Principle Two - Only Eat When You're Physically Hungry

I woke up this morning; looked at the clock and yep it was breakfast time, so I thought about what I wanted to eat. Maybe some toast with jam or peanut butter, a hot cross bun or two, pancakes perhaps?  Thinking about food I felt the desire to eat; I could even imagine how those foods would taste…yum!

Then I did something many of us (particularly if we struggle with excess weight) have lost touch with doing… I took a moment to check in with my body to ask whether it was hungry or not.  Was I feeling a physical sensation in the area of my stomach?  Um…that would be no. 

I used to struggle with my weight. I was a binge eater, I ate in secret in my room and after eating too much I would try and starve myself to ‘balance’ things out. I was fat, frustrated and miserable.  That was also 10 years ago, and now I am slim. Now I chose to eat like naturally slim people do, and as I believe nature intends for us.  I eat intuitively by listening to and trusting my body to guide me on when, what and how much to eat…

The first principle we teach on the pathway to intuitive eating is to ‘Only Eat When You’re Physically Hungry’.

So why is this important? 

 

Hunger is the physical sensation of desiring to eat food. It is a natural, normal signal that tells our bodies we're getting low on energy and it’s time to refuel. If we eat when we’re physically hungry, our bodies are ready to process and use that energy. Eating when we’re not hungry signals our bodies to store the excess energy as fat.

In our ‘Intuitive Eating’ workshops we often ask people to put up their hands if they felt physical hunger today.  Usually about 20% of the room raise their hands, the rest look about sheepishly to see where they fit in with the group.

In our culture it has become ‘normal’ to eat 3 meals a day, about 8am, 12pm and 6pm sometimes with snacks in between, sometimes not. Instead of using our internal cues to know when to nourish ourselves we are using external cues to guide us. This is leading us to struggle with excess weight and obesity.

So how do I get started?

You need to know what they physical sensation of hunger feels like for you and you need to wait to feel it before you eat.

What does hunger feel like?

Many people describe it as an empty feeling, a gnawing in the stomach, a grumbling or rumbling sensation. Sometimes you can actually hear your stomach ‘growl’. Whatever it is for you, if you haven’t felt it in some time you’ll need to stop eating and wait until you can discern it. This may mean starting the day by skipping breakfast, possibly even lunch too. We’re had women go a whole day just drinking water until they felt true physical hunger. Trust that you’re body will provide a signal and when it does it’s time to eat.

So you’re going to give this a try? Great, you’re on your way to eating like a naturally slim person.  

But…,there are two more guiding principles that you need to know about and practice to be a true intuitive eater.

They are:

2.       Stop eating when you’re satisfied 

3.       Eat anything you’re body truly wants to eat

Next week we’ll talk more about Principle 2.

Get into your goals and maintain momentum with these tips

It’s the New Year… our minds are clear about what we want to accomplish this year. Right now is about getting started… or is it. I would encourage you to look back on what you tried last year and evaluate how effective it was for you. If you set yourself a goal last year, got into it easily, maintained momentum and accomplished it – Then this blog is not for you. If however, you set a goal, struggled to start, and didn’t reach the mark… then read on.

Let’s pin-point the real problem and set you up for success.

Starting with goal setting: If your goal is the same one you had at this time last year, change it. You only want to choose to focus on goals that you honestly, deep down inside really want to achieve. And if you didn't accomplish it last year, it probably wasn't that important to you. You want goals that excite you! Goals that light you up! Goals you know are deeply and truly important to you now.

TASK: Write down the three most important things that you want to accomplish, focus on the ones that make you feel alive… Now rate there level of importance to you. 1 is not important and 10 is the most important. Circle the goal that is most important to you. 

1)……………………………… 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2)……………………………… 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

3)……………………………… 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Now let’s focus on getting started. With your goal in mind, and knowing yourself as well as you do, write down the top 5 actions that need to be performed consistently to accomplish your goal. I’ll provide two examples to be clear.

Example 1) 5kg Weight-loss: Drink 2L of water, enjoy 30mins of activity, only eating when hungry, finish when satisfied and think positive thoughts about yourself. 

Example 2) Save $2000: set up and stick to a financial budget, focus on why you want the $2000, put aside $40 every week for one year, be resourceful and cut costs wherever possible and think abundant wealthy thoughts daily.

TASK: Write down the 5 things that you need to do regularly in order to accomplish your goal:

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

Once goals are broken down like this, it’s easy to understand how much focus is required in order to accomplish one goal. That’s why it’s so crucial to only choose goals that you really want, you only want something that is worth the effort. 

Once you accomplish one goal, it’s easier to set another one, and onward and upward you go. Anthony Robbins said that we overestimate what we can accomplish in one year and underestimate what we can accomplish in ten. So relax and start at the very most important thing first, trusting that over time you can accomplish all of your hearts desires. 

Lastly, the achievement of any goal is easy if you merely maintain the momentum of your actions. So what is the easiest thing you can do to keep the momentum? It’s all about feeling good! I’ve already thrown in hints earlier... In order to drop 5kg, the most important thing is to: think positive thoughts about yourself daily. Similarly when saving $2000, you need to think wealthy thoughts daily. Why? Because feeling good is motivation, feeling good is why you want what you want. A lot of people think they need something to help them feel good. Some people say to themselves, "If I was 5 kg lighter I would be happier"… This is a myth… being 5kg lighter doesn’t make you happy… not in the long run. It’s thinking about being happy that makes you happy. Go ahead, think about having what you want most right now… Think of how excited, grateful and full of joy you will be when you reach your goal… See yourself there in your mind, hear the sounds, feel the feelings of having what you want most… Yep your happy. You have the power to make yourself happy and feel good whenever you want. So continue to do this consistently and before you know it, you'll be there!

Why Change?

In all of my Coaching over the last 3 years... I've been fascinated to observe who makes massive change, who goes half way and who fails to get moving...?

Is there a theme here that could teach us how to give ourselves the best start and the most glorious finish?

1) What makes for a good start?

Any client who realises that they truly want to change always makes a great start. It's not the people who's Doctor has told them they have to change, or pressure from Spouse/Family, or even the fear of a big social event coming up... It's feeling deep down inside that 'I want to do this for me', that has been a common base for those who make a great start.

1) What makes for a bad start?

Wanting to lose weight for someone else is the worst place to start. Trying to make someone like you, love you, or stay with you will always leave you looking outside for validation... No matter how long you force yourself forward, if it's all about trying to make someone else accept you or get off your back... you will be doomed. Inevitably any energy invested in moving you forward will fizzle out and you'll feel stink for a while... But then you'll know that now it's time to forget everyone else and do it for yourself!

2) What keeps you going?

We all have our own reasons for starting to lose weight, and so often people think they need the right motivation to keep going. True Motivation is the key to sustainable results... but something even more basic, that is crucial for creating results, which often gets overlooked is - What is your plan for shifting the excess weight?
Everyone decides on how to reduce calories (Eat less) or how to use calories (Increase Activity) or a combination of both... but whatever your plan is... Are you enjoying it? Is it fun? Does it make you feel alive? Like the days just pass by quickly and whalla you're dropping weight.
We accomplish amazing weight-loss results with clients because we know how to build momentum. We know how to tailor an approach so it hits all of your feel good factors, and before long 5-10kg's has melted away easily and you know you can continue to reach your goal.

3) What halts people from reaching their goal

a) Shifting motivation to wanting to lose weight for someone else.
b) Placing high expectations and pressure upon oneself
c) Fear of change
d) Unsustainable weight-loss strategies

4) Who makes massive change?

The people I've seen who make massive change, have a dawning epiphany that they can no longer tolerate their current level of weight. They acknowledge how much pain their excess weight is creating for them, and refuse to accept it any longer. They associate pain to any habit that would continue to see their weight increase and find joy in habits that support their weight to come down. They realise it' about enjoying the journey and that any method to get to their must be on-going in order to stay at their goal.

The following quote best describes when your ready to lose weight: 

When the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.

This is what we look for in the people who want to have coaching with us. It's all about perception, and when your ready to see that the effort involved in change is less than then everyday pain of excess weight, shifting becomes easy.