Hunger is a double edged sword in this great land of ours. Too many people go hungry every day, and way too many people are overweight (2/3 of our population). I don’t know how to fix the problem of too little food, but I can help with the overeating side.
Hunger is defined as the physical need for food, while appetite is the psychological drive to eat. In a land of plenty, we must learn to recognize true hunger and to master our appetite. Many people find a hunger scale useful, in which you consciously and carefully rate your hunger from 1 to 10, with 1 being starvation, 5 being neutral, and 10 being stuffed to the gills. Once you understand how to gauge your true hunger, you can make better decisions about whether to eat or not.
Of course, to make this work, you have to master your appetite; that is, you have to overcome those often-unconscious triggers that lead you to want to eat even though you’re really not hungry. These triggers can be specific to individuals, but there are some common ones. These include boredom, stress, availability of food, time of day, aroma, watching TV, going to a movie, host expectations, and cultural norms.
What can you do to improve your control of the whole eating process? Here are some tips:
1) implement the hunger scale and eat only when you’re at stage 1, 2 or 3
2) try not to get to stage 1 or even 2; eat when you’re at 3 so you have more control
3) plan ahead to take healthy snacks to keep yourself at 3 or above
4) eat meals and snacks that feature complex, fiber-rich carbohydrates, protein, and then fat in that order of prominence to feel more full for a longer time
5) study your eating habits to identify the triggers that lead you to eat unconsciously
6) develop strategies for overcoming those triggers
7) order smaller size meals in restaurants, have doggie bags delivered with the meal, and divide the food immediately so you can’t overeat
8) drink water when you think you’re hungry and before meals to fill up your stomach
So, who’s hungry – truly – like a 1, 2 or 3? Who just thinks they might be hungry? Whoknows the difference? Which one are you?
This article originally appeared in the February 2010 issue of The Healthy Habituator, our montly e-newsletter. Interested in getting it delivered to your inbox every month? Submit your email address in the box in the left-hand column.