The Hunger Scale
If you have lost touch with how physical hunger and fullness actually feel then this Hunger Scale can help you tune back in to your body and help you decide whether your desire to eat comes from real hunger or other reasons. Use this scale and diary to describe your level of hunger and recognise the best times to start and stop eating during your day.
Ask yourself “am I really physically hungry?”
Use the Hunger Level Scale below to determine your level of hunger. Refer also to the table below that describes what physical hunger typically feels like.
Rate your hunger before you eat
If your hunger is a ‘3’ on the scale then start eating. If you think you are on the scale of ‘4’ wait half an hour and assess again. Stop eating when you reach ‘6’.
Think about any other reasons you may want to eat
If you rate yourself 6 or above on the hunger scale, think about other reasons that may be triggering you to eat. These could be:
Boredom
Habit
Places/Situations
People
Emotions
Plan and take control
If you suspect that your hunger is due to any psychological factors, instead of eating, try doing something else. Distract yourself with other activities such as walking, chatting to a friend, exercising, or meditating, which are just a few examples.
Hunger Scale Tips
Eat regularly throughout the day
Remember to eat regular meals in order to avoid reaching ‘1’ or ‘2’ on the scale. This tends to happen if you ignore your hunger signals. It can also happen at busy points during the day where you skip your meals. At the scale of ‘1’ or ‘2’ you can experience a loss of control, over eat, make poor food choices, and easily reach a ‘7’ or more on the scale.
Here are a few tips to follow if you find yourself at scale ‘1’ or ‘2’:
Keep hydrated
Remember to keep fluid levels up so that you can recognise and feel real hunger when it is not confused with thirst.
Personalise the scale
Your own experiences may differ from this and from those described on the hunger scale, so you could always experiment with developing your own scale in your own words to measure how it is in a way that makes sense for you.
Use the Hunger Awareness Diary
Use the diary attached below to make a note of thoughts or feelings linked to your eating and record how hungry you are before, during and after eating. Reflecting on these can be a powerful and effective way to find out more about what influences your own particular eating habits.
The Hunger Level Scale
Physical Hunger vs Psychological Hunger
The Hunger Level Diary
Final Thoughts
The Hunger Scale teaches you to listen to your body. Here are some ideas on how to become more mindful around meal times, which in turn will help you to know when to start and stop eating. With practice you will be able to manage your hunger, feel more in control of your eating habits, and enjoy your meals mindfully.
Before you eat
Concentrate your attention on your stomach and give yourself a number on the Hunger Scale. You should naturally feel hunger (3 on the scale) around every 3-5 hours after your last meal. If your hunger is not coming to your stomach area, you are probably feeling hunger due to an emotional state or out of habit, so try to find an alternative way to comfort yourself rather than eating.
During a meal
Eat slowly and mindfully to allow yourself to feel how full you are getting. Listen for the body when it tells you that you are no longer hungry. Look out for the signals telling you that you’re comfortably full but try not to reach the point of feeling stuffed. Stop when you’re halfway through your meal to check your fullness, if you are still feeling hunger, then continue eating another half of your meal. Stop again and reassess. This method is a good way to make sure you don’t overeat.
Finishing a meal
Stop eating when you are around ‘5 ‘or ‘6’ on the scale. Stopping at a higher number or convincing yourself that you need to leave a completely clean plate means you have probably taken in more food than your body needs.