Potluck

[Guest guest]

Last night our family went to an annual neighborhood BBQ. I was definitely

hungry before we left, and looking forward to other people's cooking. Once

there, it was like every other potluck since I've been a mom - I spent the first

half hour going through the line repeatedly getting my kids set up, since both

our disabled teen and our toddler need help. I actually had to get my teenager

seconds before I could get my own firsts! Anyway, once I finally got mine, I

was careful to put a sparing amount of everything on my plate, knowing my eyes

are typically bigger than my stomach at these things. I ate it and everything

was better than I expected, probably because I was hungry, and I still felt a

strong drive to eat and went back for more... twice, taking small amounts each

time.

The thing was, I was so distracted by all the people and conversation and kids'

interruptions, that I didn't notice my stomach AT ALL. I did notice that

everything was still SO YUMMY and felt driven to eat more. I was a bit

disturbed by this, but never felt my stomach say I was full. Finally, I decided

I needed to begin purposefully being sociable, and was able to stop going back

for more. But I STILL didn't feel overfull at all. I did feel satisfied and no

longer wanted more. But I worried I had probably blown it, without even feeling

it. My tummy didn't ache and I didn't feel sluggish or nauseous. After moving

around at the party on uneven ground and then walking briefly home, my sore

ankle (I sprained it awhile back and it's still not fully healed) was too

painful to do much, and then after a couple of hours I realized I was totally

wiped and went to bed early. I see this as self-care. I wasn't too full to

move, simply tired and went to bed to sleep instead of snacking to try to

re-energize. I had gotten an hour too little sleep the night before (after

settling in to a good sleep routine overall) and last night got an extra couple

of hours. So maybe I was making up for it. I didn't feel any need for a

bedtime snack and here it is 10am and I'm still not hungry for breakfast. From

my reading, I know if I screw up, all I need to do is wait until I'm hungry

again before I eat. My head says I probably ate too much, but my body doesn't.

I'm not feeling guilty at all.

I'm just wondering if any of you have that same difficulty in noticing the

satisfaction point when you're busy socializing? (This is what happened when my

friend was over the night before too, except that night I wasn't hungry at the

beginning of the meal and I wasn't really enjoying it.) If you have experienced

this too, have you come up with any successful strategies? Or do you just not

worry about it and just wait for your next hunger and move on? I don't want to

become antisocial and not go to social gatherings. It's too easy for me to

isolate and get depressed. I'll try not eating if I'm not hungry, but what

about when I am?