Not Hungry, but Still Want to Eat? Here Are Some Tips to Help

You know you’re not hungry, but you still keep going back to the kitchen to look through the refrigerator and cabinets for something. Or maybe you casually walk past the vending machine in the office to see if something looks good. Eating when you’re not hungry could be a sign of many things. Cravings, boredom and plain old bad habits are often the most common reasons.

Here are a few tips to help detour you away from eating (or eating a lot less) when your body doesn’t need the food!

1. Just Want a Taste of Something: Fill a pitcher or large water bottle 1/4 full with slices of lemons, oranges and strawberries. Fill the remainder of the pitcher with water. Drink a couple cups of your fruit-infused water whenever a craving hits.

2. Gotta Have Something Sweet: Drink herbal tea with a little bit of honey. Sounds boring, but it goes down slow and tastes really good!

3. For the Chocoholic: Buy a bar of the darkest chocolate you can eat (shoot for 70% cocoa+), break off one square and enjoy it.

4. Curb the Behavior: Of all the tips, this one – in my humble opinion – will work the best in the long run. Change the environment you’re in before the craving hits. If you know you usually hit the kitchen an hour after dinner, grab your laptop or iPad and head to your bedroom to work on your playlist for tomorrow’s workout. If you have a hard time avoiding pastries that are brought into the office at 9am on Friday, keep a protein-packed yogurt at your desk and avoid the break room. Do something different.

5. Write Down Your Health Goals: Even if you know what your goals are in your head, or you just wrote out your goals last night, do it again. If a bowl of chips or scoop of ice cream aren’t going to help you lower your cholesterol, boost your energy the next day, or [fill in the blank with your goal here], you’ll at least be more conscious of your choices.

6. Cravings Won’t Stop: If you crave, crave, crave all day long, chances are you’re a) not getting enough protein, b) not getting enough fat, or possibly c) eating too much sugar and starchy carbs (particularly “wheaty” foods). Eat a little more protein with a smidge of more fat with breakfast. This might do the trick. If not, add a little more protein at lunch. It make take several days to get it right.

Getting control of your cravings and bad eating habits could be the key to weight control! I hope these tips gave you some fresh ideas. If you have any suggestions, post them on my Facebook page, or leave a comment here.

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