How Should I Feel?

Do you know what it feels like to be full? Hungry? Thirsty? Grumpy? Happy? Excited? Emotions…emotions…emotions! Feelings…feelings…feelings!

Healthy Habit #1     Eat Slowly & Stop at 80% Full

            Both are much harder for me than I anticipated, especially when I first learned about them and their impact on fat loss. I have improved but still struggle to stay plugged in to my thoughts, emotions, and feelings as I eat. I am a fast paced adrenaline junkie and I struggle to slow myself down enough to listen to what my body is telling me.

            SO…what is a girl to do? How should I feel? Check out the Precision Nutrition timeline below that helped me identify my “feelings”.

The “How You Should Feel” timeline

Today you’re going to eat what you feel is a “typical” meal and then observe how you feel immediately after finishing and every hour afterward. If you’ve eaten the right amount for fat loss, you might feel like this:

0hour         Immediately after

                        You’re probably still a little hungry. It will take roughly 15-20 minutes to get a sense of satisfaction from a meal. If you’re a fast eater, wait it out before you go for more.

1hour           One hour after finishing

                        You should still feel satisfied with no desire to eat another meal.

2hours        Two hours after finishing

                        You may start to feel a little hungry, like you could eat something, but the feeling isn’t overwhelming.

3hours        Three to four hours after finishing

                        You should feel like it’s time for the next meal. Your hunger should be around a 7 or 8 out of 10 (where 10 is the hungriest you’ve ever been), but may be more or less depending on when you exercises and what your daily physical activity level is.

                        Not really hungry yet? You likely had too much food at your previous meal.

4hours        More than four hours after finishing

                        You’re quite hungry, like nothing is getting between you and the kitchen. You’re at 8 or 9 out of 10. This is when the “I’m so hungry I could eat anything” feeling appears.

            Obviously, if you let your hunger get this far you may make poor choices.

Oh that last statement is VERY true for me! Ask anyone that knows me well and they’ll say “Hayley gets grumpy, quite, and withdrawn when she hasn’t had enough to eat or has waited too long”. Then, once I’ve rebooted with my nutrition they’ll likely say, “There she is! Welcome back!”

So…do you know how you feel? I encourage you to take a day and experiment with your feelings, compare them to this timeline, and journal them.

**Email your journal day of feelings to me at hjones@mvhospital.net for a chance to win a FREE 30 minute nutrition session!**

Until next time,

Hayley Jones, BS, CSCS, Pn1

hjones@mvhospital.net