:14:51] And we're going to go deeper into honoring our fullness in the next episode, which is the actual physical part of fullness, but satisfaction is that mental part.

[00:15:01] So for many people the combination of nutrition knowledge with satisfaction in eating and food choices actually results in eating less food overall, because when you eat foods you enjoy it usually takes less food to reach satisfaction and fullness.

[00:15:20] I want you to think about how many times you've ended up chasing a quote unquote safe food.

[00:15:25] So we can define a safe food as a filler food that you are eating trying to trick your body and mind into it into.

[00:15:35] That's what you wanted right searching for a food to satisfy your craving, only to find that you've eaten way more than you would have if you just would have allowed yourself to eat what you wanted.

[00:15:47] You had a time when you really wanted a brownie, but you ended up eating an apple and then baby carrots and then crackers because they were all quote unquote safe foods and maybe a bunch of other things trying to satisfy this craving, but then you still ended up eating the brownie.

[00:16:04] Like there was an overconsumption of calories because you were still trying to meet that satisfaction piece of it.

[00:16:11] So is it really your really a healthier way to live.

[00:16:15] I would say no because you're challenge you are eating past the point of fullness, and you are kind of promoting this idea of foods being safe and unsafe and that again plays into that diet culture mentality.

[00:16:34] So the point is that if you're unsatisfied with your food choices, you will likely eat more and be on the prowl seeking and searching for a food until you find that satisfaction until you reach that level of satisfaction and it's been achieved.

[00:16:54] But I get it.

[00:16:56] Oh, you might be sitting here and thinking like, okay, if I let myself eat foods that I enjoy, then I might continue to seek food uncontrollably.

[00:17:06] There's this fear that if you start eating or letting yourself have these things that you won't be able to stop.

[00:17:12] But I want you to remember that we've discussed this in previous episodes that letting yourself enjoy foods results in this natural ability to self limit.

[00:17:23] You actually end up having more discipline and more self control around food.

[00:17:29] So feeling this sense of satisfaction in a meal or a snack decreases your yearning for foods at a later time.

[00:17:39] I want to point out and I want you to know because this I think is a big misconception with intuitive eating and unfortunately food companies and marketing companies are now playing into this, this myth that there's

[00:17:55] misconception of intuitive eating and it being that you can just eat whatever you want.

[00:18:01] That's true.

[00:18:03] Seeking satisfaction in what you eat doesn't mean that all you're eating is cookies and ice cream.

[00:18:09] Seeking satisfaction means that you're making room for your own individual food preferences, the flavors and the textures and the types of food that you enjoy.

[00:18:21] And it's an invitation to include all foods you enjoy.

[00:18:26] At lunch today, I had some spinach tip with my broccoli and cauliflower like raw broccoli and cauliflower.

[00:18:33] And in the past I would in my dieting days I would have never allowed myself to have the dip because I had this notion that it was quote unquote unhealthy.

[00:18:44] But since making peace with food, I find that the dip actually makes eating these raw vegetables more satisfying.

[00:18:53] And it actually becomes this vehicle this way to promote me eating more vegetables.

[00:19:00] But diet culture would tell you that you can't have the dip because it's fattening or it's just wasted calories.

[00:19:08] Seeking satisfaction also looks like maybe adding some butter to your steamed vegetables.

[00:19:14] You have chosen in that moment to eat the vegetables because you know that they're nutritious for your body and you want to include those vegetables.

[00:19:24] But you also have the permission to add butter because adding butter makes them more enjoyable to eat.

[00:19:31] Or maybe it's adding garlic toast to your lasagna dinner because it would make the whole experience more enjoyable.

[00:19:38] I know in my past that the belief that the garlic toast was quote unquote bad for me would actually just end up leading to me eating multiple pieces of it.

[00:19:47] Because I would tell myself well it's on the table I have to have it now and I have to have as much of it as I can before you know I start over again tomorrow or I'm quote unquote good tomorrow.

[00:19:58] But now I know that I can include this garlic toast with my meals because it tastes good.

[00:20:04] And I like it and I'm easily satisfied at one piece.

[00:20:10] It also helps my own kids learn to this this natural self limiting and this exposure to all foods so when they go to a friend's house or they're out at a restaurant and there's you know garlic toast.

[00:20:24] They're not binging off of it or eating you know five or six pieces because mom never lets us have that at home.

[00:20:34] But by knowing what you like to eat and believing that you were able to enjoy it.

[00:20:38] These are key factors in a lifetime of enjoyable eating that's filled with gratitude for the gifts of good food.

[00:20:49] This whole process is a gift and when we approach eating with a sense of gratitude.

[00:20:55] When we look at our meals and we can be thankful for the people who grew the food, the preparation of the food the whole eating experience the atmosphere that we have the connection that this this meal.

[00:21:12] The opportunity for connection that this meal offers us.

[00:21:16] When we think about satisfaction at meals.

[00:21:20] It really makes me think about the portrayal of the wedding feast at Cana in the series The Chosen.

[00:21:29] And if you go back and you watch that episode there's just something about this enjoyment that the disciples are experiencing at this wedding feast.

[00:21:38] They are they're happy they're you know just connecting with each other they're enjoying their time there.

[00:21:47] And there's a sense of gratitude for being able to be there and to be able to be there with the Lord and then there's this whole like next level element of gratitude because of Christ's miracle of turning water into wine of being able to.

[00:22:04] Prolong that enjoyment and that experience for all the people who are at the wedding feast.

[00:22:12] I just think I don't know when I think about it I, I think about I can just kind of see the disciples faces, you know at that wedding feast that's portrayed in The Chosen and just think about how yeah like that's how we should approach eating.

[00:22:26] And I'm grateful daily for the way that intuitive eating has changed my attitude about food and my body, and how Christ brought it into my life.

[00:22:35] How he brought intuitive eating into my life this opportunity as this wake up call to help me realize that for so long I was living for the wrong things.

[00:22:47] And I'm grateful because I can enjoy food now and not obsess about it, not overthink about it not micro manage it but just choose something that sounds good prepare it for my family sit down and eat it.

[00:23:03] And be more focused on what's happening at my dinner table and the connection with my my kids and my husband.

[00:23:11] It's no longer something that I overthink or worry about.

[00:23:15] And I'm grateful for that because it's also made, you know bigger life experiences more enjoyable.

[00:23:22] My husband and I took a trip to Cabo with friends and gosh experience some of the most amazing food.

[00:23:31] Hands down while I was there I had two of the best meals I have ever eaten in my life.

[00:23:37] They are 100% at the top two meals I've ever had.

[00:23:41] But if I had still been stuck in that diet mentality.

[00:23:45] I really would have been worried the whole time about what I could or couldn't eat, instead of really just getting to taste and experience this like once in a lifetime opportunity.

[00:23:58] Like I sometimes think maybe part of God's human design included making food taste good.

[00:24:07] Like what if we were created to seek this pleasure and satisfaction and something as simple and necessary as eating because not only would it ensure our survival, but it's one of the most simplistic ways to give gratitude and see how God is working in our lives.

[00:24:26] Like think about it if food was just meh or bleh would you stop whatever you were doing to eat and like meet that basic need to survive.

[00:24:37] Like we were created with our senses, our sense of smell, our sense of taste, of sight, of touch and all of these things.

[00:24:49] These senses allow us to experience God's goodness and experiences God's beauty and the things that he's provided for us.

[00:24:58] We were created to understand and enjoy the world around us.

[00:25:04] And thankfully God made food good.

[00:25:09] I don't think when we desire to enjoy food that we really want to be able to only eat ice cream and chips and cookies without any consequences.

[00:25:19] I think when we desire to enjoy food, what we really want is this ability to enjoy these things as part of healthy eating.

[00:25:29] To know what tastes good to us, what we enjoy, what foods be like, but that it's coupled with the freedom that we could have it if we really wanted it, but also being okay to say, huh, I don't really want this in the, in that moment.

[00:25:45] To be able to say yes to ice cream with the kids because man that Cookie Monster ice cream is awesome.

[00:25:54] But no to the piece of cake at the birthday party because it really didn't taste that great.

[00:25:59] But knowing that, huh, if it would have tasted good and it was something that you enjoyed you could have had it if you really wanted it.

[00:26:06] It would have been something that would have satisfied your taste buds.

[00:26:10] I think incorporating satisfaction into our food choices helps us to eliminate this food mind drama that currently rules our life.

[00:26:20] We can get out of this downward spiral of guilt and shame that comes with eating a quote unquote forbidden food and eliminate this ruminating and obsessing over a food that comes when we don't have permission to eat the foods we enjoy.

[00:26:36] We can look to scripture to Genesis chapter one verse 29 and 31.

[00:26:42] God said, See I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of the earth and every tree with seed in its fruit, you shall have them for food.

[00:26:54] And then we know in God's creation story that God saw everything that he had made and indeed it was very good.

[00:27:03] God is our ultimate provider and abundantly blesses us with a variety of foods that taste good to help us meet our human needs.

[00:27:14] God created us to seek our greatest good, which is Beatitude coming face to face with him.

[00:27:20] In the Catechism of the Catholic Church number 1718, it speaks to our desire for happiness.

[00:27:27] It says that the Beatitude's respond to the natural desire for happiness and this desire is of divine origin.

[00:27:36] God has placed it in each of our human hearts, this desire for happiness in order to draw us to the one, the only one who can fulfill it.

[00:27:48] We all want to live happily in the whole human race. There is no one who does not ascent to this proposition even before it is fully articulated.

[00:27:59] How is it then that I seek you Lord, since in seeking you my God, I seek a happy life.

[00:28:06] Let me seek you so that my soul may live for my body draws life from my soul and my soul draws life from you.

[00:28:16] God alone satisfies.

[00:28:20] But just like Eve in the garden got tricked by the serpent into thinking that what the serpent offered her was her greatest good.

[00:28:28] Diet culture and other societal standards have disrupted this natural desire for happiness and knowing and seeking what will truly satisfy because it works to confuse us to what our greatest good is.

[00:28:46] The world tells you that you need the luxury car, the Pinterest worthy house, this amount of money in the bank to be happy.

[00:28:54] We get too hung up on making food choices and desiring the perfect body.

[00:29:00] And all of this worldly desire confuses us to what our greatest good is.

[00:29:07] And this causes us to fall into sin, and it causes us to seek something that is a lesser good.

[00:29:14] And it disconnects us from our souls and our body and the Holy Spirit because we listen to this worldly wisdom instead of the internal wisdom that the Lord provides us.

[00:29:27] So let us seek to walk with the Holy Spirit and ask for help in listening to our bodies into listening and leaning into the desires that he puts on our heart and in our minds.

[00:29:45] And to listen to this when we're making food choices, as well as in bigger in bigger life decisions.

[00:29:54] But to lean into this and making food choices that are based on our taste preferences, understanding how food feels in our body, understanding our hunger level and the work that is to be done,

[00:30:07] and then choosing what will satisfy our bodies, what will nourish our bodies, what will fuel our bodies in a way that is tethered to the Lord and his desires and plans for us.

[00:30:20] So I want to leave you with five steps to help you regain pleasure and food, five steps to make eating fun again.

[00:30:30] Ask yourself what you really want to eat and not make food choices and food decisions based on what you think you should eat.

[00:30:41] So if you have been in this diet mentality for so long, there's a real possibility that you might not actually know what foods you enjoy.

[00:30:51] So take some time and think about it. Think about, huh, is there something that I've always wanted to try but it hasn't been quote unquote diet approved?

[00:31:01] Go try that food, right? So just really ask yourself in that moment when you're making these food decisions, what do I really want to eat?

[00:31:09] What will satisfy my taste buds? What will help me nourish my body in the way that I want to? What will fuel me? What will feel good in my body, you know, later on an hour later or later in the day.

[00:31:22] So that's really important to understand your own food preferences.

[00:31:28] Number two, while you were eating, explore the sensual qualities of food. Remember that God created us with our senses to experience life.

[00:31:38] And this goes into being able to experience what you are eating. I want you to think about using your senses to slow down and savor your food.

[00:31:48] What does it look like on the plate? Is it appealing? What colors do you see? What textures do you see? What textures do you taste? What do you smell?

[00:32:01] What flavors are there? And this leads into number three, like make the whole eating experience enjoyable.

[00:32:10] Make it a time to connect with God and with those you love. So we can do this by starting each meal with a prayer, giving thanks for the meal that has been prepared.

[00:32:23] Thankful for those who grew our food, those who have prepared our food for the blessing and the blessings that God has provided in our life.

[00:32:34] And then also a time to connect with others, have meaningful conversation. One thing that we do in our family is we set the table.

[00:32:47] I feel like it was something I grew up doing with my grandmother and then when I was an early adulthood, I never did it.

[00:32:54] But now that we have kids, there's something about putting a pretty tablecloth on the table and some pretty napkins and just having the table set and then putting our food out their family style.

[00:33:08] There's just something about making our table pretty, right? It's giving this importance to nourishing our body and enjoying this time and this meal together.

[00:33:23] Okay, step number four, don't settle. Don't settle for foods that don't taste good or that you don't enjoy.

[00:33:34] Like one of the kind of premises or guiding, I guess quotes of intuitive eating is if you don't love it, don't eat it.

[00:33:44] And then this one I also enjoyed like asking yourself is what I'm eating worthy of my taste buds.

[00:33:53] And I get it, not every meal is going to be great. I mean there's some meals that I cook and I'm like, guys, I'm sorry, this is just kind of mediocre.

[00:34:02] And we're going to have that. But if we are approaching our entire behavior with for eating with this idea of being able to find some satisfaction and some pleasure in what we are eating,

[00:34:16] we have the ability that when we go somewhere, if we don't really like what we're having, we don't have to eat it.

[00:34:23] Settle. And number five, check in. Check in through the meal. Do a taste check. Does this food still taste as good as it did the first bite I took?

[00:34:36] We have this natural, like we get to this point of this last bite threshold where like there's this natural little habituation that happens and the pleasure and the flavor and the satisfaction of the food starts to diminish.

[00:34:50] And that's a natural cue that we have to help us get to that understanding of, okay, I'm starting to feel full and I can be finished with my meal.

[00:34:59] So just do that taste check in. Does this taste as good as it did two bites ago? If I have one more bite, is it going to be as satisfying?

[00:35:09] Also do a fullness check. You know, how am I, am I starting to feel full? And we'll go into those fullness cues in the next episode, but am I starting to feel full?

[00:35:20] So real quick, those five steps I'm going to recap. Figure out what you really want to eat. Number two, use your senses to experience what you were eating.

[00:35:32] Number three, make the eating experience enjoyable and a time to connect with God and those you love. Number four, don't settle. And number five, check in throughout the meal.

[00:35:44] Satisfaction isn't solely based on what food you are eating. It's really this combination of the whole eating experience being able to enjoy what you were eating.

[00:35:54] Gratitude for the food the Lord has provided, the time to connect with friends and loved ones, and the opportunity to nourish and care for your body with a joyful attitude, knowing that you are worshiping the Lord through taking care of yourself.

[00:36:10] I'm going to leave you with Psalm 37 verse four, delight yourself in the Lord.

[00:36:18] Learning to seek satisfaction through food and eating really opens the door for more joy and satisfaction in all areas of your life.

[00:36:28] When you truly know that all satisfaction and joy comes from the Lord, you really look to him for this delight and to find satisfaction in all the things that he provides us with.

[00:36:47] So thanks for tuning in and I will see you on the next episode. Have a beautiful and blessed day. We'll talk soon. Bye.

[00:37:17] Blue.