Why Should I Prioritize Satisfaction With Food?
Written by Isabel Vasquez RD, LDN
Nothing hits quite like a plate of white rice, habichuelas guisadas, and bistec encebollada…but you’ve been avoiding a meal like this for a while since you heard your cultural foods are ‘bad’ for you.
So instead, you have brown rice, chicken breast, and a kale salad. Chances are, you’re feeling full but not satisfied. It’s just not hitting the spot like a plate of your favorite cultural foods would. In turn, you may end up constantly daydreaming about your fave cultural dish.
There’s a reason satisfaction is so central to making peace with food!
What is Satisfaction With Food?
Satisfaction is defined as, “fulfillment of one's wishes, expectations, or needs, or the pleasure derived from this.” I love applying this definition to satisfaction with food.
For one, we need food, so feeding yourself is certainly tending to your needs. Plus, I love how pleasure is included in the definition! Because yes, pleasure is a central part of eating.
Our bodies are wired to derive pleasure from food. Why? Because we need it to survive, and pleasure can be a pretty good motivator to meet our needs.
Satisfaction invites us to honor our wishes AND our needs, and reap the rewards!
Satisfaction May Improve Health
In a 2020 systematic review of 119 studies in the journal PLoS One, 57% of the studies found an association between eating pleasure and dietary outcomes.
Some of the most common markers of pleasure included sensory experiences, social experiences, food characteristics, food preparation process, novelty, and variety.
Furthermore, cultural foods are often some of the most satisfying and pleasurable to eat. They usually bring us a sense of belonging and connectedness!
We know that these two factors—belonging and connection—are key for well-being, per a 2022 study in the Australian Journal of Psychology. So, eating cultural foods for satisfaction can certainly support our health by helping us to feel connected to our family, culture, and community.
Furthermore, feeling pleasure helps your nervous system enter rest-and-digest mode. When your nervous system is all riled up and in fight-or-flight mode from chronic stress or trauma, it also causes physiological changes.
One of those is that blood flow gets diverted away from your digestive tract, which could harm your gut health and hinder healthy digestion. So, letting yourself find satisfaction and pleasure from food may also support healthy digestion by helping you to relax.
How to Prioritize Satisfaction with Food
First off, I want to say that it’s not always possible to center satisfaction in your eating. Sometimes, it’s just about getting the food in while you can. But you deserve to find joy and pleasure from eating whenever possible.
So, here are some ideas for how to bring satisfaction into your eating experience:
Set the environment. Try making the eating environment pleasant whenever possible. Of course, given how fast-paced and hectic life can be, this isn’t always possible. But when you can, maybe you do a little extra something to set the vibe. Light a candle or make dinner plans with a good friend.
Take grounding breaths before a meal. Oftentimes, we’re trying to squeeze in meals between meetings or errands. We can’t add more time to the day, but you may be able to take just a few moments to take some deep breaths and calm your nervous system before starting your meal. This can help you become more present with the meal and promote healthy digestion.
Consider the type of food you want. Instead of diet culture food descriptors, think of neutral descriptors like the texture, temperature, and flavor that would satisfy you.
Carve out breaks in your day for meals and snacks. If you have a dedicated time for meals and snacks, you have the space to tune into your body and be mindful of satisfaction. Of course, we’d all love an hour-long lunch break, but even if you can only take 10 minutes, try letting yourself have the time to focus on enjoying your meal.
Stay nourished consistently throughout the day. Make sure to nourish yourself consistently to prevent ravenous hunger and allow yourself to be able to tune into your body better. When we get too hungry or disconnect from our hunger and fullness cues, we aren’t as able to connect with signals of fullness or satisfaction.
Eat with others. Studies—including a 2015 study in the Global Journal of Health Science—show that eating more meals alone is linked with unhappiness. Plus, having more social connectedness is linked with better mental and physical health outcomes, per the CDC. So, when you can, try using meals as an opportunity to connect with others.
Final Thoughts
When you’re dieting, satisfaction is usually left out of the eating experience. Yet, when you work on ditching diets and making peace with food, satisfaction becomes super important. Yes, finding pleasure from food is normal and natural and beautiful.
So, try to notice and honor your cravings and taste preferences whenever you can, without guilt about where they lead you.
For education on how to ADD nutrition to your favorite Latine cultural dishes, make peace with food, and focus on your health without dieting, join our nutrition library for just $27/month.
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