As babies, we came hard-wired to eat when hungry and stop when full. As we get older, those lines might blur a bit in regards to the taste and smells of food, but ultimately we still use them as a guide throughout childhood. Have you ever seen a child push away a bowl of half-eaten ice cream because it was no longer satisfying for them? I’ve seen it many times! Have you then seen an adult come in and finish for them?
At some point, we start to ignore natural feelings of hunger and fullness. This could be due to being told to finish your meal even though no longer hungry or being told that you shouldn’t eat because you have already eaten too much. It’s also possible that starting a diet means disconnecting with your natural rhythms in favor of giving your power and decision making over to a set of rules.
Above is a hunger scale that can act as a guide for you to start reconnecting to your natural born ability to trust your body and yourself. Remember, this isn’t something new you are learning, it’s something you already know and just need to re-connect with. Ideally, stay within the numbers 4-7. As you eat regular, balanced meals every 3-4 hours to stabilize blood sugar levels and fuel your body, these natural rhythms will start to re-emerge. Eating regularly throughout the day prevents you from dropping below a 4, where anything looks good! It’s much easier to stay level-headed about food choices at a 4 than at a 1. On the other hand, as you eat slowly and mindfully, you will be better able to listen to signs of fullness and prevent overeating. It’s very common to go too long between meals and become ravenous, eat very quickly and end up at 10, or there abouts. As you slow down with your food, you will be better able to listen to your intuitive signals, as well as feel psychologically and physiologically satisfied from your meals. Your body is also better able to digest and use the nutrients you feed your body when done in a state of relaxation.
I do feel that the BEST thing you can do for your health is to slow down. Instead of blaming the food, let’s start looking at the behaviors around the food. In my experience, as you start to normalize eating behaviors with regular, balanced meals eaten in an open, accepting and relaxing way as part of self-care, many issues take care of themselves. Not only that, but you learn to love food again!
