Re:How do you decide what you are hungry for?

[Guest guest]

Hi, Kate,

I recently read somewhere (I read so many of these books as inspiration, I'm afraid I can't remember where) that being pulled to food's presence, smell, other people eating it, etc., is something that the human (and in general, animal) body is hard-wired for, so I don't think it's necessarily something you can or even should try to counteract. For me, those influences are most problematic when I'm actually not physically hungry at the time...they can convince me (because my mouth's watering!) that I'm actually hungry when I'm not.

This morning, I noticed I was hungry when I awoke. I lay there before getting up, trying to think what I'd like to eat. Usually on Sundays, I make a special breakfast, but this morning the thought of any of those things (eggs, hash browns, and sausage, or pancakes and fresh fruit) just didn't appeal to me. I wanted oatmeal with peanut butter and stevia. So as my husband and I were checking in on what we would do today, I told him I wasn't into a big breakfast today. He perkily said, ok, he'd make "his usual" and then exercise. I decided to feed our ies and make my oatmeal, eat, and exercise. (Or exercise and eat--still deciding which as the oats finish cooking--probably exercise first.)

I was feeling mildly guilty for putting my own needs first, then I looked over at what my husband was eating. It's not like I left the man to go out and forage for himself, or kill a hooved beast and drag it back, dress it, and cook it. He had in front of him the breakfast he adores, carb-fiend that he is: all organic--cereal, milk, three kinds of fruit, mini-bagels, jam. I realized I was the one who made all these things "appear," and that I'm always careful to make sure he has fresh, beautiful fruit (today it was bananas and strawberries and peaches) and milk on hand, even though I never use the stuff for anything but baking. I shake his milk container to see how much he has left. I dropped the guilt--he wasn't suffering--and told myself to put on the big girl panties and realize that no one was strapping me into the harness but myself.

Now if I can just remember that.

But I digress: When I see something and it appeals to me as something I'd like to eat, I usually try to remove myself from its influence for a bit, to make sure it's not just that primitive "see food and eat" thing. If something comes back to me as appealing after that influence has dissipated, I then decide to eat it when I'm hungry. But, if I'm truly hungry and something looks good at that time, I decide to eat that. I'm one of those people who often changes her restaurant order because of what someone else at the table orders! But as long as I'm eating only until I'm satisfied, and enjoying it, and eating relatively healthy food more often than junk food (which I do if I really pay attention to my body), I go ahead and eat what appeals to me at any given time. I think spending too much time brooding over what I "really" want sounds too much like my old obsession with food under a slightly different guise.

I hope this helps.

Again, I can't tell you all how much this group means to me. I get it via digest and find I savor reading them. Everyone here rocks, in my opinion.

Laurie

Kate wrote:

>>>How do other people decide what they are hungry for without being pulled in by outside influences?<<<