Are you ready for another installment on intuitive eating? I know I am no scientist, dietitian, or expert, but this is something I am passionate about and I love sharing my thoughts on the approach. Today I will be tackling principle two and how it will help with eating intuitively. To catch up on parts 1 and 2, click here for my introduction and here for rejecting the diet mentality. After reading, please be sure to share your insights as well 🙂

Principle Two - Honor Your Hunger

How easily do you recognize your hunger signals? Do you know what hungry feels like, in comparison to reaching the point of wanting to inhale anything and everything? Do you know what satisfied feels like, versus stuffed too full or having to convince yourself you have eaten enough? Hunger and fullness are two physiological signs that we should be able to easily recognize, but many of us do not. Perhaps it is because we follow a clock on when to eat. Perhaps it's because we stick to rules on how much should be in any given meal. Or perhaps its because we allow emotions, stress, boredom, etc to be the sole determination of how, what, and when we eat. And what about pills that have claims like this?

Hoodia Pills Ad

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After following those types of actions for any extended period of time, we begin to lose sight of our bodies' signals. We may get to the point of only being able to recognize extreme hunger. That "MUST. EAT. NOW!" feeling. Have you ever not eaten when hungry because you weren't "supposed to", only to turn around and eat more than necessary and feel uncomfortable from eating too much? Most of you know I have experience there, back before Makenzie when I battled binging. Fluctuations like these are common when not eating based on biological hunger.

hehe this made me giggle

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How can you learn to honor your hunger again? There are various things you can be mindful of to help reacquaint yourself with your own hunger cues.

• Recognize and allow yourself to always have access to food. If you try to eat based on a certain number of calories, a certain number of meals/snacks per day, only eating certain types of food, etc your body and mind will register the deprivation. Even if you are eating enough, having any limitations in place can affect how you perceive your hunger.
• Know you don't have to be ravenous to be hungry. Those are two different feelings and your body will respond differently to both. If you eat when simply hungry, you are more likely to be able to approach food in a rational manner, instead of being ravenous and consuming too much and not enjoying the process.
• Check in with your body regularly and assess your hunger level on a 1-10 scale. This will eventually become unnecessary and is simply a step in getting your body aware of how it feels when hungry.
• Don't consider eating only when hungry a way to lose weight and another diet mentality. It is perfectly acceptable to eat under different circumstances. The Intuitive Eating book mentions emotional eating, social eating, eating as a way of planning ahead (for example eating before hunger due to being in a meeting for hours and you know you will need to eat), and eating something purely for pleasure. Doing things mindfully are no reason to feel guilty and can definitely be part of honoring your hunger and intuitive eating.
• Understand your body's warning signals. Some people may feel their stomach growling before others would in their level of hunger. Some may get a slight headache first. Others may get a bit cranky as a sign of hunger. *cough cough*  When checking your levels of hunger regularly with the 1-10 scale, focus on what your physiological symptoms are and being to recognize them for the future.

Are you aware of your hunger cues? What things of the above do you, or have you, struggled with the most? Which of Tribole & Resch's tips do you think are most helpful for honoring hunger?

"Don't You Forget About Me" - a common theme today. In many various ways.

Since yesterday was such a relaxing and refreshing day, I woke up revived and rejuvenated. I hit up the gym for an 8:30 Power class, and then decided to tack on a spin class afterwards. I had tons of energy and felt like sweating. My body is already saying "Don't you forget about me". I am feeling all of my muscles thanks to most of the Power tracks being increased weight factor and the Ride instructor adding in two extra songs for good measure since it's spring break here. At least my body is giving me gentle reminders and I can still move. I foresee some time with the foam roller in the future, that's for sure!

Then, when I came home and started making lunch for Makenzie, I opened the freezer and saw some of this staring back at me.

I swear it was whispering "Don't you forget about me". I was thankful for the reminder, since it was needed for our dinner tonight. We are having my favorite Crockpot Chicken & White Bean Chili for dinner tonight. I had to be sure to defrost it some, so I could chop it and get the crockpot going. I am looking forward to sharing this meal with my baby sis tonight. I love our Tuesday night visits.

Around that same time, I heard whining...and realized I left our dog outside when I went to the gym. Her little pout definitely said "don't you forget about me".

the poor pup

And all of this leads up to finding this book in my book box while I was packing things up for my afternoon trip to the library.  

Don't You Forget About Me by Jancee Dunn. I finished this book a couple weeks ago and have completely forgotten to review it until now. This book was very fun to read. It was all about nostalgia and how the way we perceive the "good old days" may not be as accurate as we believe. In the book, the main character Lillian is surprised by her husband wanting a divorce. She then has to move into her parents' home and live in her old bedroom, still decorated in tons of 80's paraphernalia. During this same time, her 20 year high school reunion is approaching and she finds herself daydreaming about an old love, her past friends, and how perfect everything was back then. Through the book, she finally grows to realize that people change and things aren't always as glamorous as remembered.

I loved how it shows that we may alter a lot of our memories to make ourselves feel better and to glorify our experiences into something they might not have been. I think it's fun to reflect on past times, but we have to be mindful of living each day to the fullest and having the desire to move forward and grow in our lives. I can relate to this on how I used to get caught up in memories of a previous relationship and thinking how it was always exciting, instead of focusing on the reality that it wasn't respectful and fulfilling. Or how fun it was to go out with friends all the time and travel freely, forgetting the monetary stress and needless drama that ensued. I can even apply it to body image. I know I can definitely get caught up with memories of how in shape I was at certain times of my life, instead of focusing on today and loving myself right now. The book was a pleasure to read. I think it's interesting how something that is purely fun can also be thought provoking. Don't You Forget About Me was definitely both entertaining and personal to read.

• Are there any things you are nostalgic about that may not be as good as you remember them? Do you think it's best to have a realistic memory of events, or do you like having certain memories appear sweeter than the reality?
• Do you ever have days where you are scatter brained? What is the worst thing you have forgotten before?