Hunger?

Question of the day - When are you most hungry during the day? Morning, late afternoon or perhaps 8pm while you are getting the kids to bed or finally sitting down to relax. Take a moment to really think about this question and then ask yourself, am I really hungry, or bored, or tired, or stressed? Figuring out your hunger cues can help you in the weight loss process. Many times in the afternoon you may be hungry because you skipped lunch or just "grabbed something", rather than having a balanced lunch with enough protein, fat and carbs. Perhaps you want to eat because your kids are having a snack and suddenly you need one. Snacks are very important, they help to level out our blood sugar and get us to the next meal without being SO hungry we eat everything in site. Make a quick list of the snacks that you like and plan to have one. Taking a few bites of what your toddler left on his snack plate or grabbing a few cookies on the run is not satisfying and many times we are not even aware we are eating. Another thing to keep in mind is thirst - one of the symptoms of dehydration is hunger. We often only connect dehydration with hot summer days and long workouts. You can just as easily start to become dehydrated in the dead of winter if you simply go all day just drinking coffee (diuretic effect) and not having adequate water. Pour yourself a glass of water or seltzer before you snack and see how you feel.
I am reading a really good book by Michelle May, MD - Eat What you Love, Love What you Eat, in which she works on the steps to get away from the diet mentality and really tries to give people the tools to return to normalized eating. If you watch a naturally thin person eat, you will see that they usually only eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. She used the analogy of filling up your car with gas. "If you ask yourself if you are hungry before you eat, this is like checking the gas gauge on your car before stopping for gas. It is a waste of time to stop for gas at every gas station if you don't need gas. If you overfill your tank, it will just spill over to the ground." Consequently, If you eat when you are not hungry, every time food is available, where does the surplus go - you got it - your waist. I found this example intriguing. Something to think about.
This week, try to make it a habit to always ask yourself "Am I hungry?" before you eat - see what happens.

Stay warm and to the Meltdown Girls - KEEP MELTING! Noreen