Check your Appetite Awareness
Why is it important?
Similarly to slow eating, checking your appetite awarenessis also about mindfulness. It is about being aware of what your body is silently communicating to you about hunger. Developing this internal awareness will help you to eat when your body needs food and to develop an eating pattern that organically supports the weight and body composition that is healthiest for you.
Most of us have been programmed to disassociate from our body’s internal cues from an early age. If anyone has ever told you that you can’t leave the table until you clean your plate and it’s affected your relationship with food to this day, this is the practice that addresses it! But this isn’t the only experience that can have a tremendous impact on our connection with our appetite. Our eating patterns are influenced by external stimuli like the commercials we see, the company we keep, and the foods most available to us. Many of us eat for entertainment, emotional satisfaction or simply because something we saw, smelled or heard made us think about food. As a result, most of us are psychologically disconnected from what our body’s are telling us concerning food. This lack of connection leads to a myriad of control tactics that we employ to reign in our eating habits without addressing the root of the problem -mindfulness. When we avoid returning to mindfulness for solutions that seem faster, we end up trying things that become both stressful and unsustainable.
What does it involve?
● Scheduled appetite check-ins
○ Set an alarm for every 3-4 hours (ex: 8am, 12pm, 4pm & 8pm) to check-in with your appetite. Note how hungry you feel on a scale of 1-10 (bear in mind that 10 is literally near death starvation). If your hunger level is 7 or greater, then it’s time to eat. If it isn’t then check back in with yourself in about 30 minutes or an hour.
○ Bonus strategies:
■ Track how hungry you are (using the same 1-10 scale) when you begin a meal and how satisfied you are when you finish it. Take note of how much food you needed in order to feel satisfied as opposed to full or stuffed.
■ Identify what physical sensations you experience when you’re hungry vs. when you’re satisfied (ex: growling stomach, sense of emptiness or heaviness in your stomach)
How will I know I’ve done it properly?
The best way to keep yourself honest and accountable about your appetite check-ins is to have them written down. You’ll know you’ve practiced this behavior properly when:
● You have a written account of your hunger on a scale of 1-10 for at least 2 of the 3-4 hour intervals within a day
How do I know when it’s time to move on?
Remember, every new behavior has to be intentional before it becomes organic. So set up reminders, notes and positive triggers to help you to incorporate this new practice into your life. You’ll be ready to move to your next habit once you begin practicing this behavior consistently for 80% of a month.
Go and make space for BLAQUE movement!