Phase 2: Starting Your Shift
What is the issue?
As we continue our sailing journey towards our 10/10 Life, we're learning to navigate the complex waters of our mind, with a particular focus on our appetite. Think of your mind as a vast sea, and your appetite as an iceberg floating within it - significant and influential, but not the entirety of your mental landscape.
In this lesson, we'll create a detailed map of your appetite cues and discover which sea creature best represents your eating patterns. This process is like charting the visible and hidden parts of your personal appetite iceberg.
What do you think?
Before we dive deeper into mapping your appetite, take a moment to reflect:
If you had to choose 5 words to describe your appetite (not your relationship with food), what would they be?
Imagine your appetite as a character. Who or what would it be? Why?
In my practice, I've found that personifying the appetite can be a powerful tool for understanding and working with it. One patient chose Janice from the TV show "Friends" to represent their appetite. This led to fascinating conversations where the patient began to understand "Janice" with more empathy, rather than just seeing her as annoying or odd.
I named my own appetite Olaf, after the character from Disney's Frozen movie — a character who's naive but well-meaning, often acting without fully understanding the consequences, much like our appetites sometimes do.
These personifications aren't about judging our appetites, but about creating a way to engage with them more playfully and compassionately. They help us separate our core selves from our appetite's behaviors, allowing us to observe and interact with our hunger and fullness cues more objectively.
Remember, your appetite is like an iceberg floating in the vast sea of your mind. It's a significant part of your experience, but it doesn't define the entire ocean of your thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. By understanding your appetite's 'personality', you can learn to navigate its influences more effectively.
What else would be good to know?
As we chart the waters of your appetite, it's helpful to understand that there are different "species" of appetites, each with its own unique characteristics. While these aren’t scientifically validated in any large study, I have pulled these four main appetite profiles from my own clinical experience, each represented by a sea creature:
The Manatee: A gentle, comfort-seeking appetite that often uses food for emotional soothing and connection. Manatees are Below Water Eaters, driven by a need for comfort and belonging.
The Sea Turtle: A consistent, routine-oriented appetite that follows established eating patterns, often without considering true hunger. Sea Turtles are Below Water Eaters, guided by habit and familiarity.
The Dolphin: A mindful, intentional appetite that stays attuned to hunger and fullness cues, making conscious food choices. Dolphins are Above Water Eaters, driven by awareness and health considerations.
The Seagull: An opportunistic appetite that responds strongly to external food cues and environmental triggers. Seagulls are Below Water Eaters, influenced by their surroundings and social situations.
Understanding these profiles can help you identify your own eating patterns and tendencies. Remember, no profile is inherently "good" or "bad" — each has its strengths and challenges. The goal is to become more aware of your patterns so you can navigate your eating decisions more effectively. In general, dolphins can move from hungry and wanting most directly to full and satisfied. This is what makes them Above Water eaters. They are able to navigate both the air and the sea.
These aren’t fixed profiles and they aren’t all encompassing. These are often learned and culturally conditioned so you can learn different traits. The Shift will likely help you move from one to another or at least spend more time in one profile so that you can spend more time Above Water.
How do I apply this right now? How do I explore this more?
Let's dive deeper into understanding your unique appetite with two key activities:
You may stop reading the lesson and do the activity now or wait until the end of the lesson to do the activity in sequence.
Once you complete the lessons, the activities appear on their own pages so you can find them and repeat them anytime.
Activity 1:
Organizing Your Appetite Cues
This activity will map out your personal appetite cues. This will help you understand your unique hunger and fullness signals.
Activity 2:
Discover Your Appetite Profile
This quiz will help you identify which appetite profile best represents your appetite and gives you a sea animal avatar to work with as you learn to better read your appetite.
How do I bring it all together?
Creating your appetite inventory and identifying your appetite profile are powerful steps towards becoming more attuned to your eating patterns. The inventory gives you a detailed map of your personal hunger and fullness cues, while the profile provides a broader understanding of your overall approach to eating.
Remember, these tools are meant to increase awareness, not to label or judge. You might find that you relate to aspects of multiple profiles, or that your profile shifts in different situations. That's completely normal — like the sea, our appetites are dynamic and can change over time.
Use your appetite inventory and profile as guides to help you:
Recognize your typical eating patterns
Understand your emotional connections to food
Identify when you're eating out of habit versus true hunger
Notice when external cues are influencing your eating decisions
Develop strategies that work with your natural tendencies
By combining the detailed information from your appetite inventory with the broader insights from your appetite profile, you'll be better equipped to navigate your eating decisions with awareness and intention.
How will I know if this is making a difference? How do I start noticing the changes?
As you become more familiar with your appetite inventory and profile, you may notice:
Increased awareness of your hunger and fullness cues
Better ability to distinguish between true hunger and other motivations for eating
More comfort in responding to your body's needs without guilt or judgment
A sense of having a "conversation" with your personified appetite
Greater understanding of your eating patterns and triggers
Keep track of these observations in your Captain's Log. Over time, you'll likely see a shift in your relationship with food and eating. You might find yourself making more conscious choices, better able to navigate challenging eating situations, or simply feeling more at peace with your eating habits.
-
In our next lesson, we'll explore how to use your newly created appetite inventory and profile in everyday situations. We'll discuss strategies for responding to different types of cues and how to navigate challenging eating scenarios based on your specific appetite profile.
Remember, becoming appetite literate is a journey, not a destination. Each day brings new opportunities to learn and grow in your understanding of your body's signals. Keep charting your course, and don't hesitate to adjust your sails as needed. You're developing a skill that will serve you well throughout your life's voyage.
As you move forward, embrace your unique appetite profile with curiosity and compassion. Whether you're a gentle Manatee, a routine-loving Sea Turtle, a mindful Dolphin, or an opportunistic Seagull, your goal is to work with your natural tendencies, not against them. By understanding and accepting your appetite's character, you'll be better equipped to make choices that align with your health goals and values.