Let me hear your body talk.
I eat frequently. Really, really frequently. I’m like a Hobbit.
Let me break it down. Today I ate breakfast at 6. At 8:30 I had a bowl of delicious frosted mini-wheats with milk. At 10:30 I had an apple. Lunch was at noon. Around 3 I had some cherry-vanilla yogurt. Dinner was at 6:30. I’ll probably have my nightly scoop of ice cream around 8:30.
That’s a total of seven meals and snacks. Some days it’s more, some days it’s less.
But for the most part, I eat like this every day because, dang it, I get hungry every few hours. And if I’m hungry, I’m going to eat. It still feels so exciting, to realize I’m getting hungry and that I can eat whenever I need to. I don’t have to wait until the clock says it’s okay.
I’m not scared of my hunger any more. It’s just my body letting me know what’s going on, no different than feeling sleepy or thirsty or like I need to run and jump and dance.
It’s been telling me what it needs for years, but now that I’m listening? It feels fantastic.
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Hi, I noticed this post on the sidebar feed on Shapely Prose.
It’s funny, because I was *just* walking home from work tonight, thinking how lovely it is to eat whatever and whenever my body wants. I’m a grazer too, and I haven’t counted calories in years and years, and I’m so content with my body and nutrition that I *forget* there is so much pressure in the world to starve and deny yourself.
I work, by the way, in a gourmet food store. The clientele is pretty wealthy, and many women come in with a bizzare baggage of wanting the best food their money can buy, and denying themselves as much of the good food as they can stand. I am asked to scrape the thinnest layer of chickpeas off the top because it’s just too much, and could I pick those grapes out of the chicken salad, and do we have lower fat milk than that?
Kudos for your pleasure in eating, and refusal to impose psychological hunger on yourself.
I’m a grazer as well.
GwC - you are my hero! I aspire to be like you one day. How liberating - to give your body exactly what it wants when it wants it, and no more. I’m working toward that goal, and when I get there, I’ll let ya know. Thanks for the inspiration. : )
tanglethis, I am horrified that someone would object to GRAPES in chicken salad. That’s insane!
Fair Maiden, I’ve always been weird about the term “grazer.” It sounds so…bovine. Maybe that’s what growing up in Oklahoma does to a person.
Hey, Sassy, let me know your progress, not just when you get to your goal. It’s a process and some days are great and some days are hard, but if ultimately you’re working toward taking the best possible care of yourself? You’re going to succeed.