Why Do I Snack When I’m Not Hungry?
If you find yourself eating when you don’t want to, eating against your will, or using food as a way to comfort yourself, it’s often because you are avoiding an uncomfortable emotion.
We humans spend a lot of time buffering uncomfortable emotions.
Typically, we overeat, overdrink, binge Netflix, and scroll social media as a buffer against an uncomfortable emotion.
When you feel stress, sadness, boredom, exhaustion, anger, or any uncomfortable emotion, your brain will often urge you to grab an unhealthy snack because it knows that is a quick fix to feeling better.
And yes, it might make you feel better for a moment, but that good feeling doesn’t last.
Then on top of feeling the uncomfortable emotion your also feel guilty or even bloated.
We are masters at escapism.
Learning to process the emotions that are driving our brains to buffer is the key to obtaining new results.
The below 7 steps are something you can incorporate in your life to help break the habit of eating against your will.
Step One – Plan Ahead
Know your triggers.
If you know that every time you get off the phone with your boss, you head to the pantry, prepare yourself well ahead of when the event happens.
BE on to your brain.
Be ready.
Tell yourself before you talk to your boss, “I’m going to want to eat as soon as I get off this call. But we aren’t going to do that. We are going to process the discomfort instead.”
Step Two – Say What You Are Feeling Out Loud
Next time your brain is driving you to eat when you aren’t actually physically hungry, check in with yourself and ask, what am I feeling right now?
I know I’m not hungry. Am I stressed? Am I worried? Am I angry? What emotion am I feeling?
Step Three – Feel The Emotion In Your Body
We physically feel our emotions in our bodies.
Try to locate where that feeling is in your body.
Do I feel this in my face? In my chest? In my belly? My throat?
Step Four – Place A Hand Where Your Feel The Emotion
Placing your hand where you feel the emotion.
This is a physical action you can take to not only bring more awareness to what you are feeling, but to bring yourself comfort.
Step Five – Breath
Try to get out of your head and into your body.
Just focus the attention on the part of your body where you feel the emotion while you comfort yourself with your hand.
Step Six – Speak Out Loud
Tell yourself, this is stress, this is anger, this is boredom, or simply, this is an uncomfortable emotion, if you can’t pin point what exactly it is
Tell yourself, “my brain is urging me to comfort this emotion with food. Food does not solve any problem other than hunger. Emotions are not problems. They are feelings to process. I am safe. There is no problem here.”
Breath and sit until the urge passes.
It may take 1 minute, it may take 5.
Just be with it.
Step Seven – Practice, Practice, Practice
Mastering this tool takes patience and persistence, but oh so worth it!
Think of it as emotional strength training.
The more you do it, the better you will be, and the less likely you will eat against your will!
I Can Help
My name is Laura Hayek and I am a nurse coach who helps empower women over 40 to create habits for a healthier body, mind and spirit.
Check out my website, www.laurahayek.com, to schedule a free coaching session to discover how I can help you on your journey to holistic health!