We have all been that person poking around the kitchen looking for something to nibble on after dinner. But you just ate a big meal and you know you can’t be hungry. So why are you reaching for that bag of chips? 

Chances are you’re bored. Or  you may be bummed out. Or you might be sad.  At times like this we are eating to satisfy an emotional hunger. Today we’re going to learn how to differentiate between  real hunger and emotional hunger, and we’ll look at ways to strategies that can help us avoid emotional eating. 

Real hunger

We feel “real” hunger when it’s been a while since we’ve eaten. In other words, when we truly need food. With real hunger we feel the need to eat, but not to eat one particular food. With real hunger we eat until we feel full and then we stop eating. And we don’t feel guilty after we eat—we just go on with our day.

Emotional Hunger

Emotional hunger is a response to an emotion, either good or bad, and usually involves a craving for a certain food or type of food. Often the foods we crave are high in fat or sugar and even when we feel full, you keep eating until the food is all gone or we manage to stop. Afterwards we often feel  guilty. This type of hunger comes on quickly and the need to satisfy it is urgent. Emotions that trigger hunger can range from boredom, stress, nervousness, sadness, or disappointment, to joy and happiness.

 

Ways to stop emotional eating.

• KEEP A FOOD DIARY. This sounds very weight-watchers, but by keeping a food diary you will be able to take a step back and see if you were eating because of emotions or because you were truly hungry.
• DISTRACT YOURSELF. When you feel the emotional hunger cue (cravings for something now!) have a plan for what you can do instead of eating. Go for a walk, read a book, practice some yoga, call a friend, answer your emails—something that is easy to do and will take your mind off food.
• KEEP COMFORT FOODS OUT OF YOUR CUPBOARDS! If the food you crave is not close at hand, you won’t be able to give in to your craving. This week I bought a bag of Cadbury Mini-Eggs as an early Easter treat for my children and then in a moment of stress, I ate a few handfuls. Not only was I eating for the wrong reason, but now I feel bad for buying the mini-eggs in the first place. Not at all the way an Easter bunny should feel!

• EAT MINDFULLY.  Sit with your food, smell it, look at it, and breathe in its aroma. Appreciate what is on your plate! When you truly concentrate on what you are eating you will notice when your brain signals that you are full and you won’t overeat.
• DON’T DEPRIVE YOURSELF. Stop the vicious cycle of all-or-nothing! If you deprive yourself for long enough you are more likely to eat the whole box of cookies, so eat a cookie once in a while.  And never listen to that voice in your head that says that just because you had one, you’v ruined your day so you might as well eat the rest of the cookies in the box.
• DON’T STRIVE FOR PERFECTION. No one is perfect and that would be boring anyway. You had a Honey’s Doughnut http://honeydoughnuts.com/about-us,(the best doughnuts in Vancouver), it was good, now move on.

Once we understand the difference between “real” hunger and emotional hunger, we can begin to look honestly at our eating habits and devise strategies to keep our emotional eating to a minimum.

xoxo

Rebecca