His Name is HUNGER PANG

I have been Intermittent Fasting for exactly one year now. I’ve been successful in my goal to drop some weight and lose some inches off my waist. I have gained even greater success with new habits of mindful eating and better choices.
One of the challenges I have not been so very successful in is the battle of the hunger because I changed up my schedule or had too little to consume at lunch. I will be living my life, working along just fine and then I am ferociously attacked by the hollowness within, a growling in the pit of my stomach and this weird feeling at the back of my throat I only know as a sign of being hungry.
I have removed all food from locations other than my kitchen so I will generally only have a bottle of water nearby. It is a gentle reminder to myself that I might just be thirsty. I reach for the water and down it like a man trekking through the desert, hoping to slake my thirst and drive away those mis-directed hunger signals.
It works for about ten minutes, and the signal returns. If that happens, I will get up and move around a bit, go refill that water and get my circulation moving. I should be doing this regardless since I do work a sedentary position at a computer, however this is a great motivator.
If I am truly hungry, those pangs will return. Since there isn’t anything edible nearby, I content myself with more water and then empty my desk hoping for a stray cough drop or a piece of hard candy that may have been forgotten. If I am truly desperate, I will give in. I will walk out to the desk of a co-worker where I know there is candy, or a cookie or something that will ease the annoyance. Since we are not all on the same journey, I can always count on them having something. This is both a blessing and a curse. It gets me past the hump, and I can finish my day and get home to make dinner.
You see what has happened? I had to make a poor decision because I did not plan well. Every day is an opportunity for success or failure. Some days do not start well and you leave the house without a good plan (aka, an afternoon snack that you have approved for your journey). Or the day started out well enough and something has occurred to throw your plan askew. We have to be prepared for these sorts of mishaps and sadly, I am nearly always woefully unprepared. I have gotten to writing myself notes and posting them all over my kitchen and front door to remind me of what I must take with me. It does the trick… when I remember to write the notes… sometimes I need a note to remind me to write a note.
While I sit and write this, I am currently suffering such an attack. It isn’t horrible, but I’m already contemplating what I shall cook up for dinner tonight.

And I’m chugging my water.