There's so much going on in the senses registered through the eyes, nose, ears, and mouth that it can seem unnatural to include the stomach as well. But real satisfaction would be impossible without input from the stomach, which tells us when we have completely fulfilled the need to eat.
You may recognize a delay between the time you are full and the moment you know you are full. To reduce the effect of this phenomenon, check in with your stomach every three or four bites. Don't start checking in halfway through the meal; you are more likely to forget to check at all. Further, starting early in the meal allows you to compare later feelings of moderate fullness to feelings of having a relatively empty stomach.
Take a deep breath as you check to clear your head and help you tune in. Compare your feeling of fullness with the level of satisfaction in eating your last bite. In general, pleasure associated with eating a bite of food lessens as the stomach becomes more full.
If you do feel comfortably full, stop eating for now. This may seem obvious. But many times we believe we must finish our plates to avoid wastefulness or because we fear we won't get any more of that kind of food later. It's better to refrigerate what you don't eat. And where there is a concern that a certain food is too special to stop eating, get some more. Make sure you know that there is plenty on hand so you don't worry about running out. If you continue to eat with high awareness, your chances of overeating are much less than they are otherwise.
