Food for Thought: June 20th

Head Hunger

Those of us who overeat are responding to distorted signals. When we consume food that harms rather than helps our bodies, we are eating in response to some irrational demand in our head rather than because of legitimate physical hunger. The mental obsession with food is an illusion, but one to which we cling with great tenacity.

When we feel "hungry," we need to stop and evaluate the signal. Is it coming from our stomach or from our head? Often, it is after a meal that we most strongly crave something more to eat. This is either because we ate so fast that our stomach has not had time to register satisfaction or because eating has awakened a giant, insatiable appetite for more. It is frequently our mind that wants more, even after our body has had quite enough.

Emotions such as fear, anger, and anxiety can trigger "head hunger." We need perception and insight to know whether the hunger comes from our body or our mind.

May I learn to respond to the legitimate needs of my body.

From Food for Thought: Daily Meditations for Overeaters by Elisabeth L. ©1980, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation

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Head hunger is never satisfied because it does not originate from a real need to eat, one that comes from the body.  When the mind is hungry, ain't no amount of food on earth gonna satisfy it! Which is precisely why the binge itself is never satisfying, and why they get larger & larger and LARGER. If we were eating to satisfy our stomach hunger only, then a moderate meal would suffice.  When the mind is compelling us to eat, there is no shut off valve that says ENOUGH.

I always struggle after eating a meal.........that's when my appetite wakes UP and demands I continue eating. If it weren't for my Food Plan, I'd eat myself into oblivion every night and STILL not feel satisfied. I'd wind up obese and miserable, and STILL going back for more.  Compulsion is a nasty thing, driving me to addictive behavior that never makes me feel happy or good about myself.  Only abstinence allows me to feel joy in my life.

For today, my Food Plan prevails, with good reason. For today, I will not feed the head hunger that insists it's dying of malnutrition. The only way to arrest addiction is to STARVE it, not feed it!!!