Only eat when hungry?

I'm having a little bit of difficulty understanding the question, but I'll try my best to answer it. As to "how do you not eat when you are not hungry," I'm a little puzzled as to what to say. Just...don't? I mean, eating doesn't just happen; you have to decide on doing it, go get the food, prepare the food (depending on what it is), and then eat it. If you know you aren't hungry, then don't choose to do those things.

Now a lot of people have a problem determining when they're hungry in the first place. In that situation, logging your food can help a lot. If you can look at what you've already eaten and when, then it's easier to analyze whether you're really physically hungry or whether it's something else. Once you determine that, then you can come up with better solutions to what's actually bothering you. Food is a great solution to hunger, but a poor one for boredom or anxiety or really anything else. As to what exactly to do, that depends on the individual. Some people like knitting while others like playing video games. Do what makes you feel better.

I had a problem with eating when I wasn't hungry. Feeling "snacky" turned into mindlessly eating tons of calories. Here's how I've conquered it (for the most part ):

- I eat 6 times a day. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. I aim for 300ish calories for breakfast and lunch, 100-300 for snacks, saving the most calories for dinner (I have 1800 calories for the day). It doesn't have to be this way, it's just how I do it. I eat breakfast, then exercise then eat a small snack when I get back from the gym while I start to cook lunch. I eat less lunch and my snacks are usually fruit or almonds.
-Have some protein in every meal and every snack. Almonds and peanut butter are great for that for me!
-Drink water. Tons of it. I drink about 12 (8 oz) cups a day. I had to work up to that number, but if you spread it throughout the day you are full, hydrated and you don't get that "sloshy" feeling when you chug it.
-When I absolutely have to eat something, I reach for fruit or sunflower seeds that are still in the shell. Fruit is satisfying and sunflower seeds are salty (like chips) and take forever to eat, so they satisfy me.

A lot of times you may think you're hungry, but may actually be thirsty. It's a lot easier to not eat when you keep yourself busy. I've started spending more time at the gym and at the pool because it pulls me away from the house (and away from my cabinets!!). Good luck

I spend a lot of time in the backcountry. Hiking for miles and drinking water from streams that cross my path. It's wonderful. ANYWAY. I mention that because I've learned and also teach my students that one of the first signs of dehydration is hunger. I don't do the greatest job of drinking water when I'm not hiking, but I'm getting better. When I do drink instead of eating I can feel my body unshriveling.

Sometimes, however, plain water doesn't always do it for me. I also drink iced tea made from herbal teas, and lemonade, or lemon soda made from carbonated water, lemon juice and stevia.

Moral of the story: Drink.

I can't agree with the "only eat when you're hungry" thing, but from the opposite direction from snacking... My whole life, if I only ate when hungry (and often did just through not planning) I would end up eating once ever 2-3 days. Once I was married, my husband would often go to make himself food and have to ask me when I'd last eaten... only to find I was a couple days away from my last meal. He started the habit of reminding me to eat until I took it on myself to keep track.

So yeah, I don't think it's a good guideline at all. I'd rather suggest eating by the clock of some method.