True hunger or craving for something tasty? How do we tell the difference?

Do you feel the need to open the fridge or the cupboards to look for something to eat? Take a few seconds to breathe and give yourself time to analyze this impulse, it's not necessarily related to a need for nutrients.

The urge to snack sets in abruptly, it hits you unexpectedly, while true hunger takes time to appear, it develops progressively. If we were to rate it on a scale from one to ten, the feeling of hunger evolves from minimal to maximum, within a four to six-hour interval. True hunger means a rating of six and requires a waiting time of at least three hours since the last meal. In contrast, cravings appear suddenly, more often from emotional rather than nutritional needs.

To help us recognize true hunger, we need to answer the following questions: how much time has passed since the last meal, have we engaged in any unusual physical activity, have we seen/smelled something tempting to eat, are we bored, tired, stressed or upset? Everything matters!