 Do you ever see a giant billboard ad for food and suddenly think "now I need to get that"? Advertising does not determine hunger. It can feed into an obsessive record player in the mind. Just remember that the advertisers are trying to tap into this mechanism. But don't let them! I want to talk a bit about the hunger scale today. First of all, when is the last time you paid attention to your hunger and fullness signals? A lot of times we eat by the clock, eat because it's there, sometimes even forget that we are eating! Attached you will find a link to a hunger scale. Let's start to get in touch with our hunger and fullness. You may want to track your hunger/fullness in a notebook. In order to do this exercise, you need to slow down, listen to your body, determine if you are hungry. Eat slow, chew every bite, enjoy the food. When you are almost done, try and determine what number of the hunger/fullness scale you are on. Ideally, you want to be around a 6 or 7- just satisfied. Not uncomfortably full. Just remember that it takes about 10-20 minutes for your stomach to fill up after eating. This may take practice. The wonderful thing is that it is you, listening to your real hunger/fullness signals once you get used to it! Don't let the ads determine your hunger or what you want. The power of suggestion is strong. Try to distract yourself, think of something else. You will need to separate these thoughts from a true craving, which is different. Many times when you see the ad, do something else, and you will forget about it. Listen to you! |
