When you are eating, how do you know that you are responding to physical hunger and not just a craving? Take the test below.
- Even after a large meal, I still want dessert. True or False
- I have a gnawing feeling in my stomach. True or False
- When someone mentions a food I love, I feel like eating. True or False
- I feel light-headed after not eating for hours. True or False
- When I drive by a fast-food restaurant, I want to eat. True or False
- There is a particular time every day when I feel hungry. True or False
The first, third and fifth situations are cravings: be aware! The second and fourth situations are real hunger. The sixth situation could be either.
Since distinguishing between these two are so crucial to your success, you have to start identifying cravings by paying careful attention to when you want to eat. Does something stimulate the urge besides actual hunger? Does someone offer food? Do you have certain feelings that food can help satisfy?
Keeping note of cravings can be a reminder of situations where food may be hard to resist.
Five things to remember when you are trying to distinguish between hunger and cravings:
- It’s okay to ignore a craving, but it is quite unhealthy to not eat regularly when you feel hungry. On slim.in, fruits, vegetables (except potatoes) and low-fat milk are zero slims. You can have satisfying portions of these over and above your slims allowance.
- When you are hungry, you will eat whatever fills your stomach. When you get a craving it is often for a very specific type of food, such as an ice-cream.
- Cravings go away in 15-30 minutes, but hunger stays and grows.
- Remember, you can be really hungry as well as be experiencing a craving at the same time! Stay in control by eating regular meals and carrying healthy snacking options so that you don’t end up eating unhealthy foods when you are hungry.
- Cravings may be more commonly felt if you exercise rarely or never, or are not confident of including regular exercise in your daily schedule.