Non-Hungry Eating: How to Take Control

If you eat when you aren't hungry you may be finding it difficult to lose weight. Here are some tips to help you fight the urge to eat when you aren't hungry, a habit which we call 'non-hungry eating':

What are Your Eating Cues?

When you understand why you eat when you aren't hungry you can take positive steps to prevent it from happening again. Do you eat when you are feeling down or lonely? When you are engaging in certain habits or activities? Because the weather is gloomy? Or simply because food is put in front of you?

Next time you catch yourself heading to the pantry when you aren't hungry, think about your motivations for wanting to eat. Then you can work toward re-gaining control of how you respond to your cues. Try removing the cue (e.g. take the packet of chips away from the TV room if you eat when you watch TV). Or you can actively respond to the cue in a different way (e.g. call a friend instead of heading to the kitchen when you are bored). 

Don't be disheartened if you don't succeed in changing your habits straight away. Change is a process that takes time, dedication and the courage to persevere - even when you don't succeed.

Measure Your Hunger

Be aware of when you are engaging in hungry eating because hunger is an appropriate cue to eat. To ascertain your level of hunger, try using the following scale to rate your hunger before eating, then five minutes after you have started eating and then again when you have finished your meal:

Rating / Physical Sensation

1 Starvation, physical pain

2 Definite physical symptoms: headache, low energy, light headed feeling, empty stomach

3 Beginning of physical signs of hunger

4 Could eat if suggestion was made

5 Neutral

6 Satisfied

7 Feel food in stomach

8 Stomach protrudes, beginning of mood alteration

9 Bloated, definite mood alteration

10 Definitely full: physical pain and numbness

People who are successful at weight loss generally wait until they are at a rating of 2 or 3 before they eat, and then they only eat to a rating of 6.

Remember that you are in control of how you respond to your eating cues. And when you control how you respond to your eating cues, you can start to control your weight.

Reference: Kausman, R. 1998. If Not Dieting, Then What? Allen & Unwin

Fast Weight Loss: Why it Doesn't Work

Fasting diets generate fast but false results. Here's why:

You lose fluid, not fat And any fluid lost will return as soon as the fast is completed, in other words you'll re-gain any weight that you lost.

Lowered metabolism During fasting your metabolism slows by up to 40% to prepare for starvation, so when you eat normally again your body burns fewer calories and you gain weight.

Hunger and lethargy Fasting leads to hunger and cravings - not what you need when you are trying to lose weight! And when you drastically cut your calorie intake you will feel weak, making it even more difficult to maintain your resolve to lose weight.

Yo yo dieting Fasting often leads to cycles of weight loss and weight gain called 'yo yo' dieting. 95% of people who go on fast weight loss diets regain any weight lost - plus more - within two years (1).

Abstinence leads to binging When your food intake is restricted you experience physical and emotional deprivation. This compels you to eat, which commonly leads to overeating or binging. As a result, you are likely to feel sensations of guilt and failure. This often becomes a cycle which is difficult to break and has devastating effects on your self esteem (1).

Nutritional deficiencies Prolonged fasting may lead to nutritional deficiencies. For example, if you don't consume enough calcium you may be at risk of osteoporosis, or if you don't consume enough fibre you may experience constipation.

Poor Health Fast weight loss is bad for your health because it:
- Increases your risk of medical complications such as gallstones, gout and constipation (2)
- Lowers your immunity
- Leaves you deficient in important vitamins and minerals.

Impracticalities Fast weight loss involves restricting food intake to the point where you are constantly hungry and lack the nutrients you need to maintain physical health and energy levels. This situation can't be sustained in the long term. Plus fasting makes it difficult to carry out normal social interactions - people who are dieting often avoid social situations and family mealtimes, leading to feelings of isolation and loneliness.

Some people claim that fasting can help rid your body of 'toxins' (i.e. the food you eat). 'Toxins' occur naturally in your body, and your body has fantastic systems to cleanse itself (your kidneys and liver).

Healthy Weight Loss

A sensible weight loss goal is 0.5 - 1kg per week, and the best way to achieve this is to make healthy changes to your eating and exercise habits. These changes should always be sustainable - that way you will lose weight and keep it off. 

References:
1. Why Diets Don't Work, Eating Disorders Foundation of Victoria
2. Rapid Weight Loss Linked to Gallstones, Flinders Medical Centre

Meal Timing for Weight Loss

If you are trying to lose weight (or maintain a healthy weight) you need to eat approximately every 3 hours and consume five small meals a day. If you consume less than five small meals a day your metabolism will slow making it difficult for you to lose weight. Recommend eating at the following times:

• Breakfast: 6.00am - 8.00am
• Morning Tea: 10.00am - 11.00am
• Lunch: 12.00pm - 2.00pm
• Afternoon Tea: 3.00pm - 5.00pm
• Dinner: 6.00pm - 8.00pm (try and finish your last meal before 8.00pm).

If you leave more than three hours between your meals you may feel hungry - and it's very difficult to maintain your resolve to lose weight when you feel hungry all the time! Plus when you know when your next meal is, you are less likely to turn to convenience foods. 

Healthy Meals

A healthy meal or snack is small in portion size but fills you up for at least 2-3 hours. So next time you are tempted to grab fast food on the run or reach for the biscuit jar at work, ask yourself, "Is there a better choice I could make to help me get through the day?". Then try the following:

- If your meal or snack won't fill you up for at least two hours, consider more healthy options. Low fat, low GI snacks with protein will help you feel full for longer: try low fat yoghurt, fruit, light cheese and wholegrain crackers.

- If it's less than three hours before your last meal, think about your real motivation for eating. Ask yourself questions such as, "Am I really hungry?" and "How will I feel afterwards?". You may find that you are engaging in non hungry eating.

- If you have a tendency to eat out of habit, i.e. you tend to snack at certain places or times of the day, think of ways to break these habits. For example, don't keep a stash of chocolate in your top drawer at work.

- Don't attach emotions to food. If you eat when you are stressed or bored; think about alternate, non food-related ways to improve your mood such as going for a brief walk.

- Before you eat, sit down and place your food on a plate: that way you are more likely to acknowledge the calories.

Eating the right foods at the right time can make a huge impact on your weight loss efforts. 

Habitual Eating: How to Break the Cycle

Here are some tips to help you outsmart habitual eating and take control of your weight:

Eat Slowly

People who eat quickly are twice as likely to be overweight than those who eat more sensibly. And people who eat quickly and eat too much are three times as likely to be overweight than those who eat more sensibly (1). Here's how to eat in a more controlled manner:

- Allocate 20 minutes for main meals and 10 minutes for snacks
- Put a jug of water on the table and sip water throughout your meal
- Put your cutlery down between mouthfuls
- Cut your food into small bite sized pieces and eat one piece at a time
- Increase the number of times you chew your food before swallowing
- Pause in the middle of meals or between courses
- Talk during mealtimes: people who do so are often still eating after their companions have finished.

By eating slowly, you give your taste buds time to register the flavours in your food. Plus you experience a greater sense of control as you have more time to decide how much food you will eat.

Portion Your Food

Most people use visual cues to tell them when to stop eating, so when a big portion is placed in front of them they eat the whole lot (2). Some tips for limiting your portion sizes are:

- Serve yourself in medium sized portions from the stove (if your serve sizes are too small you will return for second helpings) and avoid placing dishes on the table.
- Eat your food from a plate to increase your awareness of how much you are eating: don't eat out of bags or containers.
- Remove any leftovers as soon as possible after eating. Put them in the fridge for the next day, throw them away or if you are entertaining, give them to guests to take home. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you are wasting food by throwing it away: unlike excess food in the bin, excess food in your stomach can lead to weight gain and poor health!
- If your plates are large, don't feel the need to fill them with food.
- Leave a small portion of food on your plate at the end of every meal. Don't feel that you have to 'clean your plate': many people are conditioned to do this from an early age but it's not healthy.
- If you are eating out, don't feel that you need to eat the entire dish: take the leftovers home.

Take Control of Emotional Eating

Emotions can become powerful cues to eat inappropriately. People use food to reduce frustration, control boredom, or to comfort themselves when they are feeling lonely, anxious, angry or depressed. If you eat as a means of coping with emotions, you need to find non food-related ways to deal with your emotions such as going for a walk, taking a bath or calling a friend.

It's also useful to learn to attune to your body and distinguish between physical hunger (where your stomach is rumbling and you physically need to eat) and psychological hunger (where cues such as emotions, settings, social occasions and sights and smells of food encourage you to eat). Physical hunger is a useful and appropriate cue to eat - psychological hunger is not.

Practice Mindful Eating

Take the time to sit down and savour the flavours of your food rather than eating on the run:

- Limit your eating to a specific room such as the dining room or kitchen. Eating in other rooms such as the bedroom or living room can trigger a desire to eat when you are in these rooms: even when you aren't hungry.
- Break the link between eating and activities such as talking on the phone or watching a movie.

- Clear you mind of distractions before you eat so you can register an enjoyment of your food and acknowledge the calories.
- Sit down and enjoy your meal so your brain has time to register that your stomach is full.

Breaking ingrained habits can be tough, but if you give yourself time to practice and persevere when you make mistakes, you will regain control of your eating habits.

References:
1. Maruyama K, et al. 2008, 'The joint impact of self reported behaviours of eating quickly and eating until full on overweight: cross sectional survey' British Medical Journal 337:a2002.
2. Dr Elizabeth Denney-Wilson, Research Fellow at the University of NSW quoted by ABC News in Science

Hunger Level Scale – Is It Hunger or Habit?

It is important that you learn to distinguish between physical hunger and the psychological inclination to eat. Physical hunger is generally accompanied by symptoms such as abdominal pain or discomfort, dizziness, light headedness, headaches or a feeling of emptiness in your stomach. Your body needs nutrition every 3-4 hours, hence some of these symptoms should occur 3-4 hours after your last meal. Physical hunger is a useful and appropriate eating cue.

Psychological inclination to eat is when you are influenced to eat or drink in the absence of physical hunger. It can stem from cues such as social situations, your surrounding environment or from within you. An example of psychological inclination to eat is craving chocolate because you were given a box and you know that it is in the pantry. Your body does not actually need the specific nutrients in chocolate – it cannot tell you what type of nutrition it needs; it can only exhibit general physical symptoms when it needs nutrients. This craving is purely psychological.

It is important that you learn to distinguish between physical hunger and the psychological inclination to eat. The following scale can help you determine your level of physiological hunger, start and stop eating at an appropriate time and differentiate between physiological hunger and psychological inclination to eat:

Using the Scale

The best way to use the scale is to follow three steps:

1. Before eating, rate your level of hunger using the scale
2. Five minutes after you have started eating, rate your level of hunger again
3. Rate your hunger when you have finished eating.

Try using this scale the next time you eat a meal. People who are successful at weight loss generally wait until they are at a rating of 2 or 3 before they eat, and then they only eat to a rating of 6.