Hunger Scale

oolou

Took this out of a book I read recently which focuses on mindful eating - a hunger scale which I've stuck to my fridge door. Number 3 and 4 is when it's time to eat. Number 6 and 7 is when it's time to stop eating. Easier said than done! But I've found it helpful for tackling daytime snacking.

1. Physically faint
2. Ravenous
3. Fairly hungry
4. Slightly hungry
5. Neutral
6. Pleasantly satisfied
7. Full
8. Stuffed
9. Bloated
10. Nauseous

I find I'm neutral for most of the day, especially if I don't break my fast until evening.

Macy9336

Interesting scale. I find I get nauseous between ravenous and faint. I dont get nauseous at all if I over eat...I get almost comatose like a sleepy Python snake that's swallowed a whole pig. Too, after faint, I go back to neutral ( know this from unintentional fasting).
I also find I don't eat when only slightly hungry because I often confuse thirst with hunger. So if I feel slightly hungry, I'll make myself a cup of herbal tea or grab some water. So for me, I eat when at 2 or 3 as opposed to 3 or 4.

toxikon

Very interesting how bodies are different.

In my case, I would eat at 2 and stop eating when I reach 4 - "slightly hungry". I find that my body needs a good hour or two after a meal to get to Neutral/Satisfied. If I stop eating at Slighty Hungry, I ensure that I don't go over my calorie goals.

It's a reason why I find intuitive eating so difficult. I need the calorie counts in front of my nose to tell me when to stop eating.

oolou

I hear what you're both saying and I think it's very true that we are all different and so experience hunger and satiety in different ways. I know that I can easily carry on eating past 'full' to 'stuffed', or can consider a second helping even if I'm 'full' - so I also have to rely on calorie counting and just plain stopping after I've finished my plate of weighed out food, rather than be mindful. It's helping me with snacking outside of meal times though. I'm starting to realise I'm in a neutral stance and talk myself out of the snack.

scarlett_k

Thank you for posting this - I have been trying to consider it whenever I want to eat something and it seems to be helping me stop snacking.

distinctlybeautiful

I did this for a bit and liked it. Here's the one I found useful because of the descriptions.

oolou

That's good to hear, scarlett_k!

DB - nice! I like it ^^

jseams1234

The problem with this is that most people mistake 3 and 4 for 6 and 7....

OhMsDiva

oolou wrote: »

Took this out of a book I read recently which focuses on mindful eating - a hunger scale which I've stuck to my fridge door. Number 3 and 4 is when it's time to eat. Number 6 and 7 is when it's time to stop eating. Easier said than done! But I've found it helpful for tackling daytime snacking.

1. Physically faint
2. Ravenous
3. Fairly hungry
4. Slightly hungry
5. Neutral
6. Pleasantly satisfied
7. Full
8. Stuffed
9. Bloated
10. Nauseous

I find I'm neutral for most of the day, especially if I don't break my fast until evening.

I feel slow sometimes when I read some of the information on here. I don't understand the chart. I mean I understand it. I never understood what bloated means. I know stuffed. I joke sometimes and say I feel nauseous after eating too much, but I do not think that I have actually felt that way. Maybe I need to be more analytical. Thank God I have pretty much figured out what works for me and I just stick to that otherwise I am sure I would be a hot mess trying to do something different every day.

oolou

Have you looked at the chart that DB posted a few posts up? It gives a fuller definition, so for example it has bloated as being so stuffed you're uncomfortable - I suppose like when you realise you are already full and no longer wanting to eat, but you continue anyway.

Be happy that you've never eaten so much that you've actually felt nauseous!