Elizabeth Reighard

Do you allow yourself to get hungry? If so, how hungry should you be before each meal? If you will allow yourself to be hungry and start learning to trust your body cues, I promise you it will revolutionize your eating routine and lifestyle.

How long should you spend eating a meal and how? The answer is twenty minutes with a plate and silverware. It takes our brain that long to communicate to our stomachs that we’ve eaten, and if we sit down there is a chance it will take twenty minutes. Next, chew every bite and enjoy the tastes and smells. If we pay attention to all of our five senses when eating, that will also add to the time it takes to eat and enjoy our meal. Pay attention to what you eat. Do not multi-task when eating because then we won’t realize we have really eaten that meal.

Should you give into a craving? The answer is yes. Have a little bit of it and then move on. One tip is to having a little protein with a carbohydrate craving. It will help lower your blood sugar and keep you from wanting too much of that carbohydrate.

Here is some helpful information on how to assess hunger from the book entitled, “Thin Within.”

Hunger Meter: Before you sit down to eat, follow these simple steps

1. Take a moment to assess your hunger.
2. Give it a rating on a scale of 0 to 10 (ravenously hungry to Thanksgiving stuffed).
3. When your hunger is a 4, it’s time to start eating; waiting until you are at a 2 or 1 could put you at risk of overeating.
4. Start slowing down when you get to a 6 or 7 and reassess; are you still eating to satisfy your hunger? Or are you simply munching mindlessly?

These tips have helped me and I hope they remind you to allow yourself to be hungry and begin to trust your body cues if you haven’t already.