How Can I Tell A Craving From A Binge?

The following is a recent entry in my Ask Renee series. If you have a question, email me at rstephens@mindforbody.com.

Dear Renée,

How can I tell a craving from true hunger?
--Stuffed in San Mateo

Dear Stuffed,

An easy way to tell the difference it the substitution test. Cravings are very picky. You must eat what you crave. Hunger, on the other hand, is flexible. If what you want isn't available, you will eat what you have. I like to use the milk test. If it's true hunger, then I would rather drink a glass of milk than go hungry. If a glass of milk seems a pointless substitute, it's probably a craving.

Hunger is like an old friend: familiar and steady, always there for you when you need it to let your body know it needs fuel. Hunger is reliable and predictable, keeping a schedule, letting you know when meal time is near. Hunger will even allow you to ignore it for a while if you are in a meeting or on the go. It trusts you to come back and take care of it later.

A craving, on the other hand, is like a spoiled child, loud, annoying and relentless. It will go to extreme measures to get your attention, and abandons any notion of what's acceptable: “who says half a birthday cake isn’t a good breakfast?”. Cravings have a mischievous side, too. Why eat a cookie in public when you can sneak one when no one is looking? Finally, cravings are all about immediate gratification: “I want ice cream, and I wan’t it now!”.

And if all else fails, use your common sense. If it's sweet and starchy that's tempting you, it's probably a craving.