Hunger is not an emergency

I've been reading Dr. Judith Beck's book, The Beck Diet Solution. She states that it is NOT a good program for someone struggling with an eating disorder, and I know that if I tried to follow some of the steps, it would lead to undesirable results. She does have some great cognitive behavioral steps though. One thing she wrote kept coming back to me -- she says to go hungry for 8 hours one day to help you realize that hunger is not an emergency.

BTDT -- I've gone hungry for more than 8 hours in times past and it makes me horribly cranky and gives me a serious headache. Since trying to eat intuitvely, I've been trying not to get too hungry or go too long without food. I've been feeling desperate for food every time I get even the slightest bit hungry. I've been afraid that I'd freak out and binge if I went hungry for too long.

I am ready to start feeling a bit more hungry before feeding myself. Work is REALLY busy right now and there have been several days when I've not eaten for hours. I am hungry, but hunger does come and go until the feeling is so insistent that I know I have to eat. I have become more able to wait for food if I know we're going out to dinner or I know I am going to eat in an hour or something. I'm just keeping a careful eye on myself to see if this leads to unhealthy thinking, a big power struggle with myself, or shoveling in large quantities of unhealthy food because I am so ravenous. So far, so good. Hunger is definitely not an emergency.