Honor Your Hunger

Written by Michelle Shelton

October 7, 2022

If you’ve been dieting or food restricting for a long time, hunger might feel like an unsafe  sensation. Maybe it is time for a more compassionate view of your hunger.  

I love the word honor. To me, it brings feelings of respect, appreciation, and even love. I honor things that have played an important role, that have been valiant, that have given to a greater cause. 

Have you ever villainized hunger? Seen it as the enemy to your diet goals? Tried to suppress it like a bad impulse? Ignored it because it was breaking a rule by being hungry at the wrong time? Feared it because it might lead to over-eating? Pushed it off because it wasn’t convenient?

What would it look like to honor it? To acknowledge the important role it plays in caring for your body? To thank it for telling you that your body is beginning to be depleted of the important nourishment it needs to run well? To tell it that you hear it and you will respond because you trust it?

It might feel weird at first, but this week, try simply thanking your hunger for its reliability, its consistency, its willingness to continue working even when it wasn’t valued or appreciated. Maybe even apologize that you haven’t listened to it or trusted it in the past. Let it know you want to change that.

Then listen to it and respond. If you don’t feel your hunger until it is intense, try listening to it sooner, before it gets so loud and hangry. Listen to it even if it isn’t your allowed time to eat. 

Check in with your body every couple of hours and ask, Am I hungry? How hungry am I? Imagine a hunger scale of 0 - 10, where 0 is intense, painfully hungry and 10 is intense, overly full and maybe even nauseated. Estimate where you are on that scale. Pay attention to what it feels like in your body. Notice if you go from a level 7 (comfortably full, not interested in eating) straight to a 1 or a 2. You may be missing some of the earlier signs of hunger. 

It may take time and consistency to rebuild this body awareness. That’s ok. Healthy relationships take time, consistency, and loving-kindness. That’s what we are building here. We are building a healthier relationship with your body. It is worth it. You are worth it.