Healthy eating: Recognizing your hunger signals
Why is it important to understand hunger signals?
Babies follow their hunger signals naturally. When their bodies tell them they're hungry, they let us know by crying or fussing. And they stop eating when they're full enough to be satisfied.
Distractions get in our way
As we grow up, lots of distractions lead us away from this natural way of eating:
- For most of us, food is everywhere—in grocery stores, corner markets, vending machines, and the office break room, to name just a few. It can be hard to pay attention to your hunger signals as you go about your day.
- You may skip breakfast because you'd rather sleep in. So when lunchtime rolls around, you're extra hungry and eat more than you should.
- You may watch TV, read, or use the computer while you eat. This can distract you so that you stop paying attention to what or how much you're eating or whether you're full enough to stop eating.
- You may often eat so fast that you barely even taste your food or pay attention to how full you really are.
- Stress or other emotions cause many of us to reach for food—not because we're hungry, but because food comforts us or helps us celebrate.
- Most of us are influenced by larger serving sizes. Research shows that when people are given larger portions, they eat more.
All these distractions can cause you to ignore your body's signals. You stop paying attention to how hungry you are or how full you are. Over time, you lose the skill of listening to and obeying your body's signals.
Learning to get back in touch with your hunger signals can be one of your best tools for getting to a healthy weight and staying there. Your hunger and fullness signals are still there. You just have to learn how to listen to them again.
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| Author: | Cynthia Tank | Last Updated: May 14, 2008 |
| Medical Review: | Martin Gabica, MD - Family Medicine Ruth Schneider, MPH, RD - Diet and Nutrition Rhonda O'Brien, MS, RD, CDE - Diabetes Educator | |
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