Do you often eat when you’re not even hungry? Then let’s explore how mindfulness can help you identify eating triggers. Just yesterday a new client Ron told me that he walked by the refrigerator, opened it, and ate a whole bowl of pasta with sauce. But he wasn’t even hungry. Then he asked himself, “Why did I eat that? I didn’t even want it.” If you’re like Ron, maybe you eat mindlessly. Let’s explore how to use mindfulness, or being present in the moment, to be become aware of your eating triggers and make better choices.
First, take a look at my Removing Inner Blocks video to take a closer look at this problem.
The biggest problem is that we don’t even realize what we’re doing until it’s too late. The truth is that most of the decisions we make especially about food come from habits. These habits started long ago. These habits feel safe because they’re familiar. Some habits can become inner blocks to getting what we really want.
What are your eating triggers, and how can you become more aware, more mindful of what you’re doing? Let’s take a look at sources of your food cravings.
Three Sources of Eating Triggers:
- Environmental:
Do you find yourself snacking every time you watch TV? Turning on the TV can become an environmental cue or habit that stimulates your food craving. This cue is designed as an advertising vehicle to stimulate you to eat more and buy more.
What you can do instead:
Decide on healthy snacks to eat in front of the TV or decide to put eating in front of the TV off limits.
- Social:
Social gatherings often revolve around food. Do you often find yourself eating more than you’d like to because you’re trying to please people who are offering you food or you want to be sociable?
What you can do instead:
Decide ahead of time what you plan to eat before a social gathering or even a family meal. Bring foods to share that will support you in making better food choices.
- Emotional:
When you’re hungry you eat because your body needs fuel. But often, people tell me that they just want something to snack on when they’re stressed or bored. What causes you to make the choices you make when you feel stressed or upset that you later regret? When you want to feel better and soothe yourself with food you may not always make the best choices.
What you can do instead:
Next time you have a food craving and are about to reach for food, ask yourself these three things:
- What happened that may have caused this craving?
- What am I feeling?
- What is it that I’m really hungry for (it may not even be food)?
Mindfulness means paying attention to eating triggers—the things that cause you to eat mindlessly. Then you can find alternatives that can bring you what you really desire which may not be food at all.
Food is a great thing and we love it and there’s a healthy way to do it. We want to be in a healthy relationship with food.
Need more help with building a healthy relationship with food? Don’t worry. Give us a call. We’ll make an appointment to talk via Zoom or by phone. We’ll see what’s right for you.
Call 301-869-1787 or click here to set up an appointment as my free gift to you.
Together we’ll create your healthy sweet life by building a healthy relationship with food.
To your Joy and Health,
Kay Loughrey, MPH, RDN, LDN
Transformational Speaker, Breakthrough Coach, Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist