I’m Not Hungry… But I Still Want To Eat

I’m Not Hungry… But I Still Want To Eat

How many times have you caught yourself wanting to eat when you know you are not physically hungry? Instead you are bored, irritable, happy, or just wanting an escape from life for a bit. The environment you are in, such as your couch, the grocery store, or a social event full of goodies, can also be a trigger to eat when you don’t necessarily need or want to.

Luckily, you have the self-awareness that you are NOT hungry, which is more important than actually deciding if you are going to eat or not. In your mind you ask yourself, “Am I even hungry right now?” Here are three answers that you can choose from depending on your mood, environment, situation, etc.

Choice One
Eat Anyway-
Yes, this is a decision that is okay, as long as we practice it not being anxiety driven. If you are stressed about deciding to “eat anyway”, then you are likely to move into the behavior of overeating, binge eating, or being unconscious around your behaviors. We want to avoid negative self-talk such as, “Why did I just eat that? I hate myself now. I’m worthless. I have no willpower.”
If you are relaxed around the decision to “eat anyway”, you are making a conscious effort to eat other than hunger. Food isn’t here just to merely help us survive. That’s why it also gives us pleasure, contentment, and aids us through many situations in life. Choose to use food as a medicine rather than a poison, no matter if you are physically hungry or not.

Choice Two
Distract Yourself-
This is a great option if you are feeling uncontrollable, confused, anxious, stressed, and you don’t trust yourself enough to make the right decisions around food. Your environment may also be affecting your inner emotions in a large way (break room at work, alone in your kitchen at night). Distract Yourself by completely taking yourself out of the current situation. Go to a different room, go out for a quick walk, change your activity, take a 10 minute cruise in your car, whatever it takes to make you not feel overwhelmed and begin relaxing. One of my personal favorites is calling a friend on the phone. It’s a great way to catch up, and let them know that you are thinking of them (If you are super close, talk to them about what’s really going on.) That small window of distraction will likely change your stress physiology, and allow you to return to the experience with a new perspective.

Choice Three
Take care of the underlying need-
Easier said than done, taking care of the underlying need allows us to find peace with food, our body, and strengthens us within. We all deserve to live a balanced life, but in order to do so we have to truly understand our needs and desires. By experimenting with Choice One and Choice Two, we can begin to see patterns of eating and connect the reasons why they worked in some situations and not in others. Once we have more awareness around our physical hunger, the doorway to fulfilling our needs opens to so many other realms: taking a bath, going for a walk, getting out in nature, laughing, giving and receiving hugs, taking a break, etc. Mindfulness gives us the opportunity to find out what we really need, and makes us feel good about our decision. If you suffer from emotional or overeating, it’s crucial to healing that you find strategies that decrease stress and implement relaxation in your mind-body connection.

I hope The 3 Choices will help you when, ‘You are NOT hungry, but still want to eat’.

Live well,
Macy