Monthly Archives: June 2013

Came across yet another study that lends credence to the the addictive quality in highly processed sugars/starches:  http://www.counselheal.com/articles/5886/20130627/food-addiction-real-problem.htm

There are several books on the market from Bob Schwartz, Rob Stevens, Josie Spinnardi (some good youtube videos: http://www.josiespinardi.com/), and more, that talk about the dangers of dieting, mainly food restriction. Several studies have shown that people eat more when they go on calorie restricted diets, and may have long term challenges in getting away from thinking about food all the time.

I know I was stuck in a place for several years where it seemed I was constantly thinking about food. A mentally unhealthy place to be. While it is important to have a good basic paleo or HFLC general plan, or whatever works for you,  for many people, the non-perfectionists of us, can begin to be overly concerned with food, and soon lose the connection between food and hunger, so that food becomes a tool to assuage emotional issues. 

Even on the best of plans–paleo is big for me–it is possible to eat too much for the wrong reasons. What I learned from reading about hunger-driven eating, or intuitive eating, is that it is important to only eat when one is truly hungry, and not because of false craving-driven ideas about a need for food. I spent a few days getting back in touch with eating only when I really felt that twang in the upper solar plexus that is one of the main signals for true hunger, and found not too surprisingly that as someone with a pretty slow metabolism I only was hungry once in the day, around 6-7pm. Letting hunger be my guide also improved my appreciation for my food, and everything tastes much better when seasoned by hunger, as the French say.

There is a huge sense of freedom when you begin to practice only eating when hungry, and not by the clock, or by the promptings of television ads, or the smells from the food court in the mall. Also, it’s important to divorce food from any other activities like reading or watching television, since that leads to considerable mindless eating. 

Yours in the effort towards good health,

Nan aka Sugarbaby