 |
Lexie struggles with her weight but is learning how to trust her body again with Am I Hungry?
Posted on 08/23/2007 @ 2:31 PM
I just got back from vacation in Vegas and I learned something. It's nothing I didn't really know it's just that it clicked with me more on this trip.
The first night in Vegas my friend was walking with me through the Forum shops. I got so thirsty that I didn't care anymore what was around me; all I could think about was finding water. We finally saw a little cart with beverages and I bought three waters. One for my friend and two for me. I ripped off the lid and started gulping my water as my friend said, "Slow down! You're going to make yourself sick!" and before she could finish that sentence the water was gone. I could have been drinking fish tank water at that point and I wouldn't have cared....I was that thirsty. There was no way I could have stopped myself from drinking that water down. I HAD to have it. Luckily I did not get sick....and the second bottle of water lasted a little longer....
Later in the weekend we went to a dinner show. It was a great show with a buffet dinner...but the dinner wasn't served until over half way through the show. About halfway through my plate my stomach was uncomfortable...and I kept eating. Again I felt like I HAD to have it....that I was "starving". My brain was fighting....half of it recognizing that I was too full already and the other half focused on how hungry I had been.
My body doesn't like being hungry. My mind doesn't like being hungry. Many times in my life I have eaten too much....even while fighting to stop. My worst habit is not eating during the day and then over-eating in the evening.
It was the water more than the dinner that really helped the message "click" with me. When my body doesn't get the fuel it needs WHEN it needs it, I become out of control.
There is no question I needed that water. There is no question I was becoming seriously dehydrated. All my mind could comprehend was that I needed water. The benefits of drinking the water were immediate and the message that I got from drinking the water was very quick also. I still felt like guzzling the second bottle but I was able to pace myself a little better.
Not so with food.....because it's more of a habit than the water? That water was like.....the best, most wonderful thing I could have put in my mouth at that moment. The food....was good. But I didn't really REALLY taste a whole lot of it and the more I ate the less good it tasted but I didn't care - I just had to eat it.
This helped me realize how important it is to eat when I am hungry and not let myself get too busy. I don't notice the more subtle symptoms of hunger....the "nudges" that tell me it's time to refuel and so the habit of over-eating at night is worse because I haven't met my needs earlier in the day.
For more about learning to listen to your body, visit www.AmIHungry.com.
|
|
