This month in “Eating Intentionally”, we’re focusing on “honoring our hunger”. We are learning to listen to our body’s cues, and eat at the first sign of hunger.
I found it amusing that as soon as this challenge started, I felt like I was starving all day long. When I was nursing Baby Boy, I couldn’t make it through the morning without requiring a snack, but as soon as I weaned him, I found I didn’t get hungry until lunch time. However, as soon as I wrote the post about Honoring Your Hunger, I started getting hungry every day an hour after I ate breakfast! So then I was on a constant hunt for healthy snacks. I managed to do pretty well, though, and my hunger seemed to settle back to normal after a few days.
On the flip side, I’m also trying not to eat mindlessly when I’m not hungry. That’s actually a later principle for another day, but it kind of goes hand in hand with this one in some ways.
How about you? Have you been eating when you’re hungry?
Breakfasts
- Pancakes & Waffle Leftovers (cleaning out the freezer!)
- Leftover Oatmeal (more cleaning out!)
- Muesli
- Muffins
- Chocolate Sunbutter Smoothies
Lunches
- Leftovers
- Freezer Stash of Non-Allergenic Foods (for Certain Little Someone)
- Sandwiches (egg salad) with Great Harvest Bakery Bread
- Leftover Soup
Dinners
- Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup
- Slow Cooker Roasted Chicken, Potatoes, Carrots
- Baked Eggs, Cantaloupe
- Chicken Stuffing Casserole, Fruit
- Pasta with Garlic Alfredo Sauce, Carrots, Fruit
Snacks
- Nuts, Raisins, Cranberries, Dried Apples
- Popcorn
- Chocolate Pudding Shots (recipe coming soon, just in time for Valentine’s Day!)
In My Kitchen Today
- Beans
- Yogurt & Yogurt Cheese
- Broth
I definitely eat when I’m hungry, and when I’m bored, or stressed, or happy, or sad, or within arm reach of chocolate… you see the pattern here..
Eating mindfully is a lot harder than it seems. When someone says, “eat when you’re hungry” you think, woo hoo! But one fails to realize that in order to be healthy, you must eat when your hungry and don’t eat if you’re not. Many times I find that I eat when I’m not hungry. So I find it difficult to trust myself sometimes whether my body is queueing me to eat because I’m hungry or for another reason. For anyone who might be struggling with the same thing, I have a kinda weird-sounding tip: step into the bathroom and ask yourself if your hungry. There’s nothing about the bathroom that triggers me to eat, so I’m able to focus on my body and not habits/triggers that queue me to eat.
You are right that it is harder than it seems. And some principles – different ones for different people – are probably lifelong struggles, depending on your situation. And it sounds to me like you have found the perfect solution for honing in on your hunger cues! So creative to step into the bathroom, and yet so effective. Great idea! For myself, I find I can tell the difference between physical (actual) and mental (or emotional) hunger – it’s just having self-control to admit to it. And not to eat when it’s not a physical hunger. I’m doing fairly well with it, though, since I’m really concentrating on it right now. And I hope that concentrating on it for a good solid month will help develop some habits!