When Your Body Says, “I’m Not Hungry”
For a long time, I gave myself a standard:
I want to fast for 16 hours.
But if you live in Malaysia, you know that dinner is not always just dinner.
Dinner can be a family gathering.
A business function.
A celebration.
A reunion.
A reason to meet people.
We love our late dinners!
So I have gradually moved away from many of those dinners because I decided that, for now, I want to finish eating earlier.
Yesterday was an interesting example.
My lunch was late.
I only finished eating at around 2 p.m.
I thought I would have dinner by 4 because that was my usual plan.
But when 4 o'clock came, I was still full.
So I didn't eat.
Then I went for my Zumba class.
There were so many new dances yesterday, and it was really, really fun.
I didn't even post a Live from the class.
I was simply enjoying myself.
And something surprised me.
I thought I would become hungry.
I thought I might feel tired.
I thought I might become lethargic.
But my body didn't give me those signals.
I actually felt energetic.
So I listened.
I didn't eat simply because the clock told me to eat.
I ate—or rather, didn't eat—according to what my body was telling me.
By this morning, I had gone roughly 20 hours without food.
And yes, I felt very proud of myself.
I felt light.
I felt appreciative.
I felt happy that I didn't have to eat when I wasn't hungry.
And that is where my Inner Dialogue comes in.
The difference between a rule and a conversation
There is a difference between saying:
“I must do this.”
and asking:
“What is actually happening inside me?”
When I first started intermittent fasting, I had a number.
Sixteen hours.
That was my target.
But Inner Dialogue allowed me to question the target instead of becoming controlled by it.
Yesterday, my body was saying:
“I'm still full.”
So I listened.
I didn't force myself to eat just because the clock said it was time.
And I think this is important in many areas of life.
Sometimes we create rules for ourselves and then forget to ask whether the rule still serves us.
We do this with food.
We do it with work.
We do it with relationships.
We do it with money.
We do it with our emotions.
We even do it with our identity.
Talking to the part of you that already knows
I also use Inner Dialogue when I misplace things.
I might say to myself:
“I know you've seen it. You know where I put it. Help me remember.”
It sounds funny.
But it helps me shift out of frustration.
Instead of running around thinking:
“Where did I put it? Where did I put it? Where did I put it?”
I pause.
I breathe.
I speak to myself.
And sometimes, suddenly, I remember.
Now, I wouldn't tell you that this is some magical scientific trick.
But our minds do process information outside of our immediate conscious awareness, and deliberately pausing, focusing and recalling can be a useful way to access what we already know.
For me, this is part of my Inner Dialogue practice.
I'm not trying to control my mind.
I'm learning to communicate with myself.
Your mind doesn't need to be your enemy
The same principle can be useful when you are emotionally entangled.
Maybe you are upset.
Maybe you cannot sleep because your thoughts are running everywhere.
Maybe something happened during the day and you keep replaying it.
Instead of immediately fighting the thought, you can have a conversation with yourself.
Ask:
What am I feeling?
Then:
Why is this emotion here?
And then:
What do I need to do with it?
That is very different from simply telling yourself:
“Stop thinking.”
Sometimes the harder you try to stop thinking, the louder the thoughts become.
So perhaps you don't need to fight them.
Perhaps you need to listen.
And then there is the body
This is also why I find practices around wellness, movement, sound and meditation interesting.
I don't claim to know everything.
I'm constantly learning.
But I am curious about anything that can help us understand ourselves better.
Sometimes we are so busy living from the outside that we forget to listen to what is happening inside.
Your body may tell you something.
Your emotions may tell you something.
Your thoughts may tell you something.
Your reactions may tell you something.
The question is whether you are willing to listen.
And listening doesn't mean obeying every thought or every emotion.
It means becoming aware.
Then you decide.
Your body is not a machine
Yesterday, my body wasn't hungry.
So I didn't eat.
Another day, I may be hungry.
Then I will eat.
This is why I don't want my fasting journey to become another rigid rule.
I am learning to observe.
I am learning to respond.
And I am learning that discipline and flexibility can exist together.
There is nothing wrong with having a structure.
My 16-hour target gives me structure.
But my Inner Dialogue gives me space to ask whether my body needs something different that day.
That's the conversation.
Not:
“I must.”
But:
“What is happening?”
And then:
“What choice makes sense for me now?”
That is how I want to live.
Not blindly following a rule.
Not blindly following an emotion.
But listening, evaluating and choosing.
And yes, I am still learning.
Seven more minutes...
And now I have about seven minutes left before I slowly move out of this room.
If I suddenly don't have anything else to say, that's okay.
You don't have to fill every silence.
Sometimes the best thing you can do is simply sit with yourself.
Have your coffee.
Take a breath.
Notice your thoughts.
Notice your body.
Notice your emotions.
And thank yourself for showing up.
If you have been with me this morning, I hope you don't leave thinking:
“Peggy told me what to do.”
I hope you leave asking:
“What is my own Inner Dialogue telling me?”
Because ultimately, this is your life.
Your body.
Your emotions.
Your thoughts.
Your choices.
Your journey.
And your wisdom.
So before you leave this room, be thankful for who you are.
Not for who you think you should be.
Not for who somebody else wants you to be.
For who you are.
Have a good day, Children of the Universe.
And I'll slowly move out of the room until I see you again tomorrow morning.






