Now I know, we females do have to be careful with our calories. Most of us maintain our weight (and health!) on around 1900 calories a day, depending on height, weight, and activity level.
But...at the cost of eating oatmeal when we'd prefer cereal or French toast? And all for what? To avoid hunger?
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| Sweet tater with PB. Not the most voluminous snack I could have had last night -- oatmeal would've been more bang for my buck -- but it's what I wanted so...I ate it. |
What is it that we're so afraid of? That our stomachs will rumble? That if we're hungry we'll turn into animals and start scarfing everything in sight?
I have a better idea. Why not acquaint ourselves with it; reunite with this feeling we fear, avoid, and focus on? Not unhealthily, of course. Just to eradicate the mystique and misplaced fear.
Here's what I'm saying. Let yourself get hungry. Not just the "I'm going to be hungry soon" feeling. Let your stomach actually growl.
And see what happens. (And then eat!) I promise you won't dive headlong into a mad binge. It won't kill you. You won't throw up or cry. Just experience it. And stop worrying about it so damn much.
PS: The progress picture page will be updated in approximately 15 seconds. :) Thank you for all your sweet comments Friday!
This is me...afraid of hunger. I realized it recently and am working to wait till I'm good and hungry as you suggest before my next meal, trying to stretch things out.
ReplyDeleteEating strictly by the clock wasn't working either as some meals I'd be so hungry I could hardly focus on work and other meals I wouldn't be hungry at all.
So now I plan my meals and the approximate times, but I give myself leeway to eat sooner or later if it seems appropriate.
Thanks for the reminders ;-)
I've always been kinda scared of "stomach eating backbone" hunger after my ED. You can probably relate, the intensity of hunger can be painful when you go for days without nourishment. Eww, so glad that's in the past! I always try to eat about every 2.5-3 hours so I can stay satiated because when I get the teeniest bit hungry, all of my energy goes away, I become Mr. Hyde, and transform into a snicker's commercial 'diva' haha!! :D
ReplyDeleteYour post does have lots of neat points, it reminds me that a little growl isn't gonna kill me. Thanks for the different thought on things, I think I'll try the challenge! :)
Wow - love the progress pics! I take some, but I never post on blog!! What a great form of motivation, though!! : )
ReplyDeleteI only eat when I am hungry, and I often do not eat when I am hungry. In my opinion, if we can not deal with a little discomfort, we are in serious trouble. The feelings pass in a few minutes, really, lol!
ReplyDeleteI remember reading the Beck book about dieting, whatever it is called, about a year ago. It made a lot of sense. T Then I got to the chapter about hunger and the suggestion about going hungry to see what it felt like and thought "no way!" I know that I shy away from real hunger.
ReplyDeleteI pretty much let myself get hungry every day. That's when I know it's time to eat lunch (since I skip breakfast, more out of laziness than intentionally IFing).
ReplyDeleteI try to eat right when I start getting hungry. If I let myself get too hungry, I become an irrational bear and that's also when I tend to over eat.
ReplyDeletei think we all need to hear this. thank you lady! hunger feels good. it feels nourishing!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post! I know that on a deep level I'm afraid of hunger. It is, after all, an inherently unpleasant feeling that we're taught to ameliorate from birth. That said, it's one thing to dislike being hungry and another to be ruled by our appetites, something I struggle. with. As part of my religion, we fast (meaning we abstain from all food and drink for 24 hours a minimum of once a month. I always kinda dread it going into it but after the 24 hours is up I am reminded of how NOT damaging hunger is:)
ReplyDeleteInteresting, contradictory post! I do try to wait until I feel hungry to eat, but try not to get famished b/c I have found that I do eat crap when I'm famished, just trying to shove food in. There must be a happy medium!
ReplyDeleteI hear you, I was so scared for so long that I would get hungry that I'd eat just in case (always crap though), I forgot what it felt like to be hungry. As I'm trying to learn about my body I feel a little more relaxed about it now. Last week was a relapse where I ate to avoid hunger but feel i'm getting better a spotting when it happens and how to rebalance myself again.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!! We are, as a society, so scared of being hungry when hunger is NATURAL, as is having an appetite!!
ReplyDeletegreat post (as usual). i agree with you, but in my case i try to stay away from hunger because i tend to get addicted to that empty feeling and it tempts me to go for longer. however, with most people, i think getting acquainted with hunger is a good thing. it reminds us that food is always going to be there and that there's more to life than the next cookie! :)
ReplyDeleteI have heard the growls... I try not to eat to super fullness cause it feels UGH & I also try to feel a little bit of hunger before I eat but not to the point that I want to eat anything in site.
ReplyDeleteHOLY CRAP on those pics!!!! AWESOME!
Yeah, the hilarious thing is that when I'm busy, I never feel hungry 'til I think about it. At work, I've been training a new employee, so I've basically had to talk non-stop all day long and walk around and show her things. The other day, it was 4 o'clock (16 o'clock, if you'd like) before I realized I'd better get to my lunch!
ReplyDeletei try to avoid hunger since i hate eating every 2-3 hours LOL IM LAZYYYYY and it can be distracting during work...
ReplyDeleteWHEW so many comments!! I am dashing off to work in about 15 minutes but I read all of them and love them all (as always). You guys are so thoughtful and insightful!!
ReplyDeletegreat post! my hunger signals have a mind of their own and it does make me nervous sometimes (about over AND under eating!)..i do my best to keep my meals regular.
ReplyDeletep.s. sweet potato + peanut butter is my favorite snack everrrr :)
Thank you for this post.
ReplyDeleteCouple of years ago I seem to be always hunngry. ALWAYS. Even after a big meal I was reaching for some more food. Well, I guess I have to mention that I had some serious ED problems. Only after turning to IF, I've learned what the true hunger is, and after experiencing that - the food always tastes awesom.
Grate pics!
You're right, hunger has almost become a dirty word! Like if you let things get that far, then you're done something BAD!! I do oftentimes get hungry, though I don't like leaving it for long otherwise my stomach feels like its eating itself (I get gastritis). I think it's only if you go through hunger that you end up diving into a headlong binge, though I definitely have to be a bit careful to moderate the *speed* I eat at if I'm really hungry!
ReplyDeleteI tend to give in to hunger a lot. But I'm starting to realize the foods that keep me "away" from hunger longer, and sway towards them more =)
ReplyDeleteYou are so right hon! I try to let myself get hungry befre I eat. Otherwise I figure I can wait a bit longer. There is a difference between hunger and starvation and I can pretty much guarentee non of us are starved. So no, we wont scarf down everything and anything in sight. Great post as always!
ReplyDeleteHey I wanted to ask you, I read that your dieting down for awhile, are you doing any type of cardio? Or just doing it through food and lifting? Ive been toying with the idea of cutting cardio back to only HIT (along with my weight training) I was curious how you were doing this...thanks!!
What a great post. I always let myself get hungry before I eat. I'm really trying hard to work on it actually.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. I used to always be afraid of hunger and would try to make the most filling meals blah blah blah until I started working with Emma Leigh. I remember one thing she said to me when we first started working was that it's okay to be hungry, but feed yourself well when your hungry. Also that sometimes hunger is a good thing. So now I'm not afraid!
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