“Are you really hungry, or are you just thirsty?” is the question I have to ask myself these days.

Aside from minimizing my starches throughout the day, I am learning to be aware of why I am eating. My guess is that about 80% of the time, I am eating because: (1) I have a craving or taste for something, (2)something that smells and looks good is accessible to me, or (3) because I’m bored, or deep in thought, or want something to do. The other day my stomach growled, and I realized that was a feeling I had not felt in a  long time. I was starving, and for a good reason; I hadn’t ate anything that whole day.

Maybe my body was feasting off of my harvested fat for fuel that day, which would have been perfectly fine with me. Studies say you should eat six small meals throughout the day to prevent hunger and increase your metabolism, but I don’t believe that is the only way to a healthy lifestyle, nor is it realistic for my schedule. It also keeps my mind centered around food all day, which is not cool for a compulsive eater like me.

I’d rather learn to eat when my body tells me to, and eat until I am satisfied, and not until I am stuffed. Just eating food without something to drink is a bad idea. Eating and drinking combined decreases my food intake dramatically. The other day I went to a sushi restaurant, and had soup and water before I ate my sushi. The liquids caused me to cut my sushi order in half. 

So the goal is to stay focused on increasing my liquids, and remain aware of my portion sizes to naturally decrease my calories without having to count them.

Remember: The source of the calories is important, which is why eating clean is phenomenal for weight loss and many other things, but it’s also about calories in vs. calories out. A combination of pro-portioned clean foods, liquids, and exercise is a sure way to lose weight and keep it off forever.

Check out my Photo Gallery for updated photos of my P90X progress. Phase 1 review coming soon!