In a world of 7.4 billion people, there are 795 million undernourished people in the world today according to the United Nations World Fund Programme, and yet "more than one-third (34.9% or 78.6 million) of U.S. adults are obese" according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The paradox between haves and have-nots is astounding and leads me to draw the conclusion that to feel 'controlled hunger' is a gift to return to a healthy weight. The explanation for weight gain and loss can be simplified to a mathematical calculation. If we eat more calories than we burn, our body stores those calories away for a day of hunger. If we eat fewer calories than we burn, our body burns those fat stores for energy. Yet feeling hunger is a pain that many of us trying to lose weight have not embraced. Instead we lull our selves into believing weight is going to come off by focusing primarily on the workouts but often we don't place enough focus on the calorie food intake. This leads to the binge and bust cycles with people working hard for a few weeks only to see no change in their weight. My suggestion is to experiment with the basic concept of hunger. Can you eat less and still workout with similar levels of energy? So far it is working for me. I hydrate like I'm drinking my meals and my energy has been fine during workouts. In fact when I drink well and workout, my hunger goes away and is replaced with a sense of achievement that my body is switching attention from my empty stomach to the fat its been holding on to for so long. My weight is steadily falling and the difference now compared to years of trying to get back to an ideal weight is my willingness to be hungry to get to my goal. And so it seems that a paradigm shift might be important for others to solve their own weight problems. Perhaps we each need to accept and even embrace the pain of hunger if we are to experience weight loss. Now let me include my disclaimer. I am not a professional nutritionist and I am merely writing about my experience and I realize that some people will take this concept to an extreme leading to eating disorders such as anorexia and for them this idea of hunger and weight loss has taken over and is unhealthy. I am sorry for those challenges. This post and these ideas I am suggesting are meant to be used in moderation. Our bodies need energy to thrive and food is good. I'm simply suggesting that being okay with hunger is a new concept that has given me control over my weight loss efforts. For me it is a gift, a necessary step to get to my ideal weight goal.
