Freedom From Hunger
The idea to be free from hunger has a nice ring to it.
The concept is really much more profound than many give it credit for.
Freedom from hunger is being able to confidently eat what we choose to eat and the amount that we want to eat, without having to feel deprived or it causing cravings or even discomfort.
“Curiosity Eating,” is the concept that we can eat or try something to enjoy the taste of it. It could be anything from a dessert or salty fried snack that looks appealing and you would like to see what it tastes like without starting the physical cravings and the mental obsession that we know will trigger us into going into a food blackout binge.
If that sounds very much like a rehab story to you, you are right. Our attachment to food and the reason it is so difficult to change our habits, even when we know it is hurting our health, is that we are stuck in the addiction physiology that modern food sets up in us.
When people skip a snack, meal, or even half a day of eating and they feel low on energy, weak, irritable, uncomfortable, shaky, have headaches, or suffer from a lack of concentration, those are not symptoms of low blood sugar, they are withdrawal symptoms.
It is the same set of symptoms someone experiences when they go through drug withdrawals or eliminate alcohol, tobacco, or caffeine. The same neural pathways are used, the same brain-centered injury occurs, and we go through the same cycles, just in varying degrees of intensity.
I approach addiction as a brain-centric problem. I see it as an injury. Food is by far the most difficult addiction to break. It may not seem to be as painful or dramatic as breaking alcohol or drug addiction, but it is just as hard and in most cases, even harder.
I work with many different people in addiction recovery of all types, and at any of the meetings or in any of their stories you can switch out the drug name and add in any food item you like, and the story will not change one bit.
An alcoholic block out is surprisingly similar to a cookie or ice cream binge scenario. Needing a hit of heroin to balance out is very much like the need to snack or the need to EAT RIGHT NOW people get from baked goods.
It should be noted that fructose and sugar use the exact same metabolic pathway as alcohol and wheat products do, which is also the same for heroin. If you are working on recovering from alcohol, eating sugar is a potential issue, while for heroin, bread is the same.
Stay clear so you don’t inadvertently keep that triggering pathway smoldering with your choices of snacks and food. Just my PSA for the day.
Freedom from hunger and food is possible. It isn’t a willpower issue or a weakness if you struggle with it. It is a real physical process that drives the challenge and needs to be looked at in order to break free of it, but it can be done.
Use the scale here to start to build awareness around your body’s sensations and to distinguish between true and false hunger. This distinction can be very telling and is a great way to start to gain your freedom from hunger today!
We have some free starting points and options available for you if you need a place to start. Join our group, the free mini course, check out the info and all the workouts and assets we have there, and make your plan.
We can do better!
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[…] most Americans who are very proud of their independence will never attain or even know exists—the freedom from hunger. The freedom from the drive or need to eat sensations that dictate many of our eating and dietary […]
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