Risking emptiness

To rediscover a nourishing fullness requires the ability to first be empty. In other words, we need to risk hunger. But with a history of binge eating, hunger may be something that we don’t let ourselves experience often. It feels uncomfortable, sometimes even terrifying.

It’s important to distinguish between hunger and deprivation. Deprivation in one form or another is associated with most dieting approaches. It’s probably something we’re quite familiar with. We resent it, and it’s no wonder.

The assumption that deprivation is necessary for weight loss may sometimes come from a shame-based approach to dealing with people who overeat or who are overweight, or it may be a well-intentioned, though mistaken, conclusion drawn about what is needed to address binge eating and excess weight.

A healthy respect for our bodies entails listening carefully and responding appropriately to them. That means getting hungry and eating in response. It doesn’t mean staying hungry for hours. It doesn’t mean eating food that is tasteless. That’s deprivation.

It’s helpful to begin by simply describing physical hunger that way we describe our thoughts or emotions. By being mindful of as many nuances as possible. What does physical hunger feel like for you? How does it feel in your stomach? In your mouth? In your body? How strong is it? Does the hunger level change? What do the first whispers of hunger feel like for you? Start establishing a habit of beginning to prepare your meal when you first detect physical hunger.

If you can bring a mindful awareness to deconstructing the experience of hunger, hunger will lose some of its power and become more of a neutral sensation, a simple message that it is time to eat.

Who would you be without your pattern of binge eating? Please feel free to email me your reflections.

Would you like someone by your side on your path to recovering from binge eating? Book me for a free mini-session, and let’s explore what lies ahead.