Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Another Dicovery: Me + Food = Concentration

I am now on my second day of  the VLCP (Very Low Calorie Protocol).  I am now consuming 500 calories per day.  Once again, this protocol has given me more insight.  Not only am I experiencing things on a whole different physical plane, I am also learning an immense amount about me and my eating habits.

I am not typically a person who eats a huge amount of food.  However, I am now realizing that I have been eating the food I consume for reasons other than hunger. 

In the past I have mis-classified people with "food issues".  I have pictured a person who gets upset and eats a 9 x 13 of brownies.  Or, maybe a person with an eating disorder who intentionally starves themselves in order to feel a sense of control.  Apparently "food issues" come in many different flavors and intensity levels.

This HCG is amazing.  I am not hungry at all, I sleep like a baby, and my energy level has literally NEVER been this good.  Now that I am having to really "tune in" to my hunger level (I need to stay between 3.5 and 5.5 on the hunger scale) and now that it takes so little food to keep me satisfied, it really shines a light on my food habits.  I find myself feeling impulses to eat which, on further examination, have nothing to do with hunger whatsoever. 

One example: I was working at my computer at my desk today.  I felt impulses intermittently to munch on something.  I will quite often have a handful of nuts, or a piece of fruit, or a protein bar while I work.  Yet, when I checked in with myself, I wasn't hungry at the time.  What are these impulses about? 

I was classified back in high school as a "kinesthetic learner".  This means that unlike a visual learner who learns best by reading, or an auditory learner who learns by hearing, there needs to be an element of movement for me in order to optimize learning.  Per teacher recommendation, I would actually carry silly putty with me to class because keeping my hands busy would help me listen better.  I'm a doodler.  I'm a fidgeter.  I realized today that my munching at work has very little to do with eating food to satisfy hunger.  I really think that I munch to give myself physical stimulation to help me focus on challenging material.

As a hands-on  rehab and sports therapist, there is enough kinesthetic activity while I work with clients that I feel no impulses to eat.  However, when I dig into something complicated on the computer, the impulses to eat kick in.  Woah.

This girl has yet another "food issue".  Time to go buy some silly putty.

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