When striving to keep fit, tuning in to your internal cues of hunger and knowing how to react can help, says ThirdAge fitness guru Chad Tackett.
Knowing how to deal with sights and smells of food when you're hungry can also help you feel comfortably full -- not stuffed. In addition to learning how it feels to be hungry, full, and uncomfortably full, you can learn from your mistakes.
If you eat past comfortable fullness, don't berate yourself. There are bound to be times when you eat too much for your body's comfort. Try to remember how eating too much feels and remind yourself of this feeling the next time you are tempted to overeat. With practice, you can change your eating patterns and start eating when your body tells you you're hungry, and stop eating after you've gained a satisfied, energized feeling.
Many of us are also "cue-sensitive" to food: if there are food reminders, we are likely to eat. For example, if we often eat dinner in front of the TV, we are sending ourselves messages to eat each time we sit there, whether we're hungry or not. If this is true for you, try eating only at the dining table. Just the same, when we become stressed, we turn to food for comfort, regardless of whether or not we're really hungry.
Many people also have problems with "automatic eating," eating that occurs unconsciously. For example, suddenly, the bag of candy is empty and you don't even remember eating it. Try to eat slowly and attentively, and only when physically hungry rather than completely starved. This helps prevent both cue-sensitivity and automatic eating. The most wonderful and delicious food in the world won't be enjoyable if you eat so fast that you don't appreciate its quality.
Get more of Chad's hints on personal fitness at ThirdAge's Personal Trainer.
