Hungry? Stuffed? How Do You Know?

Hungry? Stuffed? How Do You Know?

by Jackie Foskett, CH

A common challenge I hear from clients entering my Weight Release program is about overeating, or eating when not really hungry. Besides for the emotions that may be driving the unwanted behavior, and using hypnotherapy to assist in getting to the source and making the appropriate changes, you can use a very simple method to begin to know where you are on the hunger verses stuffed scale !

Imagine a Gauge
This technique requires you to simply STOP and tune in to your body. Imagine that there is a gauge in your mind with the numbers 1-5. This gauge can be round, straight or any other shape you might create. 1 means very hungry, those gnawing feelings in your belly, 5 is full, no room for anymore food at all. It is almost uncomfortable. Beyond 5 is the Thanksgiving meal where you can’t even move. Don’t go there!!

Now just ask your body what number your gauge is at. I know this may seem strange, but it can be as simple as saying to yourself, “what number is my gauge at?” or “how hungry am I?” and just go with the first number that comes up. It’s your inner knowingness that you are accessing. I know this is an area where most of us are a bit rusty. We’re not accustomed to trusting our instincts, intuition or our inner voice. But I encourage you to give it a try and with practice, it actually gets easier and you’ll feel more connected to your body and its needs, as opposed to feeling unconscious and disconnected from your behavior around food and eating.

If it’s at 3 for example, and you’re thinking of having a second helping, perhaps you might want to stop eating at this point, or just take one or two more bitefuls, then re-evaluate where your hunger-satisfied gauge is at.
Use this gauge as soon as you begin to think about eating, as well. Are you really hungry, at a 1 or 2 or are you at a 4 and eating out of boredom or due to some other emotion? Test it out. If nothing else, you will become aware of how you might be using food to compensate for other needs. Tune in so you don’t tune out!