Day One Hundred and Ten

4 Golden Rules


At the heart of healthy eating are 4 golden rules. 
Golden rule #1
When you are hungry, eat! 
Starvation only cues your body to go into survival mode slowing your metabolism. So, when you maintain healthy eating by knowing when you are truly hungry psychologically and physiologically, you are telling your body that there will always be enough food.
So, what is true hunger? Hunger increases gradually and it is a physical feeling in your stomach. But how do you recognize when it is true hunger? Think of a time that you were actually really, really hungry. When I think of a time that I was really hungry it was during Christmas, after I had eaten the giant turkey dinner. My stomach had expanded and within a few hours I could have stuffed down a box of chocolates. On the hunger scale I would have put that as physically faint and ravenous. The goal is actually not to allow yourself to get to that point, because if you allow yourself to get to that point, then any food item to fill that ravenous hunger is going to be up for grabs. The goal is to stay within the ‘fairly hungry, slightly hungry, or neutral’  range on the hunger scale. Emotional hunger is hunger that is triggered by anxiety, or emotional pain that can either be at a conscious level or subconscious level. Both can be based in the avoidance of bad feelings or the desperation for a good feeling. The goal is to pay attention to the reason behind your need to eat and whether there is actually something else that you need to be doing in order to satisfy your “hunger”. The truth is when you feel the start of moving to neutral to slightly to fairly hungry on the hunger scale, it is important to let your body know that you are not going to starve it you are going to low carb it. (new slogan, what do you think?)


Golden Rule #2
Eat what you want.
The truth is, when you decide that you are going to be embracing the new lifestyle of low carb you are not depriving yourself. You do have the option of eating all or any food that you like, you are not making food forbidden, what you are doing is making food a choice, you are choosing when you would like to and how much you would like to eat high fat, high sugar foods. You will quickly realize that you can eat them when special occasions call for it. The key is that the very next day you get to go back to your healthy eating behaviour. The reason you will do this is because you are making food intake a conscious effort, even when presented with mounds of sweets, you eat what you have in mind as an acceptable carb amount. When you do this your body is not trying to rescue you from starvation subconsciously, with an emergency energy fix. 


Golden Rule #3
Eating Consciously.
Writing down what it is that you eat everyday until you memorize what food actually really consists of, means that you are making your food intake a conscious effort. That means you are actually really focussing on your food intake. On the other hand, when you eat unconsciously (emotionally) you are unaware of what you are eating, how much you are eating and your bodies natural weight control system is offline. So, when you are forcing yourself to memorize exactly what it is that you are eating during the process at the start of the Emotionally Focussed Eating Program, you memorize the composition of food. After that, when you eat, even when you are watching TV or having a dinner party or sitting in class or at a buffet, your brain will kick in, identify the components of the food and options at hand and tune in to your bodies natural weight control system, keeping you and your food intake controlled.


Golden Rule #4
When you have had enough, STOP. 
It is so easy to take that second helping, second plate full, second scoop of veggies, because you have eaten quickly and the signal of being full has’t kicked in yet, or you feel obligated because there is a leftover or because you are the first one finished at the table. So, before you take that second helping, stop and identify the carbohydrates in that second helping. For example, chilli is fantastic. Chilli is fantastic for one ladle scoop full and it is SO easy to go for that second ladle full, chilli is yummy, warm, inviting, and is also composed of 30 carbohydrates. One ladle full is your entire carbohydrate intake for the day. So that means you now have a choice, take another ladle full and overeat, over-carb, over-calorie, or move on to another food item that fits the bill for your carb intake for the day. 


Follow the four golden rules and you will be golden.