nocarbkat
Sun, Mar-11-07, 17:23
I have been doing a little experiment today to see what it is like. I am eating only when I hear a tummy growl. Not a growl that its upset, or digesting, but a growl that it wants food. From the tummy. And I wanted to share my experience with people who would understand where I am coming from (I gather from the different threads I have read here in this part of the board concerning hunger/not hungry and eating that some of this would make sense...make sense?) I am discovering that I eat for all kinds of reasons. Reasons that have nothing to do with my body needing food. Reasons like I am tired, I am stressed, its time to eat (meaning its 5:30, dinnertime, time to eat...so lets eat) Something simply sounds good at the moment. My husband wants to eat, so I eat with him. I marvel at people who could eat 3 times a day and be hungry from one meal to the next. Or that can have a snack and still want dinner stating they are hungry. I don't think my stomache has ever growled between meals in a day. EVER. How they do that amazes me.
My biggest reason has to be I think I should be hungry. Regardless if I ate a big lunch or not. I'll explain, I ate brunch about 11:30, huge brunch..eggs, bacon the works. Its almost 5 here and I am contemplating dinner. My tummy has not growled, it does not feel "empty". My thinking is, "I should be hungry, its dinner time" So I am going thru the fridge looking for what to have. Why do I think just because its been 5 hours I should be hungry? What if I just digest things slowly so I am not?
It occured to me this morning, I never realized what the phrase, "fiber fills you up" or "fat is filling" meant. I assumed that if it is lunch time, you eat. Or if I ate 300 calories of lunch, then my thinking is "I only ate 300 calories, I must be hungry" Even if that 300 calories was all fat and protein, very, very filling, and no signs from the tummy it wants something. Why do I not trust my own biology in this matter? And why do I think that my body should want food at the same rate as everyone elses? (I realize no one could answer those questions for me, but they do make me wonder...)
I am going to keep this up and see how far it goes, I mean at some point one has to trust that there body knows what it is doing and will tell you when it is hungry. I use to marvel at people that could eat one meal a day or two and not think nothing of it. I was even scared there for a moment that this was unhealthy eating like this, or that the food will not be there. Now that I think about it, as I type this, the notion that waiting until you are hungry to eat and trust that the food will be there is a problem, often times in my childhood it was not. -> that's the real issue isn't it?
Just wanted to share my experience....for what it is worth.... :D
My biggest reason has to be I think I should be hungry. Regardless if I ate a big lunch or not. I'll explain, I ate brunch about 11:30, huge brunch..eggs, bacon the works. Its almost 5 here and I am contemplating dinner. My tummy has not growled, it does not feel "empty". My thinking is, "I should be hungry, its dinner time" So I am going thru the fridge looking for what to have. Why do I think just because its been 5 hours I should be hungry? What if I just digest things slowly so I am not?
It occured to me this morning, I never realized what the phrase, "fiber fills you up" or "fat is filling" meant. I assumed that if it is lunch time, you eat. Or if I ate 300 calories of lunch, then my thinking is "I only ate 300 calories, I must be hungry" Even if that 300 calories was all fat and protein, very, very filling, and no signs from the tummy it wants something. Why do I not trust my own biology in this matter? And why do I think that my body should want food at the same rate as everyone elses? (I realize no one could answer those questions for me, but they do make me wonder...)
I am going to keep this up and see how far it goes, I mean at some point one has to trust that there body knows what it is doing and will tell you when it is hungry. I use to marvel at people that could eat one meal a day or two and not think nothing of it. I was even scared there for a moment that this was unhealthy eating like this, or that the food will not be there. Now that I think about it, as I type this, the notion that waiting until you are hungry to eat and trust that the food will be there is a problem, often times in my childhood it was not. -> that's the real issue isn't it?
Just wanted to share my experience....for what it is worth.... :D