Eating every two to three hours without fail, I was eating – hungry or not. Wouldn’t and couldn’t miss a meal, or so I thought. I thought I would lose all my hard earned muscle, shrivel up and die, lol! Extreme much? Also thought that my metabolism
would slow down. Ha, the thought of it all now. I wouldn’t change that time, because it has made me the Nutrition Coach that I am today.
So, this one time, I decided to put away the Tupperware, put the food scale away and eat intuitively, also known as mindful eating. Prior to this way of eating, like said, I was eating every 2-3 hours and 5-6
meals a day, or following a meal plan. This was the norm. I actually never let myself get hungry. As I said before, hunger meant muscle loss – so laughable now. What was hunger exactly?
Didn’t even have a clue. I just ate because I was supposed to. Now don’t get me wrong, I was starving most of the time because I was underfed calorically. The
phenomenon is that if you eat less and exercise more, this is the answer to all of your worries, right? Really, that is a small part of the equation, and eat less and exercising more can have detrimental effects in the long run. But, that’s for another time.
Starving and hunger are two different entities. Of course, I did feel some hunger, but
most of the time I was just eating because I had to get all my meals in for the day, whether I felt hungry or not.
So, I put away all the Tupperware, and was thrilled not to carry it everywhere, unless I chose to take a meal or two because I wanted to. Wanted to – key phrase here, not have to.
So this mindful eaten thing is a thing. Not following a meal plan was freeing and liberating. I actually got hungry and wasn’t scared anymore. It’s actually okay to get hungry. We won’t shrivel up and die or eat a whole days of calories in one meal like I thought.
It does take a whole lot of practice and trust in yourself, if you are used to meal plans, or eating every two to three hours. It will take some time, patience, and self-compassion. That’s okay because it’s a whole lot better than being dependent on a meal plan.
What I don’t enjoy anymore is being in the
kitchen in for several hours on Sunday, cooking and measuring. It’s tedious, and my time can be better used elsewhere. I still prepare a few items on Sunday, but not to the extreme extent like before. I prep a protein source, some veggies, and a carb source – no portioning it out in Tupperware now. Lol, I don’t use those plastic things much anymore anyways – glass containers is where it’s at.
Get hungry, don’t be scared. Navigate the grey area, drop the black and white rules, and get curious about how your body responds to foods. Be your own diet detective, so to speak. And if you still do like to portion out your meals into containers for the week, that’s fine too. Just make sure it’s what you WANT to do and that it’s not hindering your life. Anything nutrition or fitness should enhance your life, not
hinder. Sure, some discomfort will be present if you’re implementing some habit changes or incorporating some new exercise, but it shouldn’t be downright awful!
Wooo hooo, got an email under 1000 words! Thank you for reading as always! Have a wonderful weekend!
Yours in Health and Happiness,
Xo
Candace
P.S. Hit reply back and tell me what your favorite fall time activity is?