Do you ever find yourself eating and then wonder why because you’re not even hungry? There are tons of reasons why people eat besides actual physical hunger. We eat when we’re bored, we eat when we’re sad, we eat because people around us are eating or we eat simply because it is 12 noon and that is “lunch-time”. This is the difference between appetite and hunger.
Appetite is defined as the psychological desire to eat specific foods, which basically means it really is all in our heads! Appetite is the pleasant sensation we associate with foods. If we see our favorite food, then we might suddenly have an appetite for it.
Hunger is the physiological sensation in response to a need for food. It is often an unpleasant or negative feeling. If we are eating dinner at a later time than normal, we may experience a growling stomach, which indicates that we are hungry and need to eat.
Eating for reasons other than physical hunger can cause us to eat foods we really shouldn’t be eating, or can cause us to overeat and consume more calories than we should. Just because there is a chip bowl at a party, doesn’t mean you have to eat any. Just because everybody else orders dessert at a restaurant doesn’t mean you have to. It is all about self-control and it is something that takes time and work. It IS hard. But if you are willing to work at it, then it WILL get better over time.
Know the difference between your appetite and your physical hunger and take control!!