What's the crime in being hungry?

As a former WW'er I had pounded into me the fact that we should ALWAYS eat before a party or going to a restaurant.  I understand the concept that you don't want to arrive anywhere famished, as you will make poor decisions, eat too fast, and ultimately overeat.  I get that.  However I was thinking back to a recent restaurant episode...  I was meeting someone after work for dinner at the Olive Garden.  Heaven forbid I walk in hungry (mind you, it was only 5PM and I had finished lunch at 1:30 and probably (although I can't remember now) had a snack in the car.  In the morning I had packed a thermos of soup to have just before going into the restaurant.  I actually parked in a different parking lot so I wouldn't be seen by my friend, and I consumed tepid soup that, despite being in a quality thermos, had leaked.  Okay - so what would have been the crime to have a bowl of soup at the restaurant before ordering (never mind that, anyway --  I had looked at the menu on line beforehand and had already decided what I was going to have)?  But because "don't arrive hungry" has so been hammered into my brain, I almost automatically did the soup thing without thinking. 

Isn't being a little hungry what appetizers, soups, and salads are for?  Of course, if we need to lose weight, it's more likely that's what bread and butter are for.  I get that.  I had gotten to the point where I wouldn't sit down to dinner in my own house if I was "starving."  And hence, would have a dinner before having dinner.  Plus, the anxiety of not wanting to overeat also led to eating before eating. 

I have noticed this madness subsiding a little bit since I've started my IE journey.  When I went to my mother's party Sunday (albeit I landed up sick because of what I ate) I didn't eat before going.  That was a biggie for me.  But mostly I noticed a shift when, last Friday, I didn't eat an entire meal before dinner.  I wasn't anxious about what I was going to choose to eat, nor the quantity.  I also wasn't anxious about weighing, measuring, and counting Points.  I wasn't worried about not weighing, measuring, and counting Points and thus "going over."  This is what I referred to a couple of posts ago about being calmer.  I think my anxiety about overeating contributed my overeating.

So it's funny to find, still new into my journey, that lessening this strangle-hold on anxiety about staying on a diet (and eating so I won't be hungry) is translating into eating less, overall.  I think this whole thing is what played into my gaining weight the more I needed to lose it.  (Which is why I said that the wedding really did serve as a catalyst for bringing the madness to a head.)

Also - what's this with eating more now so we won't be hungry later?  So what if I'm hungry later?  Do I live on the planet Krypton where I can't get something to eat?  Not only that - I have a fridge right in my office, am never far from home, and am not disabled from carrying a thermal bag with an icepack if I want to carry some fruit with me during these hot days.  I know it's not always an opportune time to eat, but what's the crime with being a little hungry?

Miriam