Hunger and fullness: February 2007 Archives
"Don't eat now. You'll spoil your appetite for dinner." Do you remember these words, perhaps from childhood? What does it mean to spoil your appetite? 
I did a little web research, and other than a grandmotherly thing to say, the phrase has no real meaning.
But what does it mean to grandma or mom? Almost always said by the cook, or someone whose best interest is to defend the cook, spoiling your appetite seems to be mainly about allowing yourself to remain ravenously hungry so that the amount you eat of the cook's meal will be satisfying to him or her. The cook must feel complimented!
Is it good to get so ravenously hungry? No, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. In fact, they advise the opposite: "Spoil your appetite. Having a snack or appetizer before a meal can dull your hunger and help you eat less at the meal."
Now let's examine the phrase from the point of view of sheer logic and reason. Is it a good idea to eat a Snicker's bar or pecan pie twenty minutes before a sumptuous dinner? No, of course not. Consuming a lot of sugary calories really will fill you up on foods that are less preferable, when you would have been just as happy or more so to have a balanced dinner.
Then what does the Harvard School of Public Health mean? As you probably know, you sometimes get a little too hungry, which can make it difficult to eat with control, especially if you're new at normal eating.
Why beat yourself up over this tendency? Instead, have a little piece of cheese or something with protein, just to take the edge off the hunger a bit, but don't eat so much that you won't enjoy your meal. Remember that hunger heightens your sense of taste, and meals are meant to be enjoyed to the fullest. Just take the edge off the starvation first.
It's a balancing act, then. So you had an early lunch at work, and now you have to wait until 7:30 for a big dinner date? Why make yourself miserable? You don't have to eat a whole meal in-between, and you don't have to starve yourself, either. Have a hard boiled egg. You'd be amazed at how well it satisfies, and holds you for a few more hours. Then, by the time 7:30 rolls around, you'll be plenty hungry, and will enjoy your meal to the fullest.
But don't forget to enjoy the company, too.
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A friend of mine named Sarah tried intuitive eating, after years of frustration with low-fat diets. Her down fall had been night eating, which she blamed on her lack of self-control. She would do fine all day long, then after dinner, was tempted by her children's high-fat cookies and snacks.
So she declared that from this day forward, she would eat smaller portions, and she would wait for hunger and fullness.
But...she added one other thing. She kept up the low-fat. Her reasoning? "I'll lose the weight even faster. After all, fats do make you fat. And after all, if I eat less fat, that means I'm eating fewer calories, right?"
She had missed the point, but she was determined that low-fat eating still made sense.
For months she sought hunger and fullness. For months, she stuck by her low-fat regimen so she would "lose the weight faster."
For months, Sarah didn't lose any weight. Why? Her stubborn night eating had worsened. She finally complained to me that this "method" doesn't work.
When I reminded her that no food was off-limits, she tried ditching the low-fat, but the range of choices was suddenly unlimited. "How do I know what I buy? There are no more guidelines. I need to have restrictions!" Sarah gave up in less than a week, and returned to her low-fat diet.
What happened here?
1.The faulty assumption that lowering her fat intake would somehow benefit her.
Granted, lowering your saturated fats would be a healthy choice, but that's not related to normal eating or weight loss. Normal eaters who make healthy choices allow themselves ample unsaturated fats and foods with health-giving fats such as fish and nuts.
2. Failure to understand the cause of her night eating.
The problem was that she deprived herself all day of maximum taste from fats (fats house the flavor of food). Then, when night time came, of course she'd be tempted, both because she's looking for the satisfaction of some flavor, and because her body really wants more fats. Sadly, her body ends up getting the unhealthiest kind. And worse yet, she tells herself she must redouble her efforts to resist temptation.
3. Difficulty in transitioning from buying low-fat to buying delicious.
She did not realize that her food choices didn't have to be overwhelming. All she had to do was pass by all the less than tasty foods. Sarah needs to tune in to her appetite. She needs to home in on what she actually loves to eat. She doesn't even know where to start.
Does Sarah sound like you?
These problems can seem hard to solve because they require a change in thinking and beliefs, not just a technical change of seeking hunger & fullness. That is why fed-up dieters need to re-talk their self-talk. They've bought so many lies, established so many habits.
Now they face undoing it all.
If you're struggling with finding your food wisdom, you may need to replace a tape or two in your head that's still running over and over and over. One tape might be "fats make you fat."
Replace it today with "Fats are delicious. They satisfy."
Check out the free Diet Survivors newsletter
This blog is a companion to the free Yahoo! Diet Survivors message board and the free
Diet Survivors newsletter.
Find out more about Linda Moran's book, How to Survive Your Diet.
