Extreme Hunger And Fullness

JUST FOR TODAY:  Listen more intently to your hunger and fullness levels, and respond before you reach extremes.

Sometimes we might say or hear comments such as, "I'm starving!" or "I couldn't eat another bite."  What do these phrases really mean?  If you are "starving," on a scale of 0-10 (0=no hunger, 10=hungry to the extreme), how does that register?  What does a "10" really feel like?  If you say you're "starving," are you really at a "10"?  Or perhaps a "9" or "8"?  What's the difference?  And, most importantly, what do you need?  How can you best respond to your hunger at its different levels?   With regard to fullness, what does it imply that you "can't eat another bite," on a scale of 0-10 (0=no fullness, 10=full beyond measure)?  If you did eat another bite, what would that feel like?  At what level of hunger and fullness do you feel your best?  Do you need to eat when you feel like you reach a "7" rather than getting too hungry and reaching a "10"?  Do you need to put the rest of your meal aside if you feel like you reach a "7" rather than cleaning your plate and reaching a "10"?  Be an intuitive eater today by listening more closely to your hunger and fullness levels, and respond before you reach extremes.

©2010 by "Dr. Dorie" McCubbrey, M.S.Ed., Ph.D. – Eating Disorder & Obesity Treatment Specialist – Denver, Colorado