Eating when you are hungry?

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  • I think I'm in-between. I'm somewhat back on track in terms of learning to recognize real hunger (usually it involves my stomach grumbling loudly in front of 30 pupils ), but there are still moments when it's really mouth- or mind-hunger, and nothing else.

    What I try to do in such cases is to wonder 1) do I want to eat something specific, and 2) how bad do I want it, and which quality of food I want.
    Usually, if the answer to 1) is "I want to eat [insert random junk food], it means it's mind-hunger and not real hunger. (Exception for fruit: if I'm craving fruit, especially juicy fruit; once out of twice it means I'm actually thirsty, and so I'll drink water instead).
    And 2) means I've become extremely picky: if I really crave a croissant, I'll eat it... but it has to be a good, tasty one, not some industrial bakery crap. (So in the end, I spent half an hour lookign for something tasty, before going back home empty-handed because nothing was appealing enough.)

    But anyway, it took years of changing my lifestyle and eating habits to get to this point. I can only hope that some day, all the mind-hunger will be gone, or close enough to it.

    As for meals, I also tend to eat on the clock, although it's mostly because it's imposed by lunch breaks at work. On week ends for instance, I can get up at 7 and not have breakfast until 10, just because I don't feel hungry yet, and don't have to make sure I'm filled before heading to work.
  • I have days when I'm just not feeling hungry and have to remind myself to eat and then days when I constantly feel hungry, no matter how much I eat. It's weird, I think I get more hungry when I'm stressed out, but when I'm in a good place emotionally, food just skips my mind.