This is the life of a pitta

I am a Pitta. Which means I am passionate in whatever I do, I am a very hard worker, and a good delegator. It also means if I am out of balance I can get very mean. Many things can put a pitta out of balance. However being hungry is the number one thing to put a pitta out of balance. I always say ‘if you don’t feed a pitta right away  you are going to become their next meal’. Now that I know, being hungry makes me crazy, I try not to go there, awareness is half the battle. If I know I am going to get food in the next hour I can hold myself at bay. If I am at home, there is no problem. I eat all my meals at the same time every day. It’s when I am on vacation and eating at weird times, or out to dinner with friends who want to eat after 5:00 PM that’s the challenge.

If I let myself get too hungry I will be angry with everyone in my path. Sometimes I don’t even realize that’s what why I am angry  until my husband says ‘you're just hungry’. Then again the awareness will bring me back to center. When I finally do get food I am like a wild dog until I am completely full. About a half hour later (when my brain catches up with my stomach) I realize I ate too much. This is why pittas find it hard to lose weight, because they do wait too long to eat, and then they can’t stop themselves once they start.

I really try not to get that hungry. The Ayurveda rule for eating is to fill one third of your stomach with food, one third with liquid, and  leave one third for God. Also Ayurveda encourages us to pay close attention to the way you feel as you eat. Asking yourself how the food makes you feel, is the food still as good as it was when you started, if not you are probably full, and if you are full you should stop now, not after you clean your plate.

The trick to staying balanced for me is this. I watch the clock. a pitta does not realize they are hungry until it is way too late, and most of the time not even then. I eat before I get hungry, that way I don’t eat too much, and I don’t get crazy,  remember the wild dog? I do not snack. I must eat before or at 5 PM eat being the key word. If I snack it only makes it worse. If we are going out to a late dinner, I have a small meal (very small), then I’m good for a for a couple hours. Then when I do eat I won’t want to eat everything in sight.

I never skip a meal, except on fast Sunday, you can imagine how hard that is for me. I’m OK as long as I stay out of the kitchen. And when the fast is over, I can not put one thing in my mouth until I am ready to eat, really eat, other wise I can clean out the whole kitchen just waiting for dinner. This might sound crazy to some of you, but this is the life of a pitta, if you are a pitta you totally get it, if you are not a pitta have compassion for us, or prepare to be our next meal..

Nancy Adams Certified Thai Yoga Therapist

and Ayurveda Consultant

These are my own thoughts. I sometimes take writings from others to support my own ideas.