80/20 Hunger Scale

Seeing as I am a registered dietitian and I DO care about nutrition aspects other than food, I thought that I would introduce you to a little tool that I like to use called the Hunger Scale. Since the theme here is 80/20, I will tie that in.

Basically, a hunger scale is a scale from 0 to 100 (also used is 1 to 10, but stick with me here) that allows you to rate how hungry/ full you are. The scale is as follows:

100: Stuffed. You are so full you feel nauseous.
90: Very uncomfortably full. You need to loosen your clothes.
80: Uncomfortably full. You feel bloated.
70: Full. A little bit uncomfortable.
60: Perfectly comfortable. You feel satisfied.
50: Comfortable. You're more or less satisfied, but could eat a little more.
40: Slightly uncomfortable. You're just beginning to feel signs of hunger.
30: Uncomfortably hungry. Your stomach is rumbling.
20: Very uncomfortable. You feel irritable and unable to concentrate.
10: Weak and light-headed. Your stomach acid is churning.
0: OMG- not gonna make it!

The hunger scale is a tool to prevent you from OVEREATING. Part of this control is not letting yourself become FAMISHED. I think we have all been to that point where we are so hungry we could eat a cat if only we had salt and pepper, right? Then, tyically you eat everything in sight with absolutely no regard as to how full you are.

So, here is the rule: Keep yourself between an 80 and a 20. But, eat only when you are hungry (20, 30, 40).