It’s time…..for a daily report! My job every day is to manage my food intake so that I am always satisfied after a meal and always slightly hungry just before a meal. I keep track of that by writing it all down in a food journal. I am able to do all this because I have changed my values. Now I see hunger as a friend. When I get hungry just before mealtime, it means I am doing things right.
My food intake and calorie count
Breakfast – 1/8 apple pie with crumb topping (450)
- 450 calories
Lunch – 2x bratwurst (260); 1/2 whole wheat wrap (45); peppers and onions (20);
- 585 calories
Dinner – 13.5 ounces vegetable curry (350); 5oz cooked rice (160);
- 510 calories
Snacking – tea with half and half (80);
- 80 calories
Total for the day: 1625 calories (limit 1700)
Fulfilling rather than full feeling
When you are managing your weight you have to have your mind right. Once that is done, you learn to manage your food intake. You start to welcome hunger because it means you are doing things right. You put things in the correct order: get hungry, then eat. You make sure that your meal is worth all the fuss. Then you let yourself get hungry.
Question: how do you do that? Don’t you want to avoid feeling hungry on a diet????
What you don’t want is to feel hungry all the time. Avoid feeling deprived, unhappy, put-upon. Getting hungry is an important signal that you will enjoy the food! But you have to learn to time the feeling of hunger. Learn to get a little hungry, not a lot. It should just last a few minutes, but it heightens your enjoyment of the meal. If it’s something you have been looking forward to, you will enjoy it more when you are hungry. That’s just your perception but it will work for you.
If you overeat, then you won’t be hungry next time and you won’t enjoy your next meal nearly as much as you could. What’s the point of setting up your favorite meal, and all the cooking and preparation, if you’re not hungry and won’t fully enjoy it? Use hunger as a signal and as an appetizer. Are you hungry? That means your last meal has worn off and you are ready for more. Are you hungry? You will enjoy your next meal!
Don’t get too hungry and don’t get too full. Go for the more fulfilling experience: satisfying physical hunger at the right moment with the right food for you.
-The Doctor