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Get to know your eating patterns

Pay attention to your hunger levels and emotions, and learn how to eat in a more mindful way.

By Weight Watchers
Last updated 18 October 2021
Get to know your eating patterns

Try this!

Pick three days this week when you’ll take notes on how and what you eat—and how it impacts you—using the steps below.

1. Right before you eat, jot down the following (fill in the blanks).  It’s been ____ hours/minutes since I last ate.  My hunger level is a ____. (Scale of 1 to 5. 1: Not hungry at all  ---- 5: Starving Not sure? Fill in a 0.)  I feel _____. (Emojis show different faces for energized / proud / bummed out / regretful / exhausted. Pick one or add your own emotion.)  2. Track and eat your meal or snack.  3. After you eat, wait 30 minutes. Using the same journal, document, or app as you did in Step 1, fill in the blanks below. (Not sure about something? Just write “I’m not sure.” And make note of anything else you think is important.)  The amount I ate was  ______. (Pick one: What I planned / less than planned / more than planned). My hunger level is a ____. (Scale of 1 to 5. 1: Not hungry at all ---- 5: Starving Not sure? Just put 0.) The speed at which I ate was a ____. (Scale of 1 to 5: 1: Slow ---- 5: Speedy) My mindfulness level was a _____. (Scale of 1 to 5: 1: Not mindful ---- 5: Majorly mindful) It’s ________ that I’ll eat something before my next planned meal or snack time. (Pick one: Unlikely / likely / not sure) The foods I enjoyed most in my meal were ______. I feel _____. (Energized / proud / bummed out / regretful / exhausted)  4. Repeat this every time you eat throughout the day.

Let’s dive a little deeper...

We're just getting started this month, but you've already heard your fair share about eating patterns. There's a reason for that. When you become more aware of them, you can identify what’s working for you and what’s not—and it’ll be easier to do what’s working. Of course, you can modify things along the way if needed!

Be sure to take notes (this handy chart can help), because you’ll need them later this month to see if you want to make changes to the way you eat.

Next week, we’re hitting the ground running, talking about strategies for reducing added sugar.

Week 1 of our monthly theme: What Happens in Your Body When You Eat and Drink