Are You Eating Because You Are Hungry or Stressed?

Most people who live stressful lifestyles and have a weight problem often can't figure out if they're eating because they are hungry, stressed or just plain bored. They know they feel genuinely hungry or at least they think they do. If you find yourself eating at all hours of the day and night, and not just at mealtime, stress or boredom or a cultivated ability to fool yourself could be the culprit behind your indulgences. So, how to figure out what's what? And what can you do to stop the crazy eating? Identify what you're doing and resolve to change the situation. Consider the following scenarios --

Scene #1

If you've just woken up and you're craving food, it's generally because you are actually hungry. Your body has just endured an overnight fast and it is time to "break the fast" and eat. Go for it.

Scene #2

People who exercise hard often feel hungry right afterwards, whereas other exercisers lose their appetite when they exercise and don't regain it for an hour or two afterwards. Being hungry after a good workout is perfectly legit but purporting hunger after taking a slow stroll around the block where you don't break a sweat is not. That's delusional hunger.

Scene #3

You finished lunch an hour ago. Your boss walks into your office and asks you to prepare a report that will take hours, requiring you to work into the evening. Before you even get started on the report you find yourself digging through the office fridge or hitting the vending machines for a snack. You try telling yourself you'll need the extra energy to do the report. This is classic stress eating. Provided you had an adequate lunch, you aren't craving food, you're craving relief from your internal pressure cooker. You're upset about the request, you're mad at your boss and you're trying to use food to quell the angry beast within. Forget the vending machine and get cranking on the report.

Scene #4

Okay, you're the other person. Your boyfriend just called and told you that his boss asked him to do a report that will take hours and he won't get out of the office until 8:30 or 9:00. He says he can't make it for dinner, that he will pick up a sandwich at the downstairs deli. You had planned a really phenomenal dinner and you're upset that your plans are ruined. You start noshing. First you eat all the shrimp appetizers you prepared, then some cheese and crackers, the veal picata and lemon pasta, graduating to the double chocolate cake you bought at the neighborhood bakery. Then you realize that the rolls are going to go stale so you down one of those too slathered in enough butter to fill the dairy case at your grocery store.

See a pattern here? Yep, it's stress, times 10. You're upset and so stuffed it feels like you're going to give birth to a hippopotamus any minute. Get over it. The only person you're getting back at is yourself and that's dumb. Next time you sense your willpower going anemic on you get out of the house and away from food. Got a gym membership? Go there. Or take a very very long walk. Exercise will raise your endorphins, make you feel better and keep you from overeating .

Scene #5

You've just finished dinner and plopped down on the couch to watch a whole evening of your favorite shows. Then you remember that bag of cookies in the pantry. You get up, grab the cookies and a glass of milk. After the first show ends you get up again and dish yourself a bowl of ice cream drizzled with chocolate syrup. An hour later you pop some microwave popcorn. About the time you're finishing the bag of popcorn you're starting to feel stuffed and wondering why on earth you kept eating all night. As much as you like your favorite TV shows you are obviously bored with them because they are not intriguing you enough to distract you from eating and eating and eating. The problem might be that you've always noshed in front of the TV. If that's the case, break the habit. Resolve not to eat in front of the TV, ever. Eat only at your dining table and no where else. You might want to remove the offending foods from your house. If you don't have all those favorite nosh foods in your kitchen you won't be compelled to go looking for them when you watch TV.

One of the best and easiest ways to figure out if you are genuinely hungry or hungry due to stess or boredom or perhaps delusion, drink a 16-ounce glass of water. Wait ten minutes. Are you still hungry? I mean truly hungry as in your stomach is growling kind of hungry and if you don't eat something soon you're going to start gnawing on the wallpaper? If you are, then eat. But if you're not because the water filled you up preoccupy yourself with something, anything. You can keep the food demons at bay but you'll have to work at it to fool the malicious little fiends.