Hunger: Getting friendly with a bully.

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of the word, bully, is as follows:

“one who is habitually cruel, insulting, or threatening to others who are weaker, smaller, or in some way vulnerable.”

Sometimes, we are our own worst enemy; sometimes we are a bully and we don’t even recognize the behavior. The thoughts we hear in our brain are suggestions, only suggestions. There are plenty of suggestions that we move to the trash bin before they’re fully developed. Hunger however, seems to always show up loud and proud.

When we are hungry, our body produces the hormone, Ghrelin, which gets our body excited for food. Ghrelin is appropriately nicknamed, the Hunger Hormone. That same hormone is produced when we are watching the food channel, or smell a yummy dish, or a fruity or pastry scented candle. Ghrelin basically goes to your brain with the message that it is time to eat. If you don’t feed the body, Ghrelin calls for backup, Cortisol.

Many of us have heard about Cortisol; so in short, Cortisol is our stress hormone. Increased levels of cortisol prevent our body from losing weight or shedding fat. Cortisol isn’t the bad guy for all functions. Cortisol is really important for energy and the maintenance of blood pressure. When Cortisol is used as Ghrelin’s backup, Cortisol tells the body to hold on to the fat in the mid-section, and don’t let go. Therefore, losing weight, especially in the abdominal area, is a no go.

How are we supposed to lose weight and not have stress?

So glad you asked…

For starters, let’s visit the reason you’re eating.

Are you physically hungry because your body needs food?

Or:

Are you emotionally hungry because you’re stressed, sad, happy, bored, celebrating, scared, anxious, depressed…..or any other emotion?

Are you wanting to eat because you’re used to eating at a certain time and/or on a certain schedule?

True, physical hunger, is gentle. It is the indication that your body requires fuel. With True Physical Hunger, even a food that you don’t typically like, may sound appealing, because you are truly hungry.

What that means is if you only want a plate of pasta, a pizza, a burger, or ice cream, and a boring, flavorless option won’t satisfy you, then what you may want is to satisfy a different “feeling.”

Are you eating because you think you’ll feel better? Food does not make you feel better. I repeat, food does not make you feel better.

Food is just Fuel.

If you find yourself wanting to eat something because you’re hoping to feel a different way, then what you need to do is to think a different thought and not eat anything in that moment.

Food is a temporary fix to a long-standing problem. For many years, people have shown love with food, under the false premise that, “food is love.'“

I’d like to challenge you to think differently. What if food is just food, just fuel? What if we loved ourselves by believing that our body knows when and what we need to eat, and then we trusted that process?

What if you looked at your food, explored your choices, and compared them to your goals?

If you adjusted your food choices so that only nourishment-providing fuel was chosen, would you have chosen differently? What would your menu look like? What would your choices look like? How often would you eat?

I challenge you to explore your thoughts and feelings around food and hunger without judgment and to encourage a positive and friendly relationship with the bully, formerly known as hunger.

For more help identifying your thoughts around emotions and food, feel free to reach out!