Tag Archive for: honor hunger

3 Tips to Leaving the Clean the Plate Club Behind

Picture this, you’re sitting at the dinner table with your whole family after spending the last hour cooking a meal. The meal has just started; however, you have only taken a few bites and you are already starting to feel full. You look around the table and everyone else is still eagerly digging into their food. You put your fork down and realize you are already at the point of comfortable fullness. You begin to feel a little guilty about spending all that time cooking to only eat a few forkfuls of the meal, so you continue you eat until you reach uncomfortable fullness.

Or, you are enjoying your meal, you get to a point of feeling comfortable, but you don’t want to leave any food over because you believe it’s wrong to waste food and/or money.

Many people have experienced that guilt or peer pressure that makes them clean their plate. As a child you might have heard the familiar line, “Clean your plate, there are children that are starving.” This mindset can lead to overeating and ultimately leave you feeling unwell and still guilty, for a different reason.

This mindset of “clean plate club” directly goes against the Intuitive Eating journey. You are ignoring your natural hunger and fullness cues. While in the scenario above, the person tried to tune into their fullness cues, they ultimately ignored them to clean their plate.

There are some tips and tricks that you can try to leave the clean plate club behind. Here are my top 3:

1. Eat Slowly 

Slow down the pace of your eating so you can achieve pleasure in every bite. Try not to rush through your meal, instead savor the food in front of you. When you have full satisfaction, it’s  easier to stop when you sense you have had enough. Put your fork down between bites to allow yourself the time to check in with your hunger and fullness cues.

2. Consider Leftovers 

Promise yourself that you will pack up whatever you leave over (even if it’s a small amount) so you can eat it tomorrow. You will then enjoy this wonderful meal again. Sometimes leftovers can be just as good, if not better, than the original meal. You can even try reworking your leftovers into a completely new meal, get creative in the kitchen.

3.Reflect on your meal.

Once you have completed your meal, take some time to reflect. Did you reach a level of comfortable fullness? Did you pass the level of comfortable fullness and now feel uncomfortable? Asking these questions will surely help you respect your fullness regardless if there’s food left on the plate or not.

Say no to the clean plate club and instead focus inward on how you are feeling. There are so many reasons to honor your fullness and your Intuitive Eating journey.

Want to learn all about the origin of the “clean the plate club”? It’s actually fascinating. Join me today at 12:15 pm EST for a live training HERE or HERE

Eating Intuitively While You’re Sick

Do you ever worry about what will happen the first time you get sick while on your intuitive eating journey? Do you worry that you’ll find it hard to listen to your body and may fall back into old habits? Unfortunately, it can be harder for you to eat intuitively while you’re sick, but that doesn’t mean you have to fall back into old habits.

 

Let me tell you a lesson I learned a few years ago about a time I was sick and how it affected my intuitive eating journey.

 

I don’t usually get sick so when I do, it really throws me for a loop.

 

After I woke up one morning from a difficult night sleep, with a sore throat, coughing, and achy body, I went into the kitchen to prepare my breakfast. What I realized as I tuned into my hunger signals was that I wasn’t really hearing hunger. I stopped to think about this. The last time I ate was dinner the night before, and I am usually hungry in the morning. Yet, I just wasn’t feeling it that morning.

 

So, what do you think I did?

 

Well, I could have left the kitchen and said I’m not going to eat because I don’t hear my hunger. But that’s not what I did. I changed up my breakfast a bit, and had a much smaller breakfast with a cup of tea.

 

A few hours later, I sensed a gentle hunger, but still not typical of my usual hunger mid-day. Yet, I realized that it’s been some time since I’ve eaten, and it’s very important to keep my energy levels up with proper fuel. And so again, I tweaked what my usual lunch would be, and had a smaller lunch with another cup of tea.

 

The lesson I am sharing with you here is this.

 

While I encourage you to tune into your inner hunger signals as your guide to eating, there are times when those hunger signals might be blunted. And, one of those times is during illness. Therefore, even if you don’t hear and feel the hunger signals like you normally do, it’s still so important to eat so you can properly nourish your body.

 

The best option when you’re sick and don’t feel or hear your hunger signals, is to choose healthful “sick friendly” foods. These types of foods are easy on the stomach (and in my case, easy on my throat). But do keep in mind while you are eating that this might be one situation where you just don’t hear those hunger signals as sharp as when you are feeling well. And that’s okay!

 

The most important thing to remember is that while you are sick, your body needs nourishment to feel better, which is why it is necessary for you to eat, even if you have trouble hearing your hunger signals.

 

If you are on your intuitive eating journey and struggling with this journey while you are sick, please reach out to me. I can help you navigate this hurdle and continue on your intuitive eating journey.

 

Email me at Bonnie@DietFreeRadiantMe.com and we can work through your sickness together.

 

The Answer to End Your Weight Struggles is Here

Last night was really a landmark night for me and I want to share it with you.

 

I knew how excited I was to share with the world How to Break Free from the Pain of Dieting and Get the Body You Love Without Feeling Deprived. But I had no idea how many of you shared that same excitement. There is one thing that is undeniable. And you know it deep down. Discovering how to give up dieting and eat without guilt can be one of the most crucial factors in finally achieving what you have dreamed of for so long.

 

Just in case you missed it last night, or want to listen again, here is the link to the replay.  You’ll want to listen now because it’s only available for a short time.

 

On the webinar, I taught the 3 steps that you need to become an intuitive eater.  These are the same steps that I have incorporated into my own life. On the webinar, I tell you a bit about my own story and how intuitive eating has changed my life. And, you know what? It can change yours too.

Intuitive eating can help you:

  • be freed of dieting forever
  • lose weight and keep it off without feelings of deprivation
  • eat without guilt or food worry

 

I also announced on the webinar the premier of Freedom to Eat Forever. This is a revolutionary program that not only helps you shift your mindset and reject dieting.

But more importantly, it helps you experience:

  1. Unconditional permission to eat when you are hungry what foods you desire.
  2. Eating for physical and not emotional reasons.
  3. Reliance on your internal hunger and satiety signals to determine when and how much to eat.

 

And most crucially of all…reveals how to enjoy a diet-free life and a body you love.

 

It’s this combination of shifting your mindset and honoring your body that makes Freedom to Eat Forever such an amazing experience.  Powerful, even life-changing,  to help you not only leap frog your biggest challenges, but to set you up for a lifetime that exceeds your wildest dreams.

 

Learn the 3 steps to breaking free from dieting by listening to the webinar here.

 

Or, if you’ve already decided that you are ready to move forward, go ahead and check out the details and register for Freedom to Eat Forever here.

 

The program begins October 1, 2014. It’s a 90 day (3 month program- October, November and December).

 

Oh, and by the way, I have a fast action bonus for you if you take action fast. An “Ask Me Anything Coaching Call” available to the first 20 people who register. And, that’s on top of the big dollar savings for those who register through the webinar promotion (and lots of other bonuses and surprises I am throwing in).

Freedom to Eat Forever