Stomach Hunger vs. Emotional Hunger
Continued from Cut 100 Calories a Day, Lose 10 Pounds. Learn to distinguish between stomach hunger and emotional hunger.
“Humans are born with the ability to regulate their food intake,” says Judith Matz, director of the Chicago Center for Overcoming Overeating, “but all the times you’ve yo-yo dieted, you’ve gotten out of touch with your natural cues of hunger and fullness.”
Each time you reach for food, ask yourself whether you’re actually hungry or whether you’re eating because you’re bored, sad or anxious. Rate your hunger on a scale from one (stuffed) to 10 (starving), and aim to eat when you’re around a six or seven – somewhat hungry to hungry.
“If you wait until you’re very hungry or starving, you put yourself at risk for overeating,” Matz says. Next, identify what your body craves, whether it’s something hot, cold, mushy, crunchy, spicy, salty, sweet, high in protein or high in carbs.
Once you’ve made a good match and started eating, focus on signals of fullness: Are you satisfied or uncomfortably full? “Think about the moment when you feel satisfaction as the point to stop eating,” Matz says. “Eating past fullness will become less tolerable over time.”
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