There’s a lot of confusion surrounding the process of weight loss. You have extreme schools of thought on both sides of the spectrum.
On one side you have people promoting the “no pain, no gain” philosophy. You’re supposed to suck it up, virtuously fight through the hunger pangs, and you’ll be rewarded with results.
On the other you have people saying to just eat and accept whatever happens is supposed to happen. That trying to lose weight means you don’t accept yourself. Managing hunger isn’t even a consideration.
So who’s right? Here’s what I can tell you…
There are two very important principles you need to accept to be successful in achieving your Ideal Body.
First, that hunger is not your enemy. It is a perfectly natural signal from your body that it needs something important.
On the physical hunger side it might mean calories or nutrients. On the psychological hunger side it might mean one of your basic human needs aren’t being met (ie safety, belonging, respect, purpose, etc).
The second thing you need to understand is that you cannot fight your hunger in the long term. In the short-term you can willpower your way through it and get results, but that can only last so long before you end up overcompensating that restriction with food.
So what does this all mean?
You need to know what you’re actually working towards.
The “success state” I’m referring to is when you’re eating in a way that food is an afterthought, but you’re easily and effortlessly meeting your body’s needs.
In this state, very little emotional energy is being devoted towards your diet or weight loss. It takes a back seat to your life.
It’s running on autopilot, and you naturally eat what makes you feel your best. Your diet no longer feels like a daily grind.
That means you’re NOT fighting your hunger – at all. And I mean that.
When you feel hungry, you eat. And if you’re always feeling hungry, your diet (either physical or psychological) needs to adjust so that doesn’t happen.
Unless you’re a fitness competitor who is trying to achieve a particular physique on a set date, there is zero reason to fight through hunger.
Even they know the results they’re working towards are short term, and once the competition is over, their eating (and body) normalize.
So should you feel hungry? Not any more than you feel thirsty. And when you do, you respect your body enough to honor what it needs.
Talk soon…