Am I hungry?
My husband called me two weeks ago and with an odd combination of sadness and conviction in his tone, "You are going to be buying a lot less food. This is going to transform everything."
Although I have been trying out Geneen Roth's eating guidelines from her book Women, Food and God for several months now, Tom was just getting a 'taste' of it. Her first and I believe over riding guideline is simply 'Eat when you are hungry' and 'Stop when you are satisfied'. Although this sounds easy, just below the surface lies a whole world of unexplored behaviors. The practice brings you into amazing and often unwanted awareness.
Step one is to create a hunger scale:
Many of us are not in touch with ourselves enough to know when our bodies are hungry - not our eyes, or mind (emotions), but our real live stomachs.
To create a scale, start by not eating breakfast one morning or skipping lunch one day. In other words let yourself get really hungry. Keep drinking water though, so you do not mistake thirst for hunger.
When you are completely empty and almost weak with hunger take time to really observe what this feels like.
Where do you feel the sensations? What does your stomach feel like, your throat, your legs, your arms, your head?
On the 1-10 scale we are creating this is considered a 1. It is empty on the gas tank, bottomed out, very hungry.
From there try to understand what a 2, 3, or 4 might be. You can certainly experiment with this process again and again to create a real accurate awareness.
Consider 5 satisfied, 6 very satisfied, and anything over that approaching stuffed. A 10 is Thanksgiving when you were completely off the rails.
Once you have this down, try it. Only eat when your body is hungry. If you eat when it is not, simply observe, try not to judge and simply be curious as to what you are feeling and why. Is it boredom, loneliness, avoidance? Keep practicing. See what comes up. Be sure to stay aware.
Next, stop when you have had enough. Observe again. There will be a lot here too. Watch and see the social and emotional things that keep us eating. Try separating yourself and the food at this point. It is very hard. Just breath and observe.
Try this practice for a few days and let us know what you see.
Cheers.
My husband called me two weeks ago and with an odd combination of sadness and conviction in his tone, "You are going to be buying a lot less food. This is going to transform everything."
Although I have been trying out Geneen Roth's eating guidelines from her book Women, Food and God for several months now, Tom was just getting a 'taste' of it. Her first and I believe over riding guideline is simply 'Eat when you are hungry' and 'Stop when you are satisfied'. Although this sounds easy, just below the surface lies a whole world of unexplored behaviors. The practice brings you into amazing and often unwanted awareness.
Step one is to create a hunger scale:
Many of us are not in touch with ourselves enough to know when our bodies are hungry - not our eyes, or mind (emotions), but our real live stomachs.
To create a scale, start by not eating breakfast one morning or skipping lunch one day. In other words let yourself get really hungry. Keep drinking water though, so you do not mistake thirst for hunger.
When you are completely empty and almost weak with hunger take time to really observe what this feels like.
Where do you feel the sensations? What does your stomach feel like, your throat, your legs, your arms, your head?
On the 1-10 scale we are creating this is considered a 1. It is empty on the gas tank, bottomed out, very hungry.
From there try to understand what a 2, 3, or 4 might be. You can certainly experiment with this process again and again to create a real accurate awareness.
Consider 5 satisfied, 6 very satisfied, and anything over that approaching stuffed. A 10 is Thanksgiving when you were completely off the rails.
Once you have this down, try it. Only eat when your body is hungry. If you eat when it is not, simply observe, try not to judge and simply be curious as to what you are feeling and why. Is it boredom, loneliness, avoidance? Keep practicing. See what comes up. Be sure to stay aware.
Next, stop when you have had enough. Observe again. There will be a lot here too. Watch and see the social and emotional things that keep us eating. Try separating yourself and the food at this point. It is very hard. Just breath and observe.
Try this practice for a few days and let us know what you see.
Cheers.
