Intuitive eaters eat when they are hungry and stop when they feel satisfied.  Small children are usually quite good at letting us know when they are hungry and when they are full.  We all had that ability at one time.  The good news is that we can relearn how to become an intuitive eater.

Intuitive eating or normal eating is not based on deprivation, calorie counting or making foods forbidden.  It is based on making peace with food, making eating pleasurable, and being in tune with your mind and body.

(Before class, write the bolded statements below on flip chart.)

Eat when hungry, stop when satisfied.  In a few minutes, we'll talk more about how to tell when you are biologically hungry and how to sense your fullness.

Choose a variety of foods you like.  The key is to enjoy the food.  Don't stop eating because you think you should but rather because you are satisfied.  This does require being present while you eat and using all your senses.

• Look at the variety of colors, shapes and sizes on the plate.
• With your eyes closed, deeply breathe in the aromas.
• Savor each taste sensation in the food:  sweet, sour, salty, bitter.
• Feel the textures and temperatures:  crunchy, soft, creamy, hot.
• Listen to the sound the food makes if it is a food that you chew.

Give each participant a chocolate kiss and tell them to wait to unwrap and eat it.  For people who don't like or can't eat chocolate, ask them to imagine going through this activity with their favorite food.  Instructions:

1. Do not eat the kiss right away!
2. First, admire the shape and color.
3. Anticipate how the kiss will taste.
4. Slowly unwrap the chocolate and place in your mouth.
5. DO NOT BITE!
6. Let the candy melt slowly in your mouth.
7. Savor the flavor and texture.

Use moderation.  Make choices to get a variety of healthful foods, yet don't be so restrictive you eliminate foods you enjoy.

Recognize that everyone overeats sometimes and under-eats at other times.  Your body can balance meals over time.  Each meal and each day not need to be perfect.

Trust your body.  Your body will give you signals when it is hungry and full.  Listen to what it is saying.  Also, your body can make up for some mistakes in eating.  Eating is one of life's great pleasures - enjoy eating guilt-free.

• Hunger is discomfort or weakness from lack of food.  What are some ways our bodies tell us we are hungry?  (headaches, dizziness, low energy)
• Fullness or satiety is having enough food or drink.  What are some ways our bodies tell us when we are full or even over full?  (stomach extends, food no longer tastes good)

This Hunger/Satiety Scale is a tool to identify internal signals of hunger and fullness.

• Focus on the 5, neither hungry nor full.  As you move left, you feel a little hungry.  If you wait to eat, the urge to eat strengthens and you feel emptier.  Eventually you are starving and beyond.
• Go back to center and imagine moving to the right.  You feel satisfied with the food in your stomach.  As you continue to eat, you feel fuller and fuller to the point of great discomfort and even pain.

As we understand our hunger and satiety patterns, we can use the scale to rediscover our hunger and fullness.

Ask for discussion and any volunteers who would like to share an experience where the Hunger/Satiety Scale might have helped them and/or how they might anticipate using it.

Reinforce the bottom line:  To be healthy, we need to be able to

• Honor our hunger - to eat when we feel we need food, and
• Feel our fullness - to eat slowly and stop eating when we are satisfied and before we get overfull.