In my work with clients with eating disorders and eating disorders, I often find that the fear of eating when not hungry is one of the most difficult dogmas to overcome. One of the most important rules when following a diet is: 'Only eat when you are hungry'. Eating disorders and dieters everywhere have learned that this is the only thing standing between us and complete loss of control and complete disaster in our lives. Many don't even see it as an actual choice or symptom of the eating disorder.
Successful recovery from an eating disorder, binge eating disorder, or chronic dieting requires overcoming and challenging this rule.
Reasons for eating when you're not hungry are related to eating disorders
Off the top of my head, I can think of many reasons to eat when I'm not hungry. Here are a few related to eating disorders:
1. Prioritize regular eating
You've been ignoring the hunger signals from cycles of dieting, binging and purging for years. You do not recognize normal hunger or satiety signals. Your treatment team has told you that you should eat regularly: three meals and two to three snacks per day. You feel like it's too much food and you're not hungry. Should you follow their meal plan? Yes! Eating regularly is a crucial step in recovering from any eating disorder, and it helps regulate your hormones and circadian rhythms so you can regain your hunger and fullness cues and become a more intuitive eater.
2. Lack of regular hunger cues
You are recovering from a restrictive eating disorder and rarely feel hungry. Your treatment team tells you to eat more, but you don't believe it. Isn't it better to postpone eating until later in the day? Do you really need to eat breakfast and lunch at the times specified by your dietician? Yes absolutely! Regular meals are essential to get all your bodily functions working properly again. One of the reasons you may not feel hungry enough may be delayed gastric emptying, which occurs when a person eats too little and food stays in the stomach much longer than it should. One of the consequences is a low appetite. The solution: Eat regularly as directed, even if you are not hungry.
Reasons to eat when you're not hungry - Applies to all people
I can think of many more situations that apply to all of us, not just people with eating disorders:
3. Flex your schedule for eating in social situations
You usually eat 19 in the evening, and your circadian rhythm is conditioned to feeling hungry. But your sister has a family dinner planned at 5:30 to accommodate her children so they don't get angry at the table. Should you eat at 5:30 before you're hungry? Absolute! By adjusting our schedules, we can have meaningful social interactions that usually revolve around food.
4. Adjust your schedule and eat in advance if you cannot eat at your usual time
A meeting is scheduled for noon to 3 p.m. You're not hungry for it 11; breakfast wasn't until 8:30 am. There will be an opportunity for a good lunch at 11:30 am. Would you? Naturally! Be practical: it is better to eat before your meeting. Then you will get good nutrition and you can concentrate better during the meeting. Our brains don't function as well when they don't have glucose. Planning ahead and adjusting meals accordingly is an important act of self-care.
5. During the trip, when your circadian rhythm is disrupted
You travel to another country. You arrive at your destination and it's dinner time. Your circadian rhythms are all thrown out. You feel like you are constantly eating. Are you going to eat? Yes! Acclimatization to a new time zone is initiated by the institution with regular meals at times appropriate to the destination. You will adapt faster if your body is in sync.
6. Comfort and/or social bonding
You just had a bad breakup. You eat meals, but sad. Your friends show up and want to take you out for ice cream to cheer you up. You're not hungry. Do you want to go for an ice cream with your friends? Absolute!Food is not just about nourishment, it is also about bonding and comfort, and you have to let the ice cream and your friends soothe your broken heart.
7. Stress
You are stressed and preparing for a presentation tomorrow. You have eaten enough during the day and are not really hungry. But you know that
Challenges the rule of eating when you are no longer hungry after recovery
Considering the different reasons for eating when you're not hungry, I hope you understand why this is a rule we should keep in mind. How can you question this rule and, if you have one, the eating disorder that uses it as an excuse?
You have to face it with new behavior and consciously defy it. If your treatment team has given you a meal plan: follow it. If you've been told you're eating too little, practice eating one thing a day when you're not hungry. The next time you have something in your schedule that disrupts a normal meal: eat ahead of time. Accept invitations to eat at times you are not used to. Eat something spontaneously when it appears, even if you are not hungry.
By practicing this behavior, you will be less afraid of eating when you are not hungry. You will learn that this is also a normal part of being human. You will be more relaxed when it comes to food and you will see that nothing bad will happen if you eat when you are not hungry. Please understand that you do not have to remain a victim of diet culture.
Read more about our anti-diet approach.
