IDEAL BALANCE

Eating when you’re hungry seems pretty obvious. But…..think about the last time you ate. Did you eat because you were hungry? Did it something like this:

• go hunger > decide to eat > food

Or, are you like most Americans, and you ate because there was food nearby or because it was time to eat? That goes something like this:

• food > decide to eat
• clock struck noon > decide to eat

Yes, most of us are totally out of whack when it comes to even feeling hungry. Because of the food we eat we don’t often feel hungry because of the effects flour and sugar have on our hormones and digestive system.

There’s SO MUCH CHEWING involved with the veggies that it gives your brain time to send the signal that you’re full.

What we like to teach is how to recalibrate your hunger scale. We want you to get in touch with yourself and learn to honor you body’s request for fuel (hunger). We also want you to start noticing when you’re eating for other reasons.

So, if we can focus on paying attention to our bodies, eating when we’re hungry we’ll have won half the battle. Of course, the other half is to stop eating when we’re comfortably full. So, don’t keep eating if you’re no longer hungry. (PS: One trick for this is to load half of your plate with vegetables and eat those first. There’s SO MUCH CHEWING involved with the veggies that it gives your brain time to send the signal that you’re full.) This is another way to be in touch with our bodies!

1. Starving, Weak, Dizzy.
2. Very Hungry, Irritable, Low Energy, Stomach Grumbling.
3. Pretty Hungry, Stomach beginning to Growl.
4. Beginning to feel hungry.
5. Satisfied, Neither Hungry Nor Full.
6. Slightly Full, Pleasantly Full.
7. Slightly Uncomfortable.
8. Feeling Stuffed.
9. Very Uncomfortable, Stomach is Aching.
10. Very Full And Feeling Sick.

So, spend time this week thinking about calibrating your hunger scale. The hunger scale is the just the range of hunger and non-hunger you have as a human. When you’re at a 1, you’re absolutely starving and even feeling weak and dizzy. When you’re at a 10 you’re very uncomfortable and may even feel sick (think Thanksgiving!) So, as you go through your week, notice when you’re hungry and when you’re full. Try to stay away from getting to 1-2 or 7-10. Stay in that 4-6 range. It will take practice. Feeling a bit hungry should be a proud moment because that means your body has used the fuel you put into it! You don’t want to overdue that, but it is good to notice these things.

If you’re interested in working with us to get healthy, get organized or get out of debt, fill out the contact form here and we’ll be in touch.

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