Honoring Hunger and Fullness

Are you ready to dive into a crucial discussion about honoring hunger and fullness? At times, it's something we all need to address, especially when the holiday season rolls around, or life gets busier than usual. Let's explore why it's essential to pay attention to these physical signals and why treating your body like a "baby" can lead to healthier habits.

Before we delve into it, here's a quick reminder: if you find topics like this intriguing and wish to explore them further, consider joining our upcoming three-step system to prevent overeating, which is incredibly valuable during the holidays. Additionally, you might want to keep an eye on  "My Power Journal," currently available for pre-sale. Stay connected with us by subscribing to our newsletter at coachingbynada.com/newsletter. You'll receive updates about our training and exclusive offers.

Why Honor Hunger and Fullness

Now, let's talk about the concept of honoring hunger and fullness. It's a topic that requires us to be sensitive to the signals our body sends, regardless of the emotions, sensations, or situations we find ourselves in. Life can get pretty hectic, leaving us rushing around a million miles an hour. In the midst of all this chaos, we often ignore or neglect our body's simple yet vital signals.

How to Honor Hunger and Fullness

Let's use an analogy to understand this better: imagine your body as one of those dolls that cries or acts like a real baby when it's hungry. Your body is similar; it gives you signals when it's getting hungry. Your responsibility is to pay attention. After all, you wouldn't ignore a crying baby; you'd take care of it. Similarly, it's crucial to nurture your body because, deep down, there's a "little kid" waiting to be fed.

The idea of honoring hunger and fullness is straightforward yet profound. It consists of two key components: knowing when to start eating and knowing when to stop.

Hunger Scale

Starting with hunger, picture a scale ranging from zero to ten, with ten representing extreme hunger and zero being no hunger at all. The sweet spot to commence your meal is between two and three. When you start noticing these hunger signals in this range, you're doing the right thing. It's your body's way of communicating its needs.

Now, imagine what happens when you wait until you're at a hunger level of ten. Just like the baby doll we mentioned, you'll be screaming for food. When you're starving, you're more likely to overeat. It's not a wise idea to attend a party or visit a restaurant when you're famished. That's when we tend to consume more than we should, whether it's food or drinks, making it akin to grocery shopping when you're ravenous – it never ends well.

Fullness Scale

The next step in this process is honoring fullness. To do this effectively, you can follow a simple rule: it takes about 15 minutes for your brain to register fullness. You can extend your mealtime by chatting or taking smaller bites, which allows your body to catch up with your eating pace.

While you're eating, ask yourself the following: "On a scale from one to ten, how full am I?" If you find yourself between six and seven, and no more than eight, you're in the ideal range. However, if you're leaning towards eight or beyond, it's time to ease up on the food.

How to Stop Eating

In fact, if you continue eating after your body signals fullness, you'll be consuming more than your body needs. So, how do you stop? It's quite simple. You can announce it aloud, put your plate away, place your utensils on a napkin or paper towel on the plate, or even physically stand up and move away from the table. These actions signal both to your brain and anyone around you that you're done. This way, you won't find yourself going back for seconds just because the food is still on your plate.

Summary

So, let's honor our hunger and fullness scale by paying attention to our body's signals. It's about recognizing when you're getting hungry (between two and three) and preparing your food accordingly. When it comes to fullness, aim to stop eating between six and seven, but never more than eight. This simple yet profound approach allows you to connect with your body and improve your relationship with food.

Bon Appétit! 🍽️💆‍♀️

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