And you were starving...

...those were the words I heard one of my girlfriends say to me at lunch Saturday. There were a table full of us and we had waited almost an hour before our food was delivered. I was completely famished. I was actually hungry way before I ever made it to the restaurant, so after an hour, the hunger had left and come back again, with a vengence. When the food finally arrived, I ate a few forkfuls of my sweet corn, a few forkfuls of my broccoli cheese casserole, and a teeny tiny bite of one of my chicken tenders. By the time I finished, my plate looked like I hadn't eaten a thing. I still had corn, broccoli, and all of my chicken tenders still left on the plate. It was when I asked for a carryout container that my friend said, "that's all you're going to eat?" And when I said yes, she then said, "and you were starving." It was right there I realized another truth - that my stomach is the same size whether I'm starving, a little hungry, or not hungry at all. The size of my stomach doesn't change (unless it's been stretched because of its continual overcapacity), so there's no reason why my food portions should change either.

Hmm, what an interesting revelation. We think that just because we're "starving," if any of us (from the USA) really know what that is, that that gives us permission to stuff ourselves. Think about that for a sec. Because we are severely hungry, does our stomach open up and become an abyss? No, it doesn't, but it's a lie that we've allowed ourselves to believe and it's time to put this lie to rest!

The next time you're tempted to overeat because you're starving, tell yourself, out loud, "NO! Eating until I am politely full will satisfy me just fine."