By 
The other day I was in a meeting that was much later than I expected. I had missed lunch for a long time and was so hungry that I could barely think straight. He had a long drive home ahead of him and it was rush hour in Los Angeles. Luckily, there was a Trader Joe’s nearby so I went to get a hug sandwich. I grabbed some toasted almonds and a banana, just like an experienced Health Coach would, but then my body took over and I lost control. I went through some blueberry oatmeal muffins sweetened with fruit juice and couldn’t resist. When I got back to my car, I opened the muffins and started eating. The first one barely made a dent in my hunger, so I quickly ate a second. Almonds? Banana? Forget this. I was still feeling hungry after the second muffin so I went ahead and ate a third. I was not in the least satisfied, and could have eaten the fourth, except for the fact that I was beginning to feel bad; I was dizzy, slightly nauseous, and starting to get a headache from rushing blood sugar, so I tossed the muffin into the back seat where I couldn’t reach it, while spending the next 45 minutes in traffic.
When I walked into my apartment, I had a throbbing headache, I was irritable, and I was as hungry as I was before I ate the muffins.
After I finally put some real food into my system and regained my senses, I realized that I had just done exactly what I tell my clients never to do; Allow yourself to get past the hunger point so that you cannot make a rational decision about what to eat. In fact, a client of mine had just finished telling me the day before how he bought fast food for the first time in months; he had forgotten to bring food during a busy day of meetings and accidentally left himself so hungry that, at the time, fast food seemed like a good idea.
Remember this:
Your body is powerful. We are biologically connected to avoid hunger. If you pass the hunger point (if your blood sugar drops too low or if you are deficient in nutrients), your body’s survival instinct will kick in and your intellect will override. We are no match for our bodies!
When your blood sugar level drops too low, we don’t have enough fuel for our brain; We literally cannot think clearly.
Our bodies will always try to get what they need to stay in balance. This is why cravings are so difficult to combat. In my case, my blood sugar level had dropped too low, so my body craved glucose, our body’s main fuel for energy. Sugar is the fastest form of glucose. I don’t eat sugar, but the refined flour in the muffins is a close second, which is why I bought them and felt compelled to eat them over the almonds. Unfortunately, our bodies and brains need a constant flow of glucose to function properly, not a one-time rush of glucose, followed by a drop in blood sugar. Also, the muffins I ate contained very few nutrients and little to no protein, so my body was still hungry; but the more muffins I ate, the more my blood sugar went up, which ultimately made me feel bad.
It had been so long since something had happened to me that I forgot what it felt like to be dominated by my body, even though I talk to my clients about it all the time. What a great reminder!
So what should you do to avoid my mistake? It’s simple:
Always be prepared. Carry solid and nutritious snacks that will stabilize your blood sugar level when you are away from home for long periods of time, such as nuts, whole grain cookies, fruits, avocado, or packing a healthy lunch.
Take it from me; Don’t let yourself go hungry!