How to Stop Mindless Snacking

Do you sometimes find yourself eating when you are not really hungry?

Do you ever sit down in front of the TV with a bag of snacks and before you know it you have finished the whole thing. 

Or you stop to talk to a co-worker in front of the candy dish and before you know it your looking at a handful of wrappers that you have to throw away discreetly. 

Well if it makes you feel better, your not alone. 

Some snacking can be good for you but you have to learn to understand the difference between mindless snacking and true hunger.

Often times we snack because we think we have a physical hunger, but we actually have an emotional hunger.  But no matter what or how much you eat, you can never satisfy an emotional need with food.

So what to do?

I have a simple, yet empowering and effective approach to helping you deal with your emotional or non-hunger snacking.  It’s just Five easy steps:

Stop. Hydrate. Think. Write. Reflect 

Stop

Stop.......are you filling a physical need or an emotional need. 

Hydrate

Often times we are dehydrated and mistake that for hunger, so drink a big glass of aqua and wait at least ten minutes and see if you are still feeling "hungry". 

Think

Before you snack, ask yourself:  “Am I really hungry?” Instead analyze your state of mind, are you bored, tired, stressed, angry, lonely, or the thousands of other emotions out there.

Are you using food to mask underlying feelings you don’t want to deal with?  Things like relationship issues, employment issues, financial issues, ...etc.

Write

Nest, sit down, take out a piece of paper and write at the top of the page, “What do I need?” and start writing.  Write 3 things that you need right now or in your life.  You may be surprised to find that it’s not really food you’re hungry for, but for something else in your life.

Reflect, It’s Not All Or Nothing

Now I don’t want to you think I’m saying to stop all non-hungry snacking. There’s a place, without big servings of guilt on the side, for a piece of your friend’s birthday cake, a celebratory glass of wine after the completion of a big project at work, or an ice cream after a hot day at the beach.  But constantly “soothing” yourself with food because you’re bored, anxious, frustrated or depressed is a definite no-no.

Now - Eat Without Guilt (c’mon, you knew that would be part of the equation!)

The most undervalued skill when it comes to managing our snacking and hunger is learning to eat without guilt. We’re often snacking quickly for a whole lot of non-hunger reasons and, when we do, it’s easy to eat more than what we should.

There’s a power that comes from learning to slow down and really taste food, and accepting that it’s okay to snack for non-hunger reasons occasionally.


For more healthy snack options go to our page www.GetHealthyOrlando.com/SnackOptions.html