Listen to your body: how to develop hunger and fullness cues
In the series of tips for Intuitive Eating, Step 1 is to pay attention to hunger and fullness cues. Eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re comfortably full. Don’t feel pressured to finish everything on your plate if you’re satisfied.
Learning to Pause is Key to Hunger & Fullness Cues.
Remembering to pause when eating can be challenging, but it's crucial to feeling hunger & fullness cues. Here are some strategies to test out to help you incorporate pauses in everyday life that will translate to meal time. Not all of them will work for you, but my hope is you find one that does!
Set Reminders:
Use alarms or notifications on your phone or smartwatch to remind yourself to pause periodically. Set these reminders at intervals throughout the day to prompt you to take a moment to check in with yourself, especially before or during meal times.
Create Visual Cues:
Place sticky notes or visual reminders in prominent places like your workspace or kitchen. Seeing these reminders can prompt you to take a pause and assess how you're feeling.
Mindfulness Techniques:
Practice mindfulness or breathing exercises regularly. The more you practice, the easier it becomes to implement these techniques during stressful moments. Simple techniques like deep breathing or grounding exercises can help you pause and refocus.
Create a Routine:
Incorporate pauses into your daily routine. For example, take a short break before or after specific activities (like eating or working) to check in with yourself. Over time, it becomes a habit.
Associate Pauses with Actions:
Link pauses to specific actions or cues. For instance, each time you take a sip of water, use that as a prompt to pause, take a breath, and check in with your emotions and physical sensations.
Practice Self-Compassion:
If you forget to pause or find it challenging initially, be kind to yourself. Developing a habit takes time and patience. Acknowledge your efforts and gently guide yourself back to the practice.
By incorporating these strategies into your daily life, you can gradually train yourself to remember to pause, even in moments of stress or anxiety, allowing you to better manage your emotions and reactions.
Hunger Cues
Hunger cues can manifest in various ways, both physically and emotionally. Here are five common ways hunger cues can show up in our bodies:
Stomach Sensations:
Physical sensations in the stomach are one of the most common signs of hunger. This can range from mild discomfort or rumbling to more pronounced sensations like gnawing or emptiness. These feelings typically occur when the stomach is empty and are a clear indicator of the body needing nourishment.
Drop in Energy Levels:
Feeling tired, fatigued, or lacking energy can be a sign of hunger. When your body needs fuel, it might signal this through a decrease in energy levels, making you feel lethargic or less focused.
Irritability or Mood Changes:
Hunger can affect mood and emotions. Irritability, mood swings, or feeling easily agitated are common emotional responses to hunger. When the body needs food, it can impact neurotransmitters and hormones, affecting mood regulation.
Difficulty Concentrating:
Hunger can affect cognitive function. Difficulty concentrating, experiencing brain fog, or feeling easily distracted might be signs that your body needs nourishment. Your brain requires glucose from food for optimal functioning, so when this supply runs low, it can affect mental clarity.
Cravings:
Specific cravings, especially for carbohydrates or high-energy foods, can indicate hunger. When the body is low on energy, it may send signals for quick sources of fuel, leading to cravings for certain types of food.
Understanding these cues and learning to recognize them can help you respond to your body’s needs more effectively, ensuring you eat when genuinely hungry rather than in response to other triggers like emotions or external cues.
Fullness Cues
Three effective ways to tune into your body's fullness cues:
Learn to use the Hunger-Fullness Scale:
Rate your hunger and fullness on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being extremely hungry and 10 being uncomfortably full. Aim to start eating when you’re at a comfortable level of hunger (around 3 or 4) and stop when you reach a comfortable level of fullness (around 6 or 7). Checking in with this scale periodically during your meal can help you become more aware of your body’s signals.
Pause During Eating:
Take breaks while eating to assess how you feel. Put your fork down, take a few deep breaths, and check in with your body. Are you still hungry? How does your stomach feel? Pausing can prevent mindless eating and give you a chance to determine if you’ve had enough or if you want more food.
Eat Mindfully:
Slow down and pay attention to your eating experience. Engage all your senses while eating. Notice the colors, textures, smells, and tastes of your food. Chew slowly and put your utensils down between bites. This allows your body time to register fullness and gives you a chance to enjoy your meal fully.
These practices can help you become more attuned to your body's cues of hunger and fullness, leading to a more balanced and satisfying eating experience.
Remember, intuitive eating is about finding balance, trusting your body, and nurturing a positive relationship with food. It's a journey, and the holidays offer a great opportunity to practice and reinforce these principles.
We are founded on the belief that in everything we do, we are all craving happiness and joy, and feeling great in your body is the best way to achieve it.
NOTE: the information provided on the site is for educational purposes only, and does not substitute for professional medical advice