Wanting to Eat is Not Hunger

I am still on my weight loss journey. I lost over 100 pounds and then my son was hospitalized for 2 months and I spent much of that time self-soothing with food. I came out 40 pounds heavier. I’m trying to lose that weight and a bit more after that.

I’ve been struggling with the idea that me wanting to eat is not hunger. That it is often self-soothing.

I want to approach this the way I approached practicing clarinet. The end goal was to perform the piece. But practice was not about always trying to play the piece perfectly. Practice was about taking apart the music, and my own playing. The practice was about figuring out where the rough spots were, and putting it back together so when you wanted to perform it was the best it could be.

So, I’ve been working on food practices. The current practice is a modified 8:16 intermittent fasting. I start eating at 2:00 p.m. and I stop at 10:00 p.m. The idea is to figure out if I am hungry, or if I am self-soothing. If I start breaking my fast at noon instead of 2:00, I do not worry about it that much.

I’ll start my day, happy as a clam. I won’t even think about food. And then, something stressful happens at work and I’m dying for something to eat. It happens all the time. And I have to tell myself, minutes ago you were not hungry. This is not hunger. This is soothing.

This is my current practice, not necessarily a long term solution. Once I get a better handle on this, the practice might change course.