Some people eat to live while there are others who live to eat! Take a minute and consider placing yourself in the category that best suits your eating habits.
If you find that you fall into the latter category, you probably eat even those times when you are not actually hungry. Here are a few reasons why you end up eating when you aren’t feeling hungry.
Reasons Why You End Up Eating Even If You’re Not Hungry
These reasons may help you figure out why you are eating too much lately even though you are not actually hungry.
1. You Want To Cope With Your Emotions
Emotional eating is common among many people. Most people end up eating when they feel sad, upset, worried, stressed, or even lonely. This is usually called emotional eating. These feelings trigger a person to turn to food to keep them happy.
However, it is important to know that turning to food for your emotional problems is not going to solve them. If you feel lonely, try to ring a friend and share your feelings. If anger is the issue, take a walk or try to calm yourself first by taking deep breaths.
2. Others Around You Are Eating
You may find yourself looking for food when you see others around you munching on their food. It is true! Sometimes, even if you aren’t really hungry, seeing people around you can tempt you to eat too. This is common if you end up having conversations with people while eating. You are so lost in conversation that you don’t realize if your stomach is full or not.
3. Food Is All You See
If you buy a bag of chips and place it on the kitchen counter, chances of grabbing the packet and downing those chips are high, once you pass by it again. That comes to the next reason why you may end up eating though you’re not actually hungry. If food is visible to your eyes like at the kitchen counter or on your office desk, you’ll end up eating because it’s just there.
To avoid this, try to keep food items like a packet of chips, chocolates, candy bars, or even cookies in a shelf or a cabinet. Let’s just say that out of sight, out of mind fits best here.
4. You Let The Clock Dictate Your Hunger
It is important to have timely meals. If you are used to having lunch at noon, your brain may trick you into eating when the clock strikes 12. This is because you let the clock dictate your eating habits. Your body is used to having food at a specific time and that will cause you to eat even though you are not that hungry.
So, the next time this happens, check your hunger level. Don’t go by the clock. If you’re not feeling that hungry, give it some time and ignore the ticking.
5. You Want To Fight Boredom
It’s a Saturday evening and you don’t have any plans in particular. You are bored out of your wits and you turn to that box of cookies because you have nothing better to do. Eating to fight boredom is another reason why you end up eating pointlessly.
You can overcome this habit by finding a new hobby or developing an interest in something you like to do. There are so many ways to fight boredom like taking a walk in the park, reading a book, maintaining a journal, or even spending time with your pet. Find something to divert your mind to keep it busy.
6. You Don’t Think Before Eating
Mindless eating is literally eating without putting much thought into it. You just eat because you started and don’t feel the need to stop. This often happens if you’re at the movies or simply watching television at home. Research also shows that fast-paced movies cause people to eat more calories than slow-paced ones.1
Eating while working or texting can cause you to eat more than you usually would if there weren’t any distractions.2 So, if you are worried about your weight, paying attention while eating can help your overeating problems.
7. You Want To Share Happiness With Your Tummy
Emotional eating is when you experience negative emotions like sadness and loneliness. Unfortunately, the pointless eating habit doesn’t stop with the negative emotions. You can also find yourself eating when you’re too happy. When there is nothing to worry about, you end up sharing your happiness even with your tummy!
So, if you feel happy, don’t look at a glazed doughnut or a bar of chocolate; instead, meet up with your friend or your sibling and spread the happiness with laughs and giggles.
Some Tips For Mindful Eating
If you are new to mindful eating, don’t be too hard on yourself. Here are a few tips that can help you begin a healthier eating habit.
- Take time to eat your meals, whether it be breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Don’t rush yourself while eating. Take small bites and chew well.
- Engage all your senses when you eat. Be attentive to the color, the taste, and the aroma of the food you consume.
- Have food only if you are actually hungry. Don’t eat because everybody else is having food at the table.
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