Weight Loss Day 38

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Day 38

 

The trap of non-hungry eating.

We can all eat food when we are not really feeling physically hungry. Non hungry eating can occur at any time:
When we eat our main meals, in between our main meals and even overnight.

Many of us can do a significant amount of this sort of eating - certainly enough to be a big factor in causing weight gain and difficulty in maintaining a comfortable weight.

 

It’s quite normal to do some non-hungry eating but when we do too much it gets our eating pattern out of balance.

 

Why is non-hungry eating so common & easy to overdo?
Firstly, it may be because we are not sure if we are really physically hungry. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell the difference between a physical hunger and a feeling that we get that makes us want to put food in our mouth. The amount of non-hungry eating that occurs can range from 30-40%, up to 60-100% of people’s total eating.

Secondly, we might not be aware of the many different reasons that can contribute to our non-hungry eating.

Some contributing factors might be:

• Eating quickly and not giving ourselves enough time to listen to what our body signals are telling us
• Not sure when to stop eating (e.g. parents told us to finish everything on our plate)
• Eating because the clock says it is breakfast/lunch/dinner time when we may not even be hungry.
• Emotional eating
• Eating due to boredom/for procrastination
• Eating because someone else is
• Eating because it’s there

 

It is important to ask yourself “Am I really hungry? Or is this food about something else?”

 

Tips for avoiding non-hungry eating:

REASON FOR EATING	STRATEGY
Boredom	Do something: Call a friend, go for a walk, read a book
Comfort	Use an alternative: Listen to music, Catch up with a mate, have a bath
Finish the plate	Get a smaller plate, Fill the plate up with Salad/veggies
Still feel hungry	Eat slowly, wait 15 minutes before having seconds
Because it’s there	Get it out of the house, Store food out of view