This picture is one of my favorites from our wedding. There’s a lot of emotions I can see in Amy, Eric and myself, but what it represents to me is sheer joy and I’m so grateful to have this moment captured forever. I’m sure you’ve had similar experiences where you lived a picture perfect moment that you’ll forever cherish.

When I look back at this picture, I’m also reminded of how I felt at the moment. Of course emotionally, it was very intense. This was shot just after the ceremony and I was so excited, relieved, and so, so happy. But I also remember feeling very hungry! It’s one thing we’ve talked about several times afterwards; we wished we had been able to enjoy more of the food at the reception. We aren’t foodies per se, but we’d spent some time planning the menu at an amazing location and we were celebrating! But neither Eric or I ate very much, despite the fact that we’d picked things we really enjoyed.

You’re probably thinking, “I’ve don’t that before…distracted and busy and not thinking about eating”, and you’d be right. But isn’t that an interesting phenomenon? How curious is it that we can be very hungry and yet have our attention on bigger things and therefore, not eat? We can be pleasant and productive instead of cranky and unfocused! Potentially, we can draw off this and similar situations to learn better habits around indulgence.

Most of us view hunger as an urgent problem to fix. We schedule our days and celebrations around eating. For good reason, of course, but the sense of emergency that is often associated with needing to eat when it’s been a while, or if it will still be a while, isn’t always real. Just like at our wedding, we have the ability to live free from being tied to our stomachs and cravings by engaging more in life.

Many common reasons for eating more than we need include boredom, misplaced emotions, distractions, cravings, time of day, fatigue or thirst. None of these reasons have anything to do with the actual physical need for nutrition. Given that, it’s apparent that any urgency we feel outside of hunger can actually be changed. We can address what’s really nagging us instead of filling up inappropriately with calories. But how?

If we view true hunger as a sensation we enjoy because we’ll get to eat, there’s no reason to worry when it does arrive. We know we’ll be able to eat (at least in places where the internet allows you to read a blog). Even though hunger isn’t necessarily comfortable, our bodies actually function quite well when they aren’t busy digesting. In fact, digesting takes so much energy, we do it best when we don’t have to move at the same time. When we are moving or thinking or working or celebrating, our bodies work best by keeping us involved in life instead of having to process food.

What if instead of worrying about meal prep and when/what/how we’re going to eat, we got busy living. We get more involved with other people instead of self-absorbed about what our stomach wants. What if we got up every day and worked on how to help other people we live and work with, how to work smarter, how to expand our positive reach instead of how many grams of protein we need. Is it possible that all the attention we put on food has made it harder for us to live fully?

We can’t ignore our need to eat, but we probably can ignore our brain telling us we when have to do it if our bellies don’t agree. There’s no shortage of information on what nutrition does, where to get it, and even how much of it we need. For most of us, we don’t need a special meal plan unless part of our lives are spent sculpting our physique as a job or we have a disease. We all know we need foods with nutrients that give us energy to function and perform. That’s not hard. What makes it hard is making food so important.

So here’s my proposal: View hunger through the lens of appreciation that you’ve been productive, that you’ve used the nutrients from your last meal and that your body is in a good spot to receive. Look at being hungry as having an advantage over your body, not an emergency, without urgency or a threat of lack. Receive the sensations of hunger as a reward for having your priorities in the right spot if you’re working for the better of others and not just to feed yourself. Help other people. Get involved in what satisfies your spirit and not just your cravings. Be at peace with food and view hunger as an advantage and a privilege of those who have more than enough.