If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I always describe “Natural Eating” as not about what you eat, but how you eat. Today I wanted to discuss why we eat and why so many people are overweight.
In my opinion, the only reason we are overweight is because we overeat. We overeat because we are eating for the wrong reasons. The only time our body really wants food is when it is hungry. Most people have lost the ability to tell if they are physically or emotionally hungry.
The reasons we eat apart from physical nutrition are:
· Emotional reasons, that is: boredom, loneliness, anger, sadness, stress, depression or disappointment.
Keeping our emotions within ourselves instead of facing them.
Cultural traditions
· Eat when you are not hungry so as not to offend anyone.
I’ve been taught not to waste food, so eat everything on your plate, even when you’ve had enough.
to reward us
· Knowing that we are likely to be hungry somewhere where it is not appropriate to eat, so eat beforehand even when you are not hungry.
· We are not “allowed” certain foods, so we end up binging when our willpower finally gives way.
Eating on the sly so people don’t see us eating something we “shouldn’t” eat, ie in the car or waiting for family members to come out.
We just ate something we really didn’t want and although physically full we are not emotionally satisfied so let’s keep eating.
What happens in all of these situations is that we end up feeling disappointed, uncomfortable, and guilty because our body doesn’t want food, it wants something else.
Our body gives us signals all the time, but unfortunately many of us have used food to deal with them. We often need rest, sleep, stimulation, love, fresh air, or hydration, but we search for food out of habit.
There are plenty of tips and strategies for politely turning down if you’re not hungry or have had enough. The two key things in all of this are to be aware of what our body is telling us and then to be prepared.
When I show someone how to eat naturally, I’m showing them how to reconnect with their body’s natural instincts of hunger and satisfaction. This allows them to eat only when they are physically hungry and find other positive things that empower them to satisfy emotional hunger.