BlubberBusters Tips from Lucy

Are You Hungry or Full?

Using an Empty-Full Scale to Help You Eat Healthy!

Here's the secret to weight loss: Eat when you are hungry and stop eating when you are full. Sounds so easy yet we all know that it is really not! This tip will introduce you to a tool that may help make it easier for you.

Many kids and teens say they eat when they are bored, sad, mad, frustrated, happy, and other feelings. Kids and teens that eat for emotional reasons sometimes say they forget how real physical hunger feels. This 10 point scale may help you re-learn what hunger and fullness feels like.

Our bodies are similar to a car's fuel tank. A car tells you when it is almost empty and needs fuel. How a car tells you maybe different for different cars yet they all have a way to say it. Some have a red light flashing, "Low Fuel" whereas others have a computer voice that lets the driver know it needs fuel.

Cars also tell us when they have enough fuel. If you have ever been to a gas station, you may have seen this in action. When a person fills up a car's gas tank, it stops fueling when it has enough. If a person tries to put a little more in, in overflows!

Just like cars, our bodies have a way to tell us when we are empty. It also has a way to tell us when we are full. Sometimes we ignore the signals. Sometimes we might have even forgotten what the signals are. Below is a scale of empty to full for our body. You may or may not feel the same feelings described. That's okay! Make your own scale to show what you feel at each number!

Tank Too Full!	10	Stomach hurts. Feel very uncomfortable. Feel sleepy.	If eat to here or start eating here, maybe eating because of feelings.
	9	Starting to feel uncomfortable from eating.
No Longer Physical Hunger	8	Feel stomach tighten. Feel filled up from eating. Feel like have more energy. Feel good!	Stop eating here!
	7	Start to feel the food give the body energy it needs.
	6
	5	Not hungry. Not full. Just content!	Choose not to eat when you feel this way. If you have a craving, keep your mind and hands busy!
	4
Physical Hunger	3	Stomach starting to move around and make noises.	Start eating here!
	2	Stomach growling really loud!
Tank Too Empty!	1	WARNING: Fuel tank almost out! Feel dizzy and tired. Feel severe stomach pangs from hunger. Must eat now!	Don't wait this long to eat! You are almost out of fuel!

Use this scale to help guide you. Choose to eat when you feel you are at 3 or 2. Try to stop eating when you feel you are at 8. Each time you eat, keep track of what number you feel you are at that moment. If you feel you are at 1, 2, or 3 you are probably physically hungry. You need to eat to refuel! If you feel you are at 5 or higher, you maybe eating for emotional reasons. Your fuel tank has enough in it already!