C.H.U.L.A. Method Breakdown: Listen to Your Hunger
Written by Isabel Vasquez RD, LDN
Welcome to the fourth blog in our CHULA Method series! The CHULA Method is what we use here at Your Latina Nutrition to support you in living your most vibrant and authentic life by reclaiming the joy years of dieting have stolen from you. It’s an acronym that stands for:
It encompasses the process of connecting to your body, ditching diets, and making peace with food for good while embracing your cultural food staples.
In this series, we’re breaking down one part of the process per blog.
If you missed it, read our other CHULA method explainer posts here.
This week, we’ll talk about what the L in CHULA method—“Listen to your hunger”—really means and how you can put it into practice!
We’ve been told by diet culture to avoid and suppress our hunger.
Diet culture’s constantly feeding us “hacks” to trick our bodies into feeling full despite not having the nourishment they need.
Hunger Is Your Body Communicating With You
Hunger cues are really just your body’s way of communicating its needs with you. When we feel the urge to pee, we usually don't judge or dismiss that. We recognize it as a neutral need and we honor it as soon as possible.
That being said, what is your relationship to hunger? Is it a neutral sign? A welcome cue? An annoyance? Is it met with judgment?
Work through any negative feelings you have towards hunger by recognizing the function it serves for your body.
Recognizing Hunger Cues
In order to honor your hunger, you have to be able to recognize the cues your body sends you to signal hunger!
We often only think of some of the more extreme cues like your stomach growling, dizziness, or a headache. In reality, our bodies prefer we nourish them before that extreme hunger kicks in.
Some subtle hunger cues include:
Thinking of food
Mild fatigue
Slight difficulty concentrating
It’s also worth noting that restriction (whether intentional or not) is the most common precursor to binge eating or eating beyond comfortable fullness. Therefore, honoring your hunger sooner can help you break free from the binge-restrict cycle and find the middle ground.
A final important point to consider when honoring your hunger is that there are multiple types of hunger.
They are all valid and worth honoring, and they include biological hunger, taste hunger, practical hunger, and emotional hunger. We explain them in depth in this blog.
Final Thoughts
This was a quick overview of how to listen to your hunger. It can take time to reconnect with your hunger cues, especially if you’ve been ignoring them for years, so be patient with yourself.
Click here to read the rest of this CHULA method series.
For education on how to ADD nutrition to your favorite Latine cultural dishes, make peace with food, and focus on your health without dieting, join our nutrition library for just $27/month!
