How to Recognize Your Hunger Cues

How to Recognize Your Hunger Cues
By Jenny R Smith

One of the important biological needs for human beings to survive is to appease their hunger pangs. The different stages of human growth need different levels of food consumption. As an adult, the attraction towards various food waver and the food intake is directly proportional to the mood swings. Some adults are very strict about the food they take, monitor their food preparation, and take their food on time, rain or shine. They follow strict timings and give importance to the food they consume. Not many people come under this category.

Some adults, due to mood swings, give into their food cravings. These cravings might not be really due to physical needs but because of some emotional disturbance that person is going through at that particular moment. Hunger can be categorized into physical requirements or emotional cravings. During childhood a mother takes care of her child's necessities. This is both physically appeasing and emotionally soothing. Small rewards in the form of food goodies make the child very happy. This emotional well being, in the long run, can make an adult overcome bad mood.

How do we get to know whether our hunger pangs are due to physical needs or emotional cravings? If it is only physical hunger we should follow strict rules. During emotional disturbances our hands automatically reach for comfort foods. These comfort foods might prove disastrous to the body and cause long-term damages. If we can recognize the hunger due to emotional cravings and avoid giving into the hunger pangs, it will benefit in the long run. We sometimes forget to distinguish between need to eat and want to eat. More often than not, it is the desire and not the need. People tend to confuse themselves and take inappropriate food. Based on the facts such as

• The emotional state & the stress level • The time elapsed since the last meal • The quantity of the meal

An individual has to recognize the hunger as emotional or physical. One of the effective ways of controlling "emotional" hunger cues is by drinking a glass of water. Another way would be to eat little quantity slowly to overcome the urge.

While these might be methods to overcome emotional hunger cues, in the short term, developing a stress free mind and focusing towards positive things in life is a sure way of eliminating emotional hunger cues.

Jenny Smith is a Ringtone fanatic that owns Ringtone Blog. She regularly blogs on Ringtone Blog and talks about her most passionate interest - ringtones.

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