In the second course of a Taste of Food Freedom, you’ll take the first steps to learn how to trust your body wisdom.
You were born knowing how much to eat!
Hunger is your body’s way of letting you know you need fuel.
By reconnecting with your instinctive signals of hunger, you can manage your eating naturally without restrictive dieting or obsessing about every bite of food you put in your mouth.
Perhaps you’ve ignored hunger for so long, you’ve forgotten how to recognize it. Maybe you even see hunger as your enemy.
Maybe you confuse hunger with all the other reasons you eat, like mealtimes, boredom, stress, and yummy foods.
At the same time, you may have learned to ignore the feeling of satisfaction, so you eat until you’re stuffed and uncomfortable. Perhaps you “clean your plate,” “never waste food,” and “eat all your dinner if you want dessert,” instead of stopping when you’ve had enough.
(And you perpetuate this cycle when you teach your children the same things!)
How does recognizing hunger help?
Reconnecting with your hunger signals can help you break free from your eat-repent-repeat cycle.
Here’s how:
- You’ll eat less food when you’re eating to satisfy physical hunger than when you eat to try to satisfy other needs. Think about it. If you aren’t hungry when you start eating, how do you know when to stop? When the food is gone of course!
- You’re more likely to eat in a balanced way. If you aren’t hungry but you’re eating because you’re sad, mad, or glad, what kinds of foods do you want? That’s when I’d want chocolate, cookies, and salty snacks!
- Food tastes better when you’re truly hungry. Hunger really is the best seasoning, so you may eat less and enjoy it more.
- You’ll feel more satisfied because food is great for reducing hunger, but not so great for reducing boredom, stress, or other triggers.
Am I hungry?
To break out of the pattern of eating on autopilot, get in the habit of pausing to ask yourself, “Am I hungry?” every time you feel like eating.
This simple but powerful question will help you recognize the difference between an urge to eat caused by the physical need for food from an urge to eat for other reasons. (More on that in the next 2 lessons!)
I know from personal experience this is simple but not always easy.
The first step is to recognize that hunger is physical. It’s not a craving, a thought, or a rationalization.
By focusing on learning to trust your body wisdom to use hunger as your guide, you can become your own internal expert about when, what, and how much to eat!
Food for Thought
Take a few moments to consider your answers to the following questions. It may be helpful to write out your thoughts so you can reflect on them later.
- How do I know when I’m hungry? What specific signs of hunger do I usually have?
- What other situations, thoughts, and feelings do I confuse with hunger at times?
Hungry for More
There’s a lot more to learn about using hunger to guide your eating, so this is just a first step.
It’s also important to learn:
- How to tell the difference between physical hunger and other triggers.
- What affects your your personal hunger rhythms.
- How to do a Body-Mind-Heart Scan to read your physical sensations, thoughts, and feelings.
- How to use the Hunger and Fullness Scale to know when and how much to eat.
- How stop when you’re satisfied instead of stuffed.
Recipe for Success
- Whenever you feel like eating, ask, “Am I hungry?”
- Look for physical signs your body needs fuel.
Back for seconds?
Click to review your first lesson: First Course: In Charge, Not In Control
Stay tuned! There’s a big surprise when you complete this mini-series!
