A Chat On Hunger Cues

Hi Loves!

Today I wanted to talk about a subject that is very near and dear to my heart– hunger cues. If you asked me three years ago, “what’s a hunger cue?” I wouldn’t have known what to tell you. I would have sat sadly in a corner and eaten my salad sans dressing.

This was a time in my life that I did NOT have a good relationship with food or my body and in turn was so disconnected from my body’s natural cues of hunger that I would skip meals, often. Today this seems so impossible to me because if there’s anything I practice without fail, it’s three SOLID meals a day and multiple snacks. For me, this is one of those non-non-negotiables. In order to be my best self, I absolutely need to eat well and often. However, I know what it’s like to have a distorted relationship with food and to fear food. I’m going to get into more of the eating disorder healing talk and tell my story at a later date so before I get too far off topic, let’s get back on subject– hunger cues.

So….what are hunger cues you ask? Simply enough, it’s tuning into your body to listen when it’s telling you to feed yourself and doing so (if possible), before you are so hungry that you feel horrible. Listening to our bodies’ hunger cues means that we FORGET about calories out and in and listen to what your body is telling you. That being said, I absolutely also believe that the kinds of foods we put into our bodies matter. If you eat like shit, you most likely will feel like shit and what works for me diet wise might not work for you– we’re all different!!
The diet that I feel best on consists of lots of eggs, ghee, avocados, veggies, meats, nuts, a mostly paleo diet with lots of healthy fats. I don’t eat any dairy because I’m intolerant to it and I limit gluten because it gives me a serious stomach ache (I’m prob also intolerant to it but don’t wanna admit that HA). As a person who used to fear food and calories, I’m here to tell you that these things are not the enemy!! That negative voice in your head that tells you in order to be beautiful (loved, worthy, etc) that you need to deprive yourself of food. IT’S A LIE! You are more beautiful and worthy and loved than you could ever imagine and nourishing yourself with healthy foods will give you the energy to be the best possible version of yourself.

So, this being said, next time you contemplate skipping a meal and ignoring those hunger cues, don’t do it! Don’t fall into the “rabit hole”, I promise you it isn’t worth it. Fuel yourself with nourishing foods when you are hungry and stop eating when you are full. When I was first getting back into learning how to listen to my hunger cues, my hunger had been ignored for a long time so I literally couldn’t tell when I was hungry or not. A great place to start is by giving yourself the privilege of three square meals per day, even if it seems scary. After doing this for a while, the hunger cues will get stronger and day by day you will feel stronger! Instead of focusing on the calories of food before you eat the meal, try and focus on what a huge privilege it is that you have the means to provide yourself with a nourishing meal. It’s a gift than many people don’t have.

I hope this information is helpful and can inspire you to love yourself right where you are, today.

Talk to you soon!