Wednesday, June 15, 2011

skipper

Last night I skipped supper.  For some, skipping meals is just an ordinary part of life, but that has never been the case for me.  I always eat 3 meals a day.  Always. 

Mostly that's a good thing.  Healthy eating means spreading consumption out over the day, not living on one meal a day and starving the rest of the time.  But last night, skipping supper was an amazingly healthy thing for me to do.

Here's the thing:  I wasn't hungry.  I had been doing physical work for a couple of hours, hustling pretty well, which normally makes me hungry.  The normal setting for me is:  it's TIME to eat, and food is available, so I need to eat.  Part of that is a fear thing - if I don't eat now, I might be hungry (read:  experience discomfort) later. 

Last night I wasn't afraid of potential hunger looming - I've gone to bed hungry WAY too many times since this "learning to love my body" thing started to be cowed by that fear.  So I get hungry.  So what?  I've learned that I am just fine when that happens.  

Considering this as I prayed this morning, I realized I am learning to listen to my body for real.  Before, I listened as in, "it wants something...hurry and give it what it wants!" which was bad for me and bad for my body (not that we are separate entities but hopefully you hear what I mean.)   Last night I listened as in, "I'm reading its signs." 

News flash:  I survived without supper.  I lived through the night.  And I'm not even extra-ravenous this morning. 

I'm really digging this whole "learning to love my body" business.

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