I was sitting in the lifeguard chair, scanning the water and daydreaming about pizza, or anything that wasn’t pre-portioned turkey rollups, spinach salad, and exactly one tablespoon of olive oil and vinegar dressing.

I was 17 and thought that perfectly timed, perfectly portioned meals were the only way to have a body I love.

I did lose a lot of weight at that time – about 20 pounds. But it wasn’t sustainable.

And I also lost my sanity a little bit.

I was completely consumed by when I was eating and what I was having.

Then that weight came back, plus 10-15 more pounds.

Obviously, my plan wasn’t working, and I’m so happy I now know what works.

Fast forward to my early twenties when I was interning at national and international magazines.

I was still obsessed with food, but I knew at that point that diets don’t work long-term.

I was struggling to find a way to love my body and not feel totally crazy mentally, recounting, writing down, and obsessing over every morsel I ate.

I would sit at my desk interviewing health experts and musicians (I covered a variety of topics as an intern), writing articles, and making copies.

Although I was super engaged in my work, I still constantly thought about the next time I would eat, and what I would have.

That obsession led me to eat based on the standard schedule most people stick to: Wake up and have breakfast, eat lunch between 12-1, and have dinner around 6-7. Maybe snacks around 10am and 3pm too.

Ok, still not working. I was still feeling sluggish, bloated, and preoccupied by food and my body.

I realized that in following this mealtime formula I wasn’t listening to my body, I was listening to the clock.

I would often eat when I wasn’t even that hungry, or because the latest diet trend said you have to eat every 1.67 hours to keep your metabolism stoked.

My big revelation came when I started ignoring the standard feeding schedule and only eating when I was truly hungry. I discovered that this is the way to stoke your metabolism, avoid bloating, and lose belly fat for good.

I started to feel light, calm, and happy in my body and mind. I stopped obsessing over food and ate when I was hungry. I accepted my body regardless of its size, and naturally reached a healthy weight.

The lesson? If you only eat when you’re genuinely hungry, you’ll lose belly fat, and your body is much more likely to reach it’s natural weight.

Here are three big reasons to only eat when you’re truly hungry:

1. When you eat when you’re not truly hungry, it’s likely there’s still food in your stomach from the last meal that needs more time to digest. When you throw new food on top of it, your digestion slows down, making you feel tired, sluggish, and bloated. It’s also more likely you’ll hold on to or gain belly fat, since the midsection is the area that most commonly holds onto excess fat. For most people, this is also the place it’s hardest to get rid of fat. Only eating when you’re actually hungry is the key to changing that.

2. Eating when you’re not hungry can also lead to a false “fat” feeling that’s really just bloating, because certain foods in combination ferment in your stomach and create a lot of gas. For example, if you mindlessly snack on grapes 5 minutes before you eat a turkey sandwich on whole wheat for lunch, that combination is going to ferment in your stomach. It’s best to eat fruit alone, and at the very least, 30 minutes before or after other food.

3. When you eat according to the clock instead of your body, your digestive system can’t process your food as efficiently and is more likely to store it as fat. When you’re hungry you produce saliva and hormones that prime the digestive system for optional function. Think of it this way: Why would your digestive system use its precious energy when you’re not even hungry? It already works hard, and eating when you’re not hungry burdens it with excess food you don’t need.

The bottom line? Only eat when you’re hungry if you want to lose or avoid belly fat.

Now, I know this can be tough for people with hectic schedules, and skipping meals all together would be just as bad.

Here are my practical tips to help you save food for when you’re really hungry:

1. Carry snacks. This approach is not about skipping snacks. It’s about only having snacks when you’re hungry. If you’re not hungry at “normal” lunch time but know you’ll be hungry in a couple hours and won’t have access to good food, resort to your snack stash and then eat a meal a couple hours after.

1. Be flexible. Listen, you’re not always going to have ideal food options available, and that’s ok. You do have the option to only eat when you’re hungry, and choose the absolute best out of what’s available to you. In my personal experience and with my clients, it’s much more effective and enjoyable to eat when you’re actually hungry and do your best to eat nutrient-dense foods, rather than obsessing over having the perfect thing available at the perfect time.

3. Stay hydrated. Thirst is often mistaken for hunger. If you stay hydrated, you’ll naturally be more in tune with your true hunger signals, and you’ll feel less depleted and frazzled. To maintain blood sugar and high energy, dissolve a little pink Himalayan salt in your water. It’s like high-quality, junk-free Gatorade.

Now listen, there are a lot of factors at play here, which is exactly why I’m so passionate about working with people one on one to reach their ideal body weight without going on restrictive diets or cutting out food groups.

Only eating when you’re hungry is a fantastic start and a principle to live by, but of course, finding your rhythm is much more nuanced than that.

If you want to reach your ideal weight and feel less crazy about food as we go into the holidays (and avoid a post-holiday crash diet or extreme cleanse), I have one spot available in my private coaching schedule.

I’d love to discuss how we can work together so you can reach your goals without driving yourself insane.

Common side effects of working with me are weight loss, high energy, smooth digestion, sharp mental focus, and clear skin.

Click here to book your complimentary intro session to see if we’re a good fit.

I can’t wait to discuss your vision for yourself and guide you through your personalized roadmap.

Have a friend who’s been trying to lose weight forever and feels stuck and frustrated?

Share this link with them.

Now, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below. Do you ever eat just because it’s “time?”

Experiment with only eating when you’re hungry and let me know how it goes.

Artwork: Unknown – comment below if you know the source! Thank you.