The "REASON PEOPLE OVEREAT" is a pretty hot topic.

While you read on, put the cookie down for now (you're not really enjoying it anyway if you're reading and chewing!)

My focus today is to HELP you discover what TRIGGERS you to EAT, and RECOGNIZE WHETHER YOU'RE EATING WHEN YOU'RE TRULY HUNGRY ?

While there is NO SIMPLE answer to THIS, I can confidently say that the person who discovers a cure for it will likely be on Oprah. You can laugh now.

YOU NEED TO KNOW THAT Hunger and Appetite are not the same. Think of the embarrassing noise your stomach makes (this only occurs when a room is so silent and you can hear a pin drop!). The growling noise is a physiological sign of hunger, or an empty feeling in your stomach. Your appetite is more of the need for something you might be craving or desire.

I’ve created a handy LIST to help you decide which situations may describe you best. If you find yourself engaging in more than 2 of the listed items, maybe contact me?

SIGNS you’re likely NOT HUNGRY:

Somebody just pissed you off and flipped you the bird while you were driving on the Highway, then you chose to stop at Mc Donald’s and feast on a Big Mac and Fries.

HUNGRY ? NOT HUNGRY?

You’ve been watching a chic flick and crying for an hour, OR something really tragic or sad just happened, such as the "True Blood season ending" or "My big friggin wedding" reality show just starting, then you eat a bag of Twizzlers.

HUNGRY? NOT HUNGRY?

You are standing up and leaning on the kitchen counter trying to figure out what you’re going to whip up for dinner, simultaneously you’re sticking your finger in the jar of Nutella.

HUNGRY? NOT HUNGRY?

You’re BORED off your rocker at work (shouldn’t you have something you should be doing?) the VENDING machine is now thought of as entertainment, OR a trip to the really close Dunkin Donuts Franchise is going to become your afternoon field trip-you press F1 on the vending machine and a kit-kat accidentally falls out and you eat it, OR you end up with 6 munchkins at Dunkin Donuts?

HUNGRY? NOT HUNGRY?

Mr. Softee (NYC ice cream truck) picks you up, he’s now a taxi and not just a food truck (true story here it was in the press), you decide you should have some free ice cream while standing in the back of the truck, you probably just ate a fine meal.

HUNGRY? NOT HUNGRY?

There is a hodgepodge of pastries and donuts in the employee lounge, and a cheesecake somebody baked, you’ve JUST EATEN BREAKFAST but grab a slice of cheesecake and pocket that donut for later.

HUNGRY? NOT HUNGRY?

OK, I've made my point, so now what?

The OBVIOUS is that your EMOTIONS and FOOD ENVIRONMENT have a HUGE impact on your appetite and possibly your definition of hunger. While it would be great to say you should just stop eating so much and to diet and exercise (both important), you likely need to examine your behaviors. SO let's work on that!

SUPER INTELLIGENT TIP

Use a "Am I really hungry?" SCALE.

5=I’m going to eat my arm and any cake that gets in my way. I might pass out. Ravenous!

4=I am a bit dizzy, headachy, cranky, know I need to eat.

3=The growling noise is likely to start, I probably ate 3 or 4 hours ago.

2=I am thinking about food cause it's in front of me, but ate a snack five minutes ago.

1=I’m content and comfortable. I ate Breakfast and Lunch, there’s no reason to eat.

Don’t just use a food diary (while proven effective), use the hunger scale in conjunction with it, this will hold you accountable! One of the first steps to weight management is making yourself aware of what’s driving you to eat and monitoring possible triggers. Tracking these triggers will help you become an intuitive eater.

AIM FOR EATING SOMETHING WHEN YOU’RE AT the level 3!

Try this for 3 days or better yet a week! It's proven effective and might have you think twice before another mouthful of ice cream.

Here's another link to Hunger Scales created by a fellow dietitian.

How do you feel about this? Do you have your own tracking system?