Monday, August 4, 2014

Overeating Triggers



Triggers

1) Pay attention to what foods automatically make you want more—sugary, fatty, salty. If your body doesn’t need fuel, the only taste buds that work well are for sweet and salt. It’s a good indicator that your craving is either emotional or from dehydration. Many of us mistake thirst for hunger. Try a beverage before eating something.  

Most so-called experts (it’s hard to keep track with the forever changing of what’s good and what isn’t) now say even caffeinated drinks will do. Eight glasses of water a day isn’t necessary or even helpful if it doesn’t satisfy you, as long as you keep hydrated. I find two cups of green tea between meals helps me to not feel hungry.
    
 2) What’s mood got to do with it? Being tired, upset, bored, or premenstrual all affect our ability to manage food. Eat mindfully, they call it, meaning think about what you’re eating, how it tastes, if it satisfies you, when you start to feel full. Try not to eat for emotional comfort, especially when you’re not actually hungry.

For a lot of us that requires not eating while the TV or another electronic distraction draws your attention away from what you’re putting in your mouth. It takes practice, especially if you’re in the habit of overeating and have totally messed up your body’s ability to tell on its own when you’ve had sufficient.

Involving yourself in an activity or hobby you enjoy can completely erase the thought of food from your mind, which in itself tells you the craving didn’t stem from hunger. I literally lose track of time when I’m writing or immersed in a good book.

Wednesday—the trial and error of finding the way to manage food that works for you. 

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