Yeah…this kind of resembles what I was like over desserts. A lot of other people too…not just me…even though it sometimes felt that way. Well, I always decided on and off that I shouldn’t be eating this or shouldn’t be eating that – but I never broke it down to the simplest of nature. If we eat when our bodies are not in need of food we are doing our mind, body, and spirit a major injustice. Call me dramatic if you will, however, when we eat when we aren’t physically hungry, we are abusing ourselves – our whole-selves. How you ask? I’m glad you did! I have these thoughts all the time where I just want to go search it up on Google and find articles and people with similar standpoints, thoughts, and beliefs. Sometimes I succeed, then other times I fail to find anything related or find something related, yet not exactly what I was looking for. I know it sounds like I’m a bit too picky, however, call it my hobby – I like to research things. As soon as I have a new idea in my head, I’m on my phone Googling it! Dats just me. 🙂
So, to continue on with why when we eat when our bodies are not truly hungry we are not only abusing our physical bodies, but our psyche, and spirit too:
- When we eat when our bodies are not in need of food, we give our bodies energy it just doesn’t need. Would you fill your car with 10 excess gallons of gas when the gauge is on “F”? Nah. Would you stuff biscuits down your dog’s throat if she just ate her dinner? Nooo. Would you shove a bit more formula in your baby’s mouth for good luck even though he’s pushing your hands and bottle away? Um, no!! Good. Why are you eating when your stomach is full or satiated?
- You’re going to gain weight if you consume more energy than you are burning. If you are not hungry, then your body is not in need of energy. If you are hungry, your body needs energy. Makes sense, doesn’t it? I think so! I know though, even for me, it always isn’t easy. You just have to get to know your body and understand it.
- Face it. You eat when you are not hungry, you feel upset or guilty in some way. Not everyone, but believe me, if you don’t, you’re the exception. I say that not just from personal experience, but from seeing people around me struggle constantly with the same thing.
- The body is where your spirit lives. Your body is a home to the beautiful person that you are. Your body is part of that beautiful person you are. If someone tells you that you are a horrible person, do you keep saying it to yourself? I sure hope not, and if you do, you need to take a step back to acknowledge exactly how amazing you actually are. Your spirit sees things much differently than your body. Your body enables you to see a tree for example. Then your mind and spirit take their look at that tree. Your mind will tell you what kind of tree it is, what color, if it would look good in your front yard, but then your spirit will simply not see, but feel the beauty, the life, the energy of that tree. Your spirit is an amazingly powerful essence – and in order to keep your spirit happy, alive, and well, you need to nourish the very parts that spirit resides in and lives with.
So how do you know when you are actually hungry?
Let’s rephrase that question: So how do you know feel when you are actually hungry?
I found that hunger is not something you “know”. Hunger is something you feel. Once you realize that, hunger is much easier to become acquainted with. If I relied on knowing when I am hungry, I would still be in the same boat as I was a few months ago. Just stuffing my face whenever my mind told me so. So how do you feel when you are hungry?
- Your stomach will growl. Now, for me personally, when my stomach growls, it 99.9% of the time means I am hungry. I know those rare occasional times, however, when my stomach will growl and I am 100% full. Those times I obviously don’t eat, because I can feel the difference. You have to get to know your own body. Everyone’s body has the same tools, but sometimes a different way of using them.
- Your stomach feels hollow (or like there is a tightening ball inside of it). When I’m truly hungry (this for me personally is an even better indicator than the growling grumbles), my stomach will feel like it has a small to medium sized twisting ball that kind of sucks everything into it. I will even feel a slight tug at the base of my throat. This “ball” sometimes is accompanied before or with a hollowed out feeling in my stomach.
- I will feel fatigued to the point of almost being winded. Now, this stage is if I haven’t eaten for a relatively long time, probably too long if I’m not fasting. My body feels so tired, especially in my head behind my eyes and the tops to the openings of my ears. It sounds odd, but you’ll take notice of the most subtle ques when you are truly hungry. I will also feel like I am in a trance like state or winded. Like I said though, this stage is when I have gone a bit too long without energy.
There of course will be variances to what someone feels or doesn’t feel. The most important thing you can do is get to know, understand, and feel what your own body is constantly trying to tell you. Your body wants to take care of you, however, it can’t if you don’t give it the proper fuel (such as foods with no artificial flavorings or preservatives, sugary laden goods, etc.) and not an excess of too little or too much energy. As an ending note, two things:
- Erase sugary foods from your diet: including but not limited to, candy, cupcakes, muffins, cakes, ice cream, etc. These foods do nothing but gather waste in your body. Your mind loves them, your body hates them. To be honest, your mind just thinks it loves them. It doesn’t. Simple sugar does nothing but harm to your mind, body, and spirit. Save them for special occasions, or at least very seldom occasions if at all. After a while, you won’t even think twice as to why you gave them up. Eat fruits instead for sweet goodness. Fruit=amazing.
- Always remember what your body enables you to do…see things, hear things, feel things, be things, experience things…without your body, you are not enabled to interact with the beauty of the Universe all around you. Take care of your body. Know it intimately. That’s one commitment you can be assured a thousand times over that you won’t ever look back on.
If you need any help with intuitive eating, I strongly advise to start exercising, using affirmations, and finding your type of quiet time or meditation – whether that be through exercise itself or another activity, or simply classic meditation. Exercise, affirmations, and meditation (no matter what the form) will bring you to your own truths and understanding about food.
Everything Under the Sun and Moon 