...and by "thunder," I mean my stomach.
I've really been working on intuitive eating lately, fueled (hahaha) mostly by me being sidelined with running. When I was running, I let my mouth get a little out of control with the eating at times. I was still able to maintain my weight because of the calories that running requires, but it still hasn't been good in teaching me to eat only when hungry.
As defined by Wikipedia, intuitive eating is "a nutrition philosophy on the premise that becoming more attuned to the body's natural hunger signals is a more effective way to attain a healthy weight; rather than keeping track of the amounts of energy and fats in foods or satiety levels. It's a process that is intended to create a healthy relationship with food, mind, and body."
This is so sad to say, but I don't know if I have ever only eaten when hungry. Maybe when I was a kid? Even then, at a young age I ate sleeves of cookies (hellllooooo Oreos!) or 3 bowls of cereal as a "snack."
I've always been a routine person, and I take comfort in eating at certain times of the day. I'm still keeping those times (loosely), but at the end of the night (when I'm most likely to binge), for the most part I'm doing really well with listening to my hunger cues. The other night at my sisters I had a small bowl of ice cream, and when I got home my mouth wanted a lil' somethin' somethin'. But I wasn't hungry, so I had a few grapes and a glass of water.
(A lot of the times, when I think I'm hungry I'm really just thirsty (I think). Grapes are perfect at night for me because they quench my thirst AND are very yummy.)
I'm trying to train myself to listen to my stomach growling and really eat only when I'm hungry (it sounds so obvious typed out...duh, Holly!). My question is this: When your stomach growls, do you always listen? Do you let yourself get to this point, or do you prefer to graze and avoid "the thunder?"
I am thankful for:
- Peach Iced Tea
- Air conditioning
- Being able to finally do "real" pushups!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
And the Thunder Rolls
Posted by Holly at 4:28 AM
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16 comments:
When I joined WW, I didn't want to ever be hungry or feel like I was on a diet ... so over time, I practiced what I call "defensive eating" -- having snacks on hand, eating before going out ... even if not hungry -- for fear of being hungry later. Well, it didn't work ... I gained some weight ... and I've yet to lose it. I'm trying to eat more intuitively now, but it's hard when we're programmed to eat at certain times. During the work day, I don't have a ton of flexibility in my schedule. I eat breakfast when I get here at 8, 830. Lunch at 1230, 1.
But I love popping grapes when I am a little hungry at home -- perfect hunger/thirst-quencher and antioxidants, too :)
The only time I "force" myself to eat (I never have to force that hard, I love food) is before a workout. Otherwise I wait until I actually feel hungry. Sometimes I don't even really feel like eating dinner so I just skip it and down a protein shake before I go to bed.
Listening to your body shouldn't be limited to how it feels when you workout..
I still have trouble with this too. I feel we're always told conflicting things. We should eat 5 or 6 smaller meals a day (or I try three regular meals with 2-3 snacks a day), and they're usually eaten around the same time every day. Sometimes our body gets to used to eating on a schedule, it will get hungry around those times. But when we first start that routine, is it (as Lissa mentioned) defensive eating, to keep ourselves on track? But there are definitely times when I look at the clock and go, "Oh! it's 10:30am, time for my morning snack!" However, if I hadn't looked at the clock, I may not have felt like I needed that snack.
If my stomach growls, I definitely try hard to listen to it and feed it something healthy. Other times, if I think I'm hungry but my stomach isn't growling, I will try to drink something first. Like you said, sometimes our bodies are really just thirsty.
(sorry for the long comment! Obviously this is a topic I find interesting as well)
I like your "Things I'm grateful for" list! Today, I'm grateful for:
- My Sirius internet radio to help keep me awake during this slow day
- THE SUN! We've had so much rain lately
- Blueberries. I can't have enough of them!
I always have a glass or bottle of water on hand at my desk, because I'll drink that instead of eating when I'm bored.
Ugh, how I hate you intuitive eating. I keep struggling with this. Yesterday, my brain won--not my stomach. I keep telling myself that I have more good days than bad days, so I obviously am making some positive progress forward.
Mine was the exact same issue as you said you have--late at night. And ice cream. I was craving something sweet, so I had 1/3 of a pear cut up with some mint ice cream on top (and maybe some whip cream :) ). And like 10 minutes later, I wanted something...I was definitely not hungry. And I knew this. So I had a small bowl of Nature's path cereal with some almond milk.
I was so full when I went to bed that my stomach hurt. You would think that I would start to learn from these experiences....too much food==belly aches!
Happiness Awaits
Lately i've been trying to drink more water. Hopefully that will help me from eating so much. Cuz normally i eat when i'm bored.
I'm thankful for
-sleeping in
-my blackberry HAHA
-day's off :-)
Hurray for the push ups!
I usually satisfy my hunger, but sometimes I really like to put off eating for a bit just to remind myself what hunger feels like. I think that it's important to know that, though not necessarily to feel hungry regularly!
- Sagan
I have a hard time with intuitive eating. It's so hard to actually figure out if you're hungry or not.
Great job on the real pushups. I still can't do one. One day, my friend!
I eat breakfast and lunch when I am hungry..but snacks are usually out of boredom. It is so hard to sit at my desk at work without snacks or gum! I need to work on this, especially after dinner when I have dessert even when I am not hungry.
I have to listen to my tum when it rumbles. If I get too hungry I get super cranky, headachey and tired BLAH!
i was always a scheduled eater too when I was trying to loose weight, but i actually find intuitive better because I can eat what I want, when I want. I no longer have to eat certain foods and can change my mind.
I am same way - not sure if I EVER ate intuitively! During my half marathon training, I grazed all day long. Now I am trying to re-establish a relationship with hunger. That sounds so goofy, but I bet you know what I mean. It's hard to tell yourself "no" to a snack when you are used to eating whenever you want! Runners have to be careful of that, I am learning ;)
If I wait until my stomach is 'growling' usually that's too late! The more hungry I get the more tempted I am to just go on a binge. So usually I try to eat every 3 hours or so.
I hear ya on this one- I try to do intuitive eating, but sometimes food just looks too good to pass up ;) Thanks for the camera suggestions!
I try to listen to my stomach. After drinking some water that is - as sometimes my hunger is definitely my thirst.
just found your site...great!
www.summerfitness.net
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