When is the last time you were hungry? Most of us in the U.S. today have food around us all the time. We eat because it’s time, because we’re anxious, sometimes just because we’ve got nothing better to do. Do you even remember what hungry feels like?
I realized a few weeks ago that I couldn’t remember being hungry. I was standing in front of the fridge — the full fridge — and couldn’t find anything to eat. Because I wasn’t actually hungry. I do that all the time.
Well, I did that all the time. After that, I thought maybe I should try to eat only when I’m hungry. There must be something in the air, because Dinneen just wrote about the exact same thing over on her blog, Eat Without Guilt.
If you don’t recognize the name, Dinneen Diette is a Weight Loss Coach and certified Health Counselor, and one of the co-authors of my second book, Starting From Scratch: The Owner’s Manual for Your Kitchen. In her latest article, Dinneen says:
[O]ften people tell me that they don’t even know what hungry feels like. They either feel hungry all the time, or can’t decipher if their “hunger” is true hunger or emotional hunger. Many people on their weight-loss journey have lost their ability to even know what real (ie: biological) hunger feels like.
And it’s more common than you think.
If that sounds like you, go check out the rest of her article for tips on how to get back in touch with your body. Then instead of always thinking, “There’s nothing to eat,” you’ll start looking forward to food again.
Photo by deanwissing
