I find I have a hard time remembering what true hunger feels like and tend to eat whenever. True hunger is felt in my stomach, that empty feeling. It’s not mouth hunger or feeling it in the back of your throat (that’s probably thirst), it’s emptiness in my stomach. It can be hard to remember so today I did an experiment to remind myself. I ate 2 eggs, some tomatoes and half a sweet potato for breakfast and instead of eating my snack before lunchtime I’m waiting until I feel true hunger. Not boredom or a craving because I remembered we have grapes, true hunger.
If it feels right for you I encourage you to do this experiment of waiting for true hunger to come before eating one day this week. When you’re wanting something before lunch ask yourself where you feel the sensation and identify whether it’s true hunger before eating your next meal.
Differentiate Between Hunger, Desire and Cravings
True Hunger = you’ve fasted for several hours and your stomach is empty.
A Desire to Eat = Not being particularly hungry but eating because there is food around. For instance, at Thanksgiving you ate a big meal yet you still want to have seconds or dessert.
Craving = A physiological and emotionally intense urge to eat. You may feel tension and an unpleasant yearning sensation in your mouth, throat, or body.
If it has been between 20 minutes and 3 hours since you’ve eaten a reasonable-sized meal, any urge to eat is probably due to a desire to eat, not to hunger.
Source: Decatur – Food
