Pay Attention to What Your Body is Saying

There are lots of ways to manage hunger.  One of the best is getting ahead of it and feeding your body at regular intervals, quite like you'd feed a baby or a diabetic.  Predictable, regular meal times and snack times make the body function better.  This applies to waking and sleeping too.

There are many reasons why this is so effective.  For starters, we love to eat, so it is nice to know we have meals and snacks to look forward to.  We benefit from eating approximately every three hours.  After three hours, the internal hunger becomes so primal that it is hard to manage. 

Internal hunger versus external hunger is an important distinction to make.  Internal hunger comes from your insides.  You need protein, a healthy carbs and a healthy fat to satisfy this "problem."  Good, nutritious food is the answer when you are internally (physically) hungry.  Your stomach is growling.  Your energy is low.  Your mind is a little foggy.  You might even be getting a headache.

External hunger, on the other hand, is about opportunity.  It is coming from your surroundings.  It has nothing to do with physical hunger.  The big problem with external triggers is that if you are not managing your internal hunger, your external cues are going to lure you in and trap you.  We have a much better chance of resisting temptation when we are satisfying our internal hunger pangs.

My best recommendation is to plan on needing to eat.  Three meals a day plus snacks in between usually works for most people.  Some people like itty bitty snacks (like 10 or 20 almonds or a cheese stick).  Some people like more hearty fare especially late in the afternoon between lunch and dinner.  Energy is at an all time low, and there is still plenty of work to be done and daytime to activities to face.

I have to say that managing my hunger, having healthy snacks with me wherever I go has been a huge help in managing cravings.  Your body is looking for satisfaction from the foods groups--not the chocolate or french fry groups.  Your mind tells you that you want chocolate or french fries.  That's ok--but let it be because you choose it not because you were stimulated by a drive through. 

Plan on being successful by planning on needing to eat.  Yes, you can.