"Another little piece of fish? Why not, it's healthy! "
"I should eat dinner, it’s already 5:30 pm. "
"I trained hard today, so that means I can eat more than usual! "
Are These Thoughts Familiar to You?
Then you may well be a rational eater! What is a Rational Eater? A rational eater is someone who bases their food choices on their knowledge and logic rather than on their hunger and satiety signals. For example, the rational eater would continue to eat foods he considers healthy (e.g. vegetables, fish, millet) even if he is no longer hungry. He would eat his lunch at noon since he has the routine of eating at that time, and not because he is starting to feel hungry. The rational eater would eat less for lunch if he knew that he will be going to a restaurant for dinner and that he will be eating more than usual.
You may be wondering what is the problem with the rational eater's thought process. Indeed, there is nothing wrong with choosing to eat foods because of their good nutritional value or in trying to eat no more than what your body needs! The problem arises when we attribute more importance to our nutritional knowledge than to our levels of hunger and satiety.
How Can I Be More Aware of My Hunger and Satiety Levels?
The key is to listen to the signals your body is sending you. Learn to differentiate the signals of physical hunger and of rational hunger. Do you eat when you feel you have an empty stomach, when your stomach growls or when your concentration decreases? These are signs of physical hunger!
Or do you eat since it’s time to eat, since it’s a food that you consider healthy or according to the amount of food eaten at previous meals? These are signs of rational hunger! It is also important to listen to your satiety signals to know when to stop eating.
It is a feeling of neutrality: hunger is no longer present and no feeling of heaviness is felt in the stomach. So, light exercise could be done with ease after eating!
If you are wondering if you are a rational eater and if you want to be able to better recognize your hunger and satiety signals, start by visiting our website jecoutemafaim.com to complete the quiz!
Then make an appointment with one of our nutritionists - they will guide you through making the necessary changes to be more attentive to your body.
