Understanding Physical vs. Emotional Satiation in Diet Recovery

There are two primary types of satiation that non-dieters (aka “normal” eaters) typically aim for when they eat: 

Physical Satiation & Emotional Satiation. 

Physical Satiation is the result of having all of your biological needs met around food—especially, but not limited to, your caloric and macronutrient needs.

Of course, it should go without saying that our physical needs demand a substantially greater amount of food than what diet culture would have you believe is “normal.”

It’s not uncommon for magazines and blogs to share “healthy meal plans” that are roughly equivalent to what would be considered a starvation diet fifty years ago, or roughly half of what the average woman truly needs in a day…more on this here.

Our physical needs may also be greater than what our initial attempts at Intuitive Eating would have us believe is “normal” …especially if you’re not emotionally comfortable with a wide spectrum of fullness levels, as is the case with many dieters and diet-binge cyclers when they begin their recovery process. 

On that note, it’s worth mentioning that physical satiation and fullness are NOT the same things. 

Sometimes we need to get very full (even beyond the point of “comfort”) to meet our physical satiation needs. 

This can be the case at any point in our recovery (e.g. “I was sick and lost my appetite and now it’s come back with a vengeance”), however, it’s especially common for folks in early diet recovery who may be restoring a long-term energy deficit. 

You can read more about the difference between fullness and satiation on the blog here

Emotional Satiation, on the other hand—which is nearly as important as physical satiation in healing our relationship with food—is achieved through the pursuit of pleasure in a meal—the feeling that we’ve gotten something delicious, enjoyable, and emotionally nourishing. 

Relaxation around food—including the belief that what (and how much) we’re eating is safe, acceptable, and won’t be taken away in the future—is a key ingredient to achieving Emotional Satiation.

Of course, relaxation around food is easily disrupted by body image concerns, health-related anxieties, or diet-related trauma—

which is why full legalization of food (both physical and emotional legalization), as well as consistent body image work and anxiety management, are key ingredients to long-term diet-binge recovery.   

In case you missed it, I speak about the critically important role of anxiety management in this important podcast interview. You don’t want to miss it.  

Lastly, it’s worth noting that “perfect” satiation in either of these areas is not really a thing. 

Satiation is a relatively gray area to shoot for—not an exact line in the sand—however, if we’re chronically unsatisfied in either of these areas, we’re likely to struggle in our relationship with food. 

Something to chew on… 

Want more Diet-Binge Recovery insights from me? Check out my FREE video training series at stopfightingfood.com

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