Show notes
Have you ever finished a meal feeling completely full... and then kept eating anyway? I've had this conversation with so many people, and the conclusion is almost always the same: they think they're the problem. In this episode, I'm talking about why eating past fullness isn't a willpower issue. I explain how years of food rules and ignoring hunger can leave your body trying to catch up at the end of the day. I also break down what hunger actually feels like, because most of us were never taught to recognize the early signals. We learned to wait until hunger was screaming, then wondered why everything felt so out of control. Quotes "You are not failing at the solution. The solution is the problem." "A lot of people think that hunger has one volume. It's like a switch. It's either on or it's off, and it doesn't. It has a whole quiet conversation happening first, and we've only been trained to answer or listen when it is shouting." "Hunger, whether it's physical, metaphorical, in women has been treated as something to manage, to suppress, to overcome." "The whole thing repeats, but it doesn't necessarily feel like a pattern per se from inside. It just kind of feels like evidence, like proof that you can't be trusted around food." "The discomfort feels like you're doing something wrong, but you're not. It's just the rule loosening its grip." "We're starting earlier, feeding yourself earlier, not because you deserve it or it's a reward, but because your body needs it, and you're hungry, and you've been hungry for a really long time." Frequently Asked Questions Why do I keep eating even when I'm full? A lot of people assume this comes down to self-control. It usually doesn't. If you've been ignoring hunger all day, following food rules, or waiting until you're starving to eat, your body is trying to catch up. Eating past fullness isn't proof that you're broken. It's often a predictable response to spending too much time in a deficit. Why can't I tell when I'm hungry? Your hunger cues probably didn't disappear. You just stopped treating them as information. Most people don't lose hunger overnight. They spend years pushing it aside until they only recognize the loudest signals. Hunger has a whole conversation before it's shouting, and learning to hear those quieter cues takes practice. Why do I always overeat at night? For a lot of people, nighttime isn't the problem. It's where the problem finally shows up. If you've spent the entire day eating as little as possible, ignoring hunger, or trying to "be good," your body has been waiting for food all day. What are the first signs of hunger? Most people expect hunger to feel dramatic. It usually starts much quieter than that. You might find yourself thinking about food more often, feeling a little less focused, noticing a slight drop in energy, or feeling a gentle emptiness in your stomach. Those are often your body's first attempts to get your attention. Can dieting make it harder to recognize hunger? Yes. Dieting teaches you to trust rules more than your body. Instead of asking yourself if you're hungry, you start asking whether you're "allowed" to eat. After enough time, the rules become louder than your own hunger cues. Should I wait until I'm hungry to eat? Not necessarily. If you're recovering from restrictive eating or years of dieting, your hunger cues may not be reliable yet. Eating consistently helps rebuild trust with your body. As that trust grows, your hunger cues usually become easier to recognize. How do I stop overeating without creating more food rules? The answer usually isn't another rule. It's feeding yourself consistently enough that your body no longer feels like it has to make up for what it missed earlier in the day. As that sense of scarcity starts to fade, eating often becomes much less chaotic. Resources Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter! Brave on Purpose! - Grab my new book here! Grab my Journal Prompts Here! Looking for a speaker for an upcoming event? Let's chat! Now accepting new clients! Find out if we're a good fit! LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode. Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here! You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at [email protected]