“On second thought..gum would be perfection!”
In my mind, just how ridiculous Chandler felt after speaking this line out loud to his old high school crush in the ATM vestibule, it is equally ridiculous to think that you can decrease hunger by chewing a piece of gum!
I know you’ve heard it:
“Chew a piece of gum”
“Drink a glass of water”
“Brush your teeth”
“Go for a walk”
Or basically, just do absolutely anything instead of eating, rather than honoring your body’s natural hunger signals.
How ridiculous!
What if instead, you notice your body sending your brain some hunger signals like “hey you, I’d like to eat somewhat soon, it’s been a while since my last form of nourishment and I want to keep functioning efficiently!” SO, you keep this in mind and relatively soon grab a snack or enjoy your next meal.
DO NOT: ignore this gentle reminder, hoping it will go away, or think that by not eating you’re doing yourself a favor of any kind. The longer you restrict your body of food that it needs, not only will your hunger continue to escalate, your ability to slow down and listen to how full you become during a meal essentially goes out the window. When you finally eat after letting yourself become too famished, you will likely grab the closest food source in sight, but also likely overconsume and feel uncomfortably full.
Does this sound familiar? Ugh me too, I’ve been here and done that. I used to think the less I ate the quicker I’d reach a weight loss goal. But what really happened? I would come home at the end of the day way too hungry and then eat way too much. So was it really beneficial to be hungry all day? NO!
And you know what else? A piece of gum or a glass of water did not keep me full or satisfied, because you know what does that? Food.
So the big takeaway: Sorry Chandler, gum is not always perfection. Go honor your hunger and cravings instead!
Do you have questions about how to do this in your own life? Questions on how to lose weight without ever being hangry? Reach out today! Like right now.
Stay nourished,
Elle Merrill
