Paying attention to what your body is saying

One of the things I found in The MG inbox from last weekend was the Health Magazine newsletter which had an article titled How to Think Yourself Thin. Bad title, but the article is about a health practice which I've been trying to master since joining Weight Watchers: paying attention to your body's hunger cues.

For several years I've had a problem of eating too much. I got into a routine of having two snacks before lunch, making a trip to the snack machine in the late afternoon in spite of a decent sized lunch, and having desert every night. Sure, I knew I wasn't that hungry, but I ignored my mental hunger cues and ate anyway. WW's method of point counting forced me to pay better attention to when I was eating and now I'm noticing my I'm hungry/I'm full feelings more and I'm actually heeding them.

It definitely helped me while I was in Asheville last weekend. I didn't eat the best stuff, but I still mentally cut each meal in half and stopped eating just before I got halfway through. I'd "rest," drink some water, maybe hit the restroom and let my food digest a bit. If I was still interested, I'd take a few more bites. If not, I'd hail the server and ask for a to-go box. Thanks to all my to-go boxes, the gastric portion of my vacation lasted several more days than the actual vacation.