Why Do I Eat..?

Why Do I Eat/Want To Eat More Than My Body Needs?

Well number (1), food seems to bring happiness, even if I’m down. Emotional eating is what I think it is called.

When I’m disappointed or upset about something that maybe didn’t go my way, I eat. And it’s not really that food makes me feel better at this point in my life. It is more of a (2) “fuck it” attitude. I don’t care if what I’m eating makes me sick, or pushes my further into bad health, or is gonna make me gain weight. When eating my worst I have pretty much given up on life or ever being happy with it. At times I even consider it a super slow method of suicide. And I’m doing it on purpose, for that purpose.

I used to eat for the joy of eating. And don’t get me wrong; I still do sometimes, but, that’s not good for me either. And I have almost never listened to my body when it comes to what I should eat when I should eat, or, how much I should eat. So, this is all kind of new to me. Listening to my body is something that has come as a result of fasting.

I have now been intermittent fasting for several months now. Things seem to be changing with my eating habits. There really are times, now that I have been fasting a while, that my body does tell me when I should stop eating. There are times when my body says, “don’t eat that,” and I listen. There is a connection to be made between the body and soul/spirit when it comes to food.

There is some science behind that communication also. I won’t get into it here, but, basically, there are signals being sent from the brain in response to the needs of the body where food is concerned. The more I practice intermittent fasting the more in tune I am with those signals from the brain. As a result, I eat better.

I do sometimes override those signals. It is usually, as I said before, because of my emotions, or life stresses and disappointments. However, it is getting better. I am more conscientious about eating. I pay more attention to what, and, how much I eat. The stomach shrinks somewhat from fasting, so, I can’t eat as much. So, if I’m gonna only be able to eat so much, I choose very carefully what that food is going to be. Will I get what my body actually needs? Will it be satisfying? Those things never used to cross my mind when I ate whenever and whatever and however much I wanted.

Added Benefits

I know I originally started fasting for the weight-loss benefit, but I am getting a lot more. My blood glucose levels are 100% better than before. My doctor had prescribed Trulicity to help bring my levels down. However, with fasting, I can control my blood glucose levels without medication.

I read somewhere that Trulicity causes the pancreas to produce more insulin. However, I am learning from Dr. Jason Fung that more insulin for a type 2 diabetic is not the correct action. Hyperinsulinemia means you have too much insulin in the blood. This eventually causes insulin resistance, which can lead to more problems. So, more insulin is not the answer.

Fasting is a way to bring down blood glucose levels and gives the body a break from having to produce so much insulin. So, both the levels of glucose and insulin can be reduced in the body naturally. I am confident that many of my health issues can be improved through this method.

So Why Do I Fast?

Health reasons. It’s as simple as that, and, weight loss is an awesome side effect. Type 2 diabetes leads to the type of metabolic health problems and diseases that put people in the grave. Massive amounts of insulin, whether the body produces it, or it is injected, will eventually lead to the heart, kidneys, and other organs paying the ultimate price. If the body can’t store glucose in its fat cells because they are full, it will store it in our internal organs, which are not designed to store fat. It will even store glucose in your eyes. The glucose basically causes the organs to rot from the inside out.

I don’t need as much food as I thought I did in the past. Our ancestors didn’t eat nearly as much food as we eat today. Sometimes when I feel a hunger pain I’m actually happy about it. It means that maybe the excess glucose has been burned out of my bloodstream, and my liver can now switch to using my stored fat for energy. What a novel concept. It sounds weird, right? Hunger is actually a good thing and something we in the Americas know almost nothing about.

Well, I don’t’ know if I’ve answered the question, “Why Do I Eat/Want To Eat More Than My Body Needs?” Maybe I’ll get closer next time.