Does your body tell you when you need a particular nutrient?

This question was sparked by a conversation I had with a client who told me that he is an “intuitive eater” and his body told him when he needed “selenium or potassium”. Maybe there’s some truth to that B.C.E (Before Common Eateries) where we didn’t have constant food at our fingertips in convenient buckets.

I’m just tenderising the meat for you, Sir.

Unfortunately, we’re easily swayed by everything that’s around us, yes, even you (fine, and me too). There’s a reason why fast food companies spend billions of burger pounds on advertising – it works!

There’s also the peer pressure of going out and consuming food and drinks, ignoring how you really feel after eating a family pack of sausage rolls on the bus on the way to meet your friends at the pub.

Searching for this made my stomach rumble, and I just had lunch!

I don’t know about you, but when I watch a movie, I want snacks. Okay I lied, I do know about you, and you want snacks too. This is another example of a situation where hunger is not the driver for eating, but a learned, social behaviour of watching a movie and eating noisy popcorn with a slurpy drink, to add to the enjoyment of the people around you who are trying to watch the film.

Our lack of ability to know when we’re actually hungry can develop when we were younger. For example, we can inadvertently condition our children to eat when feeling sad. “Poor Shauny fell off his skateboard, would you like an ice cream to cheer you up?” I wish my wife wouldn’t speak to me that way. From that example, you can see how food might become a crutch when difficult emotions appear in adult life.

“By the time I finish this pizza, I am sure I’m going to be happier”

What Can We Do About It?

All is not lost. We can still train ourselves to be better in tune to our needs, and be more aware of our desires. If I’ve had a hard workout, my body is hungrier on those days but I am fulfilling my needs instead of fruit crumbling to my desires.

• Eat slowly and taste your food
• Eat mindfully and appreciate your food for all of its complexities
• Notice when you’re hungry or in fact bored or feeling a negative emotion you’re trying to ignore
• Eat until satisfied, and not finishing the plate because a child is hungry in Africa (donate instead)

So, you can get better at being intuitive, but it takes time and paying attention to how you’re truly feeling. Most of us are probably better off having a more specific system like occasional food logging or a set of rules like “I only eat a cake on weekends” that we follow, as this is a more reliable approach if you’re finding you’re overeating on a regular basis.

I hope that gives you something to think about this month, and if you need any help, please get in touch.

PT Shaun