Pay Attention Jennifer

So, I'm trying to figure out the hunger continuum - here's how it goes for me:

*starving - hungry - empty feeling - not hungry - satisfied - full - stuffed - exploding*

My goal is to stay in the purple zone - to never really get hungry, per se, and when I do eat, stop once I'm not hungry anymore, occasionally eating until I feel satisfied - but never full. And certainly never stuffed or exploding. Figuring this out is an art! Once I get good restriction it'll be easier, though I'm doing pretty well at eating as if I already do.

I'm paying attention, for the most part...but it's easy to forget I am Borg...case in point: Today I finished lunch and had a co-worker come in to chat for a few. I absentmindedly grabbed my water bottle out of my bag (where I'd put it so I wouldn't drink too soon after eating) and just started chugging away because I was thirsty post-workout. After about, oh, maybe 6-8 ounces, I realized what I was doing - just about the same time I started to feel like a bloated whale, which lasted for about an hour. Thank god I didn't drink more than that! It just goes to show how so much of this is really about breaking habits.

I don't really know how many more times I need to drink with food or too soon after to learn, but I doubt this will be the last time, alas. Pay attention, Jennifer.