If you're having a hard time keeping your hunger at bay, it always helps to identify the cause of your hunger. For example, do you need to make some changes to your diet to keep you feeling more satisfied in between meals, or is it simply the smell of the bakery next door that's got your tummy rumbling? Once you identify the cause of your hunger, you can begin working on a solution to resolve it. Generally, it's easier to either rule in or rule out "physical" hunger before trying to identify emotional or environmental cues.

So how do you truly know when you're physically hungry? Use the tips and "gas tank analogy" below to help you identify physical hunger.

1. Physical sensations: If you are hungry, you can feel it - literally. Your stomach is growling, you may start to feel sleepy, irritable or have a difficult time concentrating. In extreme cases, you may even feel dizzy or light-headed - a point you never want to reach under any circumstances!

2. Hunger is not limited to a specific food: If you're dying for ice cream, chips or chocolate, that's not hunger - that's a food craving. If you're truly hungry, these foods will not satisfy you for long; you need a well-balanced meal.

3. Time: This is probably the easiest cue. If it's been more than 3-5 hours since your last meal and you think you're feeling hungry - then you are. To keep your energy level up all day, you should space your (well-balanced and healthy)meals approximately 3 - 5 hours apart.

If you still can't tell whether or not you're physically hungry using the cues above, try this analogy.

Your stomach is the gas tank Empty is how you feel if you skipped both breakfast and lunch - that's not good. Bloated and overflowing is how you feel after eating too much at Thanksgiving - That's not good either. Full is how you feel after eating a reasonably portioned, well balanced meal - Just right! Your Goal should be to feel between ¼ and ¾ full most of the time.

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