Do you skip breakfast, graze throughout the day or eat more when you’re stressed or anxious? Our Dietitian Lily ‘Lentil’ has designed this quiz to help you better understand your behaviours around food.
Once you become aware of your eating habits, you can start making small tweaks that can have huge effects on your mood, energy levels and feelings around food.
Quiz time!
Which of the following best describes your relationship with food?
A. I usually eat when I feel hungry and stop when I feel full.
B. I find it difficult to know when to stop eating.
C. I often nibble or graze instead of having a meal.
D. I tend to eat more and make worse food choices after a stressful day.
E. I go for long periods without eating and then eat a lot at once.
How would you describe a typical day of eating for you?
A. I eat food to nourish, satisfy and energise my body.
B. I often feel uncomfortably full.
C. I graze between meals and never feel super hungry for a big meal.
D. It depends on how my day has gone. It’s either been good or bad.
E. I don’t tend of have an eating structure or routine.
You’re on holiday at the breakfast buffet, how would you usually act?
A. I consider what I feel like and add these foods to my plate. I can always go back for more.
B. I load up my plate with whatever I can see and am already thinking about going back for more before sitting down.
C. I’ve already had an early breakfast but will nibble on cereal because it’s there.
D. Time to celebrate the holiday with everything on offer! My eating habits are going out the window this holiday!
E. I’ll take a double shot black coffee – that’ll do me.
When are you most likely to overeat?
A. When I’m eating my favourite food and enjoying it.
B. Most days I feel like I have overeaten.
C. When I have something to eat without being hungry.
D. When feeling sad, stressed or emotional.
E. When drinking alcohol or late in the evening.
How hungry do you usually feel before eating?
A. My hunger levels guide me with my food choices.
B. I always feel hungry.
C. I’m not sure when I’m hungry.
D. I often feel out of control around food especially when I’m hungry.
E. I tend to eat less than I need, even when I’m hungry.
Do you ever eat dessert or sweet foods?
A. Absolutely – if I feel like it, I will have it and savour and enjoy every single mouthful.
B. Yes but I can never just have a small amount.
C. If it’s on offer – I always have to try it.
D. Yes – I often crave sweet foods when I’m feeling stressed or have had a hard day.
E. Only if I’ve been good that week and it’s a weekend.
Your results!
Mostly A’s: Intuitive Eater
Nice job! You already have trust in your body and the signals you get before, during and after eating. You don’t get hung up on eating a specific amount of food and prefer to let your body guide you.
You hardly ever eat until you are overfull and prefer to eat until satisfied.
You recognise the difference between eating for pleasure and eating for fuel or nourishment. You give yourself permission to eat all foods instead of labelling food as ‘bad’ or ‘forbidden’ and removing them from your diet. Life is way too short for that!
Mostly B’s: Plate Cleaner
You don’t like to leave food on your plate, which is great for food waste but sometimes you can forget to tune into your internal hunger and fullness cues and end up eating a little too much!
It can be helpful for you to think of your hunger as a level from 0-10 before you eat. You want to aim to be hungry at a level 2 or 3 before eating and comfortably full at a level 7 or 8 after eating. Understanding this can help you to better respond to your appetite and work towards becoming an intuitive eater.
If you’re still finding you’re always hungry before meals try to slow down and enjoy each mouthful, eat earlier in the day, have a snack between meals or increase the amount of protein in your meals from foods like eggs, yoghurt, meat, chicken, hummus, cottage cheese or nuts.
Mostly C’s: Impulse Eater
It doesn’t sound like you have a clear structure to your day and prefer to graze or nibble on snacks instead of committing to a meal. This may feel fine at the time, but the knock-on effect can be a dip in energy levels and feeling hungry soon after! It may be helpful to plan some structure to your eating each week (i.e. plan for 2-3 meals each day and snacks when needed).
It can also be helpful for you to think of your hunger on the hunger scale above. When you graze throughout the day, you may never actually feel properly hungry. If you’re finding you’re not hungry enough before a meal, try waiting a little longer before you next eat or dial back on the portion of your previous meal.
Mostly D’s: Emotional Eater
You may be using food to help you cope with all the curveballs that life throws at you! This may mean at times you can lose control over the amount you eat.
When we have strict food rules and label food as ‘bad’ or ‘forbidden’ it can lead to us wanting them even more and then feeling shame or guilt when we eat them.
One of the best ways to improve your relationship with food is to understand your body and its cravings and focus on the joy of nourishing your body with real, delicious food and letting go of strict food rules. Give yourself permission to eat all foods without feeling deprived.
When you’ve had a busy or stressful day can you recognise how food makes you feel? Do you have other tools to cope with these emotions?
Mostly E’s: Meal Skipper
You don’t tend to have a clear structure to your eating and your diet varies from one day to the next.
You may not eat much in the morning (cue black coffee) and snack throughout the day which may cause you to overeat in the evenings!
It’s normal to feel hungry during the day especially if you’re in a physical job or do some form of movement or exercise each day.
Let go of any strict rules you have around food and tune into your hunger levels throughout the day. Give yourself permission and trust your body to eat a nourishing meal when you feel hungry so that you can feel your best for the whole day.
Instead of skipping meals put time aside at the start of each week to put together a plan and think about all the nourishing foods you can add into your day.
Remember
This is a fun way to help increase awareness of your eating habits and reconnect with your body! Remember, most people won’t fit exactly into one box, or you may fit a few different patterns depending on what day or time of the week it is.
There is no right or wrong to eating and we all have unique eating habits. It is completely normal and natural for your hunger levels to vary from day to day.
We often think that eating disorders start in the mind and cause someone to eat less, but reality is often the other way around. If you are struggling with your relationship with food talk to a trusted health professional or use any of the resources listed below.
Resources and Helplines
Eating Disorder Association of New Zealand (EDANZ)
- 0800 2 EDANZ / 0800 2 33269
- EDANZ website
- EDANZ resources
Mental Health Foundation
