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Member Comments for the Article:
10 Reasons You Eat When You're Not Actually Hungry
And What You Can Do About It!
126 Comments
CHOCOGRL
4/17/2013 12:05:37 AM
Leftovers are one of my best weight-management friends! Often my leftovers from a meal are smaller than my original meal and I end up eating less in that meal without missing anything. Or I'll add extra salad at the side. If I feel hungry before going to bed, a cup of fruit tea cool enough that I can gulp fixes it. Just having it fill my mouth and swallowing big makes me feel like I've eaten that extra bedtime sandwich I used to eat.
I am guilty of so many of these. My eating had also gotten so out of control that I didn't associate the feeling of being 'full' until I was tired, lethargic and miserable. When in truth, we are full as soon as we stop being hungry! It is still a struggle and I have to eat slower and drink more water with meals to compensate, but knowing is half the battle!
I've had those moments of weakness, buying those cookies (or whatever) that I KNOW I can't control myself around. Once they're at home, after allowing myself a serving or two, I try to find a moment of strength and THROW THEM AWAY!!! Even crunch them up and tell them "So there!" and throw them away. I know it's a waste of money, but better than a waste of my health and well being. This is very hard to do. Trust me. But worth it when I can.
Is a craving the same as hunger? In many senses, yes, it is. Eating because you are craving something is the TRUE #1 cause of eating when you're not really hungry, and they didn't even address it here.
And what is the #1 cause of food cravings? All of you (us!) sugar-holics know! Low-nutrient, high-sugar, high-starch, highly-processed junk. If you can go cold turkey for a week or two and eat whole foods from the perimeter of the store - meat, dairy, produce, not bakery - your cravings will shrivel up and you will feel full for the first time in ages.
All of these other causes have validity, but addressing them without addressing the main cause of non-hunger hunger is like putting on your makeup before you get your shower. Kinda pointless.
REASON #12 Through my journey on SP + many hours research through years of relearning nutrition, at the present, my current 'thought' on emo eating is: our bodies/minds don't SCREAM for food without a reason. We are made like engines, in the sense that we need fuel and if denied, we shut down a lot of processes in order to keep the basics clunking along. And... if we're pouring empty fuel or fuels with harmful additives down, we open up a whole lot of maintenance problems combining into even how our minds will malfunction. Most (imo) overweight/obese people have set their bodies into a 'survival mode' due to STARVATION. That's right. Due to all those empty calories and chemically processed and over processed foods VOID of any wholesome nutrition, sooo... in a fact, the body goes into *emergency*mode* which will *trigger* a *switch* to store/sock away a fat larder, even if it's JUNK IN THE TRUNK because... it is in a CRISIS.
MICHELLE40505
4/16/2013 1:39:18 AM
REASON #11: Also, because you are THIRSTY! one tip (from my trainer at http://www.workoutbuddyx.com) taught me is that people often confuse hunger with thirst.
Just drink a nice tall glass of water when you are hungry. It won't solve the hunger 100% the time, but it seem to crave or delay the hunger almost 50% of the time for me.
Boy, they sure hit me on the head with a nail. Because I used to work the afternoon and was changed to an early morning shift. I found that I was getting very sleepy about 10:00 am even though I ate breakfast at about 7:00-8:00 am depending on when they allowed me to a break time. When this happened I starting sneaking to the vending machine, and grab "something weird" something that not on plan just to stay awake. Drinking coffee doesn't help me much because I am not a real coffee drinker, my coffee is usually lots of cream and sugar with a little bit coffee! I am not working right now but the habit is still there. At least, I recognize and do what I can to stop the urge. I do this by not having "Skittles, potato chips, and cream(for coffee) in the house.
BLUEFAIRYTALE
1/3/2013 5:10:57 PM
Great article! Clean plate syndrome is a tough one, but I think it just helps to be aware of all of these ideas.
BABIRD1
12/13/2012 10:50:53 PM
Oh. I misread the title and thought this was going to tell me how to motivate myself to eat when I am not getting "hungry" signals from my body. I really need THAT article, so if there is one, please Sparkmail me about it.
MIKEJANDZ
12/13/2012 1:03:30 PM
It's comforting to know that I'm not the only one that falls prey to many of the situations mentioned.
After analyzing my snacking patterns, I realized that I'm more likely to eat when I'm tired. So now instead of heading to the kitchen, I take a nap if it's afternoon or go to bed early if it's evening. Anything to stay out of the kitchen.
Yes CEGGLESTO, sometimes the food is just so darn yummy. I was hit by this and two other reasons tonight, huge Italian servings and an over zealous friend who just had to order Tiramisu... there's always tomorrow for a good long walk!
They left out an important one: Because a food is really yummy! Sometimes I want to eat when I'm not hungry because some food is just so good I still want it even though I don't need it for nourishment. How else can we explain eating 3 helpings of a rarely available meal or treat?
