Our inner child
There is a childhood game called, Captain May I. In it, one person is the captain and the remaining players are trying to reach the goal line or the leader to win. The captain gives each player a command such as “Mary, you may move two small steps (or two giant steps) forward”. Before Mary can move forward, she has to say, “Captain, May I?” If she forgets to ask for permission, she goes back to the starting line.
Eat intuitively!
It seems as adults we feel we need permission to eat. Foods are described as being either good or bad. Thus we deal with feelings of guilt when we eat something we consider to be a bad food. The next behavior might be depriving oneself of specific foods. This then often results in cravings and overeating particular foods.
This vicious cycle is one that can be broken by intuitive eating. Intuitive eating is combining sensible eating with your body’s hunger signals and not denying your body any foods.
Listening to your body’s hunger signals means eating when you feel physically hungry. Often times we eat for other reasons. The trick is to know the difference. We may eat because we are bored, upset, anxious, or because the food is just there. We eat for many other reasons that can be classified under the headings of social (family celebration), environmental (candy jar) or emotional eating (loneliness).
Rate that hunger!
A way to determine if you are hungry is to rate your hunger using a scale of 1-10. One means that you are almost full and 10 that you are starving. The goal is to be near a rating of 5.
A rating near the high end of the scale can be prevented by keeping the amount of time between eating episodes to three to four hours. It will also help you to make healthier food choices.
If you find that you rate your hunger close to a 1, it means that you are about to eat for reasons other than physical hunger. Eating when your rating is less than 5 probably means you will eat more calories than your body needs and will weight gain.
You get to make choices!
The third aspect of intuitive eating is giving yourself permission to enjoy all food. Keep in mind the National Nutrition Month logo from several years ago, All Foods Can Fit. Enjoy the foods that you like.
Mindfulness is key
Be mindful of the food you are eating so that you remain in control. Be aware of the taste of the food. It’s difficult to do that if you are also emailing while eating. Keep healthy foods on hand. Buy small quantities of food you tend to overeat.
For more help eating intuitively and mindfully, check out the books, Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works (2nd ed) by Evelyn Tribole and Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think by Brian Wansink.
