Hunger Pains
As a card-carrying member of the Perpetually Famished Club, I know what it’s like to be hungry. In fact, I’m consistently hungry in a way that some people “are always cold” or “totally hate Mondays.”
Several years ago, I had an epiphany about my persistent hunger. I realized that as a comfortable, hardworking American, I was able to decide when to eat and when to refrain from eating. Humbled, I surmised that while dieting had been a chore for me, it’s a forced reality for those less fortunate. I chose to shift my mindset from lamenting the food I was not eating, to eagerly anticipating the food I’d eat next.
In the past few years, satiety has become more of a state of mind than a physiological signal that I am full. The more comfortable I became with my hunger, the more I began to embrace it as a source of my strength. In 2018, I began fasting regularly. Last year, I decided to challenge myself to complete one 40+ hour fast per week, with a 20/4 schedule the rest of the week (20 hours fasting/4 hours eating).
Despite the strides I’ve made in embracing my hunger, I still struggle. There are days when, best of intentions, my body refuses to cooperate. I used to feel tremendous guilt when this happened. It felt like I was failing my body, again. Several weeks into this more aggressive fasting schedule, I had another epiphany! Just as the decision to fast was mine, so were the feelings of failure. Stated otherwise, I could not only decide when to eat, but also how to feel about eating. From that point forward, I decided that all my meals would be joyous.
I love cooking way too much to feel guilty about eating. I’ve maintained a 20-pound weight loss for the first time in well over a decade. I’m convinced that my progress is less about my fasting methods and more about my efforts to better communicate with my ever-present hunger, and give her a snack now and then.
XO
DINK stands for Dual Income No Kids - but you don’t have to be a dink to savor our food. We’re into recipes for two to minimize food waste, control portions, and savor every bite!
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