More Thoughts on Hunger and Emotional Eating: Hara Hachi Bu

The Japanese have an expression, hara hachi bu, or “eat until you’re 80 percent full.”

Residents of the Japanese island of Okinawa, who are among the longest living and healthiest people in the world, have traditionally practiced hara hachi bu. The practice is to be mindful of your eating and eat only until you are 80 percent full.

To try hara hachi bu, eat until you feel “mostly full,” then wait 20 minutes. Pay attention to what the experience is like for you. Notice what that 80 percent really feels like.

Stopping at 80 percent fullness is actually a healthy strategy because it takes the stomach time to communicate fullness to the rest of the body. Many who stop at 80 percent will feel satisfied and will ultimately eat less. If you are accustomed to eating until you are more than 80 percent full, you might find that this stopping point leaves you less sleepy and more energetic after meals.

Practicing hara hachi bu is an excellent way to play with your experience of hunger and fullness. View it as an experiment. What does it feel like to leave the table with extra room? How difficult is it to assess that 80 percent feeling? Are there emotions or reactions that come up for you when you experiment with eating in this way?

Take good care,

Melissa

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2 Responses to “More Thoughts on Hunger and Emotional Eating: Hara Hachi Bu”

  1. Blake Hagen says:
    August 13, 2008 at 3:07 am

    Great post. I sometimes forget to eat slower. When I do I can totally tell how my body feels and if my body has gotten enough. Thanks for the tips!

  2. Gina says:
    September 24, 2008 at 12:28 pm

    Enjoying your blog!

    My experience with Hara Hachi Bu is that it works like a charm with overeating clients who are just beginning to find their hunger (many have not “felt” hunger for years). On the other hand this stopping at 80% full is a regular practice of restricting clients (many restricting types actually have not been full to satisfaction in years).
    Again it is all so individual and deep within each person as to where they are and where a healthy and self loving place is for them.
    The goal then is to find the healthy voice of self care rather than the disordered voice of compulsion or restriction.
    I look forward to more from you…great Blog!
    Aloha~

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