It is a wonderfully light feeling when we get comfortable with hunger 🙂 ! We don’t over-eat, we stay active, energetic, and healthy ! It takes some time, practise and determination to get comfortable with & tolerate hunger. Do read the 7 simple, practical ways to respond to hunger here in my previous post.
I talked about opting to eat ‘food’ that nourishes us rather than ‘non-food’ that only appeals to the tongue in my previous post . I also emphasized that we need to pause, be aware of our bodies and minds, and then decide whether to eat or not when we think we are hungry.
Tolerance to hunger is greatly connected to contentment. As we learn to be content with what we eat, reduced quantities though it might be, we can consciously apply this feeling of contentment to other areas of life.
Read more about contentment in my next post!
The 5 benefits of tolerating hunger –
1) It is invaluable to maintaining good health – This is the biggest benefit of all. Combined with working out/exercise in some form every day, moderate eating ‘mitaahara’ is the best way to maintain health.
Overeating naturally leads to obesity which is a killer. A large number of people, both young and old struggle to handle excess bodyweight. We think we know a lot about food and over-eating and diets. We always have goals to be fitter, lighter etc but when it comes to actually implementing our goals, we rarely tell ourselves – “So what if I am hungry?! I will befriend this feeling. I must tolerate this hunger”.
This is the first thing to learn !
Just this one thought, this one mind-set change and determination – “I will tolerate this hunger” – will make a huge positive difference to our bodyweight and health. Everyone knows that maintaining a normal BMI is important but “how do I eat the right amount to maintain it?” is the question! If we learn to get comfortable with hunger, we automatically eat a decent amount because now we learn to be satisfied even if our stomachs are not absolutely ‘full’. We do not overeat, and it gets that much easier to have an acceptable BMI.
Not to worry, our body will get used to the fact that we are eating lesser now !
2) We enjoy and value our food better – Contrary to any thoughts that we lose interest in food when we eat lesser, we actually enjoy our food better !! Once we learn to eat consciously, in response to our true hunger, only whenever our bodies need that food, everything tastes so good ! We respect and relish the food we eat even more than before.
3) We develop superb will power, determination & mind control – Hunger is a very strong instinct, and it drives one to almost immediate action.
Physiological hunger has no face, religion or colour. It is felt by every living creature whether big, small, rich or poor. Creatures other than humans do not need to learn to tolerate it, they must only suffer hunger! But when we as humans learn to bear such a strong instinct as hunger, we realise and develop the strength of will power, resistance, determination, and mind control. The best part is that it benefits us not just in the aspect of our health & nourishment but it also builds ‘discipline’ that is applicable to other areas of our life. As we exercise control over what and when we eat, it makes our determination strong and this mind power can be applied to areas like our work, creativity, other goals and fitness.
4) We learn to be more patient, we learn to handle anger – When we are hungry we get impatient and angry (hangry!!). When we learn to handle hunger, we learn to be more patient, calmer, more in the moment and stronger. This can have great benefits in many other aspects of our lives. Think about it and comment !
5) We accept change more easily – We get comfortable in other areas of our life where change is required. We learn to easily say no to other not-so-pleasant habits/ areas where we need to improve.
Life becomes easier – We free up time and energy when we eat lesser. Seriously. Try it! We get more time to do other things!
Some people might wonder if this topic is even relevant ! Who wants to tolerate hunger?! And why should one? There is so much food around, why should I deny myself something as basic as food !?
This post is not about denying oneself the pleasure of eating food, on the other hand, it is about how to enjoy food better and make sure that we live healthily enough to be able to enjoy it for a sufficiently long time ! 🙂
This topic is for those who:
1. Realise the importance and value of food and want to make the best of their lives by living in the best of their health rather than in ill- health with a ‘I live to eat’ attitude.
2. It is for those that want to lead active, healthy lives with a desire to be able to do whatever they want to do rather than lead lives in a diseased state.
3. It is for those that value and respect their bodies and realise that we all have just one body to live in , one that ONLY ONESELF can take care of. The first step on this path is to EAT RIGHT – THE RIGHT KIND in the RIGHT QUANTITY in a peaceful, joyful STATE OF MIND.
Mitaahaara
The concept of ‘mitaahara’ which means intake of ‘moderate amount of food’ (Sanskrit) is a great one. In no way does this mean that we cannot enjoy food! After all, eating good food is one of the pleasures of life and we must indulge in it once in a while.
The idea is to develop good eating habits right from a young age that will ensure we do not get obese and develop diseases later on. Getting comfortable with hunger is a great way to do this !
OTHER KINDS OF HUNGER !
Of course there are different definitions of the different aspects of hunger that is non-physiological. Hunger could mean an emptiness, as also the desires, craving and ambition for money, success, fame, love, attention, praise, power, validation and knowledge etc! This is a topic for another day !
What are the ways you ensure that you eat moderate quantities of food and maintain your BMI?
What is your experience with understanding and attending to your hunger – physiological or otherwise ?
Do share in the comments below !
