Trade Stress for Satisfaction

I am so excited to share what changed my life from feeling trapped to knowing that I'm in control of my choices. It was connecting with my intuition, and you can do it too!

Learning how to recognize intuitive cues from my body helped me trade stress for satisfaction.  Am I Really Hungry will guide you out of the traps of dieting to the life changing satisfaction of self-control.

There are 3 requirements: stop "dieting", tune-in to your body and start trusting your 6th sense.

Intuitive eating frees your mind from trying to control your body. It does this because it's something you sense (like seeing or hearing) not something you think about. That why intuition works by giving you physical cues. Eating is all about our physical being.

Because dieting imposes limits and rules on your body, it creates physical and emotional stress that ultimately you intuitively rebel against, which is why diets ultimately fail. Craving and binging are often a direct result of dieting.

It's much easier to work with your body by responding to it then to work against it by ignoring it.

Hunger is personal.  You have mental, emotional and intuitive needs to nourish along with your physical needs. All of this creates cravings. Until you recognize what you're really hungry for these are easy to confuse.

Intuitive eating is common sense. It includes checking in with your body, mind and emotions and doing exactly what feels right. Learn to connect with your body to keep weight off by recognizing intuitive cues and you won't be manipulated by unhealthy cravings.

Instead of stress you connect with self-control at mealtime and the big reward  is: you like your body and you like yourself! You can feel the relief.

Start now by using the 3minutes rule to get through confusing food cravings to connect with what you really want. It's called "Doing the Intuitive Pause".

         

            1. Stop yourself from being mentally manipulated.

Ignore the craving by focusing on being kind and patient with yourself for 3 minutes. Tune in to your body's needs and your state of mind. It's intuitive to respect your body by remembering your physical priorities.

            2. Notice your attitude towards yourself.

 Don't compromise who you are because you're angry, frustrated, lonely, stressed or bored. Instead, find something besides food to make you feel better.

            3. Use all of your senses to notice what's triggering your appetite.

 This includes using common sense to notice what's impacting you outside of your body. Common sense is the intuitive way of being alert.

            4. Decide how you will feel about yourself if you eat what you're craving.

 If you won't be happy with yourself an hour later, it's not physical hunger.

         

            5. If you recognize the food craving is from your body, then enjoy eating it by noticing how satisfied your body feels while you're eating. It's intuitive to enjoy eating. In fact, you get 70% more nutrition from food when you enjoy it!

Get more hints, cues and answers on my new website: www.AmIreallyHungry.com

I look forward to seeing you there!

Shake it up!

This is the first day of Autumn. Leaves are turning colors and wind has picked up. The seasons are a symbol of natural rhythms that are part of Life. Shake up your eating habits and look at colors differently. Eat something that is only fresh now, and notice how your body responds. I think you'll have an unexpected energy boost.

Just like the weather has seasons and you change your wardrobe, the seasons are also a natural time for you to change the kinds of foods you eat. When eating is a habit - like you have the same lunch every day, or always eat a certain breakfast, or never have eggs for dinner- you lose touch with what your body really wants and needs.

Your body makes it clear when you're hungry. However it's important to realize your body's needs change all the time. That means different foods satisfy you at different times. Don't eat the same foods all the time because your body won't be satisfied, and you will still feel hungry. ouch. Take a few moments to notice what you're eating and how you feel.

It's September, and suddenly there are different fresh foods at the market. This is a natural head's up that something new is available. Take it as an opportunity to eat seasonal foods you never tried before. Different foods nourish different organs in your body. Your body will tell you what it needs. Be bold and enjoy the experiment.

You will achieve success of your eating goals by using your senses to notice what's going on with your body. Your senses naturally connect with what feels right, because your senses keep you in touch with the bigger picture of your life. Use your 6 senses and you will maintain, not gain weight.

When it comes to diet and eating, your habit may be to see your self though others eyes, or to feed your body what others suggest. Taking suggestions makes sense only when you use your brain with your gut and respond to what your body feels. You have the answers for you. Nobody else does.

Changing your eating routine is going to be exciting. Shake it up, feel refreshed and benefit with the body you want.

For practical intuitive solutions that are common sense for maintaining a your healthy weight, download: Am I Really Hungry? 6th Sense Diet : Intuitive Eating

and overcome eating challenges.

"If you can't solve a problem, it's because you're playing by the rules." P. Arden

Chocolate - Share the pleasure.

This past week was my birthday, and I got a lot of tempting and delicious chocolate.

My friend Elan in Colorado baked me chocolate chocolate chip cookies from a French recipe that are huge and light and deeply, deeply, chocolate. These cookies are a delicious, amazing, seductive experience. And my daughter, gave me chocolate covered espresso beans and chocolate filled candy from an exclusive chocolatier in NYC. OMG. It has been at first very hard, because, of course, I wanted all of it.

When I spoke with Elan to thank her I confessed to actually eating 2 of the cookies in one sitting (which made me feel wildly overdosed on sugar) and she told me she only eats ½ of one at a time! Ouch.

Chocolate is wonderful, delicious, and fattening- so when you have chocolate, break it into bite sized pieces and share that wonder and delicious part with a friend or family member.  It makes them happy and it makes you feel good about your self. 

Chocolate: Connect with your body by really tasting it and savoring the flavor. Connect with your heart by sharing the pleasure. Connect with your intuition by doing what's best for you.

It doesn’t have to be your birthday to be surrounded by foods that will tempt you with their taste and make it hard to resist over eating. But do yourself and those you love a favor and keep temptation away by sharing. Take the box of candy to work and set it out on a table with a note: "Enjoy". No one will complain. And you will set a standard that feels healthy for your spirit. It’s a way of respecting your self.

Don’t be tempted by the illusion of satisfaction. Real satisfaction is a process, not a conclusion. You’ll feel good about your choice when you give your chocolate away. Having no temptation is a relief.

After talking to my friend, I remembered the Hobbits in the J.R.R. Tolkien books. They give presents to others on their birthday. So, I have been giving the chocolate cookies and candies as bite-size treats to friends to celebrate my birthday. Everyone is loving it, and I’m loving the way my body feels. It wasn’t easy but I’ve learned that difficulties can stimulate our greatest achievements! Giving away chocolates is an achievement.

Eating Habits

At a party last night, someone told me he thought eating three times a day- even if you’re not hungry- was normal. It’s not. Eating if you’re not hungry is how to gain weight fast. Eating for satisfaction is intuitive. Your intuition guides you to satisfy hunger and keep your body fortified. When eating becomes a habit, it’s time to wake up.

Your intuition always leads to your best interests. That doesn’t mean it’s easy because none of us are brought up being told to trust our intuition. So to be an intuitive eater, we have to change our habit of ignoring ‘that little voice’.

Ignoring messages from your body and censoring that little voice means being out of touch with your self. The result is you take your self for granted. Ouch. Being taken for granted feels bad.

Eating habits are like sleep-walking because habits are unconscious. Habits leave you in the dark. Some eating habits are emotion driven, and so do take time and effort to recognize. Emotions that create doubt are habits that stop you from achieving your eating goals. Emotional habits can feel like boredom, anger,or depression. As you fine tune your six senses, you won't be prey to these culprits.

Eating when you’re not hungry is clearly not in your best interests. Eating has to be an honest response to your body to nurture you. When you eat what feels good to your body, and satisfies your desire for physical pleasure (taste), and emotional need (comfort and self-respect), you will not eat what you don’t want, and you will not eat when you’re not hungry.

Eating out of habit is the opposite of being a sensuous eater. Why not skip a meal now and then and use that break in habit to wake up your ability to recognize what your body is really hungry for.

Then, eat for satisfaction.