Does anyone really listen to their body?

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  • BTag3
    BTag3 Posts: 14
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    I only listen to my body when it comes to gym time. With regard to food I must ignore what it is telling me because it loves hamburgers too much... I have to tell it to shut the hell up and it isn't going to starve without Whataburger. When it comes to gym time I for sure have to listen. If I don't take time off when it tells me to then it responds with pain. My feet told me to get new running shoes and they were sooooooo right on the mark.
  • HelloSweetie4
    HelloSweetie4 Posts: 1,214 Member
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    "listen to your body" is pretty much a nice way of saying no excuses! Do what's best for your body to keep you healthy! If you eat fat-filled fast food, you will get a stomach ache, so stay away from that. If you're over-doing your work-outs, you will be extremely sore, so take a break for a day. That's what I see as listening to my body. I don't think it has anything to do with "living without bread." People have been eating bread for as long as time and the population in the past wasn't a obese as the current population. It's all the other crap that the food industry tries to pump our bodies with. And the fact that fast food is easier to get and cheaper than healthy food.Obviously, you don't want to sit and munch on a whole loaf of bread, but our bodies need carbs to function and it's silly to think that cutting out carbs is going to fix all your problems.
  • DrBorkBork
    DrBorkBork Posts: 4,099 Member
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    I listen to mine. Some days it wants copious amounts of fat, protein on others, etc. I cater to what it wants and I'm rewarded with good health :)
  • Natx83
    Natx83 Posts: 1,308 Member
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    Only when I fart :explode:
  • cherrybomb_77
    cherrybomb_77 Posts: 411 Member
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    I think if you're "listening to your body" you also have to use your brain and separate actual needs from cravings/wants. Like, just because I feel like drinking alcohol to excess doesn't mean I should. It probably just means I need to de-stress. Same thing with food cravings. I know for me they're usually a reaction to stress. If your stomach is growling, "listen" and eat. But also be wise about it. Just because you're legitimately hungry doesn't mean you also need to gorge on the ice cream you're craving. If your body is tired and sore, you might need to take a break from exercise for a day or two. At the same time "I don't feel like it" isn't a good reason to consistently avoid exercise (unless, of course, there's an underlying medical issue going on). So listen to your body, but also use your brain.
  • HelloSweetie4
    HelloSweetie4 Posts: 1,214 Member
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    I think if you're "listening to your body" you also have to use your brain and separate actual needs from cravings/wants. Like, just because I feel like drinking alcohol to excess doesn't mean I should. It probably just means I need to de-stress. Same thing with food cravings. I know for me they're usually a reaction to stress. If your stomach is growling, "listen" and eat. But also be wise about it. Just because you're legitimately hungry doesn't mean you also need to gorge on the ice cream you're craving. If your body is tired and sore, you might need to take a break from exercise for a day or two. At the same time "I don't feel like it" isn't a good reason to consistently avoid exercise (unless, of course, there's an underlying medical issue going on). So listen to your body, but also use your brain.

    ^^Best response!
  • the_green_midget
    the_green_midget Posts: 80 Member
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    I'm trying to learn how to listen to my body, but mostly by figuring out how I feel after certain types of food and how much I should be eating. If I feel hungry, I try to go for something low-cal and filling, like a salad with some sunflower seeds sprinkled on it, and not just gorge myself on whatever I happen to find. When I see fried foods that my tongue really wants, like fries, donuts, whatever, I'll try to remember the last time I ate that thing, and how awful I felt afterwards, and try to not give in. I guess I pay more attention to how I feel after eating certain foods, and let that help me make my choices for the future. Eating a donut once won't kill you, but paying attention to the stomach ache I get afterwards is invaluable for helping me avoid that kind of food in the future.
  • glennstoudt
    glennstoudt Posts: 403 Member
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    "listen to your body" is pretty much a nice way of saying no excuses! Do what's best for your body to keep you healthy! If you eat fat-filled fast food, you will get a stomach ache, so stay away from that. If you're over-doing your work-outs, you will be extremely sore, so take a break for a day. That's what I see as listening to my body. I don't think it has anything to do with "living without bread." People have been eating bread for as long as time and the population in the past wasn't a obese as the current population. It's all the other crap that the food industry tries to pump our bodies with. And the fact that fast food is easier to get and cheaper than healthy food.Obviously, you don't want to sit and munch on a whole loaf of bread, but our bodies need carbs to function and it's silly to think that cutting out carbs is going to fix all your problems.

    Reducing carb intake is a strategy that works for the SAD because most us either did eat or still eat much more than we need and carbs make up most of that intake. The net of that is that by reducing carbs and increasing protein for example, changes the nutritional profile and the result can be, with the right numbers over time, weight loss AND body shape changes if you are doing the work, whatever your choice of work is, it generally doesn't matter.

    Cutting out most processed carbs, it's too tough to cut them all out all the time, can be a helpful program for some people. No one needs to "give up" anything, although I admit I took a pretty hard line for a time, let's say 6 months.

    Although I agree with your post that the food industry has brought us many potential ills, they are not forcing us to buy it and eat it. I spent many years doing so myself. The food industry has also brought us some amazing innovation and ways to get almost anything to our table anytime, safely, and at an extremely low relative price.

    These days, if I think I might be subjected to being stuck in a place with bad food the only food available, I try to bring my own when practical. All it takes for me to avoid bad food is a mental image of those 3 year old burgers and fries from whatever company it is, that display absolutely no effects of degradation- No mold, they look the same as the day they were served. If that is not enough to make you rethink ingesting that stuff, then nothing will.

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