“Just don’t eat it”… As my very first weight loss coach said this to me, I knew I would be breaking up with her (and I did)…
She offered this {super helpful 
} advice about my food nemesis, Wendy’s French Fries.
I completely agreed that I was aiming for “just don’t eat it” but also knew there was a big gap between where I was at and reaching that seemingly mythical place where unicorns danced and all my wishes came true.
I wanted to shout, “But HOW do I do that???”
I often think of this advice when I hear “Eat only when hungry and stop when satisfied”.
Sounds so nice and simple. And most people would agree that it would probably make weight loss a lot easier.
So why doesn’t it feel simple to actually do??
If you have ever wanted to yell, “But HOW do I do that??” about this piece of advice, then read on my friend.
It doesn’t feel simple in real life because why we eat and how much we eat is complex. There are many influencing factors beyond just physical hunger.
That doesn’t mean this concept is out of your reach. What it means is it will take a bit of work.
You can build the skill of recognising your hunger signals, eating when physically hungry and stopping when you hit the pleasantly satisfied level. But first you have to figure out what to do all those other times that you want to eat when not actually hungry. Or when you reach the satisfied level but really want to go for the next little bit of food.
And that takes understanding why you eat when you do. What are the non-hunger drivers of your eating?
It also takes awareness of your hunger signals. Even though you may have been taught to ignore these over your life, the hunger signals are still there. It just may feel like someone turned the volume way down on them. The more you listen and tune in, the easier they will be to notice.
So if you get frustrated when you hear advice like, “Eat when Hungry and stop when satisfied”, don’t be. Recognise that the core idea may be good. But that it may take deconstructing the advice a bit and figuring out everything that is underneath the simplicity to make it actually work in your life.
Make sure you listen to this week’s podcast episode where I help you deconstruct how to actually “Eat when hungry and stop when satisfied”. No oversimplifications here – just real, practical advice and tools.
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