Next time you reach for food or feel "hungry", take a second to assess what type of hunger you are really experiencing: mouth, heart, or stomach hunger.
Mouth hunger - you are eating to feel a certain texture or get a certain taste. You want the crunchiness of a pretzel, the doughyness of a bagel, or the smoothness of some chocolate. You want the saltyness of the chip, the sweetness of the candy, or the savoryness of cheese.
Heart hunger - you are eating to fill an emotional void. You are eating because you are stressed, bored, lonely, celebratory, etc, or are simply eating out of habit.
Stomach hunger - you are eating to fill a legitimate hungry. You haven't eaten in a while and you feel real stomach hunger pangs.
Taking a minute to stop and reflect on why you are really eating is a useful tool if you are trying to combat cravings, stop compulsive eating or binge eating, or decrease your overall caloric intake. Before opening the fridge, check in with the body to see what is it really hungry for.
OK right now I am going to get my salt n'vinegar chips - totally heart hungry - habit in front of the tv!!!!
ReplyDeleteHonestly I think it is rare for me to be stomach hungry - that is something to be thankful for.
Mom
Uh oh!
ReplyDeleteWe need to address your lack of stomach hunger. Because theoretically it is a bad idea to eat without really being hungry... but I don't think you're alone. I think this may need to be a future blog post.