Dr. Deepak Chopra's Perfect Weight: Hunger Experiments
returntorural
Posts: 339 Member
"Eat whenevery you're hungry, but when you're not hungry, don't eat."
The first task we're given by Dr. Chopra in his book Perfect Weight is to learn to read our body's hunger.
"Remember: hunger is simply a signal from your body's intelligence that it wishes to eat and is prepared for the proper metabolism of the food that is to be consumed. If hunger is not present, nutrition is not required at that time, and the body is not prepared to metabolize it."
Dr. Chopra gives us a 0 to 8 Satisfaction Meter to help us gauge hunger:
Level 0 to 1: definitely hungry but not starving. You feel "empty."
Levels 2,3,4: you have eaten comfortably and are digesting the food.
Level 5: as you are eating, you start to feel satisfied.
Level 6: maximum comfort. You feel neither hunger nor discomfort from over eating
Levels 7 and 8: you've eaten too much. There is a sensation of discomfort, heaviness, dullness.
Level F: You can't eat another bite. Think Thanksgiving dinner.
Level E: Your stomach is uncomfortably empty. You feel like you're starving. It is important to eat before you reach this level!
I know for me personally, hunger is a sensitive subject. I know that I'm not skilled at discerning hunger from boredom or fear or worry. Dr. Chopra advises us to spend the first 2 weeks of the program learning to read the hunger signs from our bodies. I have found this experiment quite interesting and enlightening. I would encourage anyone interested in Ayurveda to use this as a first step. The better we can "read" our bodies, the better care we can take of ourselves.
The first task we're given by Dr. Chopra in his book Perfect Weight is to learn to read our body's hunger.
"Remember: hunger is simply a signal from your body's intelligence that it wishes to eat and is prepared for the proper metabolism of the food that is to be consumed. If hunger is not present, nutrition is not required at that time, and the body is not prepared to metabolize it."
Dr. Chopra gives us a 0 to 8 Satisfaction Meter to help us gauge hunger:
Level 0 to 1: definitely hungry but not starving. You feel "empty."
Levels 2,3,4: you have eaten comfortably and are digesting the food.
Level 5: as you are eating, you start to feel satisfied.
Level 6: maximum comfort. You feel neither hunger nor discomfort from over eating
Levels 7 and 8: you've eaten too much. There is a sensation of discomfort, heaviness, dullness.
Level F: You can't eat another bite. Think Thanksgiving dinner.
Level E: Your stomach is uncomfortably empty. You feel like you're starving. It is important to eat before you reach this level!
I know for me personally, hunger is a sensitive subject. I know that I'm not skilled at discerning hunger from boredom or fear or worry. Dr. Chopra advises us to spend the first 2 weeks of the program learning to read the hunger signs from our bodies. I have found this experiment quite interesting and enlightening. I would encourage anyone interested in Ayurveda to use this as a first step. The better we can "read" our bodies, the better care we can take of ourselves.
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Great Post. I am going to use the gauge. I saw that a good thing to do is to eat a small meal and with your hands, no distractions, no talking. Sit and be with the food. It is amazing how before I go to the plate, I am HUNGRY. But once I sit to eat, a very little of food actually is needed. But then the habit/emotion of hunger sets in. The more I do this, the more I learn how to discern real hunger from the habit/emotion hunger that has been engrained in me.0
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I need to be more mindful when it comes to figuring this out too
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