Survive Social Snacking with Intuitive Eating

This weekend is the Big Game, Game Day Sunday, dare I say . . .  Super Bowl Sunday! (Does the NFL care about my little blog? Let’s find out!)

It’s pretty normal that our dietitian team will have lots of new clients early in the year. The New Year isn’t just for diets, folks resolve to practice intuitive eating too. And inevitably this weekend is a challenge. Year after year clients who are just dipping their toes into intuitive eating feel like they’ve been knocked off course after their Super Bowl celebrations.

“I didn’t think I ate that much but I was so full by the time I got home . . . it was miserable.”

“I don’t know why I did that, I don’t even like chicken wings! Why did I eat so many of them?”

Of course, it’s not just Super Bowl Sunday. Any social event with lots of snacking can be a challenge for even the most skilled intuitive eater. That work party with the passed hors d’oeuvres. The trendy tapas restaurant. Or getting together with friends for wine and cheese. In each of these events, a meal is replaced by snacks or small plates, typically eaten over several hours. This is a unique eating experience that’s outside the norm of our usual breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And it can be difficult to gauge fullness or tune in to satisfaction cues. I hope the following tools might be useful as you head into game day. I also hope you’ll give yourself lots of compassion. Social snacking is an advanced intuitive eating skill. If you’re new to anti-diet work, aim for ok-enough this weekend.  

And now my standard disclaimer: This post is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for individualized medical or mental health care. It does not constitute a patient-provider relationship. The content of this post might not feel useful to you right now – please take the information that serves you and leave the rest.

What makes social snacking so challenging anyway?

Distraction:

The Intuitive Eating Workbook includes a Distracted Eating Checklist (p110-111) meant to help you evaluate the distractions that may make it more difficult to feel your fullness. Social eating enhances our relationship with food and overall wellbeing – it’s absolutely a net positive! And, eating in a social environment, especially with a party atmosphere with lots going on, will make it harder to tune into fullness.

Alcohol:

There’s nothing wrong with having a drink with friends. Just like social eating, responsible alcohol use is the cultural norm. But there’s no question that alcohol lowers inhibitions, and that includes our inhibitions about what and how much to eat. You might walk into a social gathering planning to be mindful of fullness only to find yourself totally stuffed, still reaching for another slice of pizza after a few drinks. If you plan to drink, be realistic about your limitations. Know that the more you drink, the more difficult it may become to honor fullness.

Altered fullness cues:

This one might feel a little technical, so stay with me here. In most eating experiences, we begin feeling hungry and finish feeling full. We may start eating around a level 3 on the hunger scale, and finish around a 7 or 8 on the fullness scale. This change is significant enough for our bodies to register. “I was hungry, now I’m full.” It provides a clear sense of satisfaction and doneness. But when we snack on a variety of foods over several hours, we lose that noticeable big change from hungry to full. This makes fullness harder to gauge and can lead to eating beyond fullness.

Ok, before I get into tips to manage social snacking, let me first offer two traps to avoid at all costs:

Meal skipping before the event:

Please eat your regular breakfast and lunch before heading over to your game day party. I understand the urge to eat less ahead of a big meal, but this strategy will backfire every time. Remember, our bodies compensate when they’ve been deprived. Eating less ahead of the event will only lead to backlash eating later.

“F*ck it” mentality:

Please do not walk into your social event planning to “go hard” or “cheat.” This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy where you’ve already decided you’ll eat until you’re pretty much sick. If you’ve spent a long time in diet culture, it’s probably second nature to think of an event like Super Bowl Sunday as a cheat. But try to remind yourself you don’t need to cheat with intuitive eating. These foods will always be available to you. You can have cookies and wings and nachos and whatever again tomorrow if you want them.

And now a few tools to try out at your social snacking event.

Know yourself:

Do you prefer to try a little bit of everything? Or would you rather have more of the things you really enjoy? In either case there’s a tradeoff. If you like to try a bit of everything, that’s great! But you may not have room for seconds of that delicious bean dip. Maybe ask for the recipe or take some home – remember you can always have more later. If you’d rather enjoy more of your favorites, that’s great too! But you may not have room to try everything on the table. Choose the items you know you love and leave the rest for another time.

Make a plate:

Making a complete plate with larger portions or multiple items helps our bodies register what and how much we’ve eaten. We use several cues, including visual cues, to establish fullness. When we eat a full plate versus multiple small plates, we’re able to visually register our intake. This also helps create a more meal like experience versus snacking across several hours. And remember, you can always go back for more! It’s not “one plate then you’re done.” It’s simply a tool to make fullness cues more accessible.

Check in with fullness:

I know this isn’t fun. When there’s good food and great company, no one wants to stop eating. But it’s also not fun to feel sick or be up tossing and turning with heart burn. After you’ve eaten your first plate, or what seems like a typical meal, make sure to scan for fullness cues. How does your stomach feel? Is the food still tasting good? If you notice you’re full you don’t need to slam on the breaks and stop eating instantly. Decide on what your last few bites will be and enjoy them.

Consider how you want to feel at the end of the evening:

Remember that food should enhance our lives, not rule them. Wouldn’t it be lovely to enjoy a social evening, eat some yummy food, and come home feeling satisfied instead of stuffed? It’s best to imagine how you’d like to feel before you even leave for the party. Commit to yourself that you’ll honor your fullness. Allow yourself to eat, enjoy, and move on.

If you struggle with social snacking, please let me know if you’ve found this post helpful. And, as always, support if available if you’re having a tough time getting the hang of intuitive eating.

With compassion,

Stephanie