by Howard Farkas

Created on: March 18, 2009

How many times have you walked away from a meal feeling like you ate too much but barely paid attention to how it tasted? Your mind was on just about everything but the food. That's because people tend to associate satisfaction from a meal with the volume of food they've eaten. They're not satisfied until they're full.

But satisfaction is much more than that; it comes from all the senses working together. For example, you may have noticed that when it comes to restaurants, portion size is inversely proportional to the cost of the meal. While family-style chain restaurants will often serve enormous quantities on serving platters for a single order, high-end restaurants tend to serve relatively small portions.

There's a good reason for that. Think of a great meal you might have once eaten at a quality restaurant that serves very modest portions. You tend to slow down and savor every bite. You don't want to miss any of the experience. And you probably still remember it.

That's because all aspects of that kind of meal come together to enhance the experience. The taste, texture, and aroma of the food, the presentation of the meal, and even the service and ambience, combine to create an overall feeling of satisfaction.

I believe that what you get from these aspects of the sensory experience, even when you're eating a simple homemade dinner, can allow you to reduce the quantity of food that you eat. Satisfaction can be experienced in a variety of ways, but only when you pay attention to what you eat.

Sixty percent of the people who responded to a recent
online survey say they usually eat their meals on the couch in front of the television or their computers. Only a third eat at the kitchen or dining room table whether alone or with their family.

When the focus is not the meal but the TV, computer or newspaper, there is little awareness of the enjoyment and satisfaction that can come from a good meal. The sense of satisfaction comes primarily from only one aspect of the sensory experience: that feeling of fullness. It's like an oblivious driver who goes right through a stop sign, and he only realizes it when finds himself in the middle of the intersection with car horns blaring.

There are two approaches to eating. One approach is mindless ingestion of food that gives the experience of "satisfaction" only after you have eaten too much. The other approach is mindful eating, which engages all of your senses to experience and enjoy what you eat.

So set the table, put out the dishes, and eat sitting down, even if you're eating by yourself. When you fully engage your mind at mealtime, you may begin to truly enjoy the pleasure of eating with a sense of fulfillment rather than just eating for a feeling of fullness.

Learn more about this author, Howard Farkas.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.