Here is a reprint of a recent article I wrote for the website: All Women Stalk
None of us want to envision a life of discomfort or dissatisfaction. But, when we grow accustomed to associating feelings of hunger with managing our weight, we unknowingly set up an unsustainable pattern for ourselves. Basically, we adopt a short-term, endurance mind-set, rather than instituting sustainable life-long habits.
The problem is that many of us have forgotten how to listen to our bodies for cues. Instead, we eat because it’s the scheduled time or because we are bored. When we fail to listen to our body’s cues, we eventually get to the point that we cannot even recognize them at all. Once a person becomes insensitive to the body’s hunger cues, it’s just a matter of time before weight gain starts.
When you feel the signs of an on-coming, hunger-induced headache, this is your body screaming for much-needed fuel. Typically, hunger is a useful signal that you should eat something to stabilize your blood sugar and provide energy for your body.
You tell yourself you will be better off if you just skip a few meals and put off eating until later because of all the calories you will save. However, the hungrier you allow yourself to become, the more likely it is that you will take in twice as many calories later in the day to satisfy your ravenous appetite. The truth is, the longer you ignore your body’s signals, the more you want to dive into a bag of chips as soon as you hit the front door, or worse, you end up “sampling” a whole dinner serving before the evening meal even hits the table.
You figure you can just grin and bear it to lose the weight or keep it off. However, instead of grinning, you more likely blurt out something unfortunate to whoever happens to be in earshot at the time. No one likes to be around a grumpy, hungry girl.
Now, you need to have a plan for what you will eat when hunger strikes. Remember, multigrain and proteins take longer to digest, so they will leave you feeling fuller, longer. Also, unlike the typical afternoon snack of a candy bar or cheese doodles, nuts can be a nutritious, satisfying snack. Even better, a small handful of nuts will also keep you satisfied for extended periods of time.