What is the Intuitive Eating Hunger Fullness Scale and How to Use it
Have you ever heard of the hunger fullness scale? Are you new to a non-diet approach, and confused on where to start? Maybe you’ve spent months (or even years dieting) and feel disconnected from your physical body?
If you’ve dieted over the years, it can be difficult to identify what hunger and fullness actually feel like, along with other internal body cues. Diets train us to ignore what our body is telling us, and in some cases, try to suppress that feeling.
Overtime, we lose the ability to listen to and regulate those internal cues. But the good news is, it’s possible to relearn!!
Diet culture makes us believe that we can’t be trusted around food, but the truth is you have the most powerful tools within you, and YOU know your body best!
This blog post will give on overview of the hunger fullness scale - what is is, how to use it, and how to better understand those internal cues! And if you need a refresher, check out this blog post for the 10 intuitive eating principles.
ps - if you’re ready to go all in with a non-diet approach, click here to schedule a free strategy call.
What are hunger and fullness cues?
Hunger and fullness are normal biological cues that let you know your body needs nourishment and when you’ve had enough. Just like breathing oxygen, nourishing your body is vital to human life.
It’s common for chronic dieters to ignore these cues, often resulting in the binge restrict cycle as seen below. When we ignore cues for too long, it often results in feeling hangry, ravenous, and out of control. This urgent and intense drive to eat often leads to overeating.
How does dieting impact hunger and fullness cues?
Another reason we feel disconnected is because many diets train us to fear these internal feelings. For example - hungry? Drink some water! Chew some gum! Eat an apple! Chew on a toothpick! (*insert eye roll here*
Instead, diets tell us to eat based on schedules, timing, apps, calorie/macro counters, and other rigid, non-sustainable rules. Diet mentality leads us to believe that we can’t be trusted around food, and that we can somehow magically trick our biology. .
Depending on how long you have ignored this cues, it may take some time to rebuild trust, to be able to fully rely on these hunger and fullness cues. Maybe you’ve experienced a day where you did not feel any physical cues from your body until you got home from work, and felt extreme hunger. Maybe you felt as if you couldn’t stop eating or satisfy that hunger.
Common reasons for absent hunger cues include:
Distraction
Stress/Cortisol
Metabolism
What does physical hunger feel like?
The more you start to pay attention, and maybe even practice mindful eating, you might experience some of these symptoms:
Stomach growling
Empty feeling in stomach
Dizzy/fatigued
Lack of focus
Moodiness
Shaky/weak
Getting too low on the hunger scale can often lead to reactive type eating that may feel ravenous, out of control, and result in feelings of guilt and regret, as seen in the diet pendulum below.
Where should I aim to be on the hunger and fullness scale?
A good range would be to not let yourself get below a 3 (as we know based on our pendulum, eating can feel very reactive and chaotic at that point) and not get above a 7.
Eventually, the goal is that you will not need the visual aid! And remember - there are many nuances to this, let’s say if you’re traveling or experiencing a REALLY delicious meal, you may get outside of this range. That’s OK. That’s life.
You can’t mess this up, that’s the beauty of the intuitive eating process. You are not good nor bad! Most of my clients find it’s very easy to recognize a 1 and a 10, but it’s hard to find the middle range.
What if I have trouble identifying hunger cues?
Hunger cues may be hard to identify at first, especially if you’ve been ignoring or suppressing them for days, months, or years. Try these tips to rebuild trust with your body while starting out:
Set alarms and commit to regular meals/snacks at regular intervals. This allows you to at least check in throughout the day to see how you are feeling, and where you fall on the sale.
Practice mindfulness. This could look like creating a calm environment at meal times or simply getting curious as to what your body might be telling you.
Practice identifying other bodily cues. Some examples might be noticing how and why your heart rate or breathing changes, noticing temperature changes in your body, or checking in to see how your muscles feel while strength training.
When should I use the hunger and fullness scale?
Here are some general guidelines that can be helpful in reconnecting with your hunger and fullness cues:
Before Eating - Ask questions such as “where am I on the hunger scale?” and “what am I feeling in my body?” or “is this emotional or physical hunger?” and “where else am I feeling this in my body?”
During Eating - Check in at some point before the food/your plate is empty. Many clients find that at some point during the ‘half-way’ mark, feels like a good time to check in. You might notice subtle changes in how you feel, and get curious about how much more you need to feel comfortably full and satisfied.
After Eating - Again, assess how you are feeling, where you are feeling it, continuing to be curious, not judgmental.
What if I overeat or get too high on the hunger and fullness scale?
Remember, this is a tool, and you can’t mess this up! If you are feeling guilty for overeating, practice having compassion and kindness for yourself as you start the process.
Every eating experience is an opportunity for you to learn more about yourself, your body, and your relationship with food. With practice, it gets easier, and feels more natural. You got this!