Listening to your body’s signals that tell you when you’re hungry and full is an important part of any diet. It’s dangerous to ignore these signals because it will lead to unhealthy eating habits and possibly eating disorders. Making sure you recognize the signals your body naturally gives you to tell you when you’ve eaten enough is an essential part of eating healthy and something that shouldn’t be ignored. Dietitians in Florida recommend keeping a food journal to keep track of what you eat each day and how you’re feeling before you eat. Keeping a journal for 2 weeks will give you a closer look at your eating habits and identify things that lead to unhealthy diet choices.
Managing hunger is the main goal of most of the plans recommended by Dietitians at Behavioral Nutrition. There are many variants of hunger. Sometimes, people have an unconscious rule that they can only eat a meal’s worth of food at meal times. This is referred to as meal hungry. It’s possible to experience meal hunger at other times of the day for a variety of reasons, such as higher energy needs from significant increase in physical activity such as playing all day at the beach, moving into a new home or from having a big change in your schedule, like waking up at six in the morning for an early meeting.
The time of day that meals are consumed varies greatly for each individual and is something that must be considered when working with a dietitian to develop a healthy eating plan. You might eat a substantial breakfast at 5:30am and feel hungry for lunch at 10:30am. Kids might eat lunch at school at 11:30am, and by the time they get home after playing afternoon sports, they are hungry for a meal at 4:30pm. These are all examples of hunger as a result of your body working, even though it’s not during a traditional mealtime. Just eating a classic snack amount of food will not appease this type of hunger and that’s okay, it’s normal! Part of the intuitive eating journey is learning to honor your hunger according to your body’s needs. Try to reflect on your hunger levels the next time you feel hungry. Is it possible that you’re hungry for a meal?
Make Healthy Choices with Intuitive Eating
The dietitians at Behavioral Nutrition specialize in creating plans that support intuitive eating and strive to empower our clients to make healthy eating choices. Contact us today to learn more about how our Nutritional Therapy Services can help you or a loved one develop better eating behaviors for a healthier diet they can stick with.
