(18) "Am I Really Physically Hungry?"

Begin asking yourself any and every time you feel the need to eat, "Am I really physically hungry?". What is your level on the 0-5 eating scale? Are you at a 0? If you are then eat and enjoy what you're eating until you're satisfied, at a 5.
If you're not at a 0 but still feel the urge or the need to eat, you're probably feeling an overwhelming emotion that you don't know how to deal with. You may not even want to deal with it and would rather bury it or hide from it with food. The feelings may not just be negative emotions like stress, frustration, tired, overwhelmed, lonely, anger, or anxiety. Happiness, family holidays, being "in love", boredom, celebration, being too busy...any emotion can trigger the need to eat emotionally. You have to figure out what emotion you're dealing with and what the circumstances are surrounding that emotion.
Do you drive past a certain place that has bad or good memories for you and suddenly feel the need to eat? Do you walk into your mother or grandmothers home and automatically open the refrigerator? Do you sit down in front of the TV at night and feel the need for a huge bowl of ice cream or a bag of chips? Do you come out of a tense meeting at work and feel the need to grab a doughnut, maybe two? When you hear some amazingly good news, do you feel the need to celebrate by ordering an appetizer and a large entree at your favorite restaurant...followed by dessert? Do you go straight for that box of cookies after finally getting the kids off to school in the morning? Do you run for the cupboards after your check book confirms to you that you're running very low on money and there aren't any prospects for pay raises in the near future? Does the news of a close friend or family member's severe illness diagnoses plunge you straight into a massive binge. Do you try to punish yourself and your body for a bad choice that you've made? Do you feel the need to clean your plate when you pay for the food? Do you go for a fast food run late at night when you're feeling lonely or depressed?
All of these are examples of situations that can cause overwhelming feelings and emotions. Start recognizing them every time you feel the need to eat when you're not physically hungry.