Do you always feel hungry, or do you feel as if you're always eating? Hunger is a complex feeling which can be easily influenced by many factors. Read on for practical tips to help you curb your appetite without starving.

Understanding when we are truly hungry is important not only if we want to lose or manage weight, but to help us enjoy balanced healthy eating.

Are you really hungry?
Boredom, habit, stress or the fact that it tastes good can override a true feeling of hunger. Eating when you're not hungry can increase your energy intake, making it difficult to manage your weight.
TIP: Listen to your body and pick up on physical signs like an empty or rumbling feeling in your stomach for an indication of true hunger.

Slow down!
The speed at which we eat affects our feeling of fullness. Some people eat quickly because they love the taste, some because they are in a hurry, and others down their meals more quickly because what they are eating makes them feel guilty. Whatever the reason, when food is "fast" we don't savour the experience, often leading to overeating and therefore, we don't feel satisfied afterwards.
Challenge: At your next meal, try to slow the rate at which you eat. Enjoy flavours, textures and the way the food makes you feel.

Eat!
We've all tried to control our food intake at some time or another by not eating. We think that skipping a meal is going to help us reduce the amount of food we eat. This usually results in an intense hunger which can be hard to control. It can leave you feeling ravenous, looking to eat anything in reach — it's during these binges we eat the fastest and the most.
TIP: Rather than skip a meal, try eating more frequent, smaller meals so you don't have that ravenous feeling which can lead to overeating.

Enjoy low-Gi foods
Foods that have a low-glycaemic index are digested slowly, giving you longer-lasting energy and helping you to feel satisfied for longer. Click here for a Sanitarium Nutrition Service fact sheet on glycaemic index.
Tip: Incorporate at least one low-GI food into each meal, such as wholegrain bread, wholemeal pita bread, pasta, sweet potato, fruit bread, low-fat soy or dairy yoghurt, legumes and fruit like apples, pears and oranges.

Salad solution
Research has found that eating a low energy-dense first course, like a salad, may help to decrease the total amount of food we eat at a meal.

This information is provided by the Sanitarium Nutrition Service.

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