Why am I constantly hungry ALL THE TIME?
I eat out of boredom.
I just don’t have good portion control and can’t stop when I am full.
I need to go on a diet.
If this sounds like you then I have some simple guidelines that can help you get back into control over what, when, and how you are eating. IT shouldn’t be a surprise that how you eat is usually reflective of the way you live. Chaos / stress will lead to chaotic stressful mindless eating.
Going on a “diet” is a bad idea. Diets DON’T teach you whats going on with your relationship with food.
When diets are based on deprivation, guilt, and punishment you start wanting what you think you are not allowed to have. This leads to a perpetual cycle of negative self talk and abuse.
So WHAT can you do?
You need to change your mindset to TRUST yourself and remember you are in control. Address any ongoing stress in your life that may be contributing to over-eating.
Commit to 3 MEALS a day and schedule that to your lifestyle. Follow this schedule most if not all days of the week. For example. If you are an early riser you can plan to eat your breakfast at 7am, lunch 12pm, and dinner at 5. Most of us all overeat! We really do not need so much food and snacking all day. Get your body used to 3 meals a day. Figure out your daily caloric needs and split them up between 3 meals. Make these meals good, hearty, nutritious, and balanced with a good amount of clean protein, healthy fat, and complex carbs from veggies. If you are still hungry you are not eating enough at each meal. Eventually your body will adapt to this schedule and be better off for it.
AS LONG AS YOU CHOOSE THE RIGHT CALORIES YOUR BODY WILL BE SATISFIED THEREFORE BECOME MORE SENSITIVE TO ANTI-HUNGER HORMONES. IF YOU CHOOSE THE WRONG CALORIES YOU CAN BE HAUNTED BY THE SAME CRAVINGS OVER AND OVER.
Next follow these GUIDELINES
1 Eat when you are hungry
2 Eat clean (ditch the junk-you know what that is!)
3 Slow down while eating
4 Eat sitting down in a calm environment
5 Eat without distractions
6 Eat only what your body wants (listen when to stop)
7 Eat with enjoyment, enjoy your meal every last bite and engage all of your senses.
8 EAT WITH THE INTENTION OF BEING IN FULL VIEW OF OTHERS!
9 Keep a food diary
10 Observe the way you eat and become more aware of your “autopilot” eating tendencies.
11 Remember that you DO have control over cravings. So acknowledge them but find another way to respond besides food. Have some tools ready and on hand such as walking the dog or calling a friend.
Here are a few healthy steps you can take to curb cravings:
• Eat a healthy breakfast with protein such as pastured eggs scrambled in coconut oil with some greens.
• Drink more water. Being dehydrated can contribute to cravings.
• Quit Sugar cold turkey! Just do it! This will help cravings go away.
• Make sure a food allergy is not present and contributing to cravings.
• Get a good night’s sleep every night, try for 7-8 hours.
• Optimize you vitamin D and Omega 3 levels and amino acids glutamine, tyrosine, and 5-HTP may help cut cravings.
Establishing a good balance of probiotics in your gut will help in numerous bodily functions such s digesting and absorbing certain carbohydrates, producing vitamins, absorbing minerals, eliminating toxins and food cravings.
– Eat FAT (healthy) to balance your hormones.The body needs (healthy) fats for rebuilding cells and hormone production. Sadly many people are still following “low fat” diet trends thinking that is the way to better health. Avoiding fat does quite the opposite by messing with your hormones leading to numerous health problems including food cravings.
People use food for some good reasons and here few I can think of…safety, reward, comfort, and to hide from pain but these are NOT the right reasons! Eating this way tends to lead to everyday struggles and stress about eating and ultimately an unhealthy relationship with food.
FOOD ADDICTION- A STEP FURTHER….
Its a fact that cheap fake processed food and sugar are not only toxic but making people addicted, fat, and sick.
Food addiction is real and just like any other addiction if you feel completely out of control when it comes to all things food you need help, support, and tools to overcome it.
If you are struggling to overcome food addictions or binge eating author Victoria Moran has offered helpful suggestions to break the addiction for good. Once the addiction is under control then proper nutrition and avoidance of processed foods can be addressed.
Here are her suggestions,
Address the “empty hole” you are feeding. What really is the problem you are feeding, suppressing, or trying to cover up? Once you can openly face and take on this empty hole you are one step closer to getting a hold on the addiction.
- If you can’t stop eating focus on eating 3 solid meals vs. grazing on smaller mini meals throughout the day. If you focus on 3 meals a day then you only have to work at “stopping” eating 3 times. If you are grazing on multiple mini meals then you have to face trying to stop many more times. Once you STOP eating after a meal you are forced to LIVE the other parts of the day! When living you are put back in the stream of life and are not as consumed with eating.
- Eat OUT! Just for now to break the overeating pattern. You can’t binge eat at a sit down restaurant. You eat what you order and that’s it. There is a rule to this. No buffets and no fast food. You need to go to a restaurant where you sit in a chair and eat off a regular plate. Don’t worry about eating the right meal because at this point you are just trying to break the cycle. Doing this for a while will help you gain confidence that you can stop eating.
- Have an after meal prayer. Eat your meal and then when it’s gone be done and offer a gratitude prayer. Something like this “The meal has ended I will go in peace.” You have officially ended the meal and you get up and go do something else!
- ME time in the morning! M=meditation, E=exercise. Take time to do these 2 things every morning and you will be taking care of your whole self and learning to respect whole self.
Once the cycle is broke and addiction under control only then can focus on overall health and proper nutrition come into play. We must take charge of our lives and our health by helping those who may feel helpless in the battle of the bulge and food addiction.
PHEW ! Thats alot of info but I know this is a hot topic that many struggle with. I hope you have gained some insight, encouragement, and suggestions to help YOU re-gain control of your health and eating habits!
Be Well! 🙂
Susie R.