Meditation done by Liz Burkholder.
So just allow yourself to get comfortable wherever you are.
Allowing your mind and your body to begin to relax.
Taking in a really deep breath to help this relaxation.
And exhaling,
Fully releasing any stress or tension from your body and your mind.
And again,
Let's take in a really deep breath all the way in,
Fully expanding your lungs.
And exhale,
Fully releasing any stress or tension or worry.
Allowing your mind and your body to become more and more relaxed as we go through this meditation.
And let's take in a third really deep breath all the way in to more relax the mind and the body.
And exhale,
Allowing your body to sink into the surface beneath you as if you're floating or sinking while feeling really safe and relaxed.
And so for just a moment,
Allow your focus to come to the center of your abdomen and to your stomach area.
And really bring your attention and your awareness to this stomach area.
And picture or imagine a gauge or some kind of knob or a monitoring device built in.
You may see a gauge or knob.
And this is a hunger gauge.
And this hunger gauge runs from zero to 10.
And it is built in to everyone into this hunger center into the stomach area.
And this gauge that runs from zero to 10,
Zero would be starving and absolutely famished.
Whereas 10 would be the opposite extreme of complete,
Miserably full,
Being miserably full.
And so in the middle is level five,
Which is comfortably satiated,
Not hungry,
Not full,
But just comfortably satiated.
And so for a moment,
Let's tune in to the zero end of this hunger gauge.
And just feel or imagine a time when you were absolutely starving.
Just feel in your body how that feels and in your stomach to be absolutely famished and starving.
So hungry.
And that is a zero.
And that is what it feels like in your body and in your mind to be absolutely starving.
And so now let's flip to the opposite end of this gauge to a 10.
And think of a time or just imagine what it feels like to be so full and just miserably full.
To the point where you almost can't move.
And you think why did I eat all of that food?
And how miserable this feels really tune into how this feels in your body and in your mind to feel miserably stuffed and full.
And now let's go to the middle of this gauge to a five.
And really tune in and feel what it feels like to just be comfortably full.
To have just eaten a nourishing meal meal.
And to have just eaten just enough to nourish your body to give energy to your body.
Not too full.
Not too little food.
Just enough to be comfortably satiated at this level five.
And this feeling,
This state,
This level is now going to become your new normal.
And so your new goal is when you do eat is to get to this five,
A comfortable maybe even a four or five or between the four and five.
A comfortable four to five and to tune into and to recognize that you were there and to then stop eating.
And so you also don't want to get down to a zero.
You don't want your hunger level to get down to a zero where you're absolutely starving.
Because you know at this level,
You are more likely to overeat and to reach for and to eat things that are more unhealthy for your body.
So you will now start paying attention throughout the day to where you are on this hunger gauge.
And when you start to get to around a two,
Maybe three,
You will know that it's time to eat something.
And when you're at this level of maybe a two or three of hunger,
You can still make good positive choices and choose better food options.
And you don't need as big of portions,
Because you're not at a zero,
You're not starving.
And so the goal is to eat when you're around a two and to eat until you get to around a four or five.
And to really tune in while you're eating,
Being mindful of the food you're eating mindful of how fast or slow you're eating.
And you really want to start to take more mindful bites,
Chewing slowly,
Mindfully eating your food,
Mindfully paying attention to the hunger gauge within you.
And then stopping when you're at that comfortable satiated level between the four and five.
And you know that if you go over the five and you eat until you're at a six or seven,
Even or even higher,
Then you have just eaten out of emotions or out of habit or out of addiction or somewhere outside of what your body actually needs in the moment.
And that's okay.
Because even when and if you eat over a five to a six or seven,
You will at least be aware and conscious of it.
And you will be able to forgive yourself and love and accept yourself anyway.
And then recommit to yourself that you will do better next time.
And so the more and more you're able to do this and incorporate this hunger gauge and actually listening to your body what it needs,
When it needs it,
How much it needs.
The more your body will be able to respond and to give you the messages and the more aware you will become of them.
And so this is a tool that lives inside you,
That you can tap into any time,
Any place throughout the day to check in with your body and see where it is on this hunger gauge and where it needs to be.
So you will start using this tool and this gauge throughout the day to assess your levels.
And the more and more you do this,
The more and more you will be able to stay within the healthy range on this hunger gauge.
You might even see this gauge as a certain color.
It may have words written across it.
However you can visualize and imagine and feel this actual internal gauge within you,
The more you can see it and feel it and tap into it,
The better.
And your subconscious mind knows that this is always available,
Always there,
Always there to help you and to guide you into listening to your body to how much food it needs,
When it needs food and what types of food it needs for nourishment and for energy.
And you can even before you eat,
Take a deep breath and tune into this gauge and see where you are and be aware and set the intention to eat to a five and no more.
And so just begin to come back into the room back into your body,
Back into the present moment,
Knowing that you have this tool and this resource available to you and within you all of the time.
And that you can tap into this hunger gauge anytime,
Any place to track where you are and what your body needs in the moment.
And whenever you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
