Are you really hungry or hungry for a reward?

Are you really hungry or just hungry for a reward?

Real hunger is when your body needs to eat to maintain energy levels.

Biological changes occur throughout the body, which signal that you need food. It comes on slowly, like a gentle wave. You’ll know it’s real hunger because you could happily sit down to a meal.

Reward hunger, by contrast, is a sudden desire to eat.

It’s your brain looking for relief from boredom or stress or some other unwanted emotion, and it usually comes on pretty quickly. In this state, your brain sees food as a way to cope with a situation or emotion and seeks immediate gratification.

That’s why, when your reward hunger drive is activated, you typically crave foods that are salty or sweet, such as a packet of crisps or a biscuit (or three).

Being able to tell the difference between real hunger and reward hunger is one of the keys to changing your relationship with food for the better.

One simple test to tell if you’re experiencing real hunger is to consider eating a healthy food you don’t hate but don’t particularly enjoy.

If you’d eat that food, it’s probably real hunger. But if you wouldn’t - and you really just want to eat that chocolate brownie - then you’re looking for a reward.