I’m hungry. It’s 6:16 AM and my stomach is grumbling. Do I really want my breakfast now? I usually eat around 7:00 AM. This sure feels like hunger to me, but is it real hunger, or something else?
And now it’s 10 minutes later and that grumbling is gone – funny. Sometimes that occurs during the day and thinking it’s hunger I want to eat but that may not be what it is after all.
Perhaps I’m thirsty or it could be something else entirely. It doesn’t hurt to wait a few minutes, just to see what happens. Hunger is not going to hurt you. It’s a normal part of daily living. Hunger can wait.
I’ve had occasions where I was hungry but too busy, or didn’t want to stop what I was doing, and later realized I’d forgotten all about eating. Sometimes extremely busy people will have to be reminded to eat. Can you imagine being so involved in a project that you didn’t even think of stopping to eat?
Why Are We Overweight?
Over 65% of our population is overweight which points to a serious problem in what we are choosing to eat. The popular theory is we are eating more, exercising less. I don’t believe that’s necessarily true. I think we are eating more unhealthy foods (manufactured foods with very little nutrition), and eating far more fast foods. Our choices of what to eat has changed, drastically.
Recently a group of us had cheesecake to celebrate a birthday. Two abstained – not because they didn’t want any, but because it was forbidden on their diets. Are those two people likely to reach their goal and remain there, or are they more likely to eventually return to having some cake? I’d say the latter – and once you go off your restrictive eating plan and back to eating the way you usually do, you’re quickly back to your usual size.
That’s why diets rarely work – only when they become a lifestyle, and skipping treats is not a fun lifestyle, so I have a better option.
The Better Option Comes Down to Choices
It’s about making changes you can live with, and not about refusing to eat everything you love. That doesn’t mean you eat without any thinking; the majority of the time you do put some thought into it, but you can also eat the favorites and treats regularly too. The so called “Non-dieting approach” does not mean eating everything in sight.
I love treats and I get them for myself all the time. I always take a look at the apple fritters in the bakery, but I don’t always get them. Why? Because they don’t look just right. I prefer them flatter, with more sugary stuff on them. I don’t want the puffy fritters because they aren’t the taste I want – and I know if I get those I won’t be satisfied.
Now what if I could find apple fritters just the way I want all the time? In that case, I’d pace myself or work them into my regular routine so they wouldn’t be a problem. One is satisfying when I can
have them anytime. I might have two, when it’s something I can only get once in awhile. Sometimes I get some and they go stale sitting on my kitchen counter. Other times they’re all eaten right away.
Just choose to eat when you’re hungry, and take your time with what you do eat so you really enjoy it.
If I could, I’d probably mostly eat donuts and cake, and bags of candy. I love certain candy bars, which I rarely eat – again, notbecause I can’t but because I have to choose what to have. My choices dictate my size, and I like my present size. The healthier my foodchoices, the healthier my body. My desire to be healthy and the size I prefer is stronger than any present desire to eat non-stop M&Ms. If you think you can’t control your eating, then your desire to eat is stronger than any other. You can change that, when you’re ready.
Use Hypnosis to Change Your Behavior
Even when you don’t want to, it works, so give it a try. I found a website which gives a free audio on weight loss hypnosis – Slimming.com. Learn the basic steps, then play with it and see what happens. Let me know how it goes.
