7 Questions to Discover if You Are Truly Hungry ...

One of the first questions you should ask yourself to discover if you are truly hungry is have you eaten recently? If you left the table less than a couple of hours ago, chances are what you are feeling is not true hunger. One way to test this out to see if you are truly hungry is to ask yourself what you would be willing to eat. If you only want treats, you probably aren’t hungry. If you would eat just about anything, it probably is true hunger.

A lot of times we eat out of boredom. I will admit being guilty of this at times. The best solution when you find yourself in this situation is to get busy. Get your mind off food. Chances are, once you get involved in a chore or activity, you won’t think about food anymore.

Cravings can be hard to resist. And you absolutely don’t have to resist them all of the time. It is okay to give in to what you are craving within moderation. But don’t allow your mind to trick you into eating a huge portion of something that isn’t so good for you and justifying it by telling yourself you are hungry. Call it what it is, indulge a bit and move on.

Stress can drive you to eat. Eating is a comfort that we all enjoy. But turning to food when you should find another way to comfort yourself is not a wise decision. It is a bad habit that needs to be broken. Call a friend or journal your feelings instead.

Oh, this one is so, so hard! I have had to fight my way through this one, too. Sometimes we just go grab a snack because we want to eat and it is there. We do it mindlessly. I conquered this by considering my kitchen closed between meals. You may not have to go to such drastic measures as I did but that trick worked for me.

Sometimes we eat because we are tired. When you are tired, you don’t make the same good choices that you would if you were fully rested. You are just moving on autopilot which is not always a good thing. Try to have a set time in the evenings that you don’t eat after and you will avoid this problem. Or only allow yourself a very light before-bedtime snack.

Do you actually feel hungry? True hunger is a physical feeling in your abdomen. It isn’t all about wanting to eat. Even when you feel physically hungry, you may not be. Try drinking a glass of water to see if that satisfies you. Sometimes you were just thirsty.

We can certainly trick ourselves into thinking we are hungry when there are other motives behind our eating. How do you deal with these situations? We can all help each other here.