Tuesday – A little story about me (hunger)

Tuesday  – Weigh in first thing. Post your results on the Facebook page

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Healthy nutrition

Weight loss day – 1.5gram of carb x body weight in kgs. The same for protein. Plus LOT’s of salad / veg.

Recipe suggestion – Cheats fish, chips and salad.

frozen food lunch

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Happy movement

No exercise today, but I do want you to do extra movement today in whatever way you enjoy. Up to 2 hours extra movement or an extra 10,000 steps on your pedometer. Feel free to break this up into smaller time chunks.

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HOT tip

Learn to listen to your natural hunger cues instead of eating by the clock. Check in with your stomach, not your head.

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HOT lesson

Listening to my natural hunger patterns.

I have an early breakfast most mornings (approx 6am) and I usually follow that with another meal (about 8.45am). I might follow that with another small snack a few hours later, then a substantial size late lunch. This might seem like a lot of food (and carbs), however, because I have listened to my body and become an expert on it (which you guys all should be doing) , I know that I am really hungry in the morning and not hungry at all in the afternoon / night.

 

There was a time when I used to try to limit my food intake in the morning (down to what was deemed a “normal level”) and force myself to eat a “normal size” meal at night (even though I wasn’t hungry then).

Guess what happened?

I ended up eating more food and more unplanned food (junk).

When I tried to restrict my food intake early in the day, I had to battle against my natural hunger levels, this is very hard to do. I ended up caving in and stuffing more food in and it was not always the best choice.

I forced myself to eat dinner at night, when I was not hungry, I was just putting in extra food that I did not need. Now, sometimes I skip dinner altogether or have something very light. I know this sounds like a total No-No to most, but here are the questions I ask myself.

 

  • Am I hungry? Usually the answer is no
  • Have I had enough calories for the day? Usually the answer is yes, because I have eaten a lot early in the day
  • Have I have enough carbs for the day? Usually the answer is yes, because it’s just so easy to do
  • Have I had enough protein? Usually the answer is yes, but if I feel like I have not, then I will have a small serve for dinner.
  • Have I had enough veg? Sometimes the answer is no, and I will have a small salad or cut up veg sticks.

 

I am not telling this story to say that my hunger and eating patterns are RIGHT.

Just that they are RIGHT for me.

Things will be so much easier when you work WITH your body, instead of trying to battle against it.

Please listen to YOUR body and YOUR natural hunger.