Diet Survivor: Lesson #3

Okay then...Project Get-Your-Ass-To-Bed is working. I feel much better today. Here is lesson three from The Diet Survivor's Handbook by Judith Matz and Ellen Frankel.

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Lesson Three:

Ask yourself what you are hungry for and listen to your body. It's wisdom can guide you toward a good match.

Like most grown-ups, when I'm hungry I open my fridge or take a look in my pantry. Or I think about the half-a-dozen fast food restaurants with in a block of my house. It never occurs to me to think about whether I'm hungry for...say Cherries...that I'd have to run to the store for. In fact, even as I'm typing this I'm thinking, who would go to the grocery store just to pick up one thing their hungry for?

So the theory is that the body knows what it needs. If you feed it exactly what it's hungry for--viola, natural eating. This was a hard one for me to accept. Because lots of times, I told myself, I'm hungry for french fries. Or a big chocolate chip cookie.

But, the more I think about it. The more I really analyze the past three-and-a-half months, I realize that, even though I still don't run to the grocery store to fulfill every whim of my hunger--I don't actually crave the "restricted" foods like I used to. Because I have un-restricted those foods. Since I can have (and have had) a Big Mac, if that's what I really need--I don't need it as often. AND, since I'm paying attention, I've learned that I can have just the sandwich, or just the fries, because I rarely crave both at the same time. Or if I do, I can still be satisfied with whichever one I need the most at the moment.

Activity:

The next time you are hungry, attempt to make a good food match.

1. Ask yourself what you really want in your stomach. Not just what you have in the house, but any food, any where.

2. If you can't identify that, ask yourself questions. Something hot? cold? salty? sweet? crunchy? soft?

Then...eat it!