The Hunger Scale

Ah, a new year and new opportunities. Lots of new opportunities.

As much as I wanted to succeed with my previous behavior goal – leaving a couple bites of food on my plate or eating smaller portions – I continue to struggle with it.

I could get into the reasoning for it, but that would be boring. Instead, I’ll adapt it so that I can take different steps to ultimately reach the same goal, which is to be in more control of what I eat and how much – basically, eat more healthfully.

To do that, my new baby step is to write down my hunger scale number every time I eat something; one being incredibly hungry and ten being uncomfortably full.

Here are the goals with this:

• Eat only when my hunger level hits a three or four.
• Stop eating at about a six.
• Record and reflect on the times and situations in which I eat beyond a seven.
• Re-evaluate after a week to determine what scenarios are my weakest points that need the most attention.

By breaking my eating habits down in this way, I’m being more aware of my eating habits, making improvements, and identifying potential problem areas for more focus.

Awareness is a huge first step to improving health and wellness behaviors, which is why food and exercise trackers are such a big deal.

But let’s face it, it can be tough to track everything all the time. (It works, though. When I have the discipline for it, that’s when I’m most successful.)

The hunger scale is a different, less time-consuming way to track hunger and eating habits. Considering my struggles so far, this seems like it could be a better place to start and work toward improvement.

Cheers to a new year and all your goals!