Hanger Management

Hanger: the most genius word invented.

 

According to Merriam-Webster Online:

(adjective): Feeling or showing anger caused by hunger.  Combination of ‘hungry’ and ‘angry’. 

How to use it in a sentence:“Let’s go eat; Mom’s starting to get hangry.”

 

Let’s be honest, hunger can bring out the cranky beeyatch in all of us!  Since last week, my hunger has gone through the roof for various reasons.   Initially it seemed like a bit of a nuisance and I would do whatever I could to tame it.  Suddenly it hit me: HONOR YOUR HUNGER & EAT SOMETHING.  I reached a point where I was fed up of feeling hungry and all its other side-effects: moodiness, fatigue, light-headedness.

 

I used to think that I was victorious because I could last 4+ hours without feeling hungry and hence not need to snack.  Or if I did feel slightly hungry, I would prolong the hunger for as long as I could manage. Looking back, I realize how ridiculous it was.  The only thing it consumed was my thoughts- I would think about food all.the.time.  For example, I would wonder “Why am I still hungry? I already had X calories. I shouldn’t be hungry for another hour” and then I would spend the time concocting what the next thing I would eat after sufficient time passed.

How wrong was I!  Never feeling hungry does not mean I was lucky.  It merely indicates that my metabolism was slow and barely functioning.  Hunger is not something we should fear.  It doesn’t indicate a sign of weakness, but instead a healthy and fit body.  Hunger is our body’s way of communicating that it needs more fuel.  It’s a sign of health and life.  Let’s examine the people who don’t experience hunger:

 

• The sick (physically/emotionally)
• Extremely stressed
• The deceased

If I do feel a pang of hunger, I will drink water.  If the pang is still there, I am going to eat then and there- my body asks and it shall receive.  Don’t get me wrong though, this is not an excuse to eat a bar of chocolate or a bag of cookies.  If I’m hungry I’ll snack on muesli with yogurt and fruit, Nak’d bars, hummus with crackers/crudités, etc.  For example last week, I woke up around 1 am to go to the bathroom and I could feel my stomach growling.  Whereas in the past I would have ignored it, I went to the fridge, ate something, and then fell right back to sleep!

 

Am I worried that I am going to gain weight if I keep eating? Not anymore because I’ve learned to trust my body.  What about those days where I’m not as hungry?  Surely I can’t discount those.  It all balances out eventually and to be honest, I’m enjoying having more energy throughout the day and not thinking about food all the time.

What are your thoughts towards hunger?  Do you honor it?