Q & A: What Does True Hunger Feel Like?
Question: I have been looking everywhere to find out portions? How much of the soup do I eat and how much of the juices do I drink? I have no idea how much I should be consuming since I no longer really know when I’m hungry. What does true hunger feel like?
Answer: As we’ve said before, each person will be different with respect to how much food they need to consume. Ideally, you want to eat when you’re hungry and stop eating just before you feel full.
With the availability of food today, some people may never actually experience “true” hunger. That little voice in your head that tells you it wants to eat is never a reliable source. True hunger occurs physiologically. What makes it even harder is that sometimes even your stomach can lie to you. That gnarling feeling in your stomach that tells you to feed it can be misleading. We all know how it feels to eat a large meal at night only to wake up starving in the morning. This is because your stomach has stretched, and it is telling you that it is no longer full. Intellectually, you know that you shouldn’t have to eat.
False hunger can easily be created by eating processed foods full of sugar. As soon as that influx of sugar is taken up into your body’s cells from your bloodstream, your body will signal you to eat more sugar. This is called hypoglycemia. If you’re stuck in a hypoglycemic cycle, you’ve got to get out right this second. How? Whole foods. Eat whole foods. Cut out excess fat and sugar and eat whole, fresh foods.
So, what is true hunger? True hunger appears in your throat. It’s almost like the feeling of anxiety, in the back of your throat. It makes you feel uncomfortable. When infants feel it, they cry. This feeling is innate. We were all born knowing what true hunger is, but we’ve forgotten over years of food-abuse. Also, true hunger is more likely to be felt when you eat a diet of primarily whole, fresh foods. Whole foods are nutrient-dense, and the only way to know true hunger is when your body craves nutrients, rather than sugar and processed garbage. If you really want to know what your body needs, say good-bye to the garbage.
How do I get in touch with true hunger? This is very easy. Fast. When you get up in the morning, drink 2 glasses of warm water to cleanse your system. Then, drink water throughout the morning until you feel hungry in your throat. Going without food for even a short fast (24 hours) will kick-start the cleansing process and throw it into super drive. You don’t have to fast for 24 hours, but go as long as you can. You’ll get to know what true hunger is, and you’ll get a cleansing boost. It’s win-win!
