Weight Loss without Worry

(This article is part of our How to Lose Weight Effectively Series)

     Physical hunger is a call by the body to fill a need for fuel. Physical hunger is satisfied by food. Head hunger is a desire by the mind to fill an emotional or perceived need. Head hunger is not satisfied by food. To lose weight effectively you must learn how to tell the two apart.

     Eating does have a calming effect on the body. This is why you sometimes turn to food when you are feeling stress or anxiety, yet this is not an effective stress management tool because the extra food causes weight gain which can results in more stress.

     Head hunger is often a matter of habit. If you eat at a certain time of day for instance, your desire to eat can become regular at that hour, but this habitual desire for food should not be confused with physical hunger.

     There are many reasons we turn to food other than physical hunger, a partial list is below:
           • instant gratification
           • eating as an enjoyable activity
           • boredom
           • eating because you feel you deserve it
           • eating to avoid work or conflict
           • anxiety
           • stress
           • smell of good food in the air
           • the food tastes too good to stop
           • fear of not having the food again
           • feeling you must clean your plate
           • eating just for something to do
           • eating to soothe disappointment
           • eating because food is available
           • eating because you are tired

     Chances are you can identify with some of these reasons. To reverse the trend of eating for reasons other than physical hunger you must first get back in touch with what physical hunger feels like. In this modern fast-paced society there are so many opportunities to eat that it is easy to lose your ability to distinguish true hunger from head hunger. But by using a very simple method you can easily reconnect with your true physical hunger feeling. To do this we will use a hunger scale.

0____1____2____3____4____5____6____7____8____9____10
Starving                                                                                                             Very Full

     Above I have created a scale that ranges from 0 to 10. “0″ means you feel absolutely starved and “10″ means you are stuffed and could not eat another bite. For the next two day use this hunger scale to rate your hunger.

     Here is how it works, before every eating occasion over then next two days note where your physical hunger falls on the scale. For instance, if you decide to start tomorrow morning you will prepare your breakfast but before you start eating you will take about 10 to 15 seconds to think about how hungry your stomach feels. At first you may have trouble identifying this, just give yourself a few moments until you have connected with how full or empty your stomach feels.

     By doing this you will gain a new awareness about your body that will enable you to make better choices. And, you can further your awareness by taking note of triggers that make you want to eat and the amount of food it takes to make you feel satisfied. After two days of recording your hunger you will be back in touch with what true physical hunger feels like. You can now use this newly found awareness to help you make better eating decisions and you will be well on your way to mastering how to lose weight effectively.

Other articles you may be interested in:
How to Lose Weight Effectively - Acceptance
How to Lose Weight Effectively - 80 / 20 Rule
How to Lose Weight Effectively - Build Your Awareness