Am I really hungry?
Have I had enough?
What's my plan?
That's all there is to it. Those three questions will change your relationship with food, your health, and maybe even your weight.
Am I really hungry?
It all comes down to listening to
your body and recognizing when you're eating out of some other need that has
nothing to do with physical hunger. The problem is that many of us have
lost touch with our hunger and substitute it for something else. That's
where awareness comes in: taking the moment to notice, breathe, and create some
space between the urge to eat and the action of eating.
You may be hungry for human
connection. You may be hungry for
self-actualization (yes—I know that’s a big one. I’ll let you and your journal or therapist
work on that!) You may be tired,
thirsty, or honestly, just bored. One of
my biggest realizations was that for me, eating was quite entertaining. I like tasting new things, baking, cooking,
and going out to eat. I had to limit
those things to mealtimes and remember that food is primarily nourishment. It can be entertaining, but only when I’m
truly hungry.
Have I had enough?
In other words, are you satiated? Are you comfortably full—at a 75-80% level—or
are you stuffed silly? The key here is
to slow down and pay attention to when you have had enough. Sit down and take your time. Set some rituals around your meals. I know many of us think we need to eat at our
desks, in the car, or over the kitchen sink, but that level of busyness isn’t
doing you any favors. Take the time out
for a break and calm your mind and body.
If you do that, you’ll find that it’s much easier to notice when you’re satiated.
What’s my plan?
Each day (or each week if you’re
a planner!) figure out what you are going to eat that day. Too many times if we leave it up to chance
our meals turn into fast-food drive thrus or whatever happens to be in the
snack drawer, which then turns into grazing all day. I like to plan out my dinners for the week on
Sundays, make enough for leftovers at lunch, and include some tuna, chicken, or
egg salad for the lunches where I don’t have leftovers. If you find that you’re truly hungry between
meals, try eating more protein or fat at those meals. Snacks are usually just entertainment. Try to avoid them if you can. Make the plan that works for you, though, and
adjust from there. It gets easier the
more you practice it, but I know, snacking and fast-food habits are really hard
to break.
If you followed your plan, please
make sure you celebrate! Give yourself a
high five, a woot woot, or a pat on the back.
You’re on the road to building a better relationship with food and
taking care of the one and only body you’ve been given.
Peace, friends!
If you'd like to talk to me about creating a wellness and nutrition plan that works for you, I've got you! I'm a certified Nutrition Coach who will create a simple, customized meal plan for you and coach you through how to implement it into your busy life. We also talk about all the pitfalls that make it hard, and help you make it the anchor that keeps you healthy, energized, and sane through the whirlwind of your everyday life.
I'd love to talk to you about the program, so book a free consultation with me by clicking the Calendly button. I look forward to talking to you!
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