Natural Appetite and Food Appreciation
Amidst all this talk about effortless weight loss and “it’s all about insulin resistance” let’s not forget the importance of honoring your natural appetite and eating for satiety instead of gluttony. It is definitely possible to mess up your keto weight-loss efforts by absentmindedly stuffing your face with heaping portions of keto-approved foods as a knee-jerk reaction to eliminating grain and sugar favorites from your diet. Make sure that mealtimes are calm, relaxing and celebratory in nature…and don’t wolf down food on the run– even if it’s macadamia nuts.
Eat at a deliberate pace, so that you can notice just when you reach your satisfaction point and can push the plate away. Studies indicate that it takes some 20 minutes for your brain to receive the message from your stomach that you’re full, so if you are eating quickly, you’ll overstuff before you even realize it.
If you are hesitant to try Intermittent Fasting, take a baby step and delay breakfast one day by a couple of hours. Even a subtle departure from a regimented three-meals-a-day habit can heighten your sensitivity and increase your appreciation for food when it’s time to enjoy a meal.
It’s likely that our hunter-gatherer ancestors, even at a great feast after a famine period, did not indulge to great excess, for he or she had to be ready for peak performance at a moment’s notice to avoid being some other animal’s feast. You never again have to worry about obsessive, regimented eating or uncontrollable weight gain, so there is no need to overdo it in order to quell those fearful emotions.