Satisfaction Guaranteed!

I've been noticing something interesting lately. My satisfaction level after eating a primal meal is high. So high I would put a Guarantee on it! When the body gets the nutrients and fuel it needs, it creates a level of contentment, that allows you to live without even thinking about food.

It's a unique feeling. I'm not talking about "feeling full" or "over-stuffed". Just "satisfied". In fact, I wouldn't even say that I feel full. I have a level of satisfaction and well-being that can carry me through my day and to my next meal.

I have always had a healthy appetite...this girl can EAT! And I still do. I eat pa-lenty, let me tell you! However, there is a difference from how I eat now, and how I previously ate.

When my diet was filled with grains: flour, breads, rice, etc., I never felt satisfied. Even when "full" I was looking for my next meal. Even when "stuffed". Never satisfied. And I had A LOT of negative self-talk to prove my dissatisfaction. "How can you STILL be hungry? You just ate 3 dinner rolls with your supper!" - "You are ALWAYS hungry!" - "Get control of yourself!" - and on and on...can anyone relate? So...the battle in my head and the feelings of hunger would, in the end, bring me back to the kitchen (even if I walked in and out 5 times...I would always go back) and eventually pull out a cereal bowl and have some other high-grain food to keep me just as dissatisfied and living in a cycle that seemed all-consuming and endless. I didn't know the food I was eating was keeping me on this cycle.

Let me tell you how the "cycle" works on a primal diet. I eat a meal high in protein, lots of veggies and/or fruits...therefore high in nutrients. When I finish eating, I'm not particularly full. I AM SATISFIED! I have fed my body, it is using the food I've given it to fuel me. I move on. I enjoy life. I work. I play. I clean (I am a mom, after all!). Meal time comes...I eat a meal high in protein, lots of veggies and/or fruits...therefore high in nutrients. When I finish eating, I'm not particularly full. I AM SATISFIED! I have fed my body, it is using the good I've given it to fuel me. I move on. I enjoy life. I work. I play. I clean (I am a mom, after all!). Meal time comes...I eat a meal high in protein, lots of veggies and/or fruits...therefore high in nutrients. When I finish eating, I'm not particularly full. I AM SATISFIED! I have fed my body, it is using the good I've given it to fuel me. I move on. I ENJOY LIFE! I work. I play. I clean (I am a mom, after all!). Meal time comes...does not this sound like a better cycle?? Doesn't it beat the one telling you "you suck! why don't you put down the fork? you have NO self control! when are you going to get a grip? stay away from the kitchen! no wonder you can't lose weight!" and that cycle continues, as well, for years and years and years...and I'm betting most of us know it!

I will take my primal cycle (cleaning and all...that's present in BOTH cycles, by the way) and be satisfied with my eating habits and be in control of my thoughts. I don't bash myself where food is concerned. I just don't. That's a perk I was not expecting on this diet/lifestyle. It happened naturally...and it's definitely a satisfaction guaranteed!