Post by lizlor on Jul 12, 2021 14:01:23 GMT
Practice Hunger Tolerance
Yesterday, you learned the differences between hunger, desire, and cravings. Today’s task is a little tougher. You’re going to learn how to tolerate hunger. Are you concerned about being hungry? When I ask dieters this question, they invariably answer no—initially. But when I suggest today’s exercise, most of them become uncomfortable. Some have said, “I’m not concerned about it. I just don’t want to be hungry.” It turned out, though, that there was more to it: They were anxious. At some level, they didn’t know if they could actually tolerate being hungry. When people who struggle with dieting get hungry, they often feel hunger pangs intensely. The sensations can feel like an emergency. All their attention gets focused on how uncomfortable they feel—and when and where they can get food. They begin to think they won’t be able to stand feeling that way. If you’ve had similar experiences, it’s important to learn that you can tolerate hunger. Once you effectively convince yourself of this, hunger won’t seem like such a big deal. When you’re hungry but it’s not time for a meal or a snack, you’ll be able to say to yourself, Oh, well, I wish I could eat now, but it’s okay ... I can wait.
You’ll then be able to turn your attention to other things, and the hunger pangs will gradually diminish. If you’ve never allowed yourself to feel hungry or very hungry, you might not believe me when I tell you that if you’re hungry and don’t respond immediately by eating, then your hunger will definitely subside. Today’s task will help you see that you can tolerate hunger and that it comes and goes. Today or one day very soon (you can choose what works best with your schedule), I’d like you to purposely skip lunch. (Don’t do this if a medical condition, such as diabetes, requires you to eat regularly.) Doing so will help you realize that hunger is not an emergency. In fact, I think you’ll find it’s not nearly as uncomfortable a sensation as you now believe. If you fear hunger, you might routinely eat to avoid the feeling. You might never have learned that it’s okay to feel hungry, or you might never have developed skills to help you withstand hunger. Purposely skipping a meal will prove something to you: You definitely don’t have to eat when you’re hungry. Just because you want to eat doesn’t mean you always should. This is one of the most important things you need to learn to lose excess weight and to keep it off! You definitely don’t have to eat when you’re hungry. Just because you want to eat doesn’t mean you always should.
What to Do
Pick a day this week to practice hunger tolerance. If you think it’ll be challenging, choose a day when you know you’ll be busy and you predict you won’t be faced with difficult eating triggers. Many of the dieters I’ve counseled initially tried this experiment on a workday. A structured routine helped them refrain from eating until dinnertime. To help you put the discomfort of hunger in perspective, reflect on past non-hunger-related experiences that were uncomfortable. Use My Discomfort Scale on the facing page and fill in several points, with 0 representing a situation in which you experienced no discomfort and 10 representing a situation in which you had the most extreme discomfort you’ve ever experienced.
Going Hungry
On the day you practice feeling hungry, on every hour you’re going to track how uncomfortable you feel on My Hunger Discomfort Chart. At right is an example of how Norma, a dieter I counseled, filled in her chart. Doing this exercise helped her realize that her hunger never got above a 4 in discomfort and that she absolutely was able to tolerate it. On the day you choose, eat breakfast and then purposely don’t eat again until dinner. At the time you normally eat lunch, figure out how uncomfortable (not how hungry) you are and write your rating on My Hunger Discomfort Chart. Then every hour or so between lunch and dinner, rate how strong your discomfort is at that very moment. Also reflect on how the previous hour went and record how high or low your discomfort was.
Today’s thought: Once I get over my intolerance of hunger, dieting will be easier.
What do you this about this exercise? Are you going to try this?
Yesterday, you learned the differences between hunger, desire, and cravings. Today’s task is a little tougher. You’re going to learn how to tolerate hunger. Are you concerned about being hungry? When I ask dieters this question, they invariably answer no—initially. But when I suggest today’s exercise, most of them become uncomfortable. Some have said, “I’m not concerned about it. I just don’t want to be hungry.” It turned out, though, that there was more to it: They were anxious. At some level, they didn’t know if they could actually tolerate being hungry. When people who struggle with dieting get hungry, they often feel hunger pangs intensely. The sensations can feel like an emergency. All their attention gets focused on how uncomfortable they feel—and when and where they can get food. They begin to think they won’t be able to stand feeling that way. If you’ve had similar experiences, it’s important to learn that you can tolerate hunger. Once you effectively convince yourself of this, hunger won’t seem like such a big deal. When you’re hungry but it’s not time for a meal or a snack, you’ll be able to say to yourself, Oh, well, I wish I could eat now, but it’s okay ... I can wait.
You’ll then be able to turn your attention to other things, and the hunger pangs will gradually diminish. If you’ve never allowed yourself to feel hungry or very hungry, you might not believe me when I tell you that if you’re hungry and don’t respond immediately by eating, then your hunger will definitely subside. Today’s task will help you see that you can tolerate hunger and that it comes and goes. Today or one day very soon (you can choose what works best with your schedule), I’d like you to purposely skip lunch. (Don’t do this if a medical condition, such as diabetes, requires you to eat regularly.) Doing so will help you realize that hunger is not an emergency. In fact, I think you’ll find it’s not nearly as uncomfortable a sensation as you now believe. If you fear hunger, you might routinely eat to avoid the feeling. You might never have learned that it’s okay to feel hungry, or you might never have developed skills to help you withstand hunger. Purposely skipping a meal will prove something to you: You definitely don’t have to eat when you’re hungry. Just because you want to eat doesn’t mean you always should. This is one of the most important things you need to learn to lose excess weight and to keep it off! You definitely don’t have to eat when you’re hungry. Just because you want to eat doesn’t mean you always should.
What to Do
Pick a day this week to practice hunger tolerance. If you think it’ll be challenging, choose a day when you know you’ll be busy and you predict you won’t be faced with difficult eating triggers. Many of the dieters I’ve counseled initially tried this experiment on a workday. A structured routine helped them refrain from eating until dinnertime. To help you put the discomfort of hunger in perspective, reflect on past non-hunger-related experiences that were uncomfortable. Use My Discomfort Scale on the facing page and fill in several points, with 0 representing a situation in which you experienced no discomfort and 10 representing a situation in which you had the most extreme discomfort you’ve ever experienced.
Going Hungry
On the day you practice feeling hungry, on every hour you’re going to track how uncomfortable you feel on My Hunger Discomfort Chart. At right is an example of how Norma, a dieter I counseled, filled in her chart. Doing this exercise helped her realize that her hunger never got above a 4 in discomfort and that she absolutely was able to tolerate it. On the day you choose, eat breakfast and then purposely don’t eat again until dinner. At the time you normally eat lunch, figure out how uncomfortable (not how hungry) you are and write your rating on My Hunger Discomfort Chart. Then every hour or so between lunch and dinner, rate how strong your discomfort is at that very moment. Also reflect on how the previous hour went and record how high or low your discomfort was.
Today’s thought: Once I get over my intolerance of hunger, dieting will be easier.
What do you this about this exercise? Are you going to try this?
