How to eat only when hungry?

What do other people use as an indicator of hunger? Do you think it is feasible to always have prepared food to avoid bad choices, but wait for a physical indication of hunger (stomach growling) before eating?
My hunger meter is broken I need to reset it! I feel like my alienation from hunger keeps me from knowing when I am satisfied.

I really feel that when you are first starting out you can't rely on your "rumbling tummy". Since it is as you said 'broken' from all the years of over/under eating. What happens if you try to eat only when you are hungry is either a) you over eat because that's what your used to, or b) you under eat because you try to fool yourself (and others) into thinking that you aren't hungry. If you do any of these behaviors you won't ever get back to 'normal'.

When you first start you need to PLAN to eat, how many meals, what food etc.. it's only after you do this properly for a while and you are eating the right number of calories and foods that you can start going back to listening a little bit to your body. You have to train yourself..eat SLOWLY - it really makes a difference to "feeling" full. Make sure you drink your water too because the feeling of thirst is also often confused with hunger. You became overweight by 'listening to your body' so thinking "oh, I'll just eat when I'm hungry" won't work until you re-teach your body the signals.

Some people subscribe to the "If you aren't hungry, don't eat" mantra but for me that makes no sense. Until your body is re-trained to 'feel' correctly, feelings are unreliable.

I wait till my tummy growls. However, once evening hits, it seems like a more urgent sort of hunger, and i end up indulging.

will power

When think I am hungry and it is NOT meal/snack time, I have found that I can chug a bottle of water ( I have to chug it) and put off my "hunger" pains until meal time. My former running coach claimed that a lot of times what we think is hunger is actually thirst, and from my experience this is true.

I rarely get stomach-grumbling hunger. My meals and snacks are pretty well timed to keep me steady throughout the day. But if I miss one, or I'm trying to save up calories for a treat, or my snack was something really sugary that doesn't stay with me, I can feel a definite loss of focus and concentration (and I don't just mean because I'm thinking about food). If I really go too long I start to get spots in my vision. It took me a while to figure it out because I didn't feel hungry, but if I have a little snack when that happens it goes away.

Other hunger signs for me are dizziness, bad mood, and for some reason my eye starts twitching. I can't remember the last time my tummy rumbled.

bump

I have been steadily maintaining an eating schdule. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, supper, bedtime snack (sometimes). I think my body has gotten used to that system, since it's rare I have hunger 'pangs'. The week before 'that monthly time' is a bit different, but mostly, the schedule works.

I eat based on known energy needs, not hunger. Never use hunger as a guide while assuming a deficit because your leptin levels naturally decline while in a caloric restrictive state.