Why do you eat? No, I’m not talking about the obvious reasons. Most Americans eat without thinking. Mindless, meaningless eating. We’re not hungry, but we’re stuffing our mouths. We watch the clock and eat by the clock because it has been programmed into us to eat our meals at certain times.

Americans are obese. Many morbidly obese.

The military has a problem in enlisting volunteers because of the obesity. In one town I lived in, there was Jenny Craig, Weight Watcher’s, then the Navy, Air Force, Army, and Marines all lined up in the same shopping strip. Recruiters would refer potential enlistees to the diet centers so they could lose enough weight to join the military. While seeing these businesses lined up next door to each other was comical on one level, in reality it tells a sad story about the American culture.

Eat to live, don’t live to eat!

Do you listen to your appetite? Yes, your appetite will talk with you. You just have to listen. I’ve written an article on this under hypnosis, so I won’t go into detail on this topic in this article. My point is, do you pay attention to what your body is telling you? Many of us have lost the art of listening to our body. We don’t live in the moment, which is a topic for another time.

I listen to my appetite. At least I do now. I was programmed as a child when to eat. Breakfast was a struggle for my mother. I wasn’t hungry, but she insisted I eat breakfast before I went to school. She was happy if I ate a peanut butter sandwich. Then as a child, lunch was on a schedule. You ate when the school said it was lunch time. And let’s not forget supper. In my house it was at 5:00 p.m., hungry or not. Then there was the snack before bedtime. Mindless eating usually programmed by the commercials we watched on television during the evening.

Now I eat to live. That doesn’t always go over well with other people at times. When I was living in Delaware and working, my boss would tell me that lunch was ready. He had already lectured me for not eating breakfast and he often bought lunch for the staff. When I would decline eating, I would get another lecture. One day when he was lecturing me about eating lunch, especially since I have not eaten breakfast, the rest of the staff in unison shouted, “She’s not hungry!” I guess they were tired of hearing him lecture me. I know I was.

How do I eat?

I learned to listen to my appetite and eat only when I’m hungry. For me, that’s usually once a day in the evenings. Some days, I might feel hungry earlier and I will eat a snack. No, I don’t have an eating disorder and I’m certainly not under weight.

I feel better since I started listening to my appetite and eating when I’m actually hungry. I don’t have the afternoon energy slump or brain fog. I’m better able to focus on the task at hand.

I’m not much of a meat eater. I might go days without eating meat. I like my veggies and fruit. I do get into a rut at times and eat the same foods. But, eating a variety of different foods is essential. We need a broad selection of food to receive the vitamins and minerals we need to be healthy.

So, why do you eat?

It’s been my observation that people in general are trying to fill an empty space within. What do I mean by that?

Emotionally, we have a void within and are trying to fill the emptiness with food. Once one realizes that food won’t fill the void, then recovery can begin. It takes courage to look within. It’s not for the faint at heart! Everyone feels a void at times. The problem begins when you ignore the loneliness that’s dwelling within. Gather up the courage and look at what’s behind that empty space. If you’re having trouble doing that, then it may be time to ask for help from a counselor.

This article is not for me to go into the psychological aspects. It’s to get you thinking about why you’re eating. What are you avoiding? Why are you destroying your health? I’m not going to lecture you on the health risk from being obese. You know what they are. However, I do want you to think about listening to your appetite.

Summary

Your first assignment is to ask yourself before you eat anything, “Am I really hunger?” This is not going to be easy because you have programmed yourself to eat at certain times and under certain circumstances. Learn to listen to your body. This is going to take some practice. Especially to get back into sync with your body. The mind will tell you that you’re hungry when you’re not. It will tell you that you’re going to starve. Learning to listen to your body is not going to be easy. Eating by the clock is a habit that will be hard to break. But, you will be able to break this habit. Once you do, you will be glad that you took the time and made the effort to do so.

So, take this first step and learn to listen to your appetite again. It’s worth the effort!

It doesn’t have to be a lonely or difficult journey.