In my dieting days, I tried everything. Even charcoal, a “2015 wellness trend.” I tried that in 1999 (hat tip to my maternal lineage who gifted me with being ahead of one’s time!).
Being on the other side of that hell, it’s clear what I was doing wrong.
I thought I was trying “everything” but in reality, I was doing the same thing: fighting my body and food. One thing my clients often believe they have to fight, as did I, is their hunger.
So they “arm” themselves with control tactics: eating until 80% full, mindfully tasting every raisin, and on good days, chewing as slowly as one can in a life going at 90 miles an hour.
But still, they overeat. Or need something sweet after lunch and dinner. Salty tater tots are their best friend after a stressful work week.
“Why am I weak?” they wonder.
That’s not the right question, but that’s a post for another day.
Unraveling this personal mystery starts with understanding how your hunger shows up for you. You may not feel hunger in your stomach. In fact, by the time your stomach is growling (if it does), you’re beyond hungry. You’re hangry.
Here are ways hunger associated with blood-sugar appears:
1. “Crashing”: feeling the sudden urge to take a nap
2. Craving something sweet after a meal
3. Dizziness/lack of focus/spacey
4. “Needing something more”
5. Headaches or migraines
6. Feeling a sudden craving for carbs
7. Feeling like life is worse than it actually is
8. Racing and continual thoughts, usually about food.
Blood-sugar regulation has nothing to do with how full you feel or how many calories you eat. Part of blood sugar hunger is about the right amount of fat, protein and carbs on your plate. This visual below is a great starting point of what these ratios should look like (it’s part of my Curb Your Afternoon Cravings program which I’m currently updating for a 2.0 version).Now that I intimately understand my own blood sugar, I find I don’t need to feel even 80% full. I intuitively know what I need to eat to feel satisfied and in a portion that won’t make me tired after I eat.
You’ll know your blood sugar is balanced when you feel energized, optimistic, focused and thinking about possibilities beyond your food for stretches at a time (until you eat in a way that doesn’t honor your body’s blood sugar).
So this week, get curious about how your hunger appears. When you feel the hunger signs listed above, work backward to what you ate 3-5 hours prior. How we eat at one meal sets us up for the next 3-5 hours. Did you eat enough fat? Protein? Vegetables?
And avoid the charcoal.
Be well!
Ali
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