Intuitive Eating & Body Confidence with Terri Pugh

36. Why it's ok to eat when you're not hungry

February 06, 2022 Terri Pugh Episode 36
Intuitive Eating & Body Confidence with Terri Pugh
36. Why it's ok to eat when you're not hungry
Intuitive Eating & Body Positivity
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Show Notes Transcript

Intuitive Eating is often thought to be the hunger and fullness diet. It is much more nuanced than that though. Yes, we should think about hunger levels when deciding whether to eat or not, but sometimes you need to eat when you're not hungry, in order to prevent more disordered eating later in the day. In this episode I'm explaining why it's ok to eat when you are not hungry, what practical hunger is, why it can be helpful,  and how to decide what you should eat.

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Please note, this podcast is intended to be general information for entertainment purposes only. Any figures quoted are correct at the time of recording. As always, please seek the support of a registered professional before making changes to your diet or lifestyle⁠, or if you feel that you are affected by any of the topics discussed.

 

Related Topics:

Intuitive Eating, HAES, Health At Every Size, Body Positivity, Body Confidence, Body Positive, Anti Diet, Non Diet, Diet Culture, Food Freedom, Fat Acceptance, Fat Liberation, Self Care, Weight Loss, Eating Disorder, Eating Disorder Recovery, Disordered Eating, Nutritional Therapy, Slimming World, Weight Watchers, Cambridge Diet, Cambridge Plan, 121 Diet, Lighter Life, Noom, Coaching, Healing, Health, Wellness, Calorie Counting, Macros

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A quick heads up - my transcriptions are automatically generated. I do not type them manually. For this reason there may be errors, incorrect words, bad spelling, bad grammar, and other things that just seem a little 'off'. You'll still be able to understand what is being said though, so please just ignore that and enjoy the episode.

Welcome to Intuitive Eating and Body Positivity I'm Terri and I'll be talking about all things body p ositivity, and health at every size, and shaking off weight stigma, diet so that we can all have a better relationship with food Hello. How is everyone? All right, how are you doing? It is blowing a hooley here today. It's really cold. It's got really cold again. It was starting to brighten up and warm up a bit, but nope. Apparently this big old cold front has come in. So I'm tucked away in the warmth of the house So if you hear the howling in the background, It is rattling around outside. So if it picks it up on the recording, Nothing particularly interesting has Not really. It's all been pretty quiet. Had a pretty boring day up until this point. Done fun things like the ironing and stuff. I hate ironing. What a boring job. It's quite strange because I really love doing the washing, but they blooming ironing. I hate it. I hate it. I put a poll on Instagram and it seems most people But there's actually two people so far who have Madness. Other than that, nothing much has really happened. I hope your week has been more interesting. I had some really nice messages off you guys Had some really nice messages about the podcast, about the newsletter. There's been all kinds of messages coming in. I love hearing from you. So keep that up. If you have got something to say and you've got if you just want to tell me how you listen to the podcast, about it or what you don't like about it Anything. Just if you've got anything to say, I'm on the end of a I'm loving hearing from you. I did have a message from somebody who said to talk about a topic. I haven't got it So that is now going to be next week, I think, and that will be about how you talk to people about So the message was basically that I talked a little while ago about how you can talk to people about But somebody said what happens if you've got people around you that are in bad eating habits, with food, constantly dieting and you think it's negatively So I'm going to talk a bit about that, but not today, So that will be probably next week's episode, if you wanted a heads up of what's coming up this week. Instead, I wanted to talk to you about eating All right. Eating when you're not hungry feels way out of line with I think a lot of people see intuitive eating as Eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full. But it's not the case. It is far more nuanced than that. Yes, you are encouraged to think about your hunger and your fullness before you're eating, while you're But that's not everything. That's not all there is to it. There's so much more that goes into deciding what you eat and when you eat So I want to talk about why it's okay to eat when There are going to be times in life when you need to eat because you need to prevent yourself from having Let me explain. If you're traveling, for example, you might be going on a train, you might be taking a flight, you might be driving a car. And these are times where maybe you can't eat. Maybe it's not accessible. Maybe you're just not in a position in those Most of the time that's going to be fine because you're to the shop, for example, or driving to work, a plane and it might just be a couple of hours and you But what if you're going to be on that plane longer? What if you're going to be on a long train journey I can't think what they're called... like... There you go. Buffet carriages. Maybe you're going to be driving a long way and it might be a few hours before These are going to be times where you're not And then what about days where you're at work? Maybe you have got a morning full of meetings, That's not ideal. Not for me, anyway. When I get to work in the morning, I like to wait a little while and then I like

about 09:

00 ish, so I take something I So nine to half past, I'll have something to eat. And then our lunch break is at 1pm.

But I won't go from 9:

30am to 1pm without eating. I'll have something about halfway. But if my morning was completely to have that mid morning snack, some preventative action to stop that putting Where come lunchtime or the afternoon, I'm so hungry Maybe you're going to be somewhere where there's So you've got the time. You just don't have any access to food. So maybe there's no shops around, or maybe you're not going to have for whatever reason, you're not going There are also situations like when you need For example, some medication you have to take with food sure that the medication is absorbed and used Did you know that? That's something that not a lot of people Sometimes when medication says take with food or take half an hour after eating or half an hour before eating or that is because that food will affect how your body Interesting. So if you're on a medication that's like that, in order to take that medication whether Also, if you're quite early into your intuitive eating got an eating disorder or some kind of disordered eating in recovery from that, it can mean that you don't It can mean that you don't feel your hunger or your with that yet, and it's going to take a So eating here is going to be a preventative measure. It's going to mean that you are fueling yourself and getting some nutrients to get your body's signals back to a place where And quite honestly, sometimes life just gets in the way and it means that you can't eat when So maybe you're going to a birthday party. We all know what kids birthday parties are like, You trot along and then you have to watch all the kids and meanwhile you're thinking, I am starving, I can't get anything I don't know why I picked a children's birthday party as an example, but there's going to be times in life Your day is thrown out of its usual routine and you're not going to be able to eat at the times that you That's where I was going with the children's So when this happens, we turn to practical hunger. That's what it's called in intuitive eating. It's eating even though you're not hungry because it's Your hunger in your body is a guide. It's something that you can listen to to understand when you're ready to eat, But it is just a guide. And if you need to eat outside of those times when you're hungry, then that's If you are living just by hunger and fullness cues, then you've turned You've turned eating habits into rules driven habits, It becomes these guidelines by which you have to follow and you're back If you're saying I'm only going to eat when I'm when I feel like I have to eat, then you're putting yourself in a position where you've got rigid rules and you can't eat outside of those times and that's not what Remember this is all about having some intuition around what you need to eat and when you need to eat it and hunger Through all of this we have to remember that your Your systems in your body aren't that simple. It's all so complex so you can't expect eating to be that simple, and you sometimes just have to be guided by what feel so practical eating is going to be a preventative It's going to be a way of eating that prevents happening with your eating habits later in the day. It's going to be a protective measure. It's going to be a preventative measure so it's going to help you to not It's going to make sure that you are not getting to a point where you are absolutely starving hungry what happens when we're starving hungry? You end up in this horrible binge or for want of a better term remember the pendulum? Remember the binge restrict pendulum? So if you just restrict food a little bit you're just going to swing back and maybe you'll have a bit more to eat when you've got but if you let that pendulum swing right into major really really hungry, you're going to swing back so you finally get back onto eating, you're going You're going to be probably binging. You're going to lose the control that you're you had around food when you just manage that hunger and don't And this practical hunger is one of those methods of stopping that pendulum swinging so hard. so hungry that when you come to eat again, So if you're not hungry but you know you need to eat starving hungry in a few hours, what are How do you know what you're going to want to eat? Well, in reality, maybe you don't know what Maybe you genuinely don't know what you want to eat because Let me take you back to that situation about me So when I get up in the morning, I get ready for work and then I leave the house. It's quite early really, and I have to be up a couple of hours before my body is It's just the way I am. I'm not ready to eat breakfast first thing in the morning. I don't know what I want. The thought of eating is not pleasant, and so I'm better until I'm at work, until I'm at my desk, into action and is able to tell me that it's Now, if I was going to have a morning where I couldn't eat my breakfast or I couldn't have my mid morning snacks, what I would have to do is eat something before That's just the way it would have to work. And even though I'm not ready really to eat breakfast, it would be It would be something that would prevent me from having this spiral I would choose something that I find easy to stomach. So I might have a small bowl of cereal, or I might have a yogurt, maybe a banana Not because of the nutritional quality, not because of the calories or just because I know that I could stomach that at I couldn't probably have toast or something like a bacon sandwich or a full English breakfast because my body is So in that situation, I need to make sure that it's something that I can I can use them as fuel to see me through the morning, and I won't be quite hungry Now, that's just how I manage it. But I wanted to give you an example of how it works because I think it makes it easier to understand when it's trying to explain the process and then give you my example, So when you're going to apply this to your life and your situation, you need to have the same You need to weigh up how long it's going to be before your Every 2 to 3 hours to eat is a good rule of thumb. It's certainly a good rule of thumb if you're in some kind of eating If you're in the early stages of intuitive eating and you can't feel your hunger then to be able to eat every 2 to 3 hours is kind of a So maybe you could start by thinking, how long is it going to be before I can have What do I need to eat to get me through the period of time that I'm going to have now Then from there, you can think of what kind of What can you manage now even though you're not hungry? What food can you manage to eat now in order to stop you being really hungry For you, that might be something similar to me, just something that's very very easy to swallow, doesn't involve a lot a lot of effort, doesn't involve a lot because that's a big put off, isn't it, when It's a big put off for some people when you are hungry, but the amount of effort that you have to go to to actually eat the food might make So it might mean that you eat something that's easy to eat, easy to digest, or it might be that you think, something a little bit more substantial, and that will see At this point in time, it's really not about the quantity or This is about protecting you against that really strong hunger feeling later So if it is breakfast time, for example, and you usually like to have a certain feel fuller or like you've had a good start to the day, of some of your nutrients, then know that it's okay Know that it's okay to eat outside of your usual habits Know that it's okay to not have a nutrient filled meal at this time, even if you This is about preventing a situation where you're very, potentially in a position where you might lose control It doesn't have to be a big meal. It doesn't have to be anything substantial. Maybe you could just have a snack. Maybe you could just have a piece of fruit or a handful of nuts or something like that, if that's all But you know it's going to take the edge brilliant, go for it. Maybe you do feel like you could eat more. Maybe you're going to have a little meal. Maybe you're going to have a selection of foods and you're just going to pick through them and that's going You just have to see how it feels. You just have to see what you can manage what you feel like eating at that time, It absolutely is better to have eaten something into a position where your stomach's rumbling And then it becomes stressful and you lose focus and you And then the next meal time comes and it's not as intuitive eating based as Convenience foods are fine too. Don't think negatively about convenience foods. Prepackaged foods can be an absolute godsend. If you've got a day, for example, where your lunch is not going to happen on time, your evening meal is then in the morning, it can be a good idea to throw some things in a bag that are prepackaged, that you can eat as and when you can. That's another So if you've got a prepacked sandwich, or flatjacks, or something like that, something that you know a chance to eat, that's going to be great that a certain time of day, whether you're hungry or not, you can just have a snack and that will see you Then that is a win win situation. So don't look down on yourself for eating convenience foods. They are there for a reason. They are there to be had in times that you need the And quite honestly, let's face it, there are many people in the world that have prepacked sandwiches for lunch a microwave meal for their evening meal several Absolutely fine. Remember, there is no moral value attached to food, okay? No food good, no food bad. It's just the way you like to eat, what you like to eat, and when you like to eat it, that is what food So this is your absolute unconditional permission to eat whatever you need to This is your permission to eat when you're not hungry because you know it's going to be better for you Hey, let's face it, we all have cakes and biscuits and chocolate and donuts and things when they're We all eat those when we're not hungry. It's fine. It is absolutely fine. Go with it. Do what you need to do to protect the work that you are doing to be Do what you need to do to have a better relationship If that means eating when you're not hungry, go for it. It's a short message today, but I don't think it needs expanding on much more I think it's just enough to say it's okay to eat at any time of the day If you need to eat, you need to eat, go for it, but if you do have any more questions, if you want me to elaborate on it anymore, I'll be turning this into a blog post so I can If there's something that you need me to expand on, Before I go, let me tell you. Yesterday I had one of the new Big Macs from McDonald's. Now I say one of the new Big Macs. It's called the chicken Big Mac. Have you tried them? It's so confusing. It is so confusing. So basically it's a Big Mac and then the chicken So they take the burger patty out and in goes a chicken thing like the chicken My brain didn't cope with this. It's so bizarre, so strange. It tastes nice. It really does taste nice. But my brain couldn't understand that it was not a Big Mac or that it So odd. So odd. I mean, give it a try or if you've already given it a try, Absolutely mind blown. I don't think I'd have another one. I think I liked to have it for the experience It's definitely not going to replace the Big Mac, though, it's just not. McChicken sandwich should be Big Mac should be the big Mac. That's all I've got to say on the matter. Let me know what you think if you've had one. Have a wonderful week. I hope it's full of lovely things. I hope it's not too stressful and I will speak Ta-ra.