I recently spoke with one of my health coaching clients. Her goal is to lose some weight and she’s been really consistent with the plan that she is on. However, one day she got busy and had to postpone her breakfast by a few hours, which meant that all of her other meals got pushed to a later time. When it was time to have dinner, she was actually not that hungry, so she asked me if she should still stick to the plan and eat or skip the dinner.

As her health coach I know her patterns of stress eating and usually in this case I would always suggest eating all your meals according to the plan to prevent overeating later. However, it also got me thinking that I truly believe that the end goal for all of us is to be so in tune with your own body and fully trust yourself whether you are truly hungry or not.

Ideally everyone could eventually become their own “health coach”. We have so much information out there and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Of course, we have evidence-based information, but still, you can find a study that backs up eating 5x per day as the best weight loss method while another one confirms that intermittent fasting is the way to go. So how do you know what is the best way for you? It is knowing yourself and your body so well that you know what really works for you.

That being said, it is a journey to get there – especially when you come from a background of having a dysfunctional relationship with food and not really understanding the basic principles of nutrition. In that case working with a professional, adhering to a proper plan and having structure in the beginning is a very good idea. This is what I am also doing and teaching my clients when they first start working with me.

However, once your insulin and your hunger hormones (leptin and ghrelin) have been stabilised by following a proper routine, quality sleep, and managing stress, ideally you will reach a state where you are able to trust yourself enough to make the right decisions about what or when to eat.

Even though there is huge value in a routine because our nervous system (or our mind) likes predictability, our lives and our bodies are very dynamic depending on which stage we are at, so following a rigid routine is not always possible or even necessary. This is especially true for us women since we are cyclical in nature. We have a 28-day cycle which means that in each phase of our menstrual cycle our hormonal levels are vastly different, and that has a direct impact on our mood, our energy and our hunger levels. So, the goal is to honour that and listen to what our body needs in each phase and each moment.

So how do you start becoming more in tune with your body and distinguish real hunger from a craving?

Here is some guidance. Real hunger builds gradually and when you eat based on true physical hunger, a normal healthy meal feels very satisfying. Cravings develop quickly. They feel urgent and you are usually craving something specific, e.g. a savoury snack or something sugary and the idea of a balanced healthy meal doesn’t seem so appealing at that moment.

Next time you catch yourself in front of the fridge wondering if you should eat something, ask yourself: “Would I eat an apple right now (or anything else healthy so you don’t have an issue of overeating)?” If the answer is no, and you feel you just want bread, a bag of chips, or chocolate then you know it is not real hunger.

Tune in to your body - are you just feeling bored or experiencing some other emotion? If that sounds true, try going for a walk, reading something, or releasing that emotion through breathwork, meditation or other techniques.

Image source: Andres Ayrton

Note: The views expressed here do not exclusively represent the views of Materia+ and its governing entities.