A dieter, Katherine, was recently talking to me about a subject matter I hear over and over again from dieters. She told me that one of the biggest changes she has undergone since starting the program is that now she is much happier and satisfied with less food. In the past, Katherine said she always liked to eat very large portions of food, and didn’t feel satisfied until she had eaten an enormous amount. But once she started making plans and really working on eating slowly, while sitting down, and enjoying every bite, she found that she didn’t need nearly as much food. Katherine said that the simple act alone of really tasting each bite gave her so much more satisfaction than when she used to eat so many more bites – but without really tasting any of them.
Katherine was also surprised by the fact that her tastes have really changed. She said she used to eat a lot of fast food and fried foods, but ever since she started eating less but enjoying her healthy food more, she can’t really stomach her old way of eating. She says that really fatty or fried foods have completely lost their appeal, and when she does eat them, she often feels unwell after. While this isn’t necessarily true of everyone, I do hear, again and again, exactly what Katherine was telling me. People’s tastes truly do change, even if they are convinced in the beginning that they never will.