Hunger: Is It Really Hunger?

One of the most useful things you can learn while trying to lose weight is how to answer one simple question:

Am I actually hungry?

That sounds obvious.

But think about how often people eat without ever asking themselves that question.

You walk into the kitchen and see something sitting on the counter.

You eat it.

You're watching television and grab a snack.

You eat it.

It's noon.

You think:

“It's lunchtime.”

So you eat.

Someone else is eating.

You eat with them.

You're bored.

You eat.

You're stressed.

You eat.

You start craving something sweet.

You eat.

But were you actually physically hungry?

That's what I want you to start noticing.

The material we've already developed specifically teaches you to distinguish genuine hunger from habit, boredom, stress, tiredness, cravings, and simply eating because food is available.

Physical Hunger Is Different From Wanting to Eat

I don't want you ignoring genuine hunger.

That's important.

My own approach to fasting isn't:

“I'm hungry, but I'm going to force myself not to eat because suffering means my diet is working.”

That's not what I'm teaching.

The principle I've already developed is much simpler:

If you're genuinely hungry, eat.

If you're not hungry, you don't necessarily need to eat.

My material specifically says not to ignore genuine hunger simply to prove that you can fast. Instead, learn to listen to your hunger signals.

The difficult part is learning to recognize when your desire to eat is coming from something else.

Boredom

Ask yourself:

“Would I be thinking about food right now if I were busy doing something I really cared about?”

Sometimes eating gives you something to do.

You're sitting around.

Nothing interesting is happening.

You walk into the kitchen.

You open the refrigerator.

You look around.

You close it.

Ten minutes later, you're back.

Why?

Did your body suddenly need another meal?

Or were you simply bored?

My source material specifically identifies boredom as one of the things that can be confused with hunger.

Start noticing the pattern.

You don't have to judge yourself for it.

Just recognize it.

Awareness gives you the opportunity to make a different decision.

Habit

Habit may be one of the biggest reasons we eat when we're not genuinely hungry.

Think about the eating schedule many people have learned:

Breakfast.

Snack.

Lunch.

Snack.

Dinner.

Dessert.

Maybe another snack.

But why?

Your material specifically challenges the idea that you should constantly be eating something throughout the day.

Maybe you've eaten breakfast at 8:00 every morning for twenty years.

So when 8:00 comes, your brain associates that time with food.

Maybe you always snack while watching a movie.

Maybe you eat something every time you get into the car.

Maybe you always have dessert after dinner.

At some point, eating can become something you do because:

“This is when I normally eat.”

rather than:

“My body is telling me I'm hungry.”

The material specifically describes eating because it's a certain time of day as something worth becoming aware of.

That's a major distinction.

Stress

Stress is another situation I want you learning to recognize.

You have a difficult day.

Something goes wrong.

You're frustrated.

You're overwhelmed.

And suddenly you want to eat.

The question becomes:

Am I trying to satisfy physical hunger—or am I reacting to how I feel?

Stress is specifically identified throughout the PayToCommit material as one of the situations that can lead someone toward eating when genuine hunger may not be the reason.

Again, don't turn this into judgment.

Turn it into information.

Instead of:

“I have no discipline.”

start thinking:

“Interesting. I notice that when I'm stressed, I start looking for food.”

Now you've learned something about yourself.

That's useful.

Thirst

Sometimes before immediately deciding you need food, try something extremely simple:

Drink some water.

When I experience a craving, one of the things I personally do is drink water with a little salt. In my experience, that can help with cravings. The material also notes that sensations interpreted as hunger or cravings can sometimes occur alongside thirst or changes in fluid and electrolyte balance.

So before immediately reaching for food:

Drink some water.

Give yourself a little time.

Then reassess.

Am I still genuinely hungry?

If you are, eat.

The point isn't to use water to force yourself through genuine hunger.

It's to stop automatically interpreting every desire to consume something as:

“I need food immediately.”

Social Eating

Food is also social.

Other people are eating.

Someone offers you something.

You're at a gathering.

Your family orders food.

Someone says:

“Come on, have some.”

And suddenly you're eating even though you weren't thinking about food ten minutes earlier.

Your existing material recognizes that the people around you can affect how easy or difficult it is to follow your plan. That's why it recommends telling family members what you're trying to accomplish and asking them not to repeatedly pressure you to eat foods you've decided to avoid.

Your family doesn't have to eat like you.

Your friends don't have to follow your diet.

But their eating doesn't automatically mean you need to eat.

Ask yourself:

“If nobody else were eating right now, would I still want this food?”

That's a useful question.

If the answer is no, maybe what you're experiencing isn't physical hunger at all.

It's social eating.

Food Cues

This one is incredibly important because your environment can constantly remind you about food.

You walk past a bag of snacks.

Now you're thinking about snacks.

You see food on television.

Now you're thinking about food.

You walk through the kitchen.

You see something on the counter.

Now you're thinking about eating it.

Your material puts this very simply: sometimes we're eating because the bag is sitting there, because a commercial reminded us, because we're watching television, driving, bored, stressed, or because eating has become associated with a certain time.

That's a food cue.

Something in your environment reminded you that food exists.

And that reminder can create a desire to eat.

But:

Wanting food because you saw food isn't automatically the same thing as physical hunger.

This is exactly why your environment matters so much.

Stop Testing Your Willpower All Day

Imagine your favorite trigger food is sitting six feet away from you all day.

Every time you see it, you have to decide:

“Am I going to eat it?”

Then twenty minutes later:

“What about now?”

Then an hour later:

“Maybe just one.”

Why make yourself fight that battle twenty times?

Your material says to make your environment work for you instead of against you. If foods you're trying to stop eating remain throughout your kitchen, you're forcing yourself to make the same decision repeatedly.

Sometimes discipline isn't:

“I'll keep my favorite junk food directly in front of me and prove how strong I am.”

Sometimes discipline is:

“I'm not buying it.”

Now you've removed the cue before the craving even starts.