Intuitive Eating: Am I Hungry?

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By Joshua Gaskins, Senior Fitness Trainer, Fitness & Wellness Division, Department of Human Resources

Let’s face it, this pandemic has forged unprecedented challenges into everyone’s life.  However, new challenges can bring new opportunities. So, whether you are working from home attempting double duty with your job and homeschooling your kids, or you are an essential employee tasked with new responsibilities and workloads, or a mixture of both, there is something to learn in the midst of these perilous times.  I believe there is no better time than now to focus on what you can control and influence when it comes to maintaining or achieving good health and immunity. Your nutritional habits have tremendous power. Food can either be your pitfall or advantage.

Are you indulging in self-sabotaging habits such as binge drinking, late night snacking, and mindless eating? Well, becoming more intuitive, or mindful, of your eating habits can equip you with the arsenal you need to win the battle for your health. Intuitive eating is the ability to stay tuned in to your body’s natural hunger and fullness cues. Many benefits are associated with this tactic including the following:

  • Changing your mindset
  • Achieving a healthy body composition
  • Improving the ability to choose more nutritious foods
  • Learning when you should or shouldn’t eat
  • Consuming fewer empty calories
  • Avoiding overeating or undereating
  • Appreciating your food more
  • Boosting your immunity.

It seems simple to ask yourself ‘am I hungry?’ before eating, or to stop eating before any discomfort sets in, but the key to becoming more nutritionally intuitive is through the power of intentionally and repeatedly making good choices over time—this starts with a change of your mindset!  As you make positive, healthy choices every day, your new habit will have long-term positive impacts on your health. Thus, the purpose of this article is to not only provide intuitive eating strategies for your Health Trip, but to, also, equip you with effective solutions that will make you stronger than before.

Strategy #1: Using the hunger scale.

The Hunger Scale below is an effective, yet simple strategy to discover how you should and should not feel when eating intuitively. The idea is to stay within the green zone and avoid the caution and red zones when you begin and stop eating. For example, begin eating when you are mildly hungry (zone 4) and stop when you are satiated or mildly full, with no discomfort (zones 5-6). The feeling of starved or famished (zones 1-3) and eating to the point of discomfort, or feeling sick, (zones 8-10) should be avoided.  Practicing this routinely will yield a positive impact on your energy levels and lessen negative emotions, such as irritability or being “hangry”.

 

 

Strategy #2:  Stop and think.

When learning to become more intuitive, using the stop and think rule may help. For example, try asking yourself these questions before making the decision to eat:

  • “Is this an emotional eating decision?”
  • “Am I actually hungry?”
  • “How long has it been since the last time I ate?”
  • “What are the benefits or detriments of eating this?”

If you deduce that your reason for eating is an emotional decision due to stress or boredom, try distracting yourself by going for a walk or some form of activity. Reminding yourself of your eating schedule and understanding the benefits or detriments of your food choices can help you stay on track with your health and fitness goals.

Strategy #3:  Journal your wins!

Remember, becoming more intuitive requires a change in how you think. Try keeping a handwritten journal of your wins.  A “win” would be each time you made a positive choice regarding a food selection or food avoidance. For example, you figured out your desire to eat was due to an emotional eating response, so you went for a walk instead. WIN! When you journal your wins repeatedly, it increases the likelihood of building a new habit.

Strategy #4:  Enjoy your food.

There is truth in the philosophical quotes: “food is fuel”, “food is the way to my heart”, “food is love”, “food is life”, “food is medicine”, and “food is good”.  When you enjoy something, you are more apt to adhere to it long-term. Thus, pursue new ways you can enjoy healthy, mindful eating.

  • Try finding new recipes with ingredients you love.
  • Involve the family by preparing and cooking together.
  • Go out of your norm by exploring your grocery store. Look for new foods you are willing to try.

Strategy #5:  Eat slow and savor your food.

Not only will this allow you to enjoy your food, but the action of eating slowly will enable you to eat less. Chewing more, having conversation while eating, and putting your fork down between bites will increase the length of time it takes to eat your meal, triggering satiety without overeating.

Strategy #6:  Avoid restrictive eating practices.

Recently, an article by U.S. News & World Report identified the best diets of 2020, and those which were restrictive (i.e., Paleo, Whole 30, and Keto) were not at the top of the list! Restricting entire food groups is not sustainable for many reasons:  It is harder to get all important nutrients, it disrupts satiety, it is harder to promote long-term weight loss (2 years or more), is less protective against diabetes or heart disease based on available evidence, and is harder to comply with (Cooper Institute 2020).  Thus, a diet plan that includes all food groups in moderation leads to a long-term healthy lifestyle. Diets such the Mediterranean Diet, the DASH Diet, or Weight Watchers are notable for success.

Strategy #7:  Have a plan of action.

True success or change is not achieved accidentally, but intentionally. It has been shown that individuals who set goals have a higher likelihood of being successful. This is because when you set a SMART goal it comes with a plan of action. Planning is a key factor in becoming more intuitive. Try these action plans to become more successful at intuitive eating:

  • Set SMART Goals. Goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.
    • Break your action plan down this way:
      • This year I will…
      • This month I will…
      • This week I will…
      • Today I will…
    • Set a schedule. Review your calendar or daily agenda and schedule eating times. Anything that occurs outside of this schedule should be avoided.
    • After finding recipes, add the ingredients to your grocery list. This can help save you money and walk through the grocery store with good intentions.

Strategy #8:  Reward yourself.

Positive reinforcement, or a reinforcing stimulus, has been shown to promote the behavior you are trying to achieve. Try setting up a reward system for achieving your yearly, monthly, weekly or daily goals. Here are some examples below: (rewards listed based on current social distancing guidelines)

  • Reward yourself with an affordable pampering product purchased through the internet.
  • Reward yourself with a small delectable treat.
  • Reward yourself with new nutrition or fitness gear that encourages your journey.

In summary, becoming more intuitive may seem challenging, but the long-term benefits are priceless. When you make the decision to form a new habit remember that persistence is key, and perfection is unrealistic.  Failures may happen along the way and that is ok. Learn from your mistakes and keep pursuing your goal(s)—focused attention and perseverance pays!

For more resources on healthy habits, visit Power Henrico.

For a jumpstart into intuitive eating, join the 21-Day Intuitive Eating Challenge May 1 – 21, 2020!

Healthy for Life! How to Live Your Healthiest Life – Adding positive habits and breaking bad habits, part three

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+ Eat Healthy Fats-Limited Meat and High-Fat Dairy

Does my body need fats?
Yes, it does. Dietary fats are essential to give your body energy and support cell growth. They also protect your organs and help keep your body warm. Fats help your body absorb some nutrients (vitamins A, D, E and K) and produce important hormones, too. Your body definitely needs fat.

Fats: They’re not all the same.

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are the best choices. Look for food products with little or no saturated fats and do your best to avoid trans fats. Saturated and trans fats tend to be more solid at room temperature (like a stick of butter), while monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats tend to be more liquid (like liquid vegetable oil and olive oil).

Fats can also have different effects on the cholesterol levels in your body. The bad fats, saturated fats and trans fats raise bad cholesterol (LDL) levels in your blood. Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats can lower bad cholesterol levels and are beneficial when consumed as part of a healthy dietary pattern.

You can live heart healthy!

Throughout the day, you’ll make decisions that affect how well you follow heart healthy lifestyle habits. Do I eat a hamburger with fries or soup and salad? Do I go for a walk or not? Be prepared for these moments of decision and strategize how best to guide yourself into making the right choices. Pretty soon, with continued practice, these moments of decisions will simply become habit.

For more resources on healthy habits, visit Power Henrico.

 

Each February we celebrate National Heart Health Month by motivating our coworkers to adopt healthy lifestyles to prevent heart disease. Research shows we are more successful at meeting personal health goals when we join forces and work toward a common goal. Register today for the Healthy Heart Challenge.

National Wear Red Day is February 7.

Live your Healthiest Life series: Setting personal wellness goals and how they can help you be successful

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Achieving and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a lifelong journey, and there may be times when the task may seem overwhelming. Living your healthiest life is a big project – possibly one of your biggest undertakings yet. 

As with any big project, if you focus only on the end result (which may seem endlessly far away!) the process may seem daunting. For those trying to lose weight, setting goals can often mean the difference between success and failure. Goals help motivate you and keep you focused. They put your thoughts into actions and help you meet your expectations. But goal setting is not as easy as it may seem. You cannot just write something down and expect that it will happen.  

Your ability to reach your fitness and wellness goals is closely tied to how realistic they are. Many have unrealistic expectations. They set goals for themselves that are too big, too quick, too impractical. Before you identify your goals, take some time to reflect on your situation. You know you want to lose weight, but why? What is it that you are really striving for? Once you have answers (or at least some pretty good assumptions), develop a plan. Break those big goals down into smaller steps that seem within your grasp.  

Here is a hands-on guide to help you establish and achieve your goals. 

If you have not already, write down each of your goals on a piece of paper. Underneath write why this goal is important to you. What is it that is motivating you to make this big change in your lifestyle? Next, ask yourself how confident you are that you can achieve each of the goals you have written down. If you have more than one goal, consider whether working on multiple goals at once will be distracting or energizing. Analyzing your goals may cause you to refine or even change them. Perhaps your goal of losing 50 pounds was sparked by an upcoming class reunion, but now you realize what you really want is just to get healthier and feel better. Most often personal health goals tend to center around weight, activity, healthy eating and feeling better. 

It is OK to dream big. Big things do not happen unless you have big aspirations. But recognize that big things typically do not happen without big efforts. Champion athletes do not become champions and then start training like one. It is the other way around – they dream big, do the necessary preparation, and then carry out their plan to reach their goals.  

So, dream big if you want to – keeping realism in mind – but understand that you will need a well-planned effort to reach your healthiest life. 

Healthy for Life! How to Live Your Healthiest Life – Adding positive habits and breaking bad habits- Part 2

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Eat Vegetables and Fruits (4 or more servings of vegetables and 3 or more of fruits) and Avoid Added Sugars 

Fresh vegetables and fruits are the foundations of a healthy diet and successful weight loss. Most processed foods, sweets and non-diet sodas contain a lot of calories in just a small portion. Vegetables and fruits are the opposite – they have lots of bulk (fiber) and few calories. You can eat a lot, consume fewer calories and feel full at the end of your meal. The American Heart Association recommends eating 4 servings of vegetables and 3 servings of fruit every day.  

Your first reaction to seeing how many servings of vegetables and fruit you should eat might have been, “I can’t do that!” Hold on – you may be confusing servings with portions. A portion is the amount of food YOU put on your plate. And a portion of food may contain many servings. This is one of the reasons many Americans today are overweight or obese. Portion sizes have increased, especially in restaurants. We’ve become accustomed to eating large amounts of food at our meals – far more than we need. To lose weight, and keep it off, you need to learn how to estimate servings so you can control portions. (American Heart Association Servings Sizes https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/add-color/fruits-and-vegetables-serving-sizes) 

This month, the challenge is to eat more servings of vegetables and fruits. And you may find that focusing on eating more veggies and fruits (a very positive, health improvement habit) will distract you from having to say NO to highly processed, high-calorie junk food. Use the following tips to plan how you can increase your chances of increasing your daily vegetable and fruit intake.  

  • Be selective. Eat only those vegetables and fruits that you like, but don’t be afraid to explore different types and varieties. You may be surprised. 
  • Make them No. 1. Vegetables should take up the largest portion of your lunch and dinner plates, with fruits trailing close behind. East these foods first, rather than reserving them for the end of the meal.  
  • Consider them a priority. When planning meals, think of dishes that contain vegetables and fruits as the centerpiece and build the rest of your meal around them. 
  • Mix it up. Try both raw and cooked vegetables. Lightly cook, steam or roast vegetables for a softer texture.  
  • Grab-and-Go. When you’re in a hurry, have ready-to-eat vegetables and fruits on hand. Buy fresh vegetables and fruits that require little preparation, such as baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, bananas, apples and grapes.  
  • Think toppings. Add bananas, strawberries or other fruit to cereal or yogurt. 
  • Explore. Visit local farmers markets. The freshness and variety may encourage you to try new kinds of produce. 
  • Innovate. Find ways to incorporate vegetables with other foods or in existing recipes. Add them to soups, casseroles, pizzas and sandwiches. 

Stay on track with your vegetable and fruit intake each day to avoid added sugars found in processed foods. Added refined sugars contains extra (unwanted) calories, has no nutritional value, and negative health effects such as tooth decay and an increase in blood sugar (glucose) associated with diabetes. If you want something sweet use the natural sweetness of fruit. Instead of sugar on your cereal add banana, blueberries or strawberries. Blend fresh (or frozen) fruit with frozen yogurt and ice for a refreshing and naturally sweet treat and for dessert, prepare baked apples or grilled pineapple. (American Heart Association’s Cut out Sugars Infographic https://www.heart.org/-/media/files/healthy-living/healthy-eating/cut_out_added_sugar_english_infographic.pdf?la=en&hash=7019511DA6A99991BF1F1C9163BA8068A05720DE ) 

Healthy for Life! How to Live Your Healthiest Life – Adding positive habits and breaking bad habits- Part 1

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Changing habits can be challenging and those on a weight loss journey often underestimate how difficult it can be to alter their everyday patterns. So often the weight loss focus is on what can’t be eaten. For example, “I can’t have fast food for lunch anymore.” or “There goes eating ice cream for dessert.” or “I’ll miss my buttered popcorn on movie night.”  

This segment in the Healthy for Life article series isn’t about what you need to give up, but what you should to add to your day. Keep in mind that new behaviors take time. These changes may not come automatically or be easy. If you give them your best effort by concentrating on what you’re adding, you’ll pay less attention to what you are giving up.  

You are encouraged to do your best to embrace positive behavior changes and remember, no matter how big or small, positive changes add up.  

+ Eat a healthy breakfast (but not too much).  

WHAT: Have breakfast every morning. You don’t need to eat a lot – just something to get you off to a good start.  

WHY: Research shows that people who eat a healthy breakfast manage their weight better than people who don’t eat breakfast. Breakfast is associated with improved performance at school and work, and it helps prevent you from becoming ravenous in the day.  

HOW:  

  • Keep it whole. Try whole grains, such as oatmeal, whole-grain cold cereal, and whole-grain toast. 
  • Include some color. Add some fresh or frozen unsweetened fruit.  
  • Make it filling. Low-fat milk and yogurt, an egg, nuts, seeds, and nut butters such as peanut butter can help you feel satisfied throughout the morning.  
  • Plan ahead. If time is an issue, place a box of cereal, a bowl and a spoon on the table the evening before. Choose wisely. Select your cereal – hot or cold – by checking the Nutrition Facts label for fiber (choose more) and sugar (choose less). Top with banana slices or berries.  
  • Mix it up. Try a smoothie made with fruit and add low-fat Greek yogurt. Blend the ingredients to a smooth consistency.  
  • Bring it with. Select items you can grab and take with you to work. Convenient foods include apples, oranges, bananas, pre-portioned cereals, low-fat yogurt in single-serving containers, whole-grain bagels (mini-sized), and low-fat cottage cheese in single-serve containers. Stir in berries or fruit to add fiber and sweetness.  
  • Wrap it up. Make a breakfast wrap with whole-wheat tortillas, roll in scrambled eggs with diced peppers and onions. Or peanut butter and banana.  
  • If you don’t like traditional breakfast foods, eat something healthy that you do like. For example, fix yourself a sandwich made with lean meat, low-fat cheese, vegetables and whole-grain bread.  

Use a habit tracker to monitor your progress. Find inspired breakfast ideas here.  

Sometimes the most intense longings for food happen right when you’re at your weakest emotional points. Many of us turn to food for comfort – be it consciously or unconsciously – when dealing with difficult situations or when looking for something to do when bored.  

To keep food out of your mood, try these suggestions:  

  • Distract yourself from eating by calling a friend, running an errand, or going for a walk. When you focus your mind on something else, the food cravings may quickly go away.  
  • Don’t keep comfort foods in the house. If you turn to high-fat, high-calorie foods whenever your upset or depressed, try to get rid of them.  
  • Identify your mood. Often the urge to eat can be attributed to a specific mood and not to physical hunger.  
  • When you feel down, try to replace negative thoughts with positive ones. For example, write down all the positive reasons why you want to lose weight.