“It seems like you have a pretty good idea of how ‘comfortably full’ feels. Sometimes it’s hard to stop there, though"

The girls were gathered discussing the previous lesson. “I made the craziest discovery: If you eat a snack before bed, you will have an amazing sleep!” Chaya crowed.

“I also made a discovery. Turns out I do feel hunger, I just didn’t recognize it!” Leah celebrated.

“Welcome back, ladies!” Bracha got their attention. “It sounds like you’ve made some steps in recognizing hunger. That’s great, because today’s topic of fullness has a lot to do with tuning into your hunger levels.”

“As we mentioned, when we start eating in response to the subtle hunger cues, we can tune into the subtle feelings of fullness, rather than waiting until we’re uncomfortably stuffed. Can anyone think of a time they felt comfortably full? How did that feel?”

Shoshana answered, “I felt satisfied. Like I had eaten something substantial and it was filling and comfortable.”

“That’s a great description. Of course, that will feel different for everyone, and tuning into your own fullness will be personal. One of the things that can help us reach that satisfied feeling is to try to choose foods and create combinations that provide lasting fullness. What is a meal or snack that you find filling?”

“I like a lunch of mac and cheese, a fruit, and something like popcorn or chips to make me full,” answered Leah.

Chaya added, “Now that I’m washing for breakfast and having ‘a full meal’ with maybe peanut butter toast and sliced banana, I’m usually full until lunch.”

Shoshana chimed in, “I make this really filling salad with nuts and toasted grains and loads of vegetables, and this really amazing dressing. I find that when I don’t load up a salad with things I enjoy, it’s really boring to eat and doesn’t keep me full for long. That’s when I’d get those really big hunger signals I mentioned last time.”

“That’s great reflection, everyone! You can all start noticing patterns about how long food keeps you full and whether you need to add more food into your meal, or eat more often.”

Bracha continued, “It seems like you have a pretty good idea of how ‘comfortably full’ feels. Sometimes it’s hard to stop there, though. What might be something that gets us eating past comfortably full?”