Wait for it

When it comes to weight management, one of the sanest concepts I’ve ever learned is to pay attention to my body. The most important cue to watch for is whether I’m hungry or not. Duh. 

If I’m hungry, then I can eat. 

If I’m not hungry, it’s not time for me to eat. 

The second concept is a natural partner to the first: 

Eat only until satisfied. 

Not until full or stuffed. 

Just until satisfied.

I came to realize that this is how “normal” people eat - "normal" meaning naturally thin people. It doesn’t matter how yummy something looks, if they’re not hungry, they don’t eat. And they know to stop eating when they are no longer hungry.

But this common sense approach and this sensitivity has been buried in many of us - for a huge variety of reasons.  I had dozens of personal reasons for eating - maybe I was feeling stressed, bored, lonely, anxious or nervous or maybe I just didn't want to miss out on anything… I had to train myself to hear that soft voice that could inform me whether I was really hungry or not. It was tricky, but I eventually learned to recognize the truth. Unfortunately, it is terribly easy to slip back into the mode of NOT listening for that voice. How quickly I can revert to eating for any or all of those other reasons.

I have been listening to the wrong reasons for awhile now so it’s time to find ways to tune in again to whether I am really hungry. Maybe I can remind myself of some of my own stories of how it works.

I remember this one time when I met a friend for lunch. We were both in a group studying this concept* and were trying to encourage each other in our food choices. I remember thinking and commenting that this was more food than I needed and that I would only need about half of it - AND that it would be a good idea to get a take-out box sooner than later. I also remember a bit of our conversation after having eaten nearly half of our food. 

“It might be time for me to stop eating.”

“I don’t need any more than this, although I’d love to eat the rest of it.”

“I don’t know; I’m not full yet.”

“But wait a minute; I’m not hungry anymore, am I?”

...

So there's my reminder for today. For this week:

Wait for hunger.

Eat only until no longer hungry.

…

* The book we were studying is Weigh Down by Gwen Shamblin.