Why do you eat?

This is something I have been thinking about lately.  

We know that to survive we have to eat.  

But when we eat and why we eat is something I am working on at the moment.  Changing your lifestyle is such a huge thing.  It isn't just about ditching the crap and embracing the good stuff.  I have found it to be a massive psychological journey too.

In online support groups I see multiple posts daily from people lamenting that they have 'fallen off the wagon' or 'cheated'.   

These folk know that eating certain foods will make them feel ill, gain weight or have some other reaction.  Yet, despite this they still eat them.  This could be due to cravings, emotions, peer pressure, habit, boredom or time restraints.

For me, I don't tend to crave anything much since changing my diet.  I attribute this to being so ill beforehand and feeling so much better within six weeks of starting the protocol.   There is no way I want to go back to feeling like I did!  This doesn't mean I don't have the occasional flare up, but this is mostly due to testing something and finding it doesn't agree with me.  On the rare occasion (okay the other day), I will have something I know will react but do so anyway.  Damn that kebab was good!   Yes, I had a gain and my body aches but I doubled my ACV and water intake to try and flush it through faster.  

This isn't my biggest challenge though.

Ask yourself this.  

Are you hungry?  

Seriously, when you sit down to eat tonight really think about that.   

Do you have set meal times?

How often do you look at the clock and think about breakfast, lunch or dinner?

I know, right!!

I do it too.  

Because I home educate my kids I have two kids harping for food often LOL  Actually, I should correct that because since going LCHF (low carb, high fat) in our house they don't harp nearly as much as they used to.  

But they also clock watch!

"it's 12.30pm we have to have lunch now!"

Something I am trying to teach, not only them but ME! 

 Is to stop.  Just stop.  

Then ask "am I really hungry?" 

Because we start our day later than most because we can and arent you jelly around 9am we don't have breakfast until late, this means we don't really NEED lunch until later.   We have also been having high protein breakfasts, which we know is filling and will keep you going.  

Another reason to ask that question, "am I really hungry?"

Recently I went to the Primal Living conference in Hobart.  The food provided was very high protein, high fat.   This challenged me, I was full for two days and was not hungry at all, yet I struggled with that demand of the clock.  It is meal o'clock so I should be eating!

I ate a meal the following day and felt ill.

The next day I decided enough was enough and I didn't eat for 1.5 days after that.

You know what, I survived!  

I did not need to eat, I was not hungry.

I am trying very hard to break this habit of eating because the clock says to.  

Another question I ask is 

AM I THIRSTY?

We often mistake thirst for hunger.  When did you last have some water?  Go have a drink now!

If you think you should be eating, go have a glass of water and wait 30 minutes then ask yourself if you are really hungry.

Do we need to snack?

I say no.

Again, I find myself offering food to my kids and I am trying to stop this habit.  IF they are truly hungry they will ask.  No doubting that!

When I think "oooh it is 3pm I better get them a snack" I am trying to stop myself.  

Again, LCHF they shouldn't need a snack.  If I fill them up with good food for main meals that should sustain them.

For myself, I rarely snack now. 

I will have the occasional raw date/nut ball and I often feel like something salty so I will sometimes sprinkle some himalayan salt on it for that hit.  When I am not in phase 2 I rarely eat fruit and again feel fine with that. In phase 2 I want that extra snack as my protein is reduced and all fats stopped for the duration but in phase 4/5 I am full most of the time. 

So, why do you eat??