Are You Hungry??? Using IFS and Intuitive Eating to Connect to Your Hunger Cues

Are you hungry? This may be a really easy question for you to answer.  You may be able to say, "Actually I am, and I'd love a (insert food item here)."  And if that's the case, good for you! But maybe it's not so easy to answer.  Maybe you're not sure.  Or even if you know you are hungry, maybe you're telling yourself that you shouldn't be.  Or that you should just drink water instead.   If you're like so many women out there, connecting to your hunger isn't as easy as it used to be.  And when I say used to be, I mean when you were a kid.  As babies and toddlers, we know when we're hungry.  We get a caregiver's attention, and hopefully they give us food.  That's it.  We don't judge ourselves for being hungry, we don't ignore our hunger, and we don't try to talk ourselves out of it. But as we get older, we get messages about our hunger (and about food) that change all of that.  Messages like: You should never allow yourself to become hungry because you cannot control it and will end up overeating Hunger should just be ignored because your ultimate goal is always weight loss Not "giving in" to your hunger means you have amazing willpower that others envy These messages are horribly damaging and lead so many women to disconnect from their bodies and their hunger cues.  And therefore live in a constant state of deprivation, which is both physically and emotionally unhealthy.   Our bodies need food.  Period.  So we need to know when we're hungry. Connecting to our hunger cues is what we're talking about in this week's podcast.  In today's episode, we talk about the messages that we've received about hunger, and how they've led us to disconnect from our bodies.  We also talk about how to tune into our hunger cues using IFS and Intuitive Eating.  Specifically, we're talking about: What are early hunger signals How to start noticing your hunger before you're starving How to tell if you're physically hungry or if you have a part leading you to food Connecting to and responding to your hunger keeps your body going.  And it shows your body--and your parts--that you're trustworthy. That you want to and will nurture yourself and provide yourself with your most basic needs. And we can't do any of that if we don't know we're hungry.   So check out this week's episode to learn some techniques to tune into your body and recognize your hunger cues! Resource links: Intentional Eating Challenge Eating Parts Cheat Sheet The Intuitive Eating Workbook