Thank You, Ms. Child...
“You were given an appetite so that you could nourish yourself.” - Julia Child
That was the quote that started it all 3 1/2 years ago. Because of that quote, I lost 30 pounds in 3 months. No, not with some “…pay a little as…”-“…its as easy as…”-“…Hey, I’m [insert celebrity name here] and you can do what I did…” miracle fat-reducing, calorie-reducing, flavor-reducing, carb-increasing, protein-increasing, wallet-emptying, spirit-deflating diet!
Such a simple statement to produce such wonderful results. Who would think that 11 words could be so liberating?! Yes, I said ‘LIBERATING!’ Don’t believe me? Well, its quite simple…. Think about the statement for just a second.
Your appetite exists purely for the sole-purpose of getting you to eat. And, honestly, the sole-purpose of eating is so that this marvelous machine called our body is fueled.
That’s it. Nothing more. Its just that simple…..honestly, right?
But, most of us run into the problem of either overfilling the tank or eating when the fuel gage is still half or more full because ‘we’ll be hungry later.’ So, I have to ask… How can we be hungry later if we never let ourselves get hungry to begin with? The problem is that food isn’t stored in our stomach until we need it. Its stored as fat. And, as long as we keep storing our fuel that way, our reserves get bigger which in-turn causes our storage tank (our body) to stretch in order to accommodate.
Ok, ok…. I hear you. “Linda, we’ve all heard the biology lesson. We know what happens. So what’s that got to do with the quote and how do we do things differently?”
Here’s exactly how my thought process happened:
How does your appetite tell you its time to nourish yourself? By making you feel hungry. That’s the fuel indicator. The nice thing is, unlike your car stopping when its empty, our bodies can still run off our reserves. No, I’m not telling you that you need to run on reserves… just be reminded that you won’t actually DIE if you do. Your hunger pangs are simply a ‘heeeello….. i need food, please.’ So, a-ha moment #1… Let your body tell you when it needs fuel. Its how it was designed to operate!
Another biology lesson you probably remember is that a normal stomach is roughly the size of your fist. Never heard that? Its true… just simply loosely make a fist and place that against the end of your sternum. Yep, that’s what it looks like. Now take another look at that fist. Notice anything? How about the fact that no 12-ounce steak in the world could fit completely in that space?! Even liquified it’d over-flow! You guessed it… a-ha moment #2…. Don’t overfill the tank. Eat just enough to make that hunger pang shut-up. Don’t worry, it’ll remind you when its time to eat again…. its how we were designed to operate!
And, just how long would it take for that amount of fuel to be used before a refill is needed? Answer: for me, its about 2 hours. Now, that made a foodie like me soooo happy! Why? Most people eat 3 meal a day, right? Buuuut…. eating every 2 hours or so gives me many more opportunites to eat! And, since there are so many things out there to savor or try, the thought was staggering!! That realization alone deserves a “Whoo-hoo!!” LIBERATING a-ha moment #3… I could eat anything I want (as long as I remember a-ha moment #2). This world was made plentiful so that we could explore and enjoy the riches that have been created. Its how it was designed to operate!
I must tell you that I did switch from drinking regular Coca-Cola to Diet Coke, but I don’t drink that many each day.. although, quite honestly, at the time I was drinking 1-2 sodas a day. I continued to drink sweet tea (I am in the South, remember) and continued to add my favorite Crystal Light to the two 0.5 liter bottles of water I try to have everyday.
Did I excercise more? Well, I started to… but, no. That lasted a week. And, no, I didn’t beat myself up over it. I also didn’t put any restriction on how late I could eat. But, again, to be honest… if I ate at 4 or 4:30 PM, I usually wasn’t hungry after that. Occassionally, if I was hungry, simply having a glass of juice could fill me and, other times, I ate. I just had to listen to what my body was telling me. Its how we were designed to operate!
So, I have to give thanks to Julia Child. If it weren’t for her simple words, I wouldn’t feel as happy with my life or as content with myself as I do…. its how we were designed to BE!!!
