NESS
Regardless of how hard we are working at the gym or how
planned-out our food is for the week, we all know that one hard
day at the office, one difficult conversation, one traffic jam or
one poor night’s sleep can alter our healthy behaviors for a
moment or even a day.
I teach on the practices of mindfulness as nourishment for
the mind, body and heart at Stanford University, in worksite
organizations and in a 12-week online course titled Mindfully
Nourished. In the next few paragraphs, I will share with you
some evidence-based exercises I have been fortunate enough
to study as a lead consultant in mindfulness research. These
are practices I use in my life and teach with all my students. I
have found them to be life changing. I hope you do, too.
Hunger is often defined as a craving or a need for a specific
food nutrient. Often, though, we mistake emotional hunger for
physical hunger. In our desire to be healthy and fit and to lose
weight, we need to be mindful of these two types of hunger and
how to satisfy them.
Physical hunger is a sensation of emptiness in the belly, a
light-headedness, low blood sugar, a desire for food, or a sense
of fatigue due to hunger.
Emotional hunger is the desire for something that may
comfort or soothe an emotional feeling (sadness, boredom,
loneliness, etc.), but has nothing to do with physical hunger.
In order to get acquainted with physical hunger and fullness,
I invite you to join me in the exercise below.
Mindfulness of Hunger
> Find a comfortable sitting position. Close your eyes after you
have read through this exercise.
> While sitting, feel your body make contact with the floor or
your chair. Notice where your hands are resting.
> Start to notice the rhythm of your breath. Begin to breathe
slowly in and out through your belly.
> Try placing one hand on your stomach, and as you breathe
in, feel your stomach rise; as you breathe out, feel your
stomach fall. Practice deep belly breathing for one to three
minutes.
> After a period of breathing, bring your awareness to the
physical sensations of your belly.
> On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being that you don’t feel any hunger
and 10 being that you feel very hungry, ask yourself, “How
hungry am I?” “What are the physical sensations that tell me
I am hungry or not hungry?”
> Try not to think about the last time you ate or what time it is,
but really listen to your body—not your mind.
Can you see how paying attention to your hunger first
might inform you of when to eat, how much to eat and most
importantly, what might feel the most nourishing for you at
this time?
We now understand what physical hunger feels like, but
often, we are eating not because we are physically hungry, but
due to emotional reasons.
At the end of a long day, most people want some kind of
reward, right?. The choice I most hear about is the reward of
late-night snacking. A few pieces of chocolate gives a release
of dopamine and/or serotonin, which are neurotransmitters
that calm down our nervous system and therefore bring some
comfort to our minds and bodies in the moment. This feeling
we receive from foods that contain more fat and sugar may last
a few minutes, but in the long run, this choice is often not the
reward we are looking for.
For example, I have a client who tends to reach for cookies
when she feels stressed. This habit is pretty automatic, and
it is not supporting her in her intentions for long-term health
and happiness. With the presence of mindfulness, she can
pause to assess how she is feeling and what she is actually
needing, which most of the time isn’t the cookie. From a place
of awareness, she has choice and can act differently.
How to put this into practice:
> Start a daily meditation practice. To be mindful of hunger,
we need to learn how to be mindful to all of our life.
> Pause before meals and during meals and use the hunger
awareness meditation.
> Ask yourself throughout the day, “What am I really
hungry for?”
> Create a nourishing list: Put together a list of things that
nourish you in your life that have nothing to do with food.
The first step in creating long-term health and happiness is to
bring awareness to the different kinds of hunger we are having.
We may have a hunger for affection, for a break, for chocolate,
for a nap, etc. When we can pay attention to our feelings and
needs, we have choice in how we relate to our hunger. This is
the foundation for living a healthy, happy and savory life.
Want to learn more mindful practices?
Sign up for Carley’s FREE Mindful Training workbook.
> Based on your hunger level, what amount of food do you
need right now? What would be the most nourishing food or
combination of foods?
> After you have taken in that information, return your
awareness to your breath and your body and open your eyes.
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May 2015 eNewsletter 7