"Other Hungers" are part of what creates binge eating!

When people practice binge eating usually they have no idea that there are "Other Hungers" that sneak up on them and cause them to eat when they are not hungry or eat way beyond fullness which feels like binge eating.

Because most people are so disconnected from their body wisdom that they eat at the slightest sense of any discomfort in the body. 

The dictionary defines hunger as: an uneasy sensation in the belly.

Well let's ask ourselves, what else causes an uneasy sensation in the belly?  What about thirst, anxiety, loneliness, sadness, boredom, fear or stress?

There are actually an unlimited number of things that can  make us feel an uneasiness in our bodies and in the area of the body we call our gut or belly. 

We just all need to become really good at discerning if it is hunger for food in the belly or not.

The mouth (which is connected to our more childish ego) always wants food, it is insatiable but it is not telling us the truth. You find this out quickly when you are a child and overeat your Halloween candy, or foods at a party that are normally forbidden or "special foods". 

That is why Normalizing or Legalizing foods in our thinking is also so critical.

Listening to Your Inner Belly Wisdom will guide you through to weight loss and being free of binge eating.

Your body/belly can't lie!

Below is a chart that lists "Other Hunger" feelings.  Study it well, even carry it with you.

This can interrupt a binge!

When you notice you want to eat but you don't think you are hungry try to determine the"Other Hunger" that feels like hunger for food but it is not. 

Responding To "Other Hungers" before binge eating!

There are several phases involved in learning to respond to other hungers to break the binge eating cycle and allow weight loss. Take a few moments to develop a awareness about where you are in each phase.

PHASE 1: Recognizing Hunger : Are you tuned in throughout the day to your hunger or fullness signals? Can you clearly differentiate physiological (stomach or belly hunger) from emotional (mind/mouth hunger) or “Other Hungers”?

PHASE 2: Adopting A New Attitude About Emotional Hunger (Other Hungers). When you notice you have one of the “other hungers”, are you able to be kind to yourself about it even though you are anxious and want to eat ?

Are you able to say with fascination...

"Isn't it interesting that I'm feeling like I need to eat right now, even though I am sure that I am not truly hungry in my belly,  I am so fascinating!

OR

 "I wonder what is going on today that is bothering me?"

"If I am hungry in  my belly, I am going to go ahead and eat, get myself the very best quality of what I want, and I will not say one mean thing to myself about it”.

Also say...

"I am going to learn from this and stay aware as I head to ending  binging forever and obtaining a healthy weight".

It won’t feel that great in the belly if you eat without belly hunger. This is what prevents  weight loss and how we get tricked by the mind/ego. Binge eating starts when you eat without hunger or beyond hunger for reason other than hunger.

In fact it can eventually feel like you betrayed yourself or you were  tricked by the mind and the belly will be uncomfortable. 

This is when I suggest you apologize to the body for misreading it’s needs and review what happened, don't miss this opportunity to learn from your experience.  What were you believing, feeling or needing?

Learn from the experience and eventually it will happen less and less. Eating without hunger is often about wanting MORE, even when your belly isn’t hungry.

Learn to be fascinated, say....

“What is the real MORE I am wanting, my belly isn’t hungry”.

 "If I feel like I can wait to eat until I am truly stomach(belly) hungry then I will wait. In the meantime I will sit with my feelings or find something nurturing to do for myself."

Remember-you are not bad for eating beyond fullness or for eating when you are not hungry. You are merely trying to take care of yourself and acting on that impulse is a good thing! And you are being tricked by the ego.

You are in the process of learning what your true needs are, how to feel their essential pain and sit with them a little bit. Then you can  start planning ideas to meet those real needs it is easier than you think. 

You won't die from sitting with the discomfort and not eating long enough to figure out what is really going on,  but  you might  lose weight.

Learn creative ways to meet those needs and let the feelings surrounding them rise and fall.

PHASE 3:  Responding To Emotional Hunger

Ending binge eating and  allowing weight loss to occur requires that more and more you are distinguishing between 'Other Hungers" from real belly hunger. 

Plus you must provide for these Other Hunger times when you are going to eat anyway by having a food bag or food supply with you or easily available. 

It should be well stocked with a variety of foods,especially legalized or normalized foods So if you must eat you have a choice from foods that you know your belly generally likes.

If you don’t have a way of regularly reminding yourself that all foods are “legal” and none are “forbidden”, your primitive ego mind won’t believe that your are really going to take care of the "other hungers" and that no foods are labeled a forbidden anymore.  

I like to say .....

Oh, yes  I could eat ________(whatever used to be a forbidden  food), but how will that  feel in my belly once it get down there, does it feel like my belly really wants that?

I usually touch my belly when I do this practice, I get a better sense of what my belly really wants.

The ego won’t believe that another famine (diet) isn’t on the way.

As you learn to REALLY  take care of yourself and the true underlying needs,  this part will calm down and stop trying to run the show, at least when it comes to eating or binge eating.

Then weight loss  naturally occurs because you are not eating without real belly hunger. 

Here  (below) is a great video using EFT to tap on the other hungers, be sure to check out the page on this sight all about EFT and weight loss.

NOTE: In the early stages of this work many people need to respond to emotional hunger (or other hungers) by eating.

I strongly suggest that you be cautious about when you choose to respond to emotional hunger with food based nurturing strategies because this  is a set up for binge eating.

The subconscious mind is listening, and if you feel deprived because the real need wasn't getting met, it takes note, and  those other needs or "other hungers" just keep screaming at you. 

You feel stuffed and still want  to eat because the real need is still causing a feeling of uneasiness.

Stay fascinated and ask yourself the following:

If I eat this food what will I get to feel?

If I don’t eat this food what will I have to feel?

**************************

Say to yourself: I am so fascinating...

What could I be believing/thinking (about the food, myself, the future, etc.)?

What could I be feeling that is leading me to want to eat?

What could I be needing if my belly isn’t hungry and I want to eat?

For ending binge eating and allowing weight loss to occur  one of the best indicators is when you are ready to take care of yourself with something other than food.

This is when you begin to notice that emotional hunger (Other Hungers) feedings are dissatisfying.

You may still feel deprived because the food is not tasting or feeling good except in the mouth and is not making you feel better..... for long.

It never really meets the underlying need so you have to keep doing it, eating without belly hunger and  feeling stuffed. 

As you get creative at meeting all of your needs (see Rewards), whatever they may be, the need to eat without hunger will cease!

The picture below makes me laugh but it really does remind me of how uncomfortable it is to eat without hunger and especially beyond fullness. I have grown to really dislike that feeling and the memory of it stops me from eating when I am not hungry. It will do the same for you, use your body memories to remind you of the truth!