Learn How to Eat 0 to 5 and You'll Enjoy Healthier
Eating for Life!
Your "hunger number" is your guide to healthy eating.
Using a personal hunger scale is so fundamental to weight
management that you will wonder why you haven’t used one
until now.
What the Hunger Numbers Mean
The hunger scale we recommend helps you rate your hunger
on a scale of 0-10. Here are the key reference numbers to
understand:
0 = Empty: The hunger point at which an infant cries or an
adult has a hunger pang. When you’re at 0, it’s time to eat.
5 = Satisfied or comfortable: When an infant stops
feeding or when an adult feels a neutral feeling, neither
hungry nor full. When you're at 5, it’s time to stop eating.
7 = Full: When you feel pressure inside the stomach from
overeating. This is fattening.
10 = Stuffed: When you feel as though
you are
can’t-eat-another-bite stuffed and are highly uncomfortable
from eating way too much food. This is highly fattening.
Getting in Touch with Your Hunger Number
On a scale of 0 to 10 with 0 being empty, 5 being
comfortable, 7 being full, and 10 being stuffed, what is
your hunger number right now? Close your eyes and focus your
attention on your stomach, which is somewhere around your
navel. Set aside any analytical or intellectual data you
have about when you last ate and simply let your stomach
give you a number. By the way, when you hear its number,
thank your stomach for the information.
What does your number mean? If it’s 0, it’s time to eat. If
it is above 0, wait until your stomach registers 0 before
you eat.
Toward the end of a meal – and definitely before you have
second helpings – stop and ask your stomach what its hunger
number is. If it’s 5, stop eating. If it’s 4, you have room
for some more food. If it’s 6 or above, stop eating and
forgive yourself for having overeaten. Wait until you are at
0 before you eat again.
What To Do When You're Really Hungry
It’s possible to get below 0. This happens if you ignore
your hunger signals, skip meals, or have low blood sugar.
You can also get below 0 if for some reason you can’t eat
when you’re hungry. You could feel lightheaded, jittery,
irritable, or headachy. The urge at that time is to “eat
everything now.” Don’t do that.
Instead, here is what to do if you get below 0:
Eat a little something to get up to 0. This could be a piece
of fruit, a cracker, juice, or some other food.
Wait 10 to 15 minutes until your stomach hunger level is at
0. Then, eat normally, up to or below 5.
Let’s say you’re planning to eat dinner at 7 p.m., but it’s
only 5 p.m., and your stomach is already empty and
announcing its hunger. You are at 0. This is a great time
for a snack. You can eat a little something to get your
hunger number up to 2 or 3 to tide you over until dinner. It
wouldn’t make much sense to eat up to 5 because then you
wouldn’t be hungry when dinner is served.
Are you superhuman? No. So don’t expect to stay within
the 0 to 5 hunger number range when you are first starting
to use the hunger scale. Please don’t beat up on yourself
mentally when you overeat. Forgive yourself, but determine
to listen to your body better the next time. And the next
time. The more often you eat 0 to 5 or less, the more
quickly you’ll reach your ideal size.