How do you know the difference between hunger and cravings?

I get so bored in the day at my day job as an accountant. I feel like I just snack and snack and snack. I typically have oatmeal in the morning, a peice of fruit for mid-morning snack, a lean cuisine for lunch, afternoon followed with another peice of fruit. I'm ALWAYS hungry during the day--or so I think I'm hungry. It is a huge struggle. When I'm at home--I'm not as hungry. So, how can I tell if I'm actually "hungry"? Is this a stupid question? lol

To me, it sounds like your choices of foods during the day might be keeping you hungry. I ate Lean Cuisine a few time until i realized they are loaded with sodium and not very filling at all.

Oatmeal is good, but with your fruit in the morning and afternoon maybe have a half serving of nuts (protein) with your fruit. Trade that processed Lean Cuisine out for something more substantial, maybe a Naan sandwich wrap with some chicken, lettuce, and tomato inside.

You sound hungry, not like your craving foods. To me, cravings are when I want a certain type of food. Random snacking, which I don't do anymore, involves neither hunger or cravings, it's out of pure boredom.

I keep bookmark for this site: http://selfdecisiontree.com/hungry. It helps me realize that most of the time I'm not hungry - just bored or stressed.

I typically have oatmeal in the morning, a peice of fruit for mid-morning snack, a lean cuisine for lunch, afternoon followed with another peice of fruit. I'm ALWAYS hungry during the day--or so I think I'm hungry. It is a huge struggle.

You're hungry.

I looked at a couple of weeks' worth of your diary. You're eating a high proportion of not very filling, quickly digested carbohydrates, and not enough fat or protein. You seem to be living on oatmeal, frozen "diet" entrees, apples, and "healthy" snack bars/cookies/pudding.

Try having an egg for breakfast some days instead of oatmeal, a small serving of nuts instead of Jello or popcorn, a piece of meat or fish that isn't breaded and didn't come out of a Weight Watchers or Healthy Choice box, an ounce of full-fat hard cheese instead of reduced-fat string cheese, replace one of your fruit servings with green veggies. Still keep your calories around the same amount, though. I'd bet you'll find yourself less hungry.

Michael Pollan (food guru in my eyes) says "if you aren't hungry enough to eat an apple (or other piece of fruit) you aren't hungry."

I love this!!

Eat more protein if you 're hungry often...Try a handful of almonds with fruit ...cravings is the mind..My stomach hurts when I'm really hungry or growls