In class last week, Paula made the comment that our bodies have only one way of telling us that it needs a specific food: it tells us we are hungry. Well, duh! But this week I have spent a lot of time thinking about this and had some big AHA! moments.
First let me go back and explain that I'm not sure I know what it means to be hungry. Before making all these changes in my life a couple years ago, I assumed that to be hungry was to get this hunger pang and your stomach tells you that you're hungry. I don't get that unless I haven't eaten in 24 hours. And when I do feel that way, I have a tendency to overeat. So I knew that couldn't be what people are talking about. So I've had to take a step back and relearn what hunger is - to figure out when my body is telling me it wants something.
The best I can figure what "hunger" means to me is when I start thinking about food after I haven't eaten in a few hours. There's no hunger pang. There's no stomach growling. I don't "feel" anything - I just think about food. I don't know if that's the same for everybody, but that's my "hunger."
I can't tell you how many times I've stood in front of the refrigerator completely full but still looking for something to eat - still thinking about food and still hungry. Until this week, I've assumed that this is emotional eating and I lack willpower to stop myself from eating.But what if it wasn't? What if it was simply my body telling me that I still did not provide it with the nutrition it needed?
I'm learning sooo much about nutrition and am realizing how poorly I have been fueling my body. I've even been trying to get in my fruits and vegetables, my protein, etc... on a daily basis. But I'm learning that a balanced diet doesn't necessarily mean a good diet.
This week I have had one of those "green smoothies" every morning and my eating has totally changed - without even thinking about it. The cravings are almost gone! My portion control was easier to manage and I actually forgot about eating dessert - FORGOT! I have 3 Magnum ice cream bars in my freezer right now. They have been in there untouched for 4 days. That's a record!!
So what if all this time, all I needed to do to lose weight was give my body the nutrition it needed? I'm not saying that a green smoothie is the way to fix my weight loss. That, like every other lose-weight-quickly program is too simplistic.I have years of poor eating habits to unlearn. But it'll be a lot easier to control my eating when/if my cravings are under control IF I'm right....
The goals for this week:
1. make the butternut squash casserole (made it yesterday!!)
2. make the watercress potato soup
3. make the quinoa salad
4. drink a green smoothie everyday
5. don't make a frozen meal all week!
Talk about a healthy diet week. I'll let you know what happens with my cravings and my hunger!!
Hi Nina
ReplyDeleteHi Mom!
ReplyDeleteIt might be cravings after all because we have all been in the same situation. Slowly reducing these cravings by taking a favorite piece of fruit and not buying the ice cream in the first place might help. It will take time. You are definitely on the right track. Keep going!
ReplyDelete