Why I eat

At a recent gathering of the Sole Sisters, the topic of eating came up. One of the girls was lamenting how she was unable to meet her daily caloric needs with her running, not able to eat enough. My jaw just dropped. I asked her how that was possible. How could she not eat enough? She said she just wasn’t hungry. Huh?? Since when does being hungry have to be the motivator to eat? (Yes, I know this is an issue I need to work on. :)) She didn’t appear to understand where I was coming from, so I’m writing this to offer some insight to her.

Why do I eat?

• I eat because… it’s 8 a.m. and I’m “supposed” to have breakfast.
• I eat because… it’s 9 a.m. and I’m cleaning up the kids breakfast dishes and there’s two bites of oatmeal from the 2-year-old, and one bite of peanut butter toast from the 4-year-old, and, ummm…yum! Can’t waste that!
• I eat because… it’s 10 a.m. and the kids are asking for something to eat, and some apple slices magically slip into my mouth.
• I eat because… it’s 11:30 a.m. and I’m making the kids lunches and peanut butter is my absolute biggest weakness, so how can I help having a teaspoon or two?
• I eat because… it’s 12 noon and it’s “time” for me to eat lunch now.
• I eat because… it’s 12:30 p.m. and I’m cleaning up the kids lunch plates, and there’s a couple bites of p.b.&j. sandwich left, and did you read about me and peanut butter?
• I eat because… it’s 1:30 p.m. and the kids are asking for a snack, and the pretzels/peanuts/teddy grahams sound nice and crunchy and just a little won’t hurt.
• I eat because… it’s 2 p.m. and I’m so tired I could fall asleep if I sit down so I need some energy food.
• I eat because it’s 2:30 p.m. and the 2-year-old just came in from the sandbox and put her sandy hand in the ½ full jar of peanut butter. Then when she realized she was going to get in trouble, she ran to hide behind the couch in the family room and stuck her peanut-buttery-sandy hands all over it. Oh I need some chocolate!!
• I eat because… it’s 4 p.m. and my 6-year-old just got home from school and it is yet another snack time, and now I AM actually hungry, and cheese and crackers and grapes sound yummy.
• I eat because… it’s 6 p.m. – dinnertime. Of course, dinner is always really tasty because it’s something that sounds good to me, or that I haven’t had in a while, and while I do make my dinners healthy, that doesn’t help when you overeat because it tastes so good.
• I eat because… it’s 9 p.m. and the kids are all in bed and I could actually eat something without having to share it with 3 others’ little hands.

With all these opportunities, I don’t understand, how does my Sole Sister NOT eat?!