If you’re like my clients, hunger is something to neglect, push away and ignore. Back in my days of dieting, I would chew stick after stick of Carefree Sugarless Bubble Gum when I was hungry. :(
You may need to justify being hungry.
If you’re hungry a few hours after eating a meal, you may say “I shouldn’t be hungry right now, I just ate.”
You may be afraid that once you start eating you’ll have a hard time stopping. Hunger may be a warning sign that danger is near.
But I trust your hunger. I trust it because I know that diets and diet culture have only conditioned you to believe that your hunger is a problem.
When you’ve been restricting food, of course you’re going to want to eat more. Diet culture tells you overeating is wrong and a mistake, when in fact, it’s just your body restoring balance and energy.
Diet culture tells you to ignore your cravings (eating an apple, not a piece of chocolate). But dieting only increases your cravings for “forbidden” foods.
It’s bigger than this, my friend.
When you can’t trust your hunger, how can you trust your body?
Ignoring our hunger is just another way of ignoring our needs. It’s just another way of neglecting ourselves and telling ourselves that what we need doesn’t matter.
Does this mean we don’t matter? Hmm.
If you don’t trust your body, how can you trust your voice? Your beliefs and opinions?
If you don’t trust your body or yourself, can you trust my hunger?
Can you trust my needs? Can you trust me?
If you don’t see your needs as worthwhile, do you see my needs as worthwhile?
Diet culture is MUCH more damaging than just encouraging us to drink ice coffee or extra water when we are hungry.
It’s taught us to not trust ourselves or other dieters. It’s taught us that women’s needs don’t matter. That women’s voices, minds, and body’s don’t matter. If our hunger mattered then we would be fuckin’ celebrating it. Not neglecting it.