What triggers you to eat? Hunger grumbling in your belly, the food you see or the time of day?
If you are one of few lucky people who eats only when physically hungry, this is not for you. But for the rest of us, there are many triggers that cue us to eat throughout the day unrelated to our actual physiological hunger. I will address a few of them and some easy solutions.
1. Schedules: Well, the clock says noon, so it must be time for lunch. Whether or not your belly is grumbling, you have been programmed to eat lunch at noon. Paying attention to your natural internal hunger is a far better indicator than the clock on the wall. Start paying attention to that natural hunger and eat when IT tells you rather than the clock. If you need to eat at a certain time due to work schedules or family routines and you’re not hungry, just eat less, knowing you can eat a healthy snack later.
2. Preventive eating: You are concerned about getting hungry later when it might be difficult to get something to eat, so you stuff yourself when you aren’t even hungry… just in case. Become the master snack packer. Always carry a small bottle of water and healthy snacks- homemade trail mix, nut butter on whole grain bread, string cheese and fruit, etc.
3. Eating out: Rather than seeing this as a green light for getting “your money’s worth”, see it as an opportunity to order something tasty and healthy you wouldn’t necessarily cook at home. Order only food you really love, eat just until mildly full, planning in advance to take half home for lunch the next day. If you wouldn’t eat fried foods, with bread and several courses at home, don’t do it in the restaurant. Choose wisely in advance, both the restaurant and the meal.
4. Trigger foods: If your idea of heaven is a spoon and a half-gallon of butter pecan ice cream, that’s a set-up for disaster. It doesn’t mean you can’t have your favorite, but go out to the ice cream store and buy a cone or small dish of butter pecan and savor each lick or bite.
5. High-risk times: 3pm in the afternoon rolls around and you can’t stay away from the vending machine or the plate of cookies your co-worker brought in. If you are actually physically hungry, have a pre-planned, healthy snack. If not, get up and move around. Take a brisk walk down the hall, take a drink of ice water or do some quick stretches to get the blood flowing. The change in pattern is often enough to overcome the desire and fatigue.
These are just a few of the typical eating triggers. As I always say, the first step to any change is awareness. Once you know what your pattern is, you are more likely to be able to change that patterned behavior with a new, more desired behavior. Food is meant to be enjoyed, not feared. Eat only what you love, bite by bite, savoring each one.