This has been such an annoying week! Last Saturday I was feeling pretty determined and so I decided that this week I would listen to my body’s hunger/fullness signals as closely as I could. And what I (re)discovered is very depressing — it takes very (very!) little to fill me up!

In fact, on Tuesday I was looking forward to eating something and was getting all excited in anticipation about that. But in the meantime I drank a glass of water and when I was done I realized “darnit, I’m full!” Oh that sucked!

It’s not exactly suprising to me that my “hunger” and my “desire to eat” are almost completely unrelated to each other. The former is something that is fleeting and rare, the latter is something that seems to be with me 24/7.

As a result, I think it’s fair to say that the real key for me personally, in terms of long term weight management, is to recognize and deal with my emotional sense of deprivation.

Last night I went to the supermarket feeling tired and a little hungry (always a bad idea!). But I was feeling pretty determined and so I stocked up on veggies (fresh and frozen), fruit, salad makings, yogurt, eggs, and other healthy, wholesome foods. I passed by the “bulk granola” bins and felt a longing — a yearning to go over there and grab some. The feeling of “need” that I experienced was completely REAL. And yet it had nothing to do with whether I was physiologically hungry.

It was all about the need to feel happy, nurtured, cared for, loved and satisfied.

When I got home, I quickly had an ear of corn for a snack, then I diced up some veggies and steamed them, added in some chicken breast, and had a fruit smoothie along with it. And it was immediately clear that I was more than satisfied — I was absolutely stuffed!

In fact, this morning I realized I didn’t even end up eating the low-calorie ice cream that I bought for a treat. It must have slipped my mind while I was washing the dishes.

I really NEED to keep that in mind!